Operalia, The World Opera Competition

Operalia, The World Opera Competition is an annual international competition for young opera singers. Founded in 1993 by Plácido Domingo, the competition has helped launch the careers of several important artists, such as Joseph Calleja, Giuseppe Filianoti, Rolando Villazón, José Cura, Joyce DiDonato, Elizabeth Futral, Inva Mula and Ana María Martínez.

Overview

Operalia is based in Paris but hosts its competition in a different city each year. Cities which have hosted the competition include Paris at both the Palais Garnier and Théâtre du Châtelet, Mexico City at the Televisa Recording Studios, Madrid at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, Bordeaux at the Grand Théâtre, Tokyo at the Kan-I Hoken Hall, Hamburg at the Laeiszhalle, Puerto Rico at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center, Los Angeles at both UCLA's Royce Hall and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Washington, D.C. at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium, the Lake Constance region in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, Madrid at the Teatro Real, Valencia at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, and Québec at the Palais Montcalm and Grand Théâtre de Québec.

The competition is open to singers between the ages of 18 and 32 who are already performing at a highly skilled level. All voice types of both sexes are able to compete. Participants in the competition are selected by audition through a submitted recording to Operalia. A panel of three judges listens and evaluates the audition tapes. Only the top 40 submissions are invited to compete in the competition. Typically the organization receives 800 to 1,000 submissions each year, making entry into the competition alone an honor.

The competition is presided over every year by Plácido Domingo, although he himself does not judge the competition. A jury of 10 opera directors from important opera houses all over the world is assembled to judge the competition. Competitors must prepare 4 arias for the competition which consists of four rounds. In the first round each singer gets to choose one aria they want to sing and then the jury selects the other aria from their list of four for them to perform. Singers can also compete in a separate zarzuela competition. If they choose to do so they would perform an additional zarzuela piece in each round. Of the 40 singers, half of them are eliminated in the first round. The second round involves the performance of one more aria, after which only 10 singers move on to the next round. Likewise, the third round eliminates half of the singers, leaving only five participants in the final round. The first three rounds are performed with piano accompaniment and the final round is sung with a symphonic orchestra conducted by Plácido Domingo. Eleven singers make it into the final round of the general opera competition with five singers named as finalists in the zarzuela competition.

The competition has a total of 10 prizes which total up to 175,000 US dollars. In the general competition 1st prize, 2nd prize, and 3rd prize are awarded, one of each to both sexes, making a total of 6 prizes. Within the zarzuela competition two prizes are awarded, one to a male singer and one to a female singer. These prizes are named in honor of Domingo's parents, Plácido Domingo Ferrer and Pepita Embil, both of whom were popular zarzuela singers. There is also a prize awarded by the audience of the final competition to one female singer and one male singer, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize for performance in the German repertoire of Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner. It is possible for a singer to win more than one award. More important than the money received by the prize is the recognition and career boost given by the competition. It is normal for the opera directors judging the competition to engage competition winners for future opera performances with their companies, or for them to connect artists with other opera directors.

List of winners

Name	Voice type	Country	Prize	Year, place
Dinara Aliyeva	soprano	Azerbaijan	3rd Prize	2010, Milan
Enkhbatyn Amartüvshin	baritone	Mongolia	1st Prize	2012, Beijing
Simone Alberghini	bass	Italy	Winner	1994, Mexico City
Maria Teresa Alberola Banuls	soprano	Spain	3rd Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2006, Valencia
Kate Aldrich	mezzo-soprano	United States	CulturArte Prize	2002, Paris
Orlin Anastassov	bass	Bulgaria	1st Prize	1999, Puerto Rico
fr	tenor	France	2nd Prize & Audience Prize	2006, Valencia
Konstyantyn Andreyev	tenor	Ukraine	3rd Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2000, Los Angeles
Thiago Arancam	tenor	Brazil	2nd Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2008, Québec
Oxana Arkaeva	soprano	Ukraine	Winner	1994, Mexico City
Javier Arrey	baritone	Chile	CulturArte Prize	2011, Moscow
Ainhoa Arteta	soprano	Spain	Winner & Audience Prize	1993, Paris
Brian Asawa	countertenor	United States	Winner	1994, Mexico City
Jae Chul Bae	tenor	South Korea	CulturArte Prize	1998, Hamburg
René Barbera	tenor	United States	1st Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2011, Moscow
Isabel Bayrakdarian	soprano	Canada	1st Prize	2000, Los Angeles
Vitaly Bilyy	baritone	Ukraine	4th Prize	2004, Los Angeles
Jordan Bisch	bass	United States	2nd Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest
David Bižić	bass-baritone	Serbia	2nd Prize	2007, Paris
Benjamin Bliss	tenor	United States	Zarzuela Prize	2013, Verona
Angel Blue	soprano	United States	2nd Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest
Zach Borichevsky	tenor	United States	3rd Prize	2013, Verona
Janai Brugger	soprano	United States	1st Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2012, Beijing
Roman Burdenko	baritone	Russia	3rd Prize	2012, Beijing
Olga Busuioc	soprano	Moldova	2nd Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2011, Moscow
Joseph Calleja	tenor	Malta	CulturArte Prize	1999, Puerto Rico
Mariola Cantarero	soprano	Spain	Zarzuela Prize	1999, Puerto Rico
Marco Caria	baritone	Italy	2nd Prize & Audience Prize	2007, Paris
Mario Cassi	baritone	Italy	Zarzuela Prize	2003, Bodensee
Arturo Chacón Cruz	tenor	Mexico	Zarzuela Prize & CulturArte Prize	2005, Madrid
Hae Ji Chang	soprano	South Korea	Zarzuela Prize	2013, Verona
Mario Chang	tenor	Guatemala	1st Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2014, Los Angeles
Jennifer Check	soprano	United States	Zarzuela Prize	2003, Bodensee
Carlos Cosías	tenor	Spain	Zarzuela Prize	1998, Hamburg
Anaïs Constans	soprano	France	3rd Prize	2014, Los Angeles
Anthony Roth Costanzo	countertenor	United States	1st Prize	2012, Beijing
Tracy Cox	soprano	United States	Birgit Nilsson Prize	2013, Verona
José Cura	tenor	Argentina	Winner & Audience Prize	1994, Mexico City
Adriana Damato	soprano	Italy	1st Prize	2003, Bodensee
Maya Daskuk	soprano	Russia	3rd Prize	2001, Washington, D.C.
Lise Davidsen	soprano	Norway	1st Prize & Birgit Nilsson Prize & Audience Prize	2015, London
Stéphane Degout	baritone	France	2nd Prize	2002, Paris
Maria Cecilia Diaz	mezzo-soprano	Argentina	Winner	1994, Mexico
Joyce DiDonato	mezzo-soprano	United States	2nd Prize	1998, Hamburg
Vladimir Dmitruk	tenor	Belarus	CulturArte Prize	2013, Verona
Kinga Dobay	mezzo-soprano	Germany	Zarzuela Prize	2005, Madrid
Rosa Feola	soprano	Italy	2nd Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2010, Milan
Andión Fernández	soprano	Philippines	Zarzuela Prize	1998, Hamburg
Giuseppe Filianoti	tenor	Italy	2nd Prize	1999, Puerto Rico
Dimitrios Flemotomos	tenor	Greece	2nd Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest
Maria Fontosh	soprano	Russia	3rd Prize	2002, Paris
Bruce Fowler	tenor	United States	Winner	1994, Mexico
Julie Fuchs	soprano	France	2nd Prize	2013, Verona
Elizabeth Futral	soprano	United States	2nd Prize	1995, Madrid
Aurelio Gabaldon	tenor	Spain	Zarzuela Prize	2007, Paris
Antonio Gandia	tenor	Spain	Zarzuela Prize	2001, Washington, D.C.
Jesus Garcia	tenor	United States	3rd Prize	2003, Bodensee
Aida Garifullina	soprano	Russia	1st Prize	2013, Verona
Eugenia Garza	soprano	Mexico	Zarzuela Prize	2001, Washington, D.C.
Oziel Garza-Ornelas	baritone	Mexico	Zarzuela Prize	1996, Bordeaux
Carmen Giannattasio	soprano	Italy	1st Prize	2002, Paris
Rachele Gilmore	soprano	United States	Zarzuela Prize	2007, Paris
Jozef Gjipali	tenor	Albania	2nd Prize	2003, Bodensee
Joshua Guerrero	tenor	United States/Mexico	2nd Prize & CulturArte Prize	2014, Los Angeles
Nancy Herrera	mezzo-soprano	Spain	Zarzuela Prize	1996, Bordeaux
John Holiday	countertenor	United States	3rd Prize	2014, Los Angeles
Ioan Hotea	tenor	Romania	First Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2015, London
Claudia Huckle	contralto	United Kingdom	Birgit Nilsson Prize	2013, Verona
He Hui	soprano	China	2nd Prize	2000, Los Angeles
Carla Maria Izzo	soprano	Italy	1st Prize & Audience Prize	1997, Tokyo
Brian Jagde	tenor	United States	2nd Prize & Birgit Nilsson Prize	2012, Beijing
Maria Jooste	soprano	South Africa	4th Prize	2004, Los Angeles
Joseph Kaiser	tenor	Canada	2nd Prize	2005, Madrid
Hyoung-Kyoo Kang	baritone	South Korea	2nd Prize	2001, Washington, D.C.
Nadezhda Karyazina	mezzo-soprano	Russia	3rd Prize	2012, Beijing
María Alejandres Katzarava	soprano	Mexico	1st Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2008, Québec
Ketevan Kemoklidze	mezzo-soprano	Georgia	Zarzuela Prize	2008, Québec
Jae Hyoung Kim	tenor	South Korea	Zarzuela Prize	2002, Paris
Sung Eun Kim	soprano	South Korea	1st Prize	1995, Madrid
Woo Kyung Kim	tenor	South Korea	1st Prize	2004, Los Angeles
Anna Kiknadze	mezzo-soprano	Georgia	Zarzuela Prize	2002, Paris
Arnold Kocharyan	baritone	Armenia	Zarzuela Prize	2000, Los Angeles
Dmitry Korchak	tenor	Russia	4th Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2004, Los Angeles
Maija Kovaļevska	soprano	Latvia	1st Prize	2006, Valencia
Nataliya Kovalova	soprano	Ukraine	2nd Prize & Audience Prize	2004, Los Angeles
Vitalij Kowaljow	bass	Ukraine	CulturArte Prize	1999, Puerto Rico
Oksana Kramaryeva	soprano	Ukraine	2nd Prize & Audience Prize	2008, Québec
Alexey Kudrya	tenor	Russia	1st Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest
Vasily Ladyuk	baritone	Russia	1st Prize	2005, Madrid
Valeriano Lanchas	bass	Colombia	Zarzuela Prize	2001, Washington
Joshua Langston Hopkins	baritone	Canada	3rd Prize	2005, Madrid
Jaesig Lee	tenor	South Korea	3rd Prize	2011, Moscow
Ekaterina Lekhina	soprano	Russia	1st Prize	2007, Paris
Kathryn Lewek	soprano	United States	3rd Prize & Audience Prize	2013, Verona
Ao Li	bass-baritone	China	1st Prize	2013, Verona
Chang Yong Liao	baritone	China	1st Prize	1997, Tokyo
Chae Jun Lim	bass	South Korea	3rd Prize	2010, Milan
David Lomeli	tenor	Mexico	1st Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2006, Valencia
Israel Lozano	tenor	Spain	3rd Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2003, Bodensee
Giordano Lucà	tenor	Italy	2nd Prize	2010, Milan
Irina Lungu	soprano	Russia	CulturArte Prize	2004, Los Angeles
Aquiles Machado	tenor	Venezuela	2nd Prize & Zarzuela Prize	1997, Tokyo
Elena Manistina	mezzo-soprano	Russia	1st Prize	2002, Paris
Ana María Martínez	soprano	Puerto Rico	Zarzuela Prize	1995, Madrid
Elisaveta Martirosyan	soprano	Georgia	Audience Prize	2001, Washington, D.C.
John Matz	tenor	United States	2nd Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2002, Paris
Ryan McKinny	bass-baritone	United States	Birgit Nilsson Prize	2010, Milan
David Menendez Diaz	baritone	Spain	3rd Prize	2005, Madrid
Carlos Moreno	tenor	Spain	3rd Prize	1996, Bordeaux
Maki Mori	soprano	Japan	3rd Prize	1998, Hamburg
Inva Mula	soprano	Albania	Winner	1993, Paris
Andrey Nemzer	countertenor	Russia	3rd Prize	2014, Los Angeles
Lasha Nikabadze	tenor	Georgia	CulturArte Prize	2001, Washington
Julia Novikova	soprano	Russia	1st Prize & Audience Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest
Carmen Oprisanu	mezzo-soprano	Romania	3rd Prize	1995, Madrid
Ievgen Orlov	bass	Ukraine	2nd Prize	2010, Milan
Lisette Oropesa	soprano	United States	3rd Prize & Zarzuela Prize	2007, Paris
John Osborn	tenor	United States	1st Prize	1996, Bordeaux
Eric Owens	bass	United States	2nd Prize	1996, Bordeaux
Phyllis Pancella	mezzo-soprano	United States	2nd Prize	1996, Bordeaux
Darren Pene Pati	tenor	New Zealand	2nd Prize & Audience Prize	2015, London
Nathaniel Peake	tenor	United States	Zarzuela Prize	2010, Milan
Olga Peretyatko	soprano	Russia	2nd Prize	2007, Paris
Ailyn Pérez	soprano	United States	2nd Prize	2006, Valencia
Jossie Perez	mezzo-soprano	United States	Zarzuela Prize	2001, Washington
Mikhail Petrenko	bass	Russia	4th Prize	2004, Los Angeles
Susanna Phillips	soprano	United States	1st Prize & Audience Prize	2005, Madrid
Simone Piazzola	baritone	Italy	2nd Prize & Audience Prize	2013, Verona
Antonio Poli	tenor	Italy	CulturArte Prize	2012, Beijing
Robert Pomakov	bass	Canada	3rd Prize	2000, Los Angeles
Stefan Pop	tenor	Romania	1st Prize & Audience Prize	2010, Milan
Dmytro Popov	tenor	Ukraine	2nd Prize	2007, Paris
Joel Prieto	tenor	Spain / Puerto Rico	1st Prize & Zarzuela Prize & CulturArte Prize	2008, Québec
Olga Pudova	soprano	Russia	3rd Prize	2011, Moscow
Sabina Puertolas	soprano	Spain	Zarzuela Prize	2003, Bodensee
Diogenes Randes	bass	Brazil	2nd Prize	2005, Madrid
Alessandra Rezza	soprano	Italy	2nd Prize	2001, Washington
Angel Rodriguez Rivero	tenor	Spain	Zarzuela Prize	1997, Tokyo
Rafael Rojas	tenor	Mexico	Zarzuela Prize	1995, Madrid
Arnold Rutkowski	tenor	Poland	CulturArte Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest
Trevor Scheunemann	baritone	United States	3rd Prize	2006, Valencia
Erwin Schrott	bass	Uruguay	1st Prize & Audience Prize	1998, Hamburg
Carine Sechehaye	mezzo-soprano	Switzerland	Zarzuela Prize	2007, Paris
Jung-Hack Seo	baritone	South Korea	2nd Prize	1997, Tokyo
Konstantin Shushakov	baritone	Russia	2nd Prize	2011, Moscow
In-Sung Sim	baritone	South Korea	Zarzuela Prize	2004, Los Angeles
Daniil Shtoda	tenor	Russia	2nd Prize	2000, Los Angeles
Mariangela Sicilia	soprano	Italy	3rd Prize	2014, Los Angeles
Kostas Smoriginas	bass-baritone	Lithuania	3rd Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest
Carmen Solis Gonzalez	soprano	Spain	CulturArte Prize	2007, Paris
Nina Stemme	mezzo-soprano	Sweden	Winner	1993, Paris
Xiu Wei Sun	soprano	China	3rd Prize	1997, Tokyo
Karoly Szemeredy	baritone	Hungary	3rd Prize	2008, Québec
Lynette Tapia	soprano	United States	1st Prize & Audience Prize	1996, Bordeaux
Masako Teshima	mezzo-soprano	Japan	Winner	1994, Mexico City
Ludovic Tezier	baritone	France	2nd Prize	1998, Hamburg
Dimitra Theodossiou	soprano	Greece	2nd Prize & Audience Prize	1995, Madrid
Virginia Tola	soprano	Argentina	Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2000, Los Angeles
Auxiliadora Toledano	soprano	Spain	3rd Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest
Rolando Villazón	tenor	Mexico	2nd Prize & Audience Prize & Zarzuela Prize	1999, Puerto Rico
Vittorio Vitelli	baritone	Italy	3rd Prize	1996, Bordeaux
Dimitry Voropaev	tenor	Russia	3rd Prize	2004, Los Angeles
Karen Vuong	soprano	United States	CulturArte Prize	2006, Valencia
Yunpeng Wang	baritone	China	2nd Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2012, Beijing
Anita Watson	soprano	Australia	3rd Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest
Yali-Marie Williams	soprano	Puerto Rico	3rd Prize	1999, Puerto Rico
Rachel Willis-Sørensen	soprano	United States	1st Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Birgit Nilsson Prize	2014, Los Angeles
Amanda Woodbury	soprano	United States	2nd Prize & Audience Prize	2014, Los Angeles
Elena Xanthoudakis	soprano	Greece/Australia	3rd Prize	2008, Québec
Guang Yang	mezzo-soprano	China	1st Prize	2001, Washington, D.C.
Tae Joong Yang	baritone	South Korea	1st Prize	2007, Paris
Pretty Yende	soprano	South Africa	1st Prize & Zarzuela Prize & Audience Prize	2011, Moscow
Sonya Yoncheva	soprano	Bulgaria	1st Prize & CulturArte Prize	2010, Milan
Kwangchul Youn	bass	South Korea	Winner	1993, Paris
Guanqun Yu	soprano	United States	2nd Prize	2012, Beijing
Miguel Angel Zapater	bass	Spain	1st Prize	1995, Madrid
Wenwei Zhang	bass	China	3rd Prize	2009, Pécs/Budapest

External links

• Official website