Plácido Domingo's World Opera Competition OPERALIA Announces The Winners

Mezzo-Soprano Emily D'Angelo from Canada/Italy and Tenor Pavel Petrov from Belarus, have just been announced as the First Prize Winners of Operalia's 26th edition. D'Angelo also claimed the Birgit Nilsson Prize, the Pepita Embil Prize for Zarzuela and the Prize of the Audience for a first-time-ever clean sweep of all top honors in Operalia's 26 years history.

Emily D'Angelo made her professional operatic debut that year as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi under the baton of James Conlon. She was a 2016 winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition Finals. She is currently a member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera.

In the 2014/15 season, Pavel Petrov made his debut at the Mikhailovsky Theatre St Petersburg as Alfredo in La Traviata. He also performed Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Theater Kiel and the Bucharest National Opera, as well as other roles in Minsk. Since 2012, he has been a member of the ensemble of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus, where he has appeared as Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Alfredo in La Traviata, Lykov in The Tsar's Bride, Tsar Berendey in Rimsky- Korsakov's The Snow Maiden and Vogelsang in Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor.

Second Prize honors were awarded to Samantha Hankey, the mezzo-soprano from the United States and Migran Agadzhanyan, a tenor from Russia. Hankey also received an unprecedented second female Birgit Nilsson Prize, while a male Prize in this category remained vacant.

Canadian mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb and Russian tenor Arseny Yakovlev were awarded the Third Prize respectively, establishing another first in the competition's history; having three mezzo-sopranos and three tenors claim the three top prizes.

Native Portuguese tenor Luis Gomes tied with Belarus tenor Pavel Petrov for the Plácido Domingo Ferrer Zarzuela prize as well as being unanimously voted the audience's favorite.

Mezzo-soprano from Brazil, Josy Santos, was awarded the CulturArte de Puerto Rico Prize in the amount of US$10,000.00


OPERALIA, the international Opera competition founded by Plácido Domingo in 1993, was presented in Portugal for the very first time this summer. The competition took place at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, which is located in the historical center of Lisbon's Chiado District since its inauguration in 1793 and thus celebrates its 225th. Anniversary this year.

The Final Concert featured 14 of the most promising voices in the opera world today, with singers from Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Portugal, Russia, and the United States of America. Their performances were accompanied by the Orquesta Sinfónica Portuguesa, which in turn celebrated its 25th. Anniversary this year, conducted by Maestro Plácido Domingo.

The Final's concert was followed by an award ceremony, where Plácido Domingo presented prizes in seven categories:

• Two First Prizes - Male/Female - US$30,000.00
• Two Second Prizes - Male/Female - US$20.000.00
• Two Third Prizes - Male/Female - US$10.000.00
• Two Birgit Nilsson Prizes - Female/Female - US$15.000.00
• The Pepita Embil Prize of Zarzuela - US$10.000.00
• Two Don Plácido Domingo Ferrer Prize of Zarzuela - US$10.000.00
• Two Audience Prizes - Male/Female - A watch offered by Rolex
• The Culturarte Prize Chosen and offered by Bertita & Guillermo Martinez from CulturArte de Puerto Rico - US$10.000.00

Founded in 1993 to discover and help launch the careers of the most promising young opera singers of today, Operalia attracts singers of all voice types from every country in the world ranging from 18 to 32 years of age, to be heard by a panel of some of the most influential impresarios in the international Opera industry.

The 40 contestants facing the challenge this year came from 22 different countries, including Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and the United States. The group was prominently formed by mezzo-sopranos and tenors, and with a good representation of sopranos, baritones and bass-baritones.

The competition is hosted by a different city every year. The first contest was held in Paris in 1993 and then moved to Mexico City and other cities such as Beijing, Bordeaux, Budapest, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Quebec, Tokyo, Verona, Los Angeles and London, among others.

The long list of artists who have won Operalia prizes attest to its success in discovering, launching and nurturing great talent. Some of the winners who have firmly established themselves in the world of opera include the great Swedish soprano Nina Stemme, the world-famous mezzo-soprano from the United States, Joyce DiDonato; the Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, Puerto-Rican soprano Ana María Martínez, and the soprano from Bulgaria, Sonya Yoncheva. Operalia is also proud to celebrate Mexican tenors Arturo Chacón Cruz, David Lomelí and Rolando Villazón, as well as Mexican soprano María Katzarava, among the talented voices who have made outstanding careers on the most important stages in the world.

Rolex is proud to present Operalia, the World Opera Competition, for the 17th consecutive year, perpetuating its commitment to the arts. Plácido Domingo has been a Rolex Testimonee since 1982, and Rolex is delighted to extend its support to the exceptionally gifted young performers who share its quest for excellence and perfection.

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