The International Opera Awards Announces Finalists
By: Christina Mancuso Feb. 03, 2017
With more than 20,000 nominations made, the International Opera Awards is pleased to announce the finalists for this year's Awards. These were selected by an international jury chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph, 'Once again, it was both a challenge and a pleasure for us to produce these shortlists, and I am very grateful to our distinguished jury. The quality of the nominations-received in record numbers this year-was very high, and I hope our lists prove that for all the difficulties faced by the world's opera companies, opera is in fact in a healthy and vibrant state.'
The 2017 International Opera Awards, hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenter Petroc Trelawny, will take place on Sunday 7 May at 6.30pm at the London Coliseum. This is the first year that BBC Radio 3 is partnered with the International Opera Awards. As in previous years, the evening will feature live performances from internationally renowned singers. Past performances have been given by Lawrence Brownlee, Ermonela Jaho, Gregory Kunde and Aleksandra Kurzak. BBC Radio 3 will broadcast highlights from the awards ceremony in a special 90-minute programme on Sunday 21 May at 7.30pm.
The finalists below have been selected for their achievements over the 2016 calendar year. In addition to the 17 categories listed, the winners of the awards for Philanthropist, Lifetime Achievement, and Leadership (a new award sponsored by the Good Governance Institute) will be announced at a later date.
Founded by opera lover and philanthropist Harry Hyman, the International Opera Awards exists not only to celebrate established stars, but to support the next generation of talent. The Awards raises money for the Opera Awards Foundation, a charity which provides bursaries to aspiring operatic talent around the world.
Readers' Award voting page: http://www.operaawards.org/vote/
Tickets are priced at £30-£150 and are available here: https://londoncoliseum.org/
#OperaAwards2017
Finalists
CHORUS
Arnold Schoenberg Chor
Lyric Opera of Chicago
MusicAeterna
Oper Stuttgart
Opera Australia
CONDUCTOR
Riccardo Chailly
Philippe Jordan
Lothar Koenigs
Susanna Mälkki
Ingo Metzmacher
Esa-Pekka Salonen
DESIGNER
Cordelia Chisholm
Paolo Fantin
Alfons Flores
Klaus Grünberg
Johannes Leiacker
Christian Schmidt
DIRECTOR
Tatyana Gürbaca
Nigel Lowery
Christof Loy
Damiano Michieletto
Kirill Serebrennikov
EDUCATION & OUTREACH
Dutch National Opera
Glyndebourne
Komische Oper
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Natalya Sats Children's Opera Theatre
Umculo Cape Festival
FEMALE SINGER
Maria Bengtsson
Stéphanie d'Oustrac
Christiane Karg
Anita Rachvelishvili
Daniela Sindram
FESTIVAL
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence
FestivAl Verdi (Parma)
Garsington Opera
Lyon Festival
Wexford Festival Opera
MALE SINGER
Stéphane Degout
Johan Reuter
Martin Winkler
NEW PRODUCTION
Glass: Akhnaten, d. Phelim McDermott (English National Opera)
Janá?ek: V?c Makropulos, d. Kornél Mundruczó (Opera Vlaanderen)
Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, d. Harry Kupfer (Bayerische Staatsoper)
Shostakovich: The Nose, d. Barrie Kosky (Royal Opera House)
Saariaho: L'amour de loin, d. Robert Lepage (Metropolitan Opera)
Verdi: Giovanna d'Arco, d. Saskia Boddekke & Peter Greenaway (Teatro Regio di Parma)
NEWCOMER
Polly Graham (Director)
Oksana Lyniv (Conductor)
Simon Stone (Director)
Lorenzo Viotti (Conductor)
Matthew Waldren (Conductor)
Lloyd Wood (Director)
OPERA COMPANY
Oper Stuttgart
Opéra de Lyon
Opera Vlaanderen
Royal Opera House
Teatro alla Scala
READERS' AWARD
Piotr Becza?a
Renée Fleming
Juan Diego Flórez
El?na Garan?a
RECORDING (COMPLETE OPERA)
Die Walküre (Naxos)
Pique Dame (BR Klassik)
Zazà (Opera Rara)
Einstein on the Beach (Opus Arte)
La forza del destino (Sony)
Lulu (Nonesuch)
RECORDING (SOLO RECITAL)
Lawrence Brownlee: Allegro io son (Delos)
Allan Clayton: Where'er You Walk (Signum Classics)
Marianne Crébassa: Oh, Boy! (Erato)
Sabine Devieilhe: The Weber Sisters (Erato)
Pumeza Matshikiza: Arias (Decca)
Pretty Yende: A Journey (Sony)
REDISCOVERED WORK
Casella: La donna serpente (Teatro Regio di Torino)
Cesti: Le nozze in sogno (Innsbrucken Festwochen der Alten Musik)
Donizetti: Olivo e Pasquale (Donizetti Opera Festival, Bergamo)
Giordano: La cena delle beffe (Teatro alla Scala)
Straus: Die Perlen der Cleopatra (Komische Oper)
?ele?ski: Goplana (Polish National Opera)
WORLD PREMIERE
Thomas Adès: The Exterminating Angel (Salzburg Festival)
Elena Langer: Figaro Gets a Divorce (Welsh National Opera)
Missy Mazzoli: Breaking the Waves (Opera Philadelphia)
Anno Schreier: Hamlet (Theater an der Wien)
Bright Sheng: Dream of the Red Chamber (San Francisco Opera)
Miroslav Srnka: South Pole (Bayerische Staatsoper)
YOUNG SINGER
Louise Alder
J'Nai Bridges
Björn Bürger
Lise Davidsen
Jennifer France
Julie Fuchs
Sam Furness
Levy Segkapane
David Shipley
Long Zhang
2017 Jury
John Allison (chair)
Editor, Opera; critic, Daily Telegraph
David Agler
Artistic Director, Wexford Festival Opera
Aviel Cahn
Intendant, Opera Vlaanderen
Hugh Canning
Chief music critic, Sunday Times; member of Opera's editorial board
Rupert Christiansen
Opera critic, Daily Telegraph; member of Opera's editorial board
James Clutton
Director of Opera,Opera Holland Park
Serge Dorny
General Director, Opéra de Lyon
Neil Fisher
Deputy Arts Editor, The Times
Francisco José Folch
Critic, El Mercurio
Anthony Freud
General Director, President & CEO, Lyric Opera of Chicago
Deborah Jones
Sydney correspondent, Opera; national dance critic, The Australian
Joanna C. Lee
Contributor, Opera; columnist Opera (China)
Njabulo Madlala
Baritone
Hein Mulders
Intendant, Philharmonie Essen, Aalto-Musiktheater & Essener Philharmoniker
Nicholas Payne
Director, Opera Europa
Gerhard Persché
Correspondent, Opera, Opernwelt & Fono Forum
Christina Scheppelmann
Artistic Director General, Gran Teatre del Liceu
Matthew Shilvock
General Director, San Francisco Opera
Ken Smith
Critic, The Financial Times; columnist, Opera (China); commentator, RTHK Radio 4
Victoria Stapells
Contributor, Opera & Opera Canada.
Birgitta Svenden
CEO & Artistic Director, Royal Swedish Opera
Notes to Editors
Mazars
Mazars is an international, integrated and independent organisation, specialising in audit, accountancy, advisory, tax and legal services. As of January 1st, 2017, Mazars operates throughout the 79 countries that make up its integrated partnership. Mazars draws upon the expertise of 18,000 women and men led by 950 partners. We assist clients of all sizes, from SMEs to mid-caps and global players as well as start-ups and public organisations, at every stage of their development. In the UK, Mazars has approximately 140 partners and over 1,700 employees serving clients from 19 offices, and is ranked one of the top 10 firms nationally.
BBC Radio 3
Since it launched in 1946, the Third Programme/BBC Radio 3 has been a bold pioneer in the cultural world. It is one of the world's foremost presenters, creators, commissioners and curators across classical, opera, folk, world, jazz and contemporary music as well as drama, philosophy and ideas. The station is also the most significant commissioner of new and contemporary music in the UK, with 35 new works commissioned annually and broadcasts over 600 concerts a year, including live broadcasts from the greatest classical music festival in the world (BBC Proms) and a regular weekly commitment to international opera in Opera on 3. Radio 3's In Concert programme alone reaches the equivalent of 250 packed concert halls a week, and the BBC Orchestras and Choirs give around 400 concerts a year in over 60 UK locations. The station has always nurtured extraordinary artistic talents, provided a platform for important scientific and political debates/announcements, and broadcast ground-breaking experimental drama - always while delivering its core aim of connecting audiences with pioneering music and culture.
Opera Magazine
Described by the Daily Telegraph as 'the bible of the industry', Opera magazine has been the world's leading commentator on the Lyric Stage for over 65 years. Providing coverage of operatic events through a mixture of features, reviews (live performances, recordings, books) and analysis, plus monthly listings of events worldwide and its famous 'We hear that' section, the magazine has an unrivalled network of international correspondents, covering performances from around the globe.
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