International Opera Awards return on Monday 7 April

Opera audiences worldwide stand to benefit from a bold new investment in artistic talent. The International Opera Awards announced its first round of bursaries on 3 October 2013, training the spotlight on eighteen outstanding individuals and providing each with funds to develop significant aspects of their work. The grant allocations flow from the success of the inaugural International Opera Awards sponsored by Sanlam at the London Hilton in April 2013, which helped secure substantial charitable donations for the Opera Awards Foundation. The Awards ceremony, described by the London Evening Standard as classical music's first 'Oscars', exists to connect opera at its best with the broadest possible audience. Opera Awards Foundation bursaries, meanwhile, will help nurture aspiring talent and promote ideals of artistic excellence and creativity throughout the opera community.

Harry Hyman, co-founder of the International Opera Awards and Managing Director of Primary Health Properties PLC, has set an ambitious fundraising target for the annual event's second ceremony at Grosvenor House on Monday 7 April 2014. "We hope to raise a substantial amount more than we did this year at the 2014 Awards to support even more bursaries and assist exceptional talents working in all areas of the opera world," comments Harry Hyman. "Over 100 individuals applied for our first round of bursaries and I am sure that many more will wish to be considered for support next year. The Opera Awards Foundation is there to advance the work of creative individuals at various stages in their careers and promote opera more generally by bringing the art form to the attention of the largest possible audience. The International Opera Awards and the Opera Awards Foundation are about celebrating and encouraging true excellence in this most remarkable of all art forms."

In the process of creating the International Opera Awards, Harry Hyman attracted the support of Opera and its Editor, John Allison. The magazine, opera's monthly journal of record since 1950, recognised the value of the project, enlisted several of its distinguished writers to serve as members of the first Awards' international jury and became the event's media partners. "It's good to turn the spotlight on what motivates us all in the first place: the great performances that make opera the most fascinating and fulfilling of art forms," observes Allison. "This is not something anyone should be shy to talk about, and at a challenging time in the operatic world the Awards are a welcome celebration." Opera magazine, he continues, was delighted when the inaugural Awards raised a substantial sum for the charitable foundation. "Our expectation is that next year's event will boost the funds further. We spend a lot of time in our reviews highlighting new names in opera, and the bursaries are a very tangible way of supporting some of this fine talent."

In addition to celebrating the qualities of excellence and invention in opera, Harry Hyman underlines the importance of promoting accessibility to the art form. The International Opera Awards, he notes, presented its 2013 Accessibility Award to the Metropolitan Opera and is determined to honour innovative schemes that widen access to opera in future years. "As a passionate supporter of opera, I felt that the art form could do more to raise its profile and promote itself to new audiences," Hyman explains. "I saw how other art forms celebrated their outstanding achievements and decided that it was time for opera to have its own awards event. I was delighted when Opera magazine agreed to be involved with the International Opera Awards together with The London Evening Standard and Classic FM as media partners and that our first Awards ceremony attracted 700 guests. Our Patrons, including Plácido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Dame Janet Baker and Sir Thomas Allen, have also been fantastic in giving their support. I believe the International Opera Awards, with the help of our many supporters, will draw public attention to the incredible work that is presented by opera companies around the world and, through the Opera Awards Foundation, can nurture those artists who will sustain the art form's future."

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