The International Opera Awards Reveals Shortlist

The International Opera Awards has announced the shortlist for this year’s Awards. Finalists for this year’s Awards represent more than 25 countries from five continents, showcasing the truly international spirit of opera.

Founded by philanthropist Harry Hyman in 2012, the Awards honour exceptional operatic talent from across the globe and celebrate the diverse and collaborative nature of art form. Funds from the event support the Opera Awards Foundation, which provides bursaries for emerging operatic talent worldwide.

The shortlist spans the world’s leading artists, companies, and productions, from conductors Alain Altinoglu, Edward Gardner and Susanna Mälkki to singers including Elsa Dreisig, Véronique Gens, Asmik Grigorian, Sondra Radvanovsky, Reinoud van Mechelen, Huw Montague Rendall and more. Festivals from Innsbruck to St Louis are recognised, alongside houses such as La Scala, Houston Grand Opera and Opernhaus Zürich. New productions in contention range from La Forza del Destino in Athens, Castor et Pollux in Paris to Salome at the Met, while the World Premiere category highlights work from Tokyo, Berlin, Amsterdam and beyond.

The full shortlist can be found on the International Opera Awards website.

Winners will be revealed on 13 November at a glamorous ceremony taking place for the first time by the Greek National Opera in Athens, at the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. Made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach, the star-studded evening is once again presented by the BBC’s Petroc Trelawny. The evening features live performances from renowned international opera stars with the Orchestra, Ballet, Chorus and Children’s Chorus of the Greek National Opera under the baton of Konstantinos Terzakis. The event is streamed live for free on OperaVision.

For the first time the International Opera Awards introduces a Musical Theatre category, reflecting how opera companies are embracing major works of the genre. Works such as Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, Sunday in the Park with George, and West Side Story share opera’s scale, vocal demands, and cultural impact, and their inclusion celebrates these 20th-century masterpieces alongside the operatic canon.

The shortlist was curated by an esteemed international jury of opera critics, administrators and performers, chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera Magazine with Opera News, the Founding Media Partner of the Awards.

Voting opens today for the Readers’ Award – Opera Magazine with Opera News, the only International Opera Awards category decided by the public. Finalists for this are truly global: from Mongolia comes baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat, while Latvia offers both mezzo Elīna Garanča and soprano Marina Rebeka. They are joined by Canadian mezzo Wallis Giunta, Poland’s star countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński, British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso, American soprano Nadine Sierra, and Ukrainian-born tenor Bogdan Volkov.
Voting is open until midnight (GMT) on Monday 13 October exclusively on the International Opera Awards website.

Special awards for Leadership, Philanthropy and Lifetime Achievement will also be announced at the awards ceremony.

Winners will receive a lasting and meaningful new emblem of the Awards thanks to Greek National Opera, which has commissioned new trophies that draw on the richness of Greece’s cultural heritage. The design is based on a striking Early Bronze Age artefact found in the Cyclades depicting an elegant, violin-shaped figurine. Produced in collaboration with the Museum of Cycladic Art, where original figurines are displayed, each replica will be crafted in marble and mounted with a customised plaque for the International Opera Awards.

Further details of the performances will be announced in due course. 

John Allison, Chair of the Jury, said, “Curating this year’s shortlist was both a challenge and a joy, as opera continues to flourish in every corner of the globe. From major houses and festivals to individual singers, conductors, and new productions, the sheer variety represented reflects opera’s vitality and resilience. We are especially excited this year to recognise musical theatre alongside opera, highlighting the shared artistry and ambition of these great works.”

Harry Hyman, Founder of the International Opera Awards, said, “Since launching the Awards in 2012, my vision has been to celebrate opera as a global art form and to support the next generation of talent through the Opera Awards Foundation. This year’s shortlist reflects the extraordinary creativity and breadth of achievement in our field, and I’m delighted we can celebrate this in partnership with the GNO. My thanks go to them and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for welcoming us to Athens and helping us share this celebration with audiences worldwide.” 

Giorgos Koumendakis. Artistic director of the GNO, said, “It is a great pleasure and honor for the Greek National Opera to host the International Opera Awards ceremony in Athens for the first time this coming November. This year’s nominations highlight the great potential of the world of opera on a global scale, at a time when the arts are faced with significant challenges. At the same time, they bring to the spotlight creators, performers, creative teams, and opera houses distinguished for their consistency, inspiration, and creativity. Our joy is even greater, seeing that the GNO’s production of La forza del destino, which thrilled audiences and critics alike, is also on the shortlist for Best Production of the Year.”

Tickets for the Awards ceremony are available via the Greek National Opera website ticketservices.gr.