The International Opera Awards is an annual awards ceremony honouring excellence in opera around the world.

Origins

The International Opera Awards was founded in 2013 by Harry Hyman, a UK businessman, philanthropist and supporter of opera, and John Allison, Editor of ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

'' Magazine. The aim of the event is to celebrate excellence in opera and to raise the profile of opera as an artform internationally.

Award categories

Awards are given in approximately 20 categories each year. Nominations for all categories are open to the general public, who submit their choices via an online form. Long lists generated by this process are subsequently considered by a jury of opera critics and administrators, who announce shortlists ahead of the ceremony. Winners are determined by secret ballot, with the exception of the ''Opera'' Magazine Readers' Award, which is decided by public vote.

Ceremony

The inaugural international Opera Awards were held in London at The Hilton Hotel on Monday 22 April 2013. Subsequent ceremonies have taken place each year in April or May. In 2015 the Awards switched from a dinner format to a theatre show, featuring performances by past winners, finalists and other prominent operatic performers. The 2015 and 2016 ceremonies took place at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...

in London. Since 2017 the ceremony has been held at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

and Sadler's Wells Theatre, with Orpheus Sinfonia as the orchestra of the Awards. The host of the Awards for the past two years has been the BBC Radio 3 presenter

Petroc Trelawny James Edward Petroc Trelawny (born 27 May 1971) is a British classical music radio and television broadcaster. Since 1998 he has been a presenter on BBC Radio 3. Career James Edward Petroc Trelawny was born in Worcester and grew up in the Mene ...

. The director has been

Ella Marchment Ella Marchment (born 30 May 1992) is a British opera director, artistic director, and an associate professor. She is a co-founder of the campaign charity SWAP'ra, Supporting Women and Parents in Opera, and the artistic director of Opera Festiva ...

Charitable aims

The Awards raise money for The Opera Awards Foundation, a charity which awards bursaries to aspiring operatic artists in financial need. Recipients include singers, conductors, accompanists, directors and ensembles. Applications are accepted annually and are open to artists in any country.

Award winners

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:International Opera Awards 2013 establishments in the United Kingdom Opera in the United Kingdom Classical music awards Awards established in 2013