Plácido Domingo's Operalia, The World Opera Competition is an annual international competition for

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 librett ...

singers. Founded in 1993 by

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

, the competition's varied prizes have been given to known artists such as

Joseph Calleja Joseph Calleja (born January 22, 1978) is a Maltese operatic tenor. Early life and career Calleja was born in Attard, Malta. He began singing at the age of 16, having been discovered by tenor Brian Cefai and continued his studies with Maltese ...

Rolando Villazón Rolando Villazón Mauleón (born 22 February 1972) is a Mexican operatic tenor, stage director, author, radio and television personality and artistic director. He now lives in France, and in 2007 became a French citizen. Villazón has published ...

José Cura José Luis Victor Cura Gómez (born 5 December 1962) is an Argentine operatic tenor, conductor, director, scenographer and photographer known for intense and original interpretations of opera characters, notably ''Otello'' in Verdi’s ''Otello' ...

Joyce DiDonato Joyce DiDonato (née Flaherty; born February 13, 1969) is an American lyric-coloratura mezzo-soprano. She is notable for her interpretations of operas and concert works in the 19th-century romantic era in addition to works by Handel and Mozart. ...

Elizabeth Futral Susan Elizabeth Futral (born September 27, 1963 in Johnston County, North Carolina) is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim (as both singer and actress) throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan. ...

Nina Stemme Nina Maria Stemme (born Nina Maria Thöldte on 11 May 1963) is a Swedish dramatic soprano opera singer. Stemme "is regarded by today's opera fans as our era's greatest Wagnerian soprano". In 2010, Michael Kimmelman wrote of one of Stemme's perf ...

Erwin Schrott Erwin Schrott (born 21 December 1972 in Montevideo, Uruguay) is an operatic bass-baritone, particularly known for his interpretation of the Title role in Mozart's ''Don Giovanni''. Career Schrott studied singing with Franca Mattiucci. He made his ...

Sonya Yoncheva Sonya Yoncheva ( bg, Соня Йончева; born 25 December 1981) is a Bulgarian operatic soprano. Early life Yoncheva was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. From the age of 6, she was "working", according to her own words from an interview for ''Me ...

and

Lise Davidsen Lise Davidsen (born 8 February 1987 in Stokke) is a Norwegian opera singer. She came to prominence after winning the Operalia competition in London in 2015, and is known as a lyric dramatic soprano. Career Lise Davidsen was born in 1987 in S ...

.''

Opera News ''Opera News'' is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to engender the appreciation of opera and also support ...

''
"Norwegian Soprano Lise Davidsen and Romanian tenor Ioan Hotea Win Top Prizes in Plácido Domingo's Operalia Competition in London"
Retrieved 21 July 2015.Christansen, Rupert (20 July 2015)

''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

''. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

Overview

The competition's parent organization, Operalia Foundation, is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

, with postal address in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

. The competition itself takes place in different cities each year. Cities which have hosted the competition include Paris at both the

Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

and

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...

, Mexico City in one of the Televisa Recording Studios, Madrid at the

Teatro de la Zarzuela The Teatro de la Zarzuela is a theatre in Madrid, Spain. The theatre is today mainly devoted to zarzuela (the Spanish traditional musical theatre genre), as well as operetta and recitals. History The theatre was designed by architect Jerónimo ...

, Bordeaux at the Grand Théâtre, Tokyo at the , Hamburg at the

Laeiszhalle The Laeiszhalle (), formerly Musikhalle Hamburg, is a concert hall in the Neustadt of Hamburg, Germany and home to the Hamburger Symphoniker and the Philharmoniker Hamburg. The hall is named after the German shipowning company F. Laeisz, foun ...

, Puerto Rico at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center, Los Angeles at both

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Royce Hall Royce Hall is a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Designed by the Los Angeles firm of Allison & Allison (James Edward Allison, 1870–1955, and his brother David Clark Allison, 1881–1962) and completed ...

and the

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center, which is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt ...

, Washington, D.C. at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

Lisner Auditorium Lisner Auditorium is a performance venue sited on the Foggy Bottom campus of The George Washington University, at 730 21st Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. Named for Abram Lisner (1852-1938), a university trustee and benefactor whose will provide ...

, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, Madrid at the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace of Madrid, Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing a ...

, Valencia at the

Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (; es, Palacio de las Artes Reina Sofía; anglicised as "Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts") is an opera house, performing arts centre, and urban landmark designed by Santiago Calatrava to anchor the northwest end of ...

, Québec at the and

Grand Théâtre de Québec The Grand Théâtre de Québec is a performing arts complex in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was conceived to commemorate the Canadian Centennial of 1967 and the Quebec Conference, 1864, one of the key meetings leading to the Canadian Confedera ...

, Astana at Astana Opera, Lisbon at the

Teatro Nacional de São Carlos The ''Teatro Nacional de São Carlos'' () (''National Theatre of Saint Charles'') is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on June 30, 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 Li ...

and Prague at the National Theatre.

Rules

The competition is open to singers of all

voice type A voice type is a group of voices with similar vocal ranges, capable of singing in a similar tessitura, and with similar vocal transition points ('' passaggi''). Voice classification is most strongly associated with European classical music, t ...

s between the ages of 18 and 32 who are already performing professionally. Applicants are required to submit two recent video recordings of them singing with piano or live orchestra. Based on these submissions, 40 singers get selected for the competition. According to Operalia, the organization receives 800 to 1.000 submissions each year, other sources speak of "hundreds" of applications. The jury is presided over by Domingo, although he himself does not judge the competition. Among jury members are Domingo's wife

Marta Domingo Marta Domingo (née Ornelas, born 1935) is a Mexican opera soprano, stage director and designer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she performed as a lyric soprano in Mexico and Israel. Since the 1990s, she has directed operas in Europe and North America. Sh ...

, singers, opera directors, casting directors, artistic directors and consultants of renowned opera houses. Competitors must prepare four

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

s. Two additional zarzuela arias are required for the optional

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

competition. In the first round each of the 40 singers gets to choose one aria they want to sing, the jury selects a second aria and the zarzuela aria from the contestant's list. Twenty singers are eliminated in the first round. The second round involves the performance of one aria chosen by the jury, after which ten singers proceed to the final round. For the final round, singers choose one aria and one zarzuela from their list. While the jury deliberates the numerous winners, the audience votes for their favorite female and male singers. The final round is performed with orchestra, quarter and semi finals are with piano

accompaniment Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles ...

Prizes

In the general competition 1st prize, 2nd prize, and 3rd prize are awarded. Winners of the zarzuela competition receive the

Plácido Domingo Ferrer Plácido Domingo Ferrer (8 March 1907 – 22 November 1987
''The New York Times'' (AP), 26 November 1987.) was a

Prize or Pepita Embil Prize, named after Domingo's parents. The audience prize is a wristwatch by the competition's main sponsor. The

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

based nonprofit organization ''CulturArte de Puerto Rico'' is sponsoring the CulturArte Prize. Performers of German repertoire by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

can receive the

Birgit Nilsson Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide répertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner a ...

Prize. Prizes can be shared, in the past by up to 4 singers for one prize. It is also possible for a singer to receive several awards. Up to 17 prizes have been awarded in a single year. Since 2017, finalists who didn't win a prize receive an Encouragement Award.

Chances of winning

In the 27 competitions from 1993 to 2019, 219 singers received prizes. 151 received one prize, 52 two, 15 three, and one singer received four prizes at the Lisbon competition in 2018. The most prizes had been awarded at the competition in 2009, with 17 prizes for 10 singers. Without counting the Encouragement Award, one out of five singers received a prize.

List of winners

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Opera Arts organizations established in 1993 Annual events 1993 establishments in California