The Paris Opera Awards (POA) is an international contest for opera singers held in Paris, France. It is held under the patronage of the French representation at the European Commission.

History

The first edition of POA was launched in March 2012. It allowed 78 opera singers from all over the world to participate. The 50 best results were reviewed by the panel of judges. The ten finalists, five of each gender, auditioned for the judges at the Salle Gaveau in Paris on January 4, 2013. of Radio Classique was the host. The gala was dedicated to

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

Objective

This award is an international competition for opera singers. It aims to help showcase opera singers to the professional opera world and to the Parisian public. The contest is open to all opera singers aged 18 or older. It is open to the following voice types:

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

, contralto,

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

, tenor,

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

, and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

. The winners are chosen by the judges at the finals gala in Paris which is open to the public. The most important prize that the competition confers is the fame that the award confers.

Organization

The contest includes several rounds: preliminary, semi-final and final. Following these events, the awards are chosen by the Grand Jury. The competition is organized annually by the Association POA located at 7, rue Albert-de-Lapparent in Paris in the 7th arrondissement. The contest rules are posted on the website and translated into several languages.

Jury 2013 and 2014

Grand Jury of the Paris Opera Awards 2013

The jury is composed of noted individuals of the music world: opera singers, conductors, directors opera houses and artistic agents. The grand jury for 2013 (first edition) was composed of three renowned artists from the world of opera: Sherrill Milnes, baritone (United States), Martina Arroyo, soprano (United States) and Daniel Lipton, conductor (Canada). After the finals concert they selected six winners, three women and three men. There was also an audience award given and a special prize in honor of Maria Callas was given by the organizers. The panel of judges for the 2014 contest consisted of: *

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...

, (Australian conductor, president of jury) *Martina Franck, (from Germany, artistic director at Cologne Opera) *, (producer, TV and radio host, from France) *Maurice Xiberras, managing director at the Opéra de Marseille (France) *Germinal Hilbert, founder and chairman of Hilbert Artists Management (Germany) *Dominique Riber, artistic chief officer and artists manager at Opéra et Concert in Paris (France) *Christian Schirm, director of The Atelier Lyrique of Opéra national de Paris (France) *Vincent Monteil, director of The Opera Studio at the Opéra national du Rhin (France) *Sophie Duffaut, artistic administrator at

Chorégies d'Orange The ''Chorégies d'Orange'' is a summer opera festival held each August in Orange located about 21 kilometres north of Avignon in southern France. Performances are presented in the ancient Roman theatre, the Théâtre Antique d'Orange, the orig ...

festival (France)

Winners and finalists

2013

Here are the finalists and results from 2013.Mary-Jean O'Doherty
Paris Opera Awards

2014

Here are the finalists and results from 2014.

References

External links

Organisational details
Cité de la Musique {{Portal bar, Opera Opera competitions Music in Paris French music awards 2012 establishments in France Awards established in 2012