The Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition was established in 1969 to assist the careers of aspiring opera singers and has become one of the most prestigious national contests for young singers. Before a distinguished judging panel of experts from the opera world, an ever growing field of increasingly accomplished finalists competes for cash awards of over $85,000 in total prize money.
Over 300 singers from the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico, along with foreign nationals studying in the US, applied to the vocal competition in 2009. 45 singers were selected for the Advanced Division Semi-Finals (ages 24-30), and 25 singers competed in the Junior Division Semi-Finals (ages 18-23). The jury selected a total of 14 artists for the Grand Finals.
Many past winners in the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition have gone on to illustrious international careers in the opera world performing at various institutions like the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opéra Bastille, San Francisco Opera, La Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vienna State Opera, New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, etc.
Past winners include: Kate Aldrich, Nicole Cabell, Vivica Genaux, Eglise Gutierrez, Brian Hymel, Sandra Lopez, Lucas Meachem, Latonia Moore, Brian Mulligan, Andrew Oakden, Eric Owens, Leah Partridge, Ailyn Pérez, Dean Peterson, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Christopher Schaldenbrand, Michael Todd Simpson, Wayne Tigges, Gregory Turay, Alfred Walker, Peter Volpe.
Jury members of recent seasons have included Matthew Horner, Sabino Lenoci, Evans Mirageas, Tom Muraco, Lenore Rosenberg, Renata Scotto, Diana Soviero, Dona Vaughn, and Diane Zola.
The 2008 – 2009 Palm Beach Opera season featured several past prize winners. Among them were Jennifer Check, Layla Claire, Wendy Bryn Harmer, Susan Jean Hellman, Timothy Kuhn, and Grigory Soloviov.
For a detailed list of Past Winners, click here.
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