FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR INTERNATIONAL OPERA AWARDS 2025

Winners to be revealed at a prestigious ceremony on 13 November, hosted by Greek National Opera in Athens, Greece
Voting for the Readers’ Award – the only category decided by the public – opens today
Event to feature live performances from stars of the opera world with the Orchestra and Chorus of Greek National Opera, conducted by Konstantinos Terzakis
The ceremony, presented by regular host Petroc Trelawny, will be live streamed for free on OperaVision
OperaAwards2025

The International Opera Awards today [18 September 2025] announces the shortlist for this year’s Awards.
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.
Finalists for this year’s Awards represent more than 25 countries from five continents, showcasing the truly international spirit of opera.
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 below and 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.

Conductor
Alain Altinoglu
Edward Gardner
Karen Kamensek
Susanna Mälkki
Kent Nagano
Giacomo Sagripanti 

Designer
Ben Baur
Paolo Fantin
Erhard Rom
Rainer Sellmaier
Leslie Travers
takis

 Director
Calixto Bieito
Valentina Carrasco
Johannes Erath
Claus Guth
Andreas Homoki
Jetske Mijnssen

Equal Opportunities
Dallas Opera: Hart Institute for Women Conductors
Denyce Graves Foundation
Minnesota Opera
Opera sin fronteras
Pegasus Opera
Vache Baroque

Female Singer
Anastasia Bartoli
Elsa Dreisig
Véronique Gens
Asmik Grigorian
Sondra Radvanovsky
Adela Zaharia 

Festival
Innsbruck Festival of Early Music
Janáček Brno Festival
Munich Opera Festival
Opera Forward Festival
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Rossini Opera Festival 

Male Singer
Nicholas Brownlee
Solomon Howard
Mika Kares
Huw Montague Rendall
Brindley Sherratt
Reinoud van Mechelen 

Musical Theatre
Fiddler on the Roof (Cincinnati Opera)
Gypsy (Philharmonie de Paris)
Love Life (Opera North)
Rent (The Atlanta Opera)
Sunday in the Park with George (Glimmerglass Festival)
West Side Story (Opera di Roma/Caracalla Festival) 

New Production
Castor et Pollux (Opéra national de Paris/Peter Sellars)
The Excursions of Mr Brouček (National Theatre Brno & Staatsoper Berlin/Robert Carsen)
La forza del destino (Greek National Opera/Rodula Gaitanou)
Innocence (Semperoper/Lorenzo Fiorini)
Khovanshchina (Salzburg Easter Festival/Simon McBurney)
Louise (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence/Christof Loy)
Salome (Metropolitan Opera/Claus Guth)
Wozzeck (Opera Ballet Vlaanderen/Johan Simons) 

Opera Company
Deutsche Oper Berlin
GöteborgsOperan
Houston Grand Opera
MusikTheater an der Wien
Opernhaus Zürich
Teatro alla Scala 

Readers’ Award – Opera Magazine with Opera News
Amartuvshin Enkhbat
Freddie De Tommaso
Elīna Garanča
Wallis Giunta
Jakub Jozef Orliński
Marina Rebeka
Nadine Sierra
Bogdan Volkov

Recording: Complete Opera
Bizet: Carmen (Bru Zane, DVD)
Lully: Atys (Château de Versailles Spectacles, CD & DVD)
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (Erato, CD)
Ruo: An American Soldier (Platoon, CD)
Strauss: Salome (Chandos, CD)
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (Naxos, DVD)
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (1857 version) (Opera Rara, CD)
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (Accentus, DVD)

Recording: Solo Recital
Eleonora Buratto: Indomita (Pentatone)
Rosa Feola: Son regina e sono amante (Pentatone)
Amanda Forsythe: Ino – Telemann arias for soprano (CPO)
Ann Hallenberg: Gluck Arias (Signum)
Roberta Mameli: The Ghosts of Hamlet (Arcana)
Huw Montague Rendall: Contemplation (Warner Classics)
Lisette Oropesa: Mis amores son las flores (EuroArts)
Eva Zaïcik: Rebelle: (Alpha) 

Rediscovered Work
Boccherini: Doña Clementina (Opera Southwest)
Galuppi: L’uomo femina (Opéra de Dijon)
Lemoyne: Phèdre (Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe)
Moore: Giants in the Earth (South Dakota Symphony Orchestra)
Porpora: Ifigenia in Aulide (Bayreuth Baroque)
Steffani: Orlando generoso (Musikfestspiele Potsdam)
Strauss: Waldmeister (Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz)
Traetta: Ifigenia in Tauride (Innsbruck Festival of Early Music) 

Rising Star
Adèle Charvet (mezzo-soprano)
Hugh Cutting (countertenor)
Kerem Hasan (conductor)
Deepa Johnny (mezzo-soprano)
Kenza Koutchoukali (director)
Carolina López Moreno (soprano)
Niamh O’Sullivan (mezzo-soprano)
Carles Pachón (baritone)
Sun-Ly Pierce (mezzo-soprano)
Ricardo José Rivera (baritone)

Sustainability
Longborough Festival Opera
Oper Leipzig
Oper Wuppertal
Santa Fe Opera
Teatro Real, Madrid
Volksoper Wien

World Premiere
Cánovas/Iglesias: Don Juan no existe (Festival Perelada/Teatro Maestranza/Teatros del Canal (Madrid) / Teatro Real)
Filidei/Busellato: Il nome della rosa (Teatro alla Scala/Opéra national de Paris)
Gordon/Nottage/Gerber: This House (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis)
Hosokawa/Tawada: Natasha (New National Theatre Tokyo)
Milch-Sheriff/Ricklin: Alma (Volksoper Wien)
Prestini/Vavrek: Silent Light (National Sawdust)
Saunders/Atkins: Lash – Acts of Love (Deutsche Oper Berlin)
Turnage/Hall: Festen (The Royal Opera)
Venables/Huffman/Segal: We Are the Lucky Ones (Dutch National Opera)
Walshe/O’Connell: MARS (Irish National Opera)

Lead Donor of the GNO & Production donor
Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)