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 History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'' 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 ...

in London. From 2017 to 2019 the ceremony was held at the

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

and

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

, with Orpheus Sinfonia as the orchestra of the Awards. In 2022 the ceremony was held at the

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

in Madrid. This was the first time the ceremony has been held outside the UK and the first in person since 2019, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The 2023 Opera Awards took place at the Teatr Wielki, home to the Polish National Opera. The host of the Awards for the past two years has been the

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

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 Meneag ...

. 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 Festiv ...

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