Operalia, The World Opera Competition

Overview

Operalia is based in Paris but hosts its competition in a different city each year. Cities which have hosted the competition include Paris at both the Palais Garnier and Théâtre du Châtelet, Mexico City at the Televisa Recording Studios, Madrid at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, Bordeaux at the Grand Théâtre, Tokyo at the Kan-I Hoken Hall, Hamburg at the Laeiszhalle, Puerto Rico at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center, Los Angeles at both UCLA's Royce Hall and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Washington, D.C. at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium, the Lake Constance region in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, Madrid at the Teatro Real, Valencia at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, and Québec at the Palais Montcalm and Grand Théâtre de Québec.

The competition is open to singers between the ages of 18 and 32 who are already performing at a highly skilled level. All voice types of both sexes are able to compete. Participants in the competition are selected by audition through a submitted recording to Operalia. A panel of three judges listens and evaluates the audition tapes. Only the top 40 submissions are invited to compete in the competition. Typically the organization receives 800 to 1,000 submissions each year, making entry into the competition alone an honor.

The competition is presided over every year by Plácido Domingo, although he himself does not judge the competition. A jury of 10 opera directors from important opera houses all over the world is assembled to judge the competition. Competitors must prepare 4 arias for the competition which consists of four rounds. In the first round each singer gets to choose one aria they want to sing and then the jury selects the other aria from their list of four for them to perform. Singers can also compete in a separate zarzuela competition. If they choose to do so they would perform an additional zarzuela piece in each round. Of the 40 singers, half of them are eliminated in the first round. The second round involves the performance of one more aria, after which only 10 singers move on to the next round. Likewise, the third round eliminates half of the singers, leaving only five participants in the final round. The first three rounds are performed with piano accompaniment and the final round is sung with a symphonic orchestra conducted by Plácido Domingo. Eleven singers make it into the final round of the general opera competition with five singers named as finalists in the zarzuela competition.

The competition has a total of 10 prizes which total up to 175,000 US dollars. In the general competition 1st prize, 2nd prize, and 3rd prize are awarded, one of each to both sexes, making a total of 6 prizes. Within the zarzuela competition two prizes are awarded, one to a male singer and one to a female singer. These prizes are named in honor of Domingo's parents, Plácido Domingo Ferrer and Pepita Embil, both of whom were popular zarzuela singers. There is also a prize awarded by the audience of the final competition to one female singer and one male singer, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize for performance in the German repertoire of Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner. It is possible for a singer to win more than one award. More important than the money received by the prize is the recognition and career boost given by the competition. It is normal for the opera directors judging the competition to engage competition winners for future opera performances with their companies, or for them to connect artists with other opera directors.