Operalia 2016 is hosted by the Ministry of Culture of Mexico, the Cultural Secretary of the State of Jalisco, the sovereign State of Jalisco and the legendary Teatro Degollado in the city of Guadalajara, which this year celebrates its 150th anniversary.
The Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra will accompany the Finals Concert conducted by Maestro Plácido Domingo on Sunday July 24th, 6pm.
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico; July 21st, 2016.- After two days of quarter-finals, Operalia, the international Opera competition founded by Plácido Domingo, announces twenty-eight semi-finalists.
Australia/China
Wang Kang, tenor
Canada
Claire De Sévigné, soprano
Aviva Fortunata, soprano
France
Benjamin Bernheim, tenor
Elsa Dreisig, soprano
Italy / United States
Marina Costa-Jackson, soprano
Kosovo
RameLahaj, tenor
Mexico
Anabel de la Mora, soprano
Juan Carlos Heredia, baritone
Fabián Lara, tenor
Poland
Marcelina Beucher, soprano
Russia
Alexey Neklyudov, tenor
Petr Sokolov, baritone
Elena Stikhina, soprano
Bogdan Volkov, tenor
Olga Zharikova, soprano
South Africa
Bongiwe Nakani, mezzo-soprano
South Korea
Sol Jin, baritone
Keonwoo Kim, tenor
Sehoon Moon, tenor
Sweden
Hanna Husáhr, soprano
Ucrania
Olga Kulchynska, soprano
USA
J’nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Brownlee, bass-baritone
Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-soprano
AJ Glueckert, tenor
Kangmin Justin Kim, countertenor
Brenton Ryan, tenor
Founded in 1993 to discover and help launch the careers of the most promising young opera singers of today, Operalia attracts singers of all voice types from every country in the world ranging from 18 to 32 years of age, to be heard by a panel of some of the most influential empresarios in the international Opera industry.
The competition gathered forty singers from sixteen countries, out of nearly 700 applicants from around the world. During the first qualifying round, contestants performed two arias of their choice, out of which twenty participants were selected to continue on to the semi-finals, where they sing one aria chosen by the jury and – if the are competing in the Zarzuela category – one Zarzuela aria as well. From the twenty semi-finalists, ten singers are chosen for the Final Round.
Opera experts such as Jonathan Friend, Peter Katona and Joan Matabosch, Artistic Administrator of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Casting Director of the Royal Opera House in London, and the Artistic Director of the Teatro Real in Madrid, respectively, are three of the ten members of the jury this year.
The Finals Concert will be held at the Teatro Degollado on Sunday, July 24th, accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Jalisco conducted by Maestro Plácido Domingo himself.
Rolex is proud to present Operalia, the World Opera Competition, for the 15th consecutive year, perpetuating its commitment to the arts. Plácido Domingo has been a Rolex Testimonee since 1982, and Rolex is delighted to extend its support to the exceptionally gifted young performers who share its quest for excellence and perfection.
Please visit our website for more information at http://www.operaliacompetition.org
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Media Contact
Ink PR, Mexico City
T +52 (55) 5207-3330
Carla Gavito, carla@inkpr.com.mx
Miguel Alcántara, miguel@inkpr.com.mx
Jury members, Operalia 2016
Marta Domingo
Stage Director
F. Paul Driscoll
Editor in Chief, Opera News
Anthony Freud
General Director, Lyric Opera of Chicago, USA
Jonathan Friend
Artistic Administrator, The Metropolitan Opera, New York, USA
Jean-Louis Grinda
General Director, Opéra de Monte Carlo, Monaco
General Director, Chorégies d’Orange, France
Peter Katona
Casting Director, Royal Opera House, London, United Kingdom
Joan Matabosch
Artistic Director, Teatro Real, Madrid, Spain
Marco Parisotto
Music Director, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, Mexico
Music Director, Ontario Philharmonic, Canada
Andrés Rodriguez
Artistic Consultant
Ilias Tzempetonidis
Casting Director, Opéra National de Paris, France