PLÁCIDO DOMINGO’S OPERALIA, the World Opera Competition 2012, took place at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, NCPA in Beijing in June. Awards went to Italian, Chinese, Mongolian, Russian and American singers.

Beijing 2012 –Next generation opera stars

 “Operalia is like the Olympic games for the opera: singers from all over the world compete to get to the finals and to win. The enthusiasm and the joy of life of this new lymph and blood showed that opera will live forever and never die.”

Plácido Domingo

The 20th edition of Operalia was full of surprises, two ex–equo prizes, several announcements and a level that makes this competition unique in the world:

•  The Culturarte Prize US$10,000, offered by Guillermo and Bertita Martínez, went to the Italian tenor Antonio Poli 26


• The Don Plácido Domingo, Sr., Zarzuela Prize US$10,000 went to the Chinese baritone Yunpeng Wang, 24


• The Pepita Embil Domingo Zarzuela Prize US$10,000, went to the American soprano Janai Brugger, 29


• Two Third Prizes* US$10,000 each, to the Russian baritone Roman Burdenko 28 and to the Russian mezzo-soprano Nadezhda Karyazina, 25


• Two Second Prizes* US$20,000 each, for the male award ex-equo to the American tenor Brian Jagde, 32 and the Chinese barton Yunpeng Wang, 24 and to the Chinese soprano Guanqun Yu, 29


• Two First Prizes* US$30,000 each,  for the male award ex-equo  to the American countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, 30 and to the Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin, 26 and to the American soprano Janai Brugger, 29


• Two Audience Prizes* Watches offered by Rolex to the American soprano Janai Brugger, 29 and to Chinese baritone Yunpeng Wang, 24


• As far as the two Birgit Nilsson Prizes (Wagner-Strauss repertoire)* US$15,000 each are concerned, only the male one was assigned to the American tenor Brian Jagde, 32

Helga Schmidt, Director of Palau de les Arts, Valencia in Spain offered the main female role in Due Foscari by Giuseppe Verdi (Lucrezia) to the Chinese soprano Guanqun Yu, who will perform this title in January 2013 in Valencia, together with Plácido Domingo, in the year that celebrates the 200 years of Giuseppe Verdi.

Plácido Domingo officially announced that in 2013, the 21^st edition of Operalia will take place in Verona, in the year that celebrates the 100 years of the famous Festival at the Arena of Verona (Operalia 19 – 25 August 2013).

The President of NCPA Chen Ping asked Plácido Domingo to start in Beijing a new program for young singers, similar to the The Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program in Los Angeles, the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program in Washington DC or the Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, further details will be discussed very soon with NCPA.