Talent converges at Queen Sonja Int'l Music Competition

The Queen Sonja International Music Competition is one of the world's most established and respected international singing competitions.

The stunning Royal Opera House, rising out of the Oslofjord with its shimmering white marble façade, was radiant with music and song this August as some of the world's most outstanding young singers gathered to perform at the Queen Sonja International Music Festival, now in its 25th year.

In the presence of Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway, patron of the festival, singers from 24 nations, including Mongolia, the United States, South Korea, Australia, and Norway competed for prestigious prizes. The participants in the competition are primarily newly trained singers at the beginning of their careers in opera and classical music. Each festival attracts between 150 and 200 applications from singers around the world.

This year's first prize was awarded to soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan. In 2004, Mkhitaryan graduated from the Galina Vishnevskaya Theatre Studio in Moscow, and has done further studies in the Russian Gnesin Academy of Music. She has toured and performed with several companies, and is a member of the Young Artist Programme of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. In May 2013, Mikhitaryan made her debut in Bolshoi as Ksenya in Boris Godunov by Musorgsky.

Semi-annual competition

Held every other year, The Queen Sonja International Music Competition has firmly established itself as a revered tradition for concert audiences and TV viewers. The competition has helped many talented young singers launch their careers on to the international limelight as they receive monetary awards, secure prestigious performing engagements in Norway, and receive an item of artwork signed by Her Majesty.

The competition is run as a foundation and is jointly organised by the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, the Norwegian Academy of Music, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, with its jury comprised of internationally renowned opera singers and administrators.

Article courtesy of Jamaque Magazine.