Competition Highlights 2023
15 August
39 excited participants registers at Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Following the registration, our singers are invited to a welcoming event, where they draw their order of performances.
All photos: Per Ole Hagen/QSSC
16 August
Opening Ceremony at Oslo City Hall. All participants introduce themselves with their name, voice and nationality. Other guests include our jury members, supporters and other friends of the Competition.
Melissa Zgouridi (mezzo-soprano, Brazil)
Filipe Manu (tenor, New Zealand/Tonga)
Jury members (from the left): Sophie de Lint, Samuel Gelber, Randi Stene, Michael Heaston and Pål Christian Moe.
You may read more about our jury here.
You may explore the photo gallery from the Opening Ceremony here.
17 and 18 August
The Preliminary Round at Oslo National Academy of the Arts. 40 contestants.
Minseok David Kang (bass, South Korea)
Ann-Kathrin Niemczyk (soprano, Germany)
You may explore our participants and their repertoire here.
You may watch the preliminary round here.
You may explore the photo gallery from the preliminary round here.
20 August
The semi-final at Oslo National Academy of the Arts. 12 contestants.
Katerina Burton (soprano, USA)
Felix Gygli, winner of the 2023 Lied Prize (baritone, Switzerland)
You may read more about our semi-finalists here.
You may watch the semi-final here.
You may explore the photo gallery from the semi-final here.
21 August
Panel discussion with jury members and industry executives at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet. Title: Choosing a Career in Opera.
The Opera Academy meets Melissa Wegner, the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and the Laffont Competition.
22 August
Oslo National Academy of the Arts
Performance Training with Pål Christian Moe and semi-finalists.
Career development session with Peter Di-Toro from National Opera Studio, London on Personal Branding as a Career Partner.
Masterclass in stagecraft with Stefan Herheim and two semi-finalists: Felix Gygli and Kevin Jose Simerilla Romero.
23 August
Oslo National Academy of the Arts
Career development session with Ulrike Köstinger on The Virtuoso Marketer: Empowering Opera Singers with Digital Strategies and Personal Branding. Below is Ulrike with the participants and organizers of the Opera Academy.
24 August
Recital at Oscarshall Palace with Liv Redpath (soprano, USA), winner of the 2021 Lied Prize and Sveinung Bjelland, piano.
26 August
Grand Final Concert and Prize-Giving Ceremony with H.M. Queen Sonja at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet. 6 finalists perform two arias each with conductor James Gaffigan and the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra. Presenter: Lise Davidsen (soprano, Norway), First Prize Winner 2015.
The 2023 finalists:
Aksel Daveyan (baritone, Armenia)
Navasard Hakobyan (baritone, Armenia)
Vladyslav Tlushch (baritone, Ukraine)
Rebecka Wallroth (mezzo-soprano, Sweden)
Nils Wanderer (countertenor, Germany)
You may watch the Final Concert here.
You may explore the photo gallery from the Final Concert here.
The 2023 Prize Winners:
First Prize Winner: Jasmin White (contralto, USA)
Second Prize Winner: Aksel Daveyan (baritone, Armenia)
Third Prize Winner: Nils Wanderer (countertenor, Germany)
Winner of the Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship: Victoria Randem (soprano, Norway)
Winner of the Lied Prize: Felix Gygli (baritone, Switzerland)
Her Majesty Queen Sonja with the First, Second and Third Prize Winners following the Prize-Giving Ceremony.
You may explore the photo gallery from the Prize-Giving Ceremony here.
You may utilise the menu on the right-hand side to read more about the 2023 competition.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions at post@qssc.no.