The 2019 Jury is complete

We are once again very proud and happy to present a very competent and prestigious jury for the next Queen Sonja International Music Competition, which will take place in Oslo 13 – 23 August 2019. We are very much looking forward to welcoming the jury members to Oslo and to working together with them.

The seven distinguished members are:

Annilese Miskimmon, Ireland/United Kingdom (Chair)

Annilese Miskimmon is the Director of Opera at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet in Oslo. Before coming to Oslo, she was the General Manager/Artistic Director of Danish National Opera and has been Consultant Associate Director at Glyndebourne Festival and Tour, in addition to Artistic Director of Opera Theatre Company Ireland.

Miskimmon’s critically acclaimed work has been nominated and won several awards. She is a sought-after opera director and has been a jury member in several international music competitions.

Stefan Herheim, Norway

Stefan Herheim is a renowned Norwegian opera director resident in Berlin. He has done a large number of productions at several prestigious international opera scenes as well as for festivals in Salzburg, Bayreuth, Bergen, Glyndebourne and Edinburgh.
Herheim is Professor at the Opera Academy in Oslo and is appointed as Opera Director at Theater an der Wien from 2022. From 2020 he is staging Wagner’s Tetralogie Der Ring des Nibelungen at Deutsche Oper Berlin. He has been named “Director of the Year” by Opernwelt three times.

Sumi Jo, South Korea

Sumi Jo has established herself as one of her generation’s most sought-after sopranos. She made her European operatic debut as Gilda (Rigoletto) at Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste in 1986. Today, she is ranked the world’s best-selling classical singer, with more than 50 CD recordings.

She has been greeted consistently with exceptional accolades, by public and press alike, for performances in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world. Her many prestigious awards include the international Puccini Award and First Prize at international competitions in Seoul, Naples, Enna, Barcelona, Pretoria and Verona. She was elected UNESCO ‘Artist for Peace’ in 2003.

Robert Körner, Germany

Robert Körner is Director of Artistic Production at Opéra national de Lyon, France, and appointed Casting Director at the Vienna State Opera from 2020. He is also Head of the Young Artist Program in Lyon, in collaboration with its Artistic Director.

Körner has extensive experience within opera and theatre, and comes from a background as solo ballet dancer and Ballet Administrator at Saarländischen Staatstheater Saarbrücken in Germany. He has been a jury member in several international singing competitions.

Sergei Leiferkus, Russia

Sergei Leiferkus is considered one of the world’s most renowned baritones. He has performed at opera houses throughout the world and on concert podiums with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Sergei still appears at myriad opera houses and concert scenes.

He is a sought-after teacher and gives masterclasses and teaches in Berlin, Toronto, Moscow and Boston, as well as at the renowned Britten-Pears School, Aldeburgh.

Tatjana Kandel, Denmark

Tatjana Kandel is Head of Artistic Planning for the DR Ensembles at the Danish National Symphony Orchestra & Ensembles in Copenhagen. Prior to getting this position in 2012, she was the General Manager and Artistic Director at the Danish National Chamber Orchestra.

Kandel has also led the Copenhagen Summer Festival in Charlottenborg.

Diane Zola, USA

Diane Zola joined the Metropolitan Opera in July 2018 as Assistant General Manager, Artistic. Prior to joining the Metropolitan Opera, she was Director of Artistic Administration at Houston Grand Opera, where she began her tenure as the Director of the HGO Studio, an internationally acclaimed training program for young opera singers, pianist/coaches and conductors.

Committed to the nurturing of young singers, Zola has given masterclasses and consultations throughout the United States, Europe and in Cape Town, South Africa. She serves on the juries of various international music competitions.