First Prize Winner Returns to Oslo: Kathleen O’Mara Featured in Two Concerts This August

When Kathleen O’Mara won the Queen Sonja Singing Competition in 2025, she established herself as one of the most exciting young voices on the international opera scene. Now she returns to Oslo, and for us at the Queen Sonja Singing Competition it is a great pleasure to welcome our most recent prize winner back to the city.

In August, audiences will have the opportunity to experience her in two very different, yet equally compelling concerts.

She will first appear at the Oslo Chamber Music Festival with the concert Songs in the Palace Chapel on 16 August at 18:00.

The audience is invited into the unique surroundings of the Royal Palace Chapel, a space that is not usually open to the public. With its intimate atmosphere and warm acoustics, the chapel provides an ideal setting for lieder and chamber music. Together with pianist Olesya Tutova, O’Mara will present a rich and varied programme featuring works by composers such as Schubert, Marx, Debussy, Strauss, Britten, and Barber.

A few days later, on 23 August at 20:30, she will take the stage at the Oslo Philharmonic’s annual open-air concert at the Palace Square, one of the capital’s most popular summer traditions. The concert, which is free and open to all, will this year be conducted by Giedrė Šlekytė. Thousands gather in front of the Royal Palace for a grand evening of classical music under the open sky.

That Kathleen O’Mara is the featured soloist this year highlights the position she has already established for herself. Since winning the Queen Sonja Singing Competition, she has appeared on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

The contrast between these two performances offers a rare insight into O’Mara’s artistry, from the grand and extroverted to the intimate and nuanced.

For the Queen Sonja Singing Competition, it is especially rewarding to follow her continued journey:

“It is always a great source of pride to see our prize winners succeed internationally, but there is something truly special about welcoming them back to Norway and to audiences here. Kathleen O’Mara is a wonderful representative of the level of the competition, and we very much look forward to experiencing her in Oslo again,” says Lars Flæten, Director of the Queen Sonja Singing Competition.

With both a festive open-air celebration at the Palace Square and an exclusive concert in the Palace Chapel, all is set for a memorable August in which O’Mara will once again shine for Norwegian audiences.