Finals at Opera House
Her Majesty the Queen was in attendance at the finals of the Queen Sonja International Music Competition at the new Opera House in Oslo on August 21. Baritone Seung Gi Jung of South Korea won the competition, and was awarded the prize by the Queen herself.
The competition is held every other year. This year the finals were held at the new Opera House at Bjørvika for the first time. The winners of the competition receive sizeable cash prizes and prestigious engagements at premier Norwegian music institutions.
This year’s six finalists were:
- Sung Mi Joung, South Korea
- Seung Gi Jung, South Korea
- Hye Jung Lee, South Korea
- Nadine Sierra, USA
- Angelica Voje, Norway
- Jacquelyn Wagner, USA
About the competition
The Queen Sonja International Music Competition was first held in 1988. Since 1995 the competition has been solely for singers. The competition is held in cooperation with the Norwegian National Opera, the Norwegian Academy of Music, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. A national competition is held in advance of the international competition. All national finalists are guaranteed a spot in the preliminary rounds of the international competition. Norwegian singers may also audition for the international competition without having participated at the national level.
The jury
The competition’s jury is comprised of internationally renowned opera directors and opera singers. This year’s members of the jury were:
- Anne Gjevang, Norway, Casting Director, the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet (Chair)
- Sir Thomas Allen, UK, baritone
- Hans Peter Blochwitz, Germany, tenor
- Paul Curran, UK, Opera Director, the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet
- Serge Dorny, France, Directeur général, Opéra National de Lyon
- Catherine Malfitano, USA, soprano
- Kurt Rydl, Austria, bass
