The young Bulgarian
tenor Mihail Mihaylov is in the list of forty singers who will travel
to Astana, Kazakhstan this summer to compete in the twenty-fifth edition
of Plácido Domingo’s OPERALIA The World Opera Competition.
Plácido Domingo’s Operalia, The World Opera Competition, was founded in 1993 by Plácido Domingo to discover and help launch the careers of the most promising young opera singers of today. His goal is to attract singers of all voice tessituras and from every country in the world ranging from 18 to 32 years of age, to have them audition and be heard by a panel of distinguished international opera personalities, in the most prestigious and competitive showcase in the world.
Each year, the Competition receives close to 1,000 applications. A select jury of three respected opera professionals listens to every recording submitted and rates them in a one to ten scale. The scores are tallied, uncommon discrepancies in the scoring are jointly discussed, and the top forty candidates are invited to participate in that year’s competition. (A few singers are also held in reserve, in case one or more of the selected candidates are unable to accept the invitation).
The jury of ten opera experts, presided by Plácido Domingo as a non-voting member, convenes in a different international host city every year to listen to all forty finalists live during two days of quarter-finals. Each singer begins by selecting and singing one opera aria from a list of four arias that he or she has chosen, and the jury then asks the singer to perform a second aria from that list. If the singer is also competing in the Zarzuela category, he or she also interprets a zarzuela aria. Twenty participants are then selected to continue on to the semi-finals, in which they sing one aria chosen by the jury and – if they are competing in the Zarzuela category – one Zarzuela aria as well. From the twenty semi-finalists, ten singers are chosen for the Final Round.
The quarter- finals and semi-finals are carried out in audition form accompanied by Operalia’s official pianists. The Final Round is presented in the form of a Gala Concert accompanied by full orchestra and conducted by Maestro Plácido Domingo himself. Plácido Domingo is actively present throughout the competition; although he does not vote, he supervises the proceedings and is committed to giving artistic and career advice to all of the participants.
Participating or even winning a prize in this competition is only the beginning of every singer’s relationship with Plácido Domingo’s Operalia. Since the jury is comprised for the most part of international Opera house’s General and/or Casting directors, Plácido Domingo’s Operalia distinguished jurors often invite and engage some of the singers to perform in upcoming productions in their theaters. Plácido Domingo himself, a singer, a conductor and the General Director of the Los Angeles Opera, takes a committed interest in the career development of the competitors. Some singers, perhaps not yet ready for the big stages, may be chosen to join one of several Young Artists programs currently established in Washington and Los Angeles in the United States and Valencia in Spain.
Each year, the Competition receives close to 1,000 applications. A select jury of three respected opera professionals listens to every recording submitted and rates them in a one to ten scale. The scores are tallied, uncommon discrepancies in the scoring are jointly discussed, and the top forty candidates are invited to participate in that year’s competition. (A few singers are also held in reserve, in case one or more of the selected candidates are unable to accept the invitation).
The jury of ten opera experts, presided by Plácido Domingo as a non-voting member, convenes in a different international host city every year to listen to all forty finalists live during two days of quarter-finals. Each singer begins by selecting and singing one opera aria from a list of four arias that he or she has chosen, and the jury then asks the singer to perform a second aria from that list. If the singer is also competing in the Zarzuela category, he or she also interprets a zarzuela aria. Twenty participants are then selected to continue on to the semi-finals, in which they sing one aria chosen by the jury and – if they are competing in the Zarzuela category – one Zarzuela aria as well. From the twenty semi-finalists, ten singers are chosen for the Final Round.
The quarter- finals and semi-finals are carried out in audition form accompanied by Operalia’s official pianists. The Final Round is presented in the form of a Gala Concert accompanied by full orchestra and conducted by Maestro Plácido Domingo himself. Plácido Domingo is actively present throughout the competition; although he does not vote, he supervises the proceedings and is committed to giving artistic and career advice to all of the participants.
Participating or even winning a prize in this competition is only the beginning of every singer’s relationship with Plácido Domingo’s Operalia. Since the jury is comprised for the most part of international Opera house’s General and/or Casting directors, Plácido Domingo’s Operalia distinguished jurors often invite and engage some of the singers to perform in upcoming productions in their theaters. Plácido Domingo himself, a singer, a conductor and the General Director of the Los Angeles Opera, takes a committed interest in the career development of the competitors. Some singers, perhaps not yet ready for the big stages, may be chosen to join one of several Young Artists programs currently established in Washington and Los Angeles in the United States and Valencia in Spain.
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