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SINGING OSCARS
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
NLWM No 42 20/02/2026
Today we celebrate Birthday of our amazing Professor Cezary, whose dedication and passion for music and teaching inspire all of us. From the team of KMA we want to wish you a lot of blessings, health and enthusiasm in everything!
Oscars time is coming. The nominations were announced on January 22nd, after the shortlists were fully selected. The Grand Awards Ceremony will take place on March 15th, traditionally in Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Awards are given in 24 categories, including musical: Original Score and Original Song. The ceremony is broadcast to over 200 countries and always generates lively discussions.
Opera Has So Many Faces
But I don't know if you know that since 2013, the Opera Oscars have also been awarded. The International Opera Awards (official name) were founded by Harry Hyman, a UK businessman, philanthropist, and supporter of opera, and John Allison, editor of the monthly Opera magazine. The aim of the event is to celebrate excellence in opera and to raise the profile of opera as an art form internationally.
Awards are given in approximately 20 categories each year. Some of the categories are obvious: Conductor, Director, Designer, Opera Company, Female Singer, Male Singer, Lifetime Achievement, and so on. However, many are innovative, interesting, and inspiring: World Premiere, Rediscovered Work, New Production, Recording (Complete Opera), Sustainability (of the Theatre), Equal Opportunities & Impact, Leadership, or … Philanthropy! I also like very much the Awards for Rising Stars.
And You Can Choose the Winner
Nominations for all categories are open to the general public, who submit their choices via an online form. Long lists generated by this process are subsequently considered by a jury of opera critics, who announce the shortlist ahead of the ceremony. Ultimately, the winners are determined by secret ballot. The exception is the Opera Magazine Readers Award, which is decided by open public vote.
The exceptionally exclusive awards ceremony was held in London from 2013 until 2021. From 2022, it was held consecutively at the Teatro Real in Madrid, The Polish National Opera in Warsaw, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, and in 2025 at the National Theatre in Athens.
The Most Unusual Debut of Opera Diva
Asmik Grigorian is a Lithuanian opera soprano. Her father was Armenian operatic tenor, Gegham Grigorian. Her mother was a Lithuanian operatic soprano in Vilnius, and she graduated in 2006 from the Music & Theatre Academy there. She debuted as a student in the Norwegian Opera in Mozart's Don Giovanni as Donna Anna in 2004. Interestingly, the artist has already had the most extraordinary debut on this world stage. Her parents sang together at the Metropolitan Opera in Madame Butterfly when her mother was already pregnant with Asmik.
Her Best Female Opera Oscar is also her second one (like her debut in the MET). Exactly a decade ago, in 2016, after her youthful successes on stages around the world, she was honoured at the International Opera Awards as the Best Newcomer ('Young Female Singer').
From Alabama to Bayreuth
The Best Male Singer, bass-baritone, Nicolas Brownlee was born in Alabama and grew up there as a very classic-American boy. He played American football, baseball, and golf. He was singing just for pleasure, Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty, and old-school country music. His teachers gave him a full music education in public school.
When he was 19, his music teacher told him: You have an operatic voice. Then he started vocal lessons and joined the chorus of Mobile Opera. (It exists until now, and the already famous singer Nicholas is on its board there.) After that, there was the Los Angeles Opera's Young Artists program, the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions, and singing non-stop over a decade all over the world. His repertoire? From Handel up to Stravinsky. Lastly, he is an unquestionable star of the Bayreuth Wagner Festival.
The End Crowns the Work
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Agnes Baltsa (1944), a Greek mezzo-soprano. Born in Lefkada, educated in Athens and Munich, and promoted by the legend of opera, Maria Callas scholarship. Under the guidance of another legend, Herbert von Karajan, she became a regular soloist of the Salzburg Festival and Kammersängerin of the Vienna Opera.
Enough words.
Let us play:
Asmik Grigorian - Moon Song from Dvorak's Rusalka
Nicholas Brownlee - Puccini's Tosca
Written by
Cezary Owerkowicz
Co-founder of Kuwait Music Academy and
Director of Treasure of Talents Festival in Kuwait
