LONDON, May 16. /TASS/. Asmik Grigorian of Lithuania, a soprano of the Mariinsky Theatre, has won the Young Female Singer award. The International Opera Awards, dubbed as Opera Oscar, ceremony was held on Sunday at London’s Savoy Theatre.
The award was a kind of birthday present for Grigorian who turned 35 on May 12. Finalists in this category included Russian soprano singers Ekaterina Bakanova and Aida Garifullina, Golda Schultz and Nozuko Teto of South Africa, and Nadine Sierra of the United States. Grigorian won the Golden Stage Cross Award for the best debut in 2005 and the Golden Stage Cross Award for best performance.
The shortlists for this year’s Awards were selected by the jury chaired by John Alison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph.
The first International Opera Awards ceremony was held in 2013. The key goal of the International Opera Awards is to popularize opera and classical music.