Queen Sonja Singing Competition


The Queen Sonja Singing Competition is a music competition for young singers taking place every two years in Oslo, Norway. The competition was arranged for the first time in 1988. Participants are selected by a screening committee on the basis of recordings submitted in the application process. 40 singers are invited to participate in the competition. The competition programme includes preliminary rounds, a semi-final and final, as well as masterclasses, career development sessions, concerts and social events. The last competition was 11-12 June and in Oslo 15 - 22 August 2025. The next competition will be held in 2027.
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History

The Queen Sonja Singing Competition was founded in 1988. Among the initiators was Mariss Jansons, former music director and principal conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. At the time, the Norwegian classical music scene was experiencing a period of increased internationalization. The aim of the competition was to create an international arena for music in Norway, which could present young musicians, give Norwegian soloists an opportunity to be assessed at an international level, and attract greater international focus on the Norwegian classical music scene.
The competition was created as a joint project between several Norwegian music institutions, including the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Academy of Music, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, the Lindeman Foundation and the Norwegian Society for Soloists.
The first two competitions in 1988 and 1992 were organized for pianists. Marking the centenary of the birth of Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad in 1995, the competition has since then been arranged for singers. Until 2007, national competitions were arranged prior to the international competition.
The competition changed its name to the Queen Sonja Singing Competition in 2022, in conjunction with a new logo and visual profile.
The competition is currently arranged every two years in cooperation with the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo National Academy of the Arts and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. The singers participating in the competition are usually newly graduated singers who are ready to embark on their international careers.
Held biannually in Oslo, the Competition draws on its global network of opera companies, conservatoires and professionals to bring together 40 young promising singers from around the world. The singers compete not only for its main prizes but to also receive coaching, masterclasses, career development sessions and international exposure.
Previous prize-winners include, among others, Argentinian soprano Virginia Tola, Norwegian soprano Marita Kvarving Sølberg, German tenor Daniel Behle, Russian soprano Olga Mykytenko, Canadian soprano Maesha Brueggergosman, Norwegian baritone Audun Iversen and Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen.

Organisation

The Queen Sonja Singing Competition is organised as a non-profit foundation headed by the Board of Directors. A Council consisting of representatives from the founding institutions acts as a consultative body for the board. Current Board members are Bernt Bauge, Lars Petter Hagen, Ann-Helen Moen, Trine Danjalsson and Marie Louise Sunde.
The Council currently consists of Astrid Kvalbein, Joachim Kwetzinsky, Rolf Lennart Stensø, Anna Einarsson, Geir Bergkastet, Knut Skansen, and Frederik Zimmer.

Prizes

1st prize: €50 000
2nd prize: €10 000
3rd prize: €5 000
Finalist prizes: €1 500
Prize for the best performance of Lied: €1 500
The Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship : NOK 100 000
In addition, prize-winners receive engagements with Norwegian orchestras and opera companies.

Contributors

The Queen Sonja Singing Competition’s main contributor is the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. The competition also receives private funding from Canica AS, Tom Wilhelmsen's Foundation, Lucy Høegh Foundation, Anders Sveaas’ Almennyttige Fond and Lindemans Legat.

Collaborating Opera Academies

The Queen Sonja Singing Competition collaborates with opera academies in Europe and the US. The collaborating academies nominate up to two of their best singers to the competition. These singers are admitted directly to the preliminary rounds of the competition and do not have to go through the regular application procedure.
The collaborating opera academies are:
Jette Parker Young Artists Programme, Royal Opera House, London
Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Metropolitan Opera, New York
The Opera Studio, Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich
Internationales Operastudio, Opernhaus Zürich, Zurich
International Opera Studio, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
National Opera Studio, London
Dutch National Opera Studio, Amsterdam

Jury

The jury of the Queen Sonja Singing Competition consists of leading figures in the opera world. The jury usually has seven members and includes both professional opera singers and opera directors from around the world.
After the preliminary rounds each jury member votes for 12 contestants to proceed to the semi-final. After the semi-final the jury members vote for six candidates who proceed to the final. After the final each jury member ranks the finalists from 1 to 6. The finalist with the lowest number is the competition’s 1st prize winner. Each jury member submits his or her votes in writing, without revealing them to the other jury members. The jury’s verdict is final.

Jury 2025

Prize Winners 2025

First Prize: Kathleen O'Mara
Second Prize: Meridian Prall
Third Prize: Paweł Horodyski
Lied Prize: Paweł Horodyski
Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship for best Norwegian participant: Hannah Edmunds
Finalist Prizes: Vladyslav Buialskyi, Hannah Edmunds and Justyna Khil
References