Queen Sonja Singing Competition 2025 Finals
The Queen Sonja Singing Competition is one of the world’s leading competitions for young and aspiring singers. Held every two years in Oslo, the Competition draws on its global network of opera companies, conservatoires and professionals to bring together the best young singers from around the world. In the presence of Her Majesty Queen Sonja, this year‘s Grand Final will be held in collaboration with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
As a major advocate for the unique power of the human voice for over thirty years, the Queen Sonja Singing Competition celebrates and inspires the participating singers and connects them to audiences worldwide. Through a selection process that began in April, hundreds of applicants have been narrowed down to six finalists. The singers compete not only for their main prizes but to also receive coaching, masterclasses, career development sessions and international exposure. For the first time since Lise Davidsen won the Competition in 2015, Oslo Philharmonic hosts the Finals, which are presented this year by another former winner, Jasmin White.
AWARDS
First Prize – Kathleen O'Mara
Second Prize – Meridian Prall
Third Prize – Paweł Horodyski
Special prizes
Winner of the Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship – Hannah Edmunds
Winner of the Lied Prize – Paweł Horodyski
Finalist Prize – Vladyslav Buialskyi, Hannah Edmunds, Justyna Khil
CAST
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Finalists
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Vladyslav Buialskyi
Hannah Edmunds
Paweł Horodyski
Justyna Khil
Kathleen O’Mara
Meridian Prall
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Presenter
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Jasmin White
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Orchestra
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Oslo Philharmonic
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Conductor
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Nicholas Carter
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PROGRAMME
Overture, Prelude to Act 3 - Lohengrin Wagner
Hannah Edmunds, soprano, Norway
‘Dieu! Quel frisson court dans mes veines?’ - Roméo et Juliette Gounod
Meridian Prall, mezzo-soprano, USA
‘Werther, Werther’ - Werther Massenet
Paweł Horodyski, bass, Poland
‘A te l’estremo addio…Il lacerato spirito’ - Simon Boccanegra Verdi
Kathleen O’Mara, soprano, USA
‘Crudele!…Non mi dir’ - Don Giovanni Mozart
Justyna Khil, soprano, Poland
‘Do not utter a word, Anatol’ - Vanessa Barber
Vladyslav Buialskyi, bass-baritone, Ukraine
‘Ves’ tabar spit’ - Aleko Rachmaninoff
Intermission
Paweł Horodyski, bass, Poland
‘Nel mondo e nell’abisso’ - Tamerlano Handel
Justyna Khil, soprano, Poland
‘Tu, che di gel gei cinta’ - Turandot Puccini
Meridian Prall, mezzo-soprano, USA
‘Parto, Parto’ - La clemenza di Tito Mozart
Hannah Edmunds, soprano, Norway
‘E Susanna non vien!…Dove sono’ - Le nozze di Figaro Mozart
Vladyslav Buialskyi, bass-baritone, Ukraine
‘Aprite un po’quegli occhi’ - Le nozze di Figaro Mozart
Kathleen O’Mara, soprano, USA
‘Das war sehr gut, Mandryka’ - Arabella Strauss
Intermission
Price-giving ceremony
Polonaise - Eugene Onegin Tchaikovsky
Presentation of the jury
HM Queen Sonja awards the prizes
VIDEOS
Jury
Randi Stene
Chair of the Jury, Artistic Director - Norwegian National Opera & Ballet
Tatjana Kandel
Head of Artistic Planning - Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Michael Heaston
Deputy General Manager - Metropolitan Opera
Christina Scheppelmann
General and Artistic Director - La Monnaie / De Munt
Alex Taylor
Head of Artistic Planning - Oslo Philharmonic
Carolin Wielpütz
Director of Artistic Planning - MusikTheater an der Wien
Jean Denes
Director of Opera - Theater Basel
GALLERY
Flashback
Here is a selection of the previous finalists of the Queen Sonja Singing Competition that have been featured on OperaVision: Lise Davidsen (2015), Aksel Daveyan (2023), Elsa Dreisig (2015), Andrew Stenson (2013), Adrian Angelico (2009), Jasmin White (2023).
