27.10.2019, Singing Competition: Anna El-Khashem and Long Long win the NEUE STIMMEN 2019

The 23-year-old Soprano Anna El-Khashem from Russia and the 28-year-old Tenor Long Long from China are the winners of this year’s NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition. The two singers prevailed against strong competition from around the globe and have significantly increased their chances of enjoying successful careers as opera singers with this award. Both award winners can also look forward to prize money totaling 15,000 euros each.

At the finale in Gütersloh on Saturday, six female and four male singers demonstrated their skills in front of a jury of renowned opera experts and an audience of opera professionals. The top three winners in both the women’s and men's categories received cash prizes worth a total of 65,000 euros. In the men's category there was twice the second place this year and no third place. The other finalists were honored with career advancement prizes for their achievements. The 21-year-old Bass-Baritone Vladislav Buyalskiy from Ukraine won the new introduced Brian Dickie Young Singers Award worth 5,000 euros. The award has been granted for the first time in honour of Brian Dickie’s 20-year commitment as head of the worldwide auditions of NEUE STIMMEN.

Women:

1st prize, €15,000: Anna El-Khashem, Soprano (Russia, *1996)

2nd prize, €10,000: Natalia Tanasii, Soprano (Moldova, *1991)

3rd prize, €5,000: Slávka Zámečníková, Lyric Soprano (Slovakia, *1991)

Men:

1st prize, €15,000: Long Long, Tenor (China, *1991)

2nd prize, €10,000: Domen Križaj, Baritone (Slovenia, *1989) and Bongani Kubheka, Baritone (South Africa, *1991)

Brian Dickie Young Singers Award: Vladislav Buyalskiy, Bass-Baritone (Ukraine, *1997)

Liz Mohn, President of NEUE STIMMEN and Vice-Chair of our Executive Board, presented the prizes and congratulated all the winners: "I was very excited for the finalists and extend my heartfelt congratulations to our winners. Their success in the competition will open many doors for them in the international world of opera. But thanks to NEUE STIMMEN, all participants in the final round now have a better shot at fulfilling their dream of a career as an opera singer," said Mohn. "To help them reach this goal, we stand at their side, providing them lasting support and advice. I look forward to following the paths to be taken by these young talents and to enjoy them as often as possible as they perform on opera stages around the world."

Around 1,500 young singers from 80 countries had applied to participate in the NEUE STIMMEN 2019. Forty-two talents qualified for the final round in Gütersloh. 18 of these participants made it to the semifinals on Thursday, 10 qualified for the finale. The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, led by English conductor Jonathan Darlington, accompanied the young talents. The young singers presented a total of 122 arias in the course of the competition week. The full final and semifinal concerts as well as all individual aria performances are available for viewing on our YouTube channel.