Winners from our past opera conducting competitions

2023 COMPETITION PRIZE-WINNERS

1st Prize Winner – David SCHLAGER / Austria
2nd Prize Winner – Geoffrey LOFF / USA
3rd Prize Winner – Justin PAMBIANCHI / Italy & Canada

Jury’s Special Prize: Youngtae PARK / South Korea

2021 COMPETITION PRIZE-WINNERS

1st Prize Winner – Michael ENGELBRECHT / Netherlands
2nd Prize Winner – Julia CRUZ CARCELLER / Spain
3rd Prize Winner – Gaddiel DOMBROWNER / Israel

Jury’s Special Prize: Karine LOCATELLI / France

2017 COMPETITION PRIZE-WINNERS

1st Prize Winner – Chris McCRACKEN / UK
2nd Prize Winner – Nobuaki NAKATA / Japan
3rd Prize Winner – Juan MONTOYA / Colombia

2015 COMPETITION PRIZE-WINNERS

First Prize: Junghyun James CHO / South Korea
Second Prize: Sander TEEPEN / Holland
Third Prize: Ivo MEINEN / Holland

Jury’s Special Prize: Patrick BURNS / Australia

2013 COMPETITION PRIZE-WINNERS

First Prize: Lorenzo COLADONATO / Italy.

Second Prize: Dmitry BANAEV / Russian Federation

Third Prize: Ilya GAISIN / Russian Federation.

Jury’s Special Prize: Sander TEEPEN / Holland

Lorenzo Coladonato after his engagement with the National Opera Theater in Belgrade, Serbia, with a performance of Madama Butterfly, on 19 June 2014.

The 3rd Prize Winner of the Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition, Ilya GAISIN, received one of his prize engagements on the 29 April 2014 with the Janacek Opera Theater in Brno, Czech Republic. Shown here standing with the Opera’s Director, Professor Eva Blahova, Maestro Gaisin electrified a packed house with an authoritative and thrilling interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Eugen Onegin.

2011 COMPETITION PRIZE-WINNERS

First Prize: Vinicius KATTAH, Brazil.

Second Prize: Anthony GABRIELE, Italy/Australia

Third Prize: Valery KORUNOV, Russian Federation

Jury’s Special Prize: Masanori MIKAWA, Japan

The Blue Danube Opera International Opera Conducting Competition 2011 FINALISTS were (in alphabetical order):

Anthony GABRIELE/Italy & Australia, Vinicius KATTAH/Brazil, Valery KORUNOV/Russian Federation, Masanori MIKAWA/Japan, Dominique SOURISSE/France, and Mauro VIDONI/Italy.

First Prize Winner Has Immediate Success!

The jury’s choice in 2011 for the first prize at the Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition, Mr Vinicius Kattah of Brazil, was corroborated when Mr. Kattah was immediately offered conducting engagements with the Slovak National Opera Theatre in Bratislava after his highly-successful prize engagement on 31 January 2012 with Tosca. Mr. Kattah was engaged to conduct four repertoire performances of Bellini’s I puritani during the winter and spring of 2012.

2009 BLUE DANUBE INTERNATIONAL OPERA CONDUCTING COMPETITION (Inaugural Edition)

First Prize: Marco BONS, Holland

Second Prize: Oleg SOLDATOV, Russia

Third Prize: Koichiro KANNO, Japan

Jury’s Special Prize & Orchestra’s Prize: Knud JANSEN, Germany

2007 BELA BARTOK INTERNATIONAL OPERA CONDUCTING COMPETITION

First Prize: Naotaka TACHIBANA, Japan

Second Prize: Paul MAUFFRAY, USA

Third Prize: Koichiro KANNO, Japan

Jury’s Special Prize: Hebe de CHAMPEAUX, Holland
Orchestra’s Prize: Stephen ELLERY, UK

2005 BELA BARTOK INTERNATIONAL OPERA CONDUCTING COMPETITION

First Prize: Didier LUCCHESI, France and Kyosuke MATSUSHITA, Japan

Second Prize (not awarded in 2005)

Third Prize: Hirofumi YOSHIDA, Japan

Jury’s Special Prize: Kamio NOBURU, Japan

Orchestra’s Prize: John K. ANDREWS, UK