Domingo's Operalia winners announced

The winners of Plácido Domingo's Operalia competition were announced Wednesday night in Quebec City, with top honors going to two Latin American artists.

First-place prizes went to the Mexican soprano Maria Katzarava (pictured left), who is in her first year as a member of L.A. Opera’s Domingo-Thornton Young Artists Program, and to the Spanish-born, Puerto Rico-based tenor Joel Prieto.

Second place was awarded to the Brazilian tenor Thiago Arancam and the Ukranian soprano Oksana Kramaryeva.

Third place went to the Greek-Australian soprano Elena Xanthoudakis and the Hungarian baritone Karoly Szemeredy.

The Zarzuela prizes, named for the specialized Spanish lyric-dramatic genre, went to Katzarava, Arancam, Prieto and the Georgian mezzo-soprano Ketevan Kemoklidze.

Take it from those of us who follow Domingo's career, we'll be seeing a lot more of Katzarava and Prieto in years to come, both in L.A. and at major opera houses around the world.

— David Ng

Photo credit: Los Angeles Opera