Children's performances
Opera
International Opera Awards
Stavros Niarchos Hall
Showcasing a panorama of Greek art music and featuring the full range of its artistic forces, the Greek National Opera is set to host the International Opera Awards Ceremony at the Stavros Niarchos Hall in the SNFCC on Thursday, the 13th of November 2025 at 19.00. With nominees from 25 countries across five continents, this year’s International Opera Awards celebrate the international spirit of the art of opera, inviting us to applaud the award-winning creators, performers, creative teams, productions, and opera houses, as a recognition of the exceptional artistic work they produce. The event is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the GNO’s artistic outreach.
Remarkable works by Spyridon Samaras, Paolo Carrer, Theofrastos Sakellaridis, Nikos Skalkottas, Mikis Theodorakis and Giorgos Koumendakis will be featured in an anthology of Greek art music, which will be presented by the Greek National Opera during this grand international opera celebration that will take place on the 13th of November at the Stavros Niarchos Hall. The International Opera Awards Ceremony, an institution that has been rewarding exceptional operatic talent from all over the world for 13 years, honours the diverse and collaborative nature of this supreme art form. The event will feature distinguished and emerging soloists, Vassiliki Karayanni, Maria Kosovitsa, Dimitri Platanias, and Yannis Christopoulos, along with a polyphonic ensemble and the Orchestra, Chorus, members of the Ballet, and Children’s Chorus of the GNO. Konstantinos Terzakis will be conducting.
Naturally, the International Opera Awards Ceremony has big surprises in store, to be revealed on the evening of the 13th of November. Leading opera artists of our time who are nominated for these prestigious awards will perform excerpts from famous operas, while a legendary figure from the opera world will be called on stage to receive a lifetime achievement award. The ceremony will also be honoured by the presence of representatives from the globe’s most important opera houses, among others.
The 21 award-winners of this year’s awards ceremony (artists, cultural organisations, foundations, productions, recordings, etc) will be selected by an esteemed international jury of opera critics, opera house administrators, and performers, chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera Magazine with Opera News, the Founding Media Partner of the Awards.
Along with the audience at the Stavros Niarchos Hall, the ceremony will also be broadcast to opera fans worldwide via live streaming on the OperaVision online platform (www.operavision.eu).
The Greek National Opera’s hosting of the International Opera Awards ceremony represents a natural continuation of its prolific activities, given that, since its relocation to the SNFCC in 2017 under the artistic direction of Giorgos Koumendakis and with support from the SNF, the GNO has evolved into one of the most inspired and creative opera houses in Europe, showcasing many new commissions, new productions, and international collaborations, along with a remarkable expansion of its repertoire.
Founded by philanthropist Harry Hyman in 2012, the International Opera Awards aim to highlight and elevate the profile of opera, as well as recognise and reward excellence. At the same time, this institution helps raise funds for the Opera Awards Foundation, which provides scholarships to talented emerging opera creators and performers worldwide. This year, for the first time, the International Opera Awards Ceremony will be hosted by the Greek National Opera in Athens, placing Greece at the centre of attention on the global opera stage.
Additionally, the Greek National Opera has taken on the task of designing this year’s awards, which are highly symbolic and inspired by Greece’s rich cultural heritage. This design is based on a striking Early Bronze Age artefact found in the Cyclades, depicting an elegant, violin-shaped figurine. Produced in collaboration with the Museum of Cycladic Art, where the original figurines are displayed, each replica will be crafted in marble and mounted with a customised plaque for the International Opera Awards.
The Artistic Director of the Greek National Opera, Giorgos Koumendakis, notes: “We are delighted that the Greek National Opera is going to host the International Opera Awards ceremony, for the very first time, in 2025 at the Stavros Niarchos Hall. Every year, this globally prestigious event singles out the most remarkable artistic achievements in the realm of opera and rewards younger and already distinguished opera artists along with opera houses worldwide. The awards ceremony will take place on 13 November 2025, curated by the GNO and featuring the Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet of the GNO. I would like to express my gratitude to the Opera Awards Foundation and the Awards Committee for the honour of selecting the Greek National Opera for this role, as well as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for its support of this ambitious project.”
Harry Hyman, founder of the International Opera Awards, underscores: “We’re thrilled to bring the International Opera Awards to Athens for the first time, and to continue to celebrate the truly international art form of opera. Our thanks go to the Greek National Opera for hosting the 2025 ceremony, and I look forward to celebrating with them and the rest of the opera world in November.”
Creative team
-
Presented by BBC Radio 3 host Petroc Trelawny -
Katerina Petsatodi Associate director
-
Christina Arseni Project manager
-
Konstantina Pitsiakou Children’s chorus mistress
-
With the Orchestra, Chorus, Ballet, and Children’s Chorus* of the Greek National Opera
-
Shortlist for this year’s Awards
-
Conductor
-
Alain Altinoglu
-
Edward Gardner
-
Karen Kamensek
-
Susanna Mälkki
-
Kent Nagano
-
Giacomo Sagripanti
-
Designer
-
Ben Baur
-
Paolo Fantin
-
Erhard Rom
-
Rainer Sellmaier
-
takis
-
Director
-
Calixto Bieito
-
Valentina Carrasco
-
Johannes Erath
-
Claus Guth
-
Andreas Homoki
-
Jetske Mijnssen
-
Equal Opportunities
-
Hart Institute for Women Conductors Dallas Opera
-
Denyce Graves Foundation
-
Minnesota Opera
-
Opera sin fronteras
-
Pegasus Opera
-
Vache Baroque
-
Female Singer
-
Anastasia Bartoli
-
Elsa Dreisig
-
Asmik Grigorian
-
Sondra Radvanovsky
-
Adela Zaharia
-
Festival
-
Innsbruck Festival of Early Music
-
Janáček Brno Festival
-
Munich Opera Festival
-
Opera Forward Festival
-
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
-
Rossini Opera Festival
-
Male Singer
-
Nicholas Brownlee
-
Soloman Howard
-
Mika Kares
-
Huw Montague Rendall
-
Brindley Sherratt
-
Reinoud van Mechelen
-
Musical Theatre
-
Fiddler on the Roof (Cincinnati Opera)
-
Gypsy (Philharmonie de Paris)
-
Love Life (Opera North)
-
Rent (The Atlanta Opera)
-
Sunday in the Park with George (Glimmerglass Festival)
-
West Side Story (Opera di Roma/Caracalla Festival)
-
New Production
-
Castor et Pollux (Opéra national de Paris/Peter Sellars)
-
The Excursions of Mr Brouček (National Theatre Brno & Staatsoper Berlin/Robert Carsen)
-
La forza del destino (Greek National Opera/Rodula Gaitanou)
-
Innocence (Semperoper/Lorenzo Fiorini)
-
Khovanshchina (Salzburg Easter Festival/Simon McBurney)
-
Louise (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence/Christof Loy)
-
Salome (Metropolitan Opera/Claus Guth)
-
Wozzeck (Opera Ballet Vlaanderen/Johan Simons)
-
Opera Company
-
Deutsche Oper Berlin
-
GöteborgsOperan
-
Houston Grand Opera
-
MusikTheater an der Wien
-
Opernhaus Zürich
-
Teatro alla Scala
-
Readers’ Award – Opera Magazine with Opera News
-
Amartuvshin Enkhbat
-
Elīna Garanča
-
Wallis Giunta
-
Jakub Jozef Orliński
-
Marina Rebeka
-
Bogdan Volkov
-
Complete Opera Recording
-
Carmen (Bru Zane, DVD) Bizet
-
Atys (Château de Versailles Spectacles, CD & DVD) Lully
-
Dido and Aeneas (Erato, CD) Purcell
-
An American Soldier (Platoon, CD) Ruo
-
Salome (Chandos, CD) Strauss
-
Eugene Onegin (Naxos, DVD) Tchaikovsky
-
Simon Boccanegra (1857 version) (Opera Rara, CD) Verdi
-
Der Ring des Nibelungen (Accentus, DVD) Wagner
-
Solo Recital Recording
-
Indomita (Pentatone) Eleonora Buratto
-
Son regina e sono amante (Pentatone) Rosa Feola
-
Ino – Telemann arias for soprano (CPO) Amanda Forsythe
-
Gluck Arias (Signum) Ann Hallenberg
-
The Ghosts of Hamlet (Arcana) Roberta Mameli
-
Contemplation (Warner Classics) Huw Montague Rendall
-
Mis amores son las flores (EuroArts) Lisette Oropesa
-
Rebelle: (Alpha) Eva Zaïcik
-
Rediscovered Work
-
Doña Clementina (Opera Southwest) Boccherini
-
L’uomo femina (Opéra de Dijon) Galuppi
-
Phèdre (Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe) Lemoyne
-
Giants in the Earth (South Dakota Symphony Orchestra) Moore
-
Ifigenia in Aulide (Bayreuth Baroque) Porpora
-
Orlando generoso (Musikfestspiele Potsdam) Steffani
-
Waldmeister (Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz) Strauss
-
Ifigenia in Tauride (Innsbruck Festival of Early Music) Traetta
-
Rising Star
-
Adèle Charvet (mezzo-soprano)
-
Hugh Cutting (countertenor)
-
Kerem Hasan (conductor)
-
Deepa Johnny (mezzo-soprano)
-
Kenza Koutchoukali (director)
-
Carolina López Moreno (soprano)
-
Niamh O’Sullivan (mezzo-soprano)
-
Carles Pachón (baritone)
-
Sun-Ly Pierce (mezzo-soprano)
-
Ricardo José Rivera (baritone)
-
Sustainability
-
Longborough Festival Opera
-
Oper Leipzig
-
Oper Wuppertal
-
Santa Fe Opera
-
Teatro Real, Madrid
-
Volksoper Wien
-
World Premiere
-
Don Juan no existe (Festival Perelada/Teatro Maestranza/Teatros del Canal (Madrid) / Teatro Real) Cánovas/Iglesias
-
Il nome della rosa (Teatro alla Scala/Opéra national de Paris) Filidei/Busellato
-
This House (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis) Gordon/Nottage/Gerber
-
Natasha (New National Theatre Tokyo) Hosokawa/Tawada
-
Alma (Volksoper Wien) Milch-Sheriff/Ricklin
-
Silent Light (National Sawdust) Prestini/Vavrek
-
Lash – Acts of Love (Deutsche Oper Berlin) Saunders/Atkins
-
Festen (The Royal Opera) Turnage/Hall
-
We Are the Lucky Ones (Dutch National Opera) Venables/Huffman/Segal
-
MARS (Irish National Opera) Walshe/O’Connell
Cast
Featuring GNO soloists Vassiliki Karayanni, Maria Kosovitsa, Dimitri Platanias, and Yannis Christopoulos
Featuring polyphonic ensemble: Irini Derebei, Maria Melachrinou, Alkmini Basakarou, Ioanna Forti
* as part of its educational mission
See also
Access
Get DirectionsStavros Niarchos Hall
Syggrou Avenue 364, 17674 Kallithea
E.: info@snfcc.org
T.: (+30) 216 8091000
Ticket Purchases for Audience Members Wishing to Use Accessibility Services
- Box Office
- By phone at +30 213 088 5700
- By email at boxoffice@nationalopera.gr
