Operalia – The World Opera Competition

Operalia, the World Opera Competition, was founded by Plácido Domingo in 1993, with its first edition held at the Palais Garnier in Paris. Subsequent competitions have taken place in different host cities. Singers are selected through recorded applications and proceed through audition rounds to an orchestral gala final. The jury includes opera-house managers and casting directors, and the competition also offers a zarzuela category. Under the published 2026 rules, applicants must be between twenty and thirty-two. Sofia hosted the 2025 edition at Bulgaria Hall, following earlier competitions in Mumbai, Cape Town and Riga. The event combines prizes with opportunities for singers to be heard by international opera professionals. Plácido Domingo started the competition in 1993 and it has moved city by city ever since — Paris, Mexico City, Tokyo, Hamburg, Madrid, Quebec, Astana, Lisbon, Prague — with the Operalia Foundation, registered in California, behind it. Entry is open to singers between 18 and 32 already working professionally; some forty are chosen from around a thousand applications and sing three rounds, with a separate zarzuela prize. Shanghai hosts the 2026 final.