The International Opera Awards was founded by Harry Hyman, a UK businessman and supporter of opera, and John Allison, Editor of Opera Magazine, which has a worldwide circulation of circa 20,000. The Opera Awards are also recommended by Classic FM.
The aim of the event is to promote excellence in opera and to promote international opera. Whilst there are a number of individual awards given to opera productions and opera singers by a number of broader artistic awards there is no dedicated awards event for opera itself.
Bursaries will also be awarded for emerging artists within the sector. The Opera Awards Foundation has been set up to support aspiring talent within the opera community and a percentage of the proceeds from the awards will go to this Foundation. There are 20 different categories of awards which artists can be nominated for, with a shortlist of finalists being announced before the event.
The inaugural international Opera Awards were held in London at The Hilton Hotel on Monday 22 April 2013.[1] The 2013 Opera Awards was sponsored by Sanlam Private Investments (UK) Ltd, in association with the London Evening Standard and recommended by Classic FM.
After the success of the inaugural International Opera Awards which hosted 700 guests in April 2013 and raised £40,000 for The Opera Awards Foundation, The International Opera Awards returns in 2014 and will be held on Monday 7th April at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.