Prizewinners Announced at Norway's Queen Sonja Singing Competition

Contralto Jasmin White received First Prize and €50,000

Held every second year, the Queen Sonja Singing Competition is patronized by the Queen of Norway, who was in attendance at the final concert and presented the awards.

As part of the First Prize award, American contralto Jasmin White receives a cash prize of €50,000, as well as a piece of artwork by HM Queen Sonja.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and the Juilliard School, Jasmin White made their debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2019, appearing as soloist and chorus member in a GRAMMY Award-winning production of Porgy and Bess.

White has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Juilliard 415 Ensemble, and recently became a member of the Opernstudio at the Vienna Volksoper. They won second prize at the 2023 edition of the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

The Armenian baritone Aksel Daveyan received second place (€10,000), while the German countertenor Nils Wanderer secured third place (€5,000). The other finalists were baritone Navasard Hakobyan, baritone Vladyslav Tlushch, and mezzo-soprano Rebecka Wallroth.

The jury was comprised of Randi Stene (chair), Samuel Gelber, Michael Heaston, Stefan Herheim, Sophie de Lint, Pål Christian Moe, and Annette Weber.