Opera Naples has announced the contestants and jury members and dates for the 2026 Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Opera Naples International Voice Competition.

The company revealed that a total of 430 singers from 19 countries applied, and 20 contestants were selected.

The contestants include sopranos Hannah Cho, Laura Fernandez, Alexandra Hotz, Virginia Mims, Tess Ottinger, and Sofia Scattarreggia; mezzo-sopranos Ashlyn Brown, Kara Morgen, Grace Ryan, and Julianna Smith; tenors Alexander Adkins, Victor Cardamone, SeongBeom Choi, Luke Norvell, and Yulin Wang; baritones Alexander Granito, Byung Jun Ko, and Yantian Sun; and basses Peter Barber and Yoseph Park.

The jury is presided over by Nicoletta Pavarotti and Ramón Tebar. Jury members include Nicoletta Pavarotti, President of the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation; Ramón Tebar, Opera Naples Artistic and Music Director; Krzysztof Biernacki, Director of the Bower School of Music and the Arts at Florida Gulf Coast University; tenor Bruce Ford; John Churchwell, Head of Music at San Francisco Opera; Dr. Jeanie Darnell, Head of Vocal Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University School of Music; Marco Vinco, Artistic Director of the Macerata Opera Festival; tenor Warren Mok, Founder and Artistic Director of Opera Hong Kong; and bass George Andguladze, Artistic Advisor of the Georgian State Opera.

The competition takes place in three rounds on March 13–15, 2026, at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, FL, and at Baker Park in Naples, FL.

The competition, founded in 1981, gives each winner a minimum of $10,000 in contracts to perform roles and/or concerts with Opera Naples and other presenting organizations during the following two seasons. Winners also perform in the Opera Naples 2027 Festival Under the Stars.

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