The 58° Concorso Internazionale Voci Verdiane Città di Busseto has announced its winners.

The first prize entitled “Carlo Bergonzi” went to soprano Sara Cortolezzis. The 31 year old won € 5.000 after performing Leonora’s aria “Siam giunti…d’amor sull’ali rosee… tu vedrai che amore in terra” from “Il trovatore.”  Cortolezzis also won the special award “Renata Tebaldi,” which was given by the Associazione Verdissime.com.

The second prize went to 32-year-old baritone Badral Chuluunbaatar who performed Gran Dio! Costor sui sepolcrali marmi… Oh de’ verdi anni miei” from “Ernani.” The Mongolian singer took home a € 2.500 cash prize sponsored by Lions Club Busseto “Giuseppe Verdi.”

Finally, the third prize went to 28-year-old Huan Hong. The Chinese singer took home € 1.000 after performing “Uldino! Uldin!… Mentre gonfiarsi l’anima… Oltre a quel limite” from “Attila.” Additionally, the winners, semifinlaists, and finalists will have a chance to perform in productions, concerts or other programs from the Festival Verdi and Verdi Off 2022.

The winners were announced on June 25, 2022 at the end of a concert featuring the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini conducted by Fabrizio Cassi.

The jury was presided by Gianni Tangucci (Coordinatore artistico Accademia del Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino) and comprised by Anna Maria Meo (Direttore generale del Teatro Regio di Parma), Peter Heilker (Direttore artistico Theater an der Wien), Fulvio Macciardi (Sovrintendente e Direttore Artistico del Teatro Comunale di Bologna), Natascha Ursuliak (Responsabile casting Opernhaus Zürich), Eline de Kat (Segretaria artistica Opéra de Monte-Carlo), Franziska Maria Kaiser (Responsabile Casting Royal Danish Opera), and Andrea Rinaldi (Lions Club “Giuseppe Verdi” di Busseto).