Tenor Laurence Kilsby was crowned the winner of the Innsbruck’s Festival of Early Music’s International Singing Competition for Baroque Opera Pietro Antonio Cesti.

Taking home the audience award was soprano Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh; the soprano also took home the special prize and a concert as part of the Resonanzen Wien. She will also participate in a performance with Il Gusto Barocco under Jörg Halubek.

Third place went to countertenor Nicolò Balducci; Balducci was also the winner of the young talent award.

Soprano Martina Licari was also awarded a special prize which includes an engagement with the Festival della Valle d’Itria. Finally, soprano Jaia Nurit Niborski Bolatti was awarded a concert performance with the Haus der Musik Innsbruck as part of the “Academie Concerts.”

The winners were selected from among 175 contestants from 137 different countries around the world. All participants had to perform arias from Vivaldi’s “La fida ninfa,” which is the opera that the festival will be performing during the 2023 season.

The jury for the 2022 competition featured Sebastian Schwarz (Artistic Director of the Teatro Regio Torino & the Festival della Valle d’Itria), Alessandro De Marchi (Artistic Director of the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music), Nora Schmid (Managing Director of the Graz Opera and designated Intendant of the Semperoper Dresden), Vivica Genaux (opera singer), Eitan Sorek (founder and managing director of Sorek Artists Management), Valérie Chevalier (General Director of the Opéra National de Montpellier), André Comploi (Artistic Coordinator of the Teatro alla Scala di Milano), Hein Mulders (Artistic Director of the Cologne Opera), and Lucas Christ (Musical Assistant to the Artistic Director of the Teatro La Fenice Venice).