LA Opera has announced the 2023 recipients of the Eva and Marc Stern Artist Award.

This year, the company will honor conductor Lina González-Granados and bass-baritone Nicholas Brownlee who will split an award of $50,000. The prize will recognize the artists for their deep ties to LA Opera and is an expression of gratitude for past and future artistic collaborations with the company.

In a statement, Marc Stern said, “One of the things that Eva and I have treasured most about our close collaboration with LA Opera has been getting to know the company’s gifted artists over time as their careers grow. “We are honored to count so many of them as our friends now, and we are continually awestruck by their incredible work ethic and their dedication to the art form. The world of opera may seem glamorous to most people, but we know that even a major international career in opera requires countless unavoidable sacrifices and expenses. This award is much more than just a prize; it will help the honorees pay for such necessities as diction and language studies, travel, concert wear and coaching. It’s an honor for Eva and I to be able to give something back to these magnificent artists who have given so much to us through their performances.”

González-Granados is a Colombian-born conductor who joined the LA Opera family in 2022 as Resident Conductor and made her company debut in September leading the season-opening production of “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Her future LA Opera appearances include the company premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank’s “El último sueño de Frida y Diego” and the world premiere of Joel Thompson’s concert work “Fire and Blue Sky.”

Meanwhile, Brownlee was a member of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program from 2014 to 2017 and first appeared with the company in 2015, performing several roles in “The Ghosts of Versailles.” He has appeared in 10 productions with the company to date and now sings leading roles at the Wiener Staatsoper, Metropolitan Opera, and Bayerische Staatsoper, among others.