Nicholas Newton has been named the 2025 Marian Anderson Vocal Award.

Named for the groundbreaking African American contralto, the award recognizes a young American singer in opera, oratorio, or recital repertory and is given annually by the Kennedy Center, offering its winner a cash prize, a residency at Washington’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and a recital presented by Washington National Opera.

During the 2024-25 season, Newton made his debut at the Opéra national de Paris in Rameau’s “Castor et Pollux” and also performed at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in “Le nozze di Figaro” and Opera Philadelphia in “Don Giovanni.”