Soprano Ana Oniani Wins Verbier Festival Academy’s 2026 Prix Yves Paternot
By David Salazar(Photo Credit: © Lauren Pasche)
The Verbier Festival Academy has awarded Georgian soprano Ana Oniani the 2026 Prix Yves Paternot, given annually to the Academy’s most accomplished and promising young musician.
The announcement followed Oniani’s performance as Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata,” presented by the Academy’s Atelier Lyrique with the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra under James Gaffigan. The prize, established in memory of Yves Paternot, founder of The Friends of the Verbier Festival, includes CHF 10,000, an invitation to perform at a future Verbier Festival, and eligibility for up to CHF 15,000 in additional artistic and professional development support.
Oniani studied conducting before turning to singing, graduating in vocal performance from the Vano Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire, where she performed leading roles including Mimì in “La Bohème,” Pamina in “Die Zauberflöte,” the Countess in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” and Violetta in “La Traviata.” She has since appeared with the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Royal Opera House Muscat alongside Plácido Domingo, and the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra. In 2025, she joined the Académie de l’Opéra National de Paris.
“The Academy has been one of the most inspiring experiences of my life,” said Oniani, per an official press release. “To work with such extraordinary teachers and colleagues, and to perform this role in Verbier, has been a dream. Receiving the Prix Yves Paternot is an incredible honour and encouragement as I begin the next stage of my career.”
Oniani joins past laureates including baritone Anton Beliaev (2025), Trio Concept (2024), soprano Ava Dodd (2023), cellist Bryan Cheng (2022), tenor Sungho Kim (2021), soprano Meigui Zhang (2019), violinist Timothy Chooi (2018), mezzo-soprano Adèle Charvet (2017), and bass baritone Milan Siljanov (2016).
The Academy’s Prix Thierry Mermod, awarded to singers, went jointly to soprano Fanny Soyer of France and baritone Yu He of China, CHF 5,000 each.
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