The winners of the 23rd South Bank Sky Awards were announced on July 7, 2019 during a ceremony at the Savoy Hotel in London.

The Sky Awards are unique in that they “celebrate every genre of the arts, including pop, dance, opera, comedy, and TV,” according to Sky News.

“British culture is really thriving right now, and this year’s Awards nominees reflect the exceptionally gifted and diverse range of talent across the creative industries,” says Zai Bennett, Director of Programmes.

Nominees for the Opera category included Welsh National Opera’s “Rhondda Rips It Up!,” Garsington Opera’s “Falstaff,” and English National Opera’s “Porgy and Bess.” Nominees for the Classical category included City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for its Debussy Festival, John Wilson for the Bernstein Centenary, and Cumnock Tryst.

Elena Langer and Emma Jenkins’ “Rhondda Rips It Up!,” which premiered on June 7, 2018, tells the story of suffragette Margaret Haig Thomas. Madeleine Shaw starred as Lady Rhondda, part of an all-female cast and creative team. The run of Garsington Opera’s new production of “Falstaff” began on Jun. 16, 2018, and featured Henry Waddington in the title role alongside Mary Dunleavy as Alice Ford. English National Opera’s first staging of “Porgy and Bess,” which had its first performance on Oct. 11, 2018, featured an all-star cast including Eric Greene and Nicole Cabell in the title roles, Nmon Ford as Crown, Latonia Moore as Serena, and Nadine Benjamin as Clara.

ENO announced via Twitter that the company is “dead chuffed to have won the South Bank Sky Arts Opera Award for ‘Porgy and Bess.'” The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra also excitedly announced its win on Twitter: “We are thrilled to have won the Sky Arts Classical Award for the Debussy Festival. Congratulations to all our fellow nominees and winners, we are truly honored to be amongst your company.”

Additionally, both soprano Nadine Benjamin and conductor Alpesh Chauhan were up for the Times Breakthrough Award, though it ultimately went to Irish singer and actress Jessie Buckley.

The ceremony will be broadcast on July 10, 2019.