The 10th Leyla Gencer Voice Competition in Istanbul, Turkey has announced its 2024 winners. The first prize was awarded to Chinese bass HuanHong Li, while the second prize was awarded to Turkish soprano Nazlıcan Karakaş. Finally, the third prize was awarded to Ukrainian soprano Maria Knihnytska. Karakaş was also awarded the Leyla Gencer People’s Award and the La Scala Theatre {…}
The 10th Leyla Gencer Voice Competition is set to take place on Sept. 22-27, 2024. Co-organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, Borusan Sanat, and the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, the event will be making its return for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition is open for all singers between ages 18-32 with the application {…}
Opera aficionados d’un certain âge remember Leyla Gencer with almost idolatrous admiration and no small degree of reverence. With the passing of time, most younger devotees of the lyric theatre have about as much knowledge of “La Diva Turca” as they do Maria Reining or Toti dal Monte. Born Ayshe Leyla Ceyrekgil in Istanbul sometime between 1918-1928, Gencer enjoyed a {…}
Turkish mezzo Ezgi Karakaya is the winner of the ninth annual Leyla Gencer Voice Competition. She also took home the audience award. The second place winner was German-Italian mezzo Anna Doris Capitelli with Polish tenor Piotr Buszewski coming in third place. Karakaya walks away with a 12,500 euro prize while Doris gets 7,500 euros and Buszewski wins 3,500 euros. It {…}