After a thrilling and atmospheric finale, with Philzuid conducted by David Parry on 5 October in the Casinozaal of Theater aan de Parade in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Portuguese mezzo-soprano Cláudia Ribas emerged the convincing winner of the 57th opera and oratorio edition of the International Vocal Competition‘s-Hertogenbosch 2024. She won the Grand Prix of the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, consisting of a silver medal and a cash prize of €15,000, and received this grand prize from the hands of Mayor Mikkers of ’s-Hertogenbosch. In addition, 31-year-old Cláudia Ribas won the ANED Public Prize, the Wagner Prize and the Junior Jury Prize.
During the successful competition week, the 67 participants, from 27 countries, did not make it easy for the members of the international jury. The level of the singers was particularly high. Andrew Watts, the IVC’s general and artistic director, looks back on the final, “One of the most thrilling evenings with simply the best singing from all our finalists. The artists held the audience in the palm of their hands and produced some really exiting performances. The jury had a very tough time making the decision about the prizes as everyone performed to their best and the jury task was not simple. I’m thrilled by the engagement and support from our audience of a full theatre here in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and those joining us online. The IVC is alive and well and its 70th birthday was really celebrated in style”.
The finalists were judged by the competition jury of the 57th IVC consisting of Dame Gwyneth Jones, Roberta Alexander, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Rosemary Joshua, Michael Chance, David Parry, Karen Stone, Monique Wagemakers and Damià Carbonell Nicolau.
The prize winners of the 57th IVC Opera Oratorio are:
Grand Prix of the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch – 1st Prize (€15,000)
Cláudia Ribas – mezzo-soprano (Portugal, 1993)
Toonkunst Prize – 2nd Prize (€ 7,500)
Annabel Kennedy – mezzo-soprano (United Kingdom, 1997)
Staetshuys Fund Prize – 3rd Prize (€ 3,500)
Madison Horman – soprano (New Zealand, 1996)
Wagner Prize Netherlands (€3,000 plus €2,000 scholarship for Wagner studies)
Cláudia Ribas – mezzo-soprano (Portugal, 1993)
Young Talent Prize (€3,500)
Jasurbek Khaydarov – bass/baritone (Uzbekistan, 2001)
Marianne Blok Prize (€3,500) – for the most expressive coloratura soprano
Elisabeth Eunsoo Lee – soprano (South Korea, 1995)
Van Amelsvoort Prize (€2,500) – for the best performance of Veroneses Green
Madison Horman – soprano (New Zealand, 1996)
Friends IVC Prize (€1,500)
Elisa Maayeshi – soprano (Netherlands, 2001)
ANED Fund Audience Award (€ 1,500)
Cláudia Ribas – mezzo-soprano (Portugal, 1993)
Press prize (€ 1.000)
Elisa Maayeshi – soprano (Netherlands, 2001)
Junior Jury Prize (€ 1.000)
Cláudia Ribas – mezzo-soprano (Portugal, 1993)
Engagements prizes
Oleh Lebedyev – baritone (Ukraine, 1995)
Elisa Maayeshi – soprano (Netherlands, 2001)
58th IVC Theatre in Song
The 58th edition of the International Vocal Competition (IVC) ‘s-Hertogenbosch will take place from 24 to 28 September 2025. The theme of this competition will then be Song. For more information: www.ivc.nu
