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28th August 2023

Soprano Anna Gregg wins the 13th Glenarm Festival of Voice and becomes the NI Opera Young Opera Voice of 2023.

Northern Ireland Opera’s annual Festival of Voice took place in the historic coastal village of Glenarm this weekend.

The annual vocal competition is a highlight of the festival and on Sunday evening, five opera singers chosen from applicants from across the island of Ireland competed for the Deborah Voigt Opera Prize and to become the NI Opera Young Opera Voice of 2023.

L-R Cathal McCabe, Petra Wells, Anna-Helena Maclachlan, Peter Rankin Piano Intern Doireann O’Carroll, Anna Gregg and Ryan Garnham – The 13th Glenarm Festival of Voice Finalists.

These singers spent three days working with top opera coaches, Dr Ingrid Surgenor MBE, Professor Mark Wildman, Ben McAteer and Simon Lepper, preparing arias, Irish Art Songs and ensemble pieces for the Competition Finale which were then performed in front of a live audience and judging panel in a concert hosted by NI Opera’s patron, broadcaster Dr Sean Rafferty MBE.

  • The winner of the Deborah Voigt Opera Prize and the NI Opera Young Opera Voice of 2023 is soprano Anna Gregg
  • The winner of the Kathryn Harries Audience Prize, sponsored by The Londonderry Arms, Carnlough ismezzo soprano Anna-Helena Maclachlan
  • The winner of the Song Prize, sponsored by The Priests Charitable Trust, is tenor Cathal McCabe
L-R Song Prize winner Cathal McCabe, Deborah Voigt Opera Prize winner Anna Gregg and Kathryn Harries Audience Prize Winner Anna-Helena Maclachlan.

Dame Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle DBE, Vice Chair of NI Opera and Chair of the judging panel comments:

‘The music making in Glenarm this weekend has been superlative. Five of this island’s most promising young opera voices have had the opportunity to work with several of the top coaches in the opera world, and hear BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists in recital. In memory of our much beloved coach and everything she contributed to the Glenarm Festival of Voice, we are renaming the Audience prize the Kathryn Harries Audience Prize. NI Opera’s commitment to nurturing talent is as strong in the festival’s thirteenth year as ever. We look forward to our return in 2024’

NI Opera is grateful for the support of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Esmé Mitchell Trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation, Glenarm Castle, The Priests Charitable Trust and The Londonderry Arms.

Photo credits: Peter Thompson.