Junyoung Choi Wins 2026 Nicola Martinucci International Opera Prize

South Korean singer Junyoung Choi has won the top prize at the second edition of the "Nicola Martinucci" International Opera Prize, collecting €2,000 and the Audience Award for his performance of an aria from Verdi's "Attila."

The competition announced its 2026 winners after drawing more than 100 applicants from 23 countries and territories, ranging from Italy, Japan and Korea to Mozambique, Venezuela, Ukraine and California.

Who won what?

The prize money was split across several singers:

• First prize (€2,000) and Audience Award: Junyoung Choi
• Second prize (€1,000 each, shared): Jo Wonjon and Gan Lin
• Third prize (€500): Italian soprano Camilla Difonzo

The special Nicola Martinucci Prize, named for the competition's founding chair, was not awarded this edition.

Beyond the cash, the real currency here is exposure. Italian tenor Andrea Calce won a concert with the Nova Amadeus Orchestra, offered by Davide Dellisanti. Choi added a concert in Beirut to his haul, offered by conductor Toufic Maatouk. Choi and Gan Lin also earned an audition with the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa — a house whose artistic coordinator, Simone Macrì, sat on the jury.

Two prizes for the youngest competitors, both aged 19, went to baritone Yifei Mao and soprano Tong Tong.

What does this change for the winners?

For singers at this career stage, the value is less the €2,000 than the access. An audition at Teatro Carlo Felice, one of Italy's major opera houses, and a Beirut concert date put winners in front of programmers and casting directors — the gatekeepers who decide who gets stage work.

Maestro Fabio Centanni accompanied all finalists on a Fazioli 183 piano, keeping performance conditions uniform across the rounds.

How the jury was built

Nicola Martinucci, the tenor who gives the prize its name, chaired the panel. Around him sat ten jurors spanning the industry's decision-making chain:

• Davide Dellisanti, the Prize's artistic director
• Alan Green, founder of Zemsky & Green Artists Management
• Virginio Fedeli, president of Atelier Musicale
• Nicola Cattò, editor of Rivista Musica
• Toufic Maatouk, conductor and Head of Artistic Programming at Abu Dhabi Festival
• Simone Macrì, artistic coordinator at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa
• Bass-baritone Simone Alberghini
• Soprano Caterina Di Tonno
• Bass Zong Shi

That mix — managers, editors, conductors, house programmers and working singers — signals what the competition is actually for: matching young voices to the people who can hire them.

With applications from 23 countries in only its second edition, the prize is already casting a wide net. The unawarded Nicola Martinucci special prize, though, suggests the jury held its highest bar in reserve.