Northern Ireland Opera’s annual Festival of Voice returned to the village of Glenarm this
weekend after two years relocated in Belfast due to the pandemic.
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 2022.
These singers spent three days working with top opera coaches, Kathryn Harries, Dr Ingrid
Surgenor and pianist Simon Lepper, preparing arias, Irish 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 Sean Rafferty.
The winner of the Deborah Voigt Opera Prize and the NI Opera Young Opera Voice of 2022
is County Tyrone tenor Owen Lucas, who was also voted the winner of the Audience Prize,
sponsored by The Londonderry Arms, Carnlough.
The winner of the Song Prize, sponsored by The Priests Charitable Trust, is County Louth
Soprano Hannah O’Brien
Dame Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle, Vice Chair of NI Opera and member 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. NI Opera’s commitment to nurturing this talent is as
strong in the festival’s twelfth year as ever. We look forward to our return in 2023.’
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.