Cesti Competition: Elene Gvritishvili wins first prize in Innsbruck

Russian soprano Elene Gvritishvili won first prize on 30 August at the 17th edition of the Pietro Antonio Cesti International Singing Competition, which brought the 2026 Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik to a close. She finished ahead of Spanish mezzo-soprano Laura Orueta, who took second prize, and Brazilian bass-baritone Luis-Felipe Sousa, awarded third prize as well as the Audience Prize. The Young Artists Award went to Russian mezzo-soprano Lora Grigorieva.

No fewer than 210 singers from 29 countries applied this year; 86 eventually travelled to Innsbruck, with nine reaching the final, held before a full house at the Haus der Musik and streamed online.

Beyond the prize list itself, the competition once again confirmed its role as a springboard to the international Baroque stage. Laura Orueta has been invited to perform with Il Gusto Barocco under Jörg Halubek, while Luis-Felipe Sousa received an invitation from Vienna’s Resonanzen festival. Elene Gvritishvili will appear at Milano Arte Musica; mezzo-soprano Valentina Ferrarese received the Allegorica Award, while tenor Alessandro Vianelli secured an engagement with Scherzi Musicali. Five other candidates will take part in the Festwochen masterclass with Anna Bonitatibus in 2027.

Another key aspect of this year’s competition was that the finalists were required, among other things, to perform an aria from Pergolesi’s Adriano in Siria, an opera due to be staged at the 2027 Festwochen as part of Barockoper, with a cast drawn from the various rounds of the competition. Chaired by Sebastian Schwarz, the jury included Ottavio Dantone, Eva-Maria Sens, Anna Bonitatibus and Francesco Corti. Seventeen years after its creation, the Cesti Competition thus reaffirms more strongly than ever its role as both a laboratory and a training ground for the new voices of Baroque opera.