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Sonya Yoncheva will serve on the Jury of Operalia 2025, taking place this year in her home country of Bulgaria. The prestigious competition will be held in Sofia, and will be co-organised by Sonya’s own production company SY11 Events together with Operalia.

Founded in 1993 by Plácido Domingo, Operalia is one of the most respected international vocal competitions, dedicated to discovering and launching the careers of the most promising young opera singers from around the world.

This year’s Semi-Final Round will take place on Wednesday, October 22, streamed live from the Bulgarian Concert Hall on the Operalia YouTube Channel at 15:00 CET / 16:00 Local Time. The Final Round, presented as a gala concert with full orchestra, will be broadcast live on Medici.tv on Sunday, October 26 at 14:30 CET / 18:00 Local Time.

The 2025 Jury includes distinguished international figures such as Isamay Benavente (Teatro de la Zarzuela), Sophie de Lint (Dutch National Opera), Paolo Gavazzeni (Teatro alla Scala di Milano), Tobias Hasan (Staatsoper Berlin), Peter Katona (Royal Opera House London), Robert Körner (Wiener Staatsoper), Joan Matabosch (Teatro Real Madrid), Erik Malmquist (Bayerische Staatsoper Munich), and Evamaria Wieser (Salzburg Festival), among others.

For Sonya Yoncheva, this edition holds special significance: she won the 2010 Operalia Competition at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, a milestone that marked the beginning of her international career.

From September 28 to October 19, Sonya Yoncheva will once again embody the title role of Tosca at the Opernhaus Zürich, joined by Jonas Kaufmann as Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel as Scarpia. The performances will be conducted by Marco Armiliato and Leonardo Sini.

Sonya is approaching her milestone 50th performance in this iconic character, which has become one of her signature parts. Since her much-anticipated role debut in a new Metropolitan Opera production in the 2017/18 season, she has brought the passionate Roman diva to some of the world’s most prestigious stages – including Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan, the Caracalla Festival in Rome, the Arena di Verona, and the State Operas of Berlin, Munich, and Vienna.

Her return to Zurich comes in Robert Carsen’s acclaimed staging, in which she triumphed during the 2021/22 season.

More information and tickets: https://www.opernhaus.ch/spielplan/kalendarium/tosca/2025-2026/

[Photo: Monika Rittershaus]