• This Saturday, 27 September, at 19.00 pm, the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus will host the final gala performance of the X CICAK, where the finalists will perform with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria
• Antonio Morales: “36 years after the singing competition was founded, the CICAK remains faithful to the original idea of its creator: discovering new opera talent and offering young singers the chance to perform on the world’s leading stages”

The jury of the X Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus (X CICAK), chaired by Gran Canarian soprano Yolanda Auyanet, will announce the prize winners from among the finalists, who will perform at a public gala show on Saturday 27 September at 19.00 pm in the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The President of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, the Councillor for Finance, Pedro Justo Brito, and the Chair of the Fundación Internacional Alfredo Kraus, Rosa Kraus Ley, representing the two organising institutions of the CICAK, expressed their satisfaction with the considerable impact the Competition has had once again.

At the Semi-final Round, held in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Sunday 21, Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 September, 82 contestants who had successfully completed the preliminary rounds in Madrid, Florence and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria took part, joined by a group of singers with direct entry into the semi-final after finishing as finalists or winners of other international singing competitions, under the rules of the X CICAK.

At a press conference, Antonio Morales said that 36 years after Alfredo Kraus created the CICAK, the singing competition remains faithful to the original idea of the Gran Canarian tenor, “discovering new opera talent and offering young singers the chance to perform on the world’s leading stages”.

For the tenth CICAK, the organisers received 143 applications from 31 countries by the applications closing date, on 30 June. This year’s singing competition has greatly exceeded the number of applications in the eight previous events, including the first competition, in 1990.

Replies to the international call for applications made by the organisers of the X CICAK were received from 60 sopranos, 24 mezzosopranos, 1 countertenor, 25 tenors, 25 baritones, 4 bass baritones and 4 basses, aged 23 to 36. The 143 applicants were from 31 countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.

At the Preliminary Rounds in Madrid and Florence, held from 5 to 14 June, the tribunal chose 27 candidates from a total of 48 applicants. After the Preliminary and Semi-final Rounds held in Gran Canaria in September, the tribunal selected nine finalists from the 31 candidates.

Internationally renowned jury

The Jury of the X CICAK will be chaired by Gran Canarian soprano Yolanda Auyanet, whose international experience is widely known. Auyanet shared the stage with Alfredo Kraus in Madrid in “Doña Francisquita” at the Nuevo Teatro Apolo, and at the 40th anniversary gala, held at Teatro de la Zarzuela. She has enjoyed a long career in 60 stage roles, performing at theatres in Europe, South America, South Korea and Japan, and shares her teaching activities with new generations of singers. She was awarded the Spanish National Music Prize in 2024, echoing the path of Alfredo Kraus, who received the award in 1969 and 1970.

Auyanet will be joined by jury members representing the collaborating theatres: Isamay Benavente, Director of Teatro Nacional de La Zarzuela, Madrid, and Giovanni Vitali, Casting Manager of Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Florence. The other jury members are Alessandro Galoppini, Casting Manager of Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Alessandro Di Gloria, Casting Manager of Teatro dell’Opera, Rome; Javier Menéndez, General Manager of Teatro de La Maestranza, Seville; and Ulises Jaén, General and Artistic Manager of ACO – Ópera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

As in the last three events, the competition will be chaired by Rosa Kraus Ley, Chair of the FIAK and the CICAK, with Mario Pontiggia, Artistic Director of the FIAK and the CICAK, as Secretary.

The main task of the X CICAK jury is to discover new opera talent and help young singers on their career path, in line with the original idea of the competition conceived by Alfredo Kraus in 1989.

Prizes and invitations to perform

The CICAK awards three official prizes of 14,000, 12,000 and 10,000 euros, and in addition to the monetary prizes and a diploma, the place winners will receive a medal designed by the tenor’s granddaughter, Gara Martín Kraus.

Four special prizes are also available: the Audience Prize, for the singer who receives most votes in the Final Round (€2,500 and a diploma), provided by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria; the Prize for the Best Opera Singer (€2,000 plus a medal and a diploma), provided by the Fundación Martín Chirino de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; the Prize for the Best Zarzuela Singer (€2,000 plus a plaque and a diploma), provided by Legado Maestro Alonso CB; and the Prize for the Best Bel Canto Singer, offered by Bodega el Grifo on its 250th anniversary.

The finalists will also have the opportunity to receive invitations to auditions and/or productions, concerts and recitals by the members of the jury and the theatres they represent.

Tickets for the Final, which will include a performance by the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, conducted by maestro Óliver Díaz, are on sale at www.auditorioteatrolaspalmasgc.es and www.auditorio-alfredokraus.com, and at ticket offices at the Auditorium, Teatro Pérez Galdós and Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria.