• The Latin American singer also took the audience prize and the prize for the best zarzuela singer
• Mexican tenor Carlos Alberto Velázquez took second prize and the prize for the best opera singer
• Spanish soprano Aitana Sanz won third prize

The Fundación Internacional Alfredo Kraus (FIAK), organiser of the IX Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus (IX CICAK), and the Cabildo de Gran Canaria pronounced Venezuelan soprano Génesis Moreno winner of the first prize of the singing competition after the deliberation of the jury chaired by Italian tenor and conductor Giuseppe Sabbatini, which came to its decision at a public gala performance held on Saturday 30 September at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Génesis Moreno scored a hat trick at the competition, also taking the audience prize and the prize for the best zarzuela singer, awarded by Legado Maestro Sergio Alonso CB.

The other place winners at the IX CICAK were Mexican tenor Carlos Alberto Velázquez, who took second prize and the prize for the best opera singer, awarded by Fundación de Arte and Pensamiento Martín Chirino, and Spanish soprano Aitana Sanz, who took third prize.

Nine singers took part in the final of the IX CICAK, after they had been selected from the 65 contestants assessed at the semi-final round at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, held from Sunday 24 to Tuesday 26 September. The semi-finalists had previously taken part in preliminary rounds in Madrid, Milan, Genoa and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria or had directly entred the semi-final after finishing as finalists or winners of other international singing competitions, under the rules of the IX CICAK.

For the ninth CICAK, the organisers received 110 applications from 32 countries by the applications closing date, on June 26.

The nine finalists who had the opportunity to perform at the final gala with the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Óliver Díaz, were Carlos Alberto Velázquez (tenor/Mexico), Génesis Moreno (soprano/Mexico), Fan Zhou (soprano/China), Aitana Sanz (soprano/Spain), Tamon Inoue (baritone/Spain), Alejandro López (bass/Spain), Andrea Niño (mezzo/Colombia), Inés López (mezzo/Spain), and Carmen Buendía (soprano/Spain).

The jury, chaired by Giuseppe Sabbatini, was made up of representatives from the collaborating theatres: Alessandro Galoppini (Casting Manager, Teatro alla Scala, Milan), Pierangelo Conte (Artistic Director, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa), Eline De Kat (Artistic Coordinator, Opéra de Montecarlo), Cesidio Niño (Artistic Director, ABAO de Bilbao), Ulises Jaén (General and Artistic Manager, Ópera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria/ACO), and honorary member Jerónimo Saavedra Acevedo.

The participants at the prize giving were Antonio Morales Méndez, President of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria; Rosa Kraus Ley, Chair of the Fundación Internacional Alfredo Kraus; Giuseppe Sabbatini, Chair of the jury, accompanied by the jury members; Marta Chirino, Chair of the Fundación Martín Chirino; and Francisco Valencia Alonso, grandson of composer Francisco Alonso López (Granada, Spain) and Chair of Legado Maestro Alonso CB, collaborators for the ninth singing competition.

Prizes and invitations to perform

The three official prizes awarded by the IX CICAK were for 14,000, 12,000 and 10,000 euros, plus a diploma and a medal designed by Gara Martín Kraus, granddaughter of Alfredo Kraus.

Three special prizes were also awarded: the audience prize, for the singer who received the most votes at the final (€ 2,500 and a diploma), provided by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria; the prize for the best opera singer (€2,500 plus a medal and a diploma), provided by the Fundación Martín Chirino de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; and the prize for the best zarzuela singer (€1,500 plus a plaque and a diploma), provided by Legado Maestro Alonso CB.

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