● The First Prize ofthe 78th Concours de Genève, which took place on 22 October at Grand
Théâtre de Genève, has been awarded to Swiss Soprano Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh (28 years
old). The Second Prize has been awarded to South-Korean Baritone Jungrae Noah Kim (30
years old). The Third Prize has not been attributed.
● Finalist Mezzo-Soprano Barbara Skora (25 years old, Poland) received an Honorable Mention
Prize.
● Further Special Prizes awarded to Swiss Soprano, Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh were: Audience
Prize, Young Audience Prize, Students’ Prize, Arts Society Prize, Fondation Etrillard Prize, OSR
Musicians’ Prize and Cercle Du Grand Théâtre Prize.
● Both Second Prize Winner, Jungrae Noah Kim, and Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh were jointly
awarded the Concerts De Jussy Prize and the Rose-Marie Huguenin Prize.
● Semi-Finalist Junho Hwang (Tenor, 25 years old, South Korea) has been awarded the Yvonne
Sigg Foundation Prize.
● Jury Chair and Soprano, Patricia Petibon said, “What deeply moved both the jury and I was the
hope we see in young people who want to play an active role in society,seeking meaning through music
to build connections. This is something we must listen to with strength and conviction, because it is
there that the future of opera, and the future of our artists, lies.”
● The Voice Final took place at Grand Théâtre de Genève on 22 October with the finalists
performing the following repertoire with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, conducted by
Alevtina Ioffe:
○ Barbara Skora – Mezzo-Soprano
Jules Massenet: Werther – Charlotte’s Aria “Werther! Qui m‘aurait dit la
place…”, Act III
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito – Sesto? Aria “Parto parto”, Act
I
Gioachino Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia – Rosina’s Cavatina “Una voce poco fa”,
Act I
○ Jungraeh Noah Kim – Baritone
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Queen of Spades – Yeletsky’s Aria “Ya vas lyublyu”,
Act II
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro – Count Almaviva’s Aria “Hai gia
vinta la causa”, Act III
Erich Wolfgang Korngold): Die tote Stadt – Fritz’s Aria “Mein Sehnen mein
Wähnen”, Act II
○ Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh – Soprano
George Frideric Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto – Cleopatra’s Aria “Da tempeste
il legno infranto”, Act III
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflöte – Pamina’s Aria “Ach, ich fühl’s”,
Act II
Gaetano Donizetti: Linda di Chamounix – Linda’s Recitative and Aria “Ah, tardai
troppo…O luce di quest’anima”, Act I
● The three finalists were selected from eight semi-finalists who were invited to Geneva from
15-18 October for the Semi-Finals, during which they performed an Opera Recital and a
Lieder/Song Recital.
● As part of the Semi-Finals, candidates were also invited to submit a Personal Artistic Project
that highlights their artistic personality. This project could take a variety of forms, including a
purely musical proposal, a tour concept, or even a collaboration with other art forms such as
literature, the visual arts, or dance.
● The Final Round of the Competition was live streamed on Concours de Genève’s website and
social media channels, as well as on medici.tv, operavision.eu, amadeus.tv, theviolinchannel.com,
and live broadcast on the Swiss national radio RTS-Espace 2. It will also be broadcast on Mezzo
and TV Léman Bleu later this week.
Official Prizes
FIRST PRIZE (CHF 20,000.-) –
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
SECOND PRIZE (CHF 12,000.-)
Jungrae Noah Kim, Baritone, 30 years old, South Korea
THIRD PRIZE (CHF 8,000.-)
Not attributed
In addition to the official prizes, laureates benefit from two years of services from the concert agency Sartory
Artists, partner agency of the Concours de Genève. This includes career management, personal coaching and
multiple concerts, enabling them to take their first steps on the Swiss and international music scenes.
Special Prizes
HONORABLE MENTION PRIZE: CHF 1,500.-
Barbara Skora, Mezzo-Soprano, 25 years old, Poland
AUDIENCE PRIZE: CHF 1,500.-
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
The Audience Prize is awarded by the spectators of the Final Rounds. The finalist who receives the most ballots is
the winner of this prize.
YOUNG AUDIENCE PRIZE: CHF 1,000.-
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
The Young Audience Prize is awarded by a group of students from public and private schools in Geneva, having
formerly received a specific training. They evaluate the two Final Rounds.
STUDENTS’ PRIZE: CHF 1,000.-
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
The Students’ Prize is awarded by a group of students from the Faculty of Music and the Department of Musicology
of the University of Geneva, who evaluate both Finals. It is integrated in their official curriculum. The Students’ Prize
is offered by Ms. & Mr. Hervieu-Causse.
ARTS SOCIETY PRIZE : CHF 3,000.–
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
The Société des Arts Prize is awarded by the Jury to one of the three finalists in the Voice Competition and consists
of a chamber music concert organised by the Société des Arts as part of its mentoring programme. The winner will
perform in 2024 with an experienced professional musician chosen by agreement between the Competition and the
Société des Arts.
CONCERTS DE JUSSY PRIZE : CHF 2’000.-
Jungrae Noah Kim, Baritone, 30 years old, South Korea
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
The «Concerts de Jussy» Special Prize is awarded to the Finalists of the Voice Competition and consists of a concert
on October 24th at the Temple de Jussy.
YVONNE SIGG FOUNDATION PRIZE: CHF 3,000
Junho Hwang, Tenor, 25 years old, South Korea
The Yvonne Sigg Foundation Prize is awarded by the Jury to one of the semi-finalists of the Voice Competition and
consists of a half-recital at the annual Yvonne Sigg Foundation Scholarship Recipients’ Evening in autumn 2025.
FONDATION ETRILLARD PRIZE : CHF 5,000.–
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
The “Fondation Etrillard” Prize is awarded by the Jury to the voice finalist who has presented the most remarkable
personal artistic project during the semi-final round.
ROSE-MARIE HUGUENIN PRIZE : CHF 10,000.–
Jungrae Noah Kim, Baritone, 30 years old, South Korea
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
This prize is awarded to all the winners of the Voice Competition and gives them the opportunity to benefit from a
personal grant to help them carry out their artistic projects. The grant is administered by the Competition.
OSR MUSICIANS’ PRIZE
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
Awarded by the musicians of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande to a finalist of the Voice Competition. It consists
of a concert engagement during the two seasons following the award.
CERCLE DU GRAND THÉÂTRE PRIZE : CHF 3,000.–
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old, Switzerland
The Cercle du Grand Théâtre Prize is an engagement at the Grand Théâtre de Genève as a first or a second opera
role and is awarded to one of the finalists of the Voice Competition.
Biographies of the winners
Barbara Skora, Mezzo-Soprano, 25 years old
Barbara Skora, born in Ratibor, Poland, demonstrated her musical talent early, winning several national and international prizes
before beginning her studies at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw with Magdalena Idzik. She is currently pursuing a
master’s degree under Marek Rzepka at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany.
Skora is equally at home in both Baroque and contemporary music, and her operatic roles include Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan
tutte, the Forester’s Wife in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, and Pierrot in a theatrical production of Schoenberg’s Pierrot
Lunaire.
In the coming months, she will perform the role of Orpheus in a music theater production and Soeur Mathilde in Poulenc’s
Dialogues of the Carmelites at the Braunschweig Opera. Skora’s versatility and vocal expressiveness continue to earn her
recognition on stages across Europe.
Jungrae Noah Kim, Baritone, 30 years old
Korean baritone, Jungrae Noah Kim, is the first prize winner of the Belvedere Competition in Lithuania (2024), as well as the
Marmande Competition in France and the Shizuoka Opera Competition in Japan (2023). He studied at the Seoul National
University of Arts and was a member of the Zurich Opera Studio, where he performed in productions including Madama Butterfly,
Rigoletto, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
During the 2022/23 season, Kim performed roles such as Wagner in Gounod’s Faust, Baron Douphol in Verdi’s La Traviata,
Gregorio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Ping in Puccini’s Turandot. Next season, he will debut as Marcello in Puccini’s La
Bohème at the Biel-Solothurn Theatre.
Before joining the Zurich Opera Studio, Kim made his debut as Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore at the Seoul Opera and as Masetto in
Don Giovanni at the Bregenz Festival. He has worked with notable conductors such as Fabio Luisi and Vladimir Jurowski, and
directors like Barrie Kosky and Ted Huffman.
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano, 28 years old
Swiss soprano Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, with roots in the Seychelles, studied under Barbara Locher in Bern before joining the
International Opera Studio in Zurich. During her time there, she performed roles such as Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Zaida in Il
Turco in Italia, and Atalanta in Serse, as well as other operas on the stage of the Zurich Opera House and the Theatre Winterthur.
She also took on the title role in the world premiere of Fabian Müller’s Heidi feiert Weihnachten at Theatre Biel-Solothurn and
portrayed Licori in Vivaldi’s La Fida Ninfa at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music.
The Swiss soprano sang the role of Gerhilde in Wagner’s The Valkyrie in the State Oper of Prague, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg,
in the Palace of Culture Dresden and in the Philharmonie Cologne under the baton of Kent Nagano. She has also been involved in
numerous early music projects across Europe. A prizewinner of several international competitions, she most recently won first
prize at the International Haydn-Competition in Rohrau, Austria, in spring 2024.
General information:
● The Concours de Genève initiated the ambitious Career Development Programme in 2003.
Comprising of different modules, it seeks to help the laureates explore and define their artistic
identity, whilst providing the necessary tools to launch an international career.
● In addition to the official prizes, laureates benefit from two years of services from the concert
agency Sartory Artists, partner agency of the Concours de Genève. This includes career
management, personal coaching and multiple concerts, enabling them to take their first steps on
the Swiss and international music scenes.
● Since 2017, the Concours de Genève has offered its prizewinners a professional workshop
where they acquire knowledge by exchanging with their peers and music industry
professionals. This year, the workshop will be covering topics such as performance, health,
career management, image and social media. As of 2023, the ‘Association Crocus’, which is the
collaboration between Concours de Genève, the Rencontres Musicales d’Évian and La Belle
Saison, allows laureates to have access to an even wider range of workshops.
● Past Voice and Composition Laureates include Anna Kasyan (2007), Polina Pasztircsák (2009),
Antoinette Dennefeld (2011), David Fischer (2016), Marina Viotti (2016), Shoichi Yabuta
(2015), Jaehyuck Choi (2017), Hinako Takagi (2019), Daniel Arango-Prada (2019), Shin Kim
(2022), amongst many others.
● 2023 Laureate, the NOVO Quartet (with violinists Kayo Kato Møller and Nikolai Vasili
Nedergaard, violist Daniel Śledziński and cellist Signe Ebstrup Bitsch) is currently finding
international success, performing in Europe as well as the USA and China. They have taken on a
wide range of projects from radio programmes to collaborating with fashion brand ‘UNIQLO’,
which explores the intersection between music and other art forms.
● Winner of the 2023 First Prize for Flute, Elizaveta Ivanova, has also been announced as a BBC
Radio 3 New Generation Artist for 2024-26.
● Founded in 1939, Concours de Genève is one of the world’s leading international music
competitions. It aims at discovering, promoting, and supporting young talented artists, giving
them the necessary tools to launch an international career. Several main disciplines rotate
annually, including piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, cello, viola, string quartet, voice, percussion, and
composition, which is held every second year.