A major international competition has launched in London this week to find the Commonwealth’s most talented Black and South Asian opera singers, offering a life-changing £10,000 prize and a pathway to the global stage.
The Voices of Black Opera (VOBO) competition is the top initiative of the Black British Classical Foundation (BBFC). The competition aims to break down racial barriers in the opera world and champion new talent from across the 56 nations of the Commonwealth, spanning Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific.
Twelve singers will be shortlisted for the competition, with the overall winner crowned the Voice of Black Opera 2025 at a gala final in London on 25 October 2025. The winner will receive the Sir Willard White Trophy named after the legendary Jamaican-born opera singer, along with a £10,000 cash prize.
A second prize, the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Trophy, will recognise the best performance of a song by a Black composer. The winner of this award will also receive a specially commissioned song cycle and three guaranteed paid performance opportunities to launch their professional career.
The competition is open to singers of Black or South Asian heritage from across the Commonwealth, and international contestants will have their travel and accommodation covered.
BBFC CEO and founder Vincent Osborne said VOBO was “more than a competition” and described it as “an opportunity to be seen, to grow, and to join a network of artists redefining the future of opera.”
“It is a travesty that people of colour are so visibly absent from the international operatic scene, despite having the talent and commitment,” Osborne said. “The VOBO competition is a shop window for Black and South Asian talent – we aim to identify, nurture and promote the singers and force open the doors of the world’s greatest opera companies.”
During their time in the UK, contestants will benefit from coaching by leading opera repetiteurs and take part in masterclasses ahead of the public semi-final, where five finalists will be chosen to perform with a full orchestra at the gala event.
The judging panel includes prominent figures from the opera world, including representatives from Opera North, English National Opera, and the Royal Northern College of Music.
The 2023 competition drew finalists from Britain, Canada, South Africa and Jamaica. British soprano Rachel Duckett, of Jamaican heritage, won the top prize, while South African tenor Thando Mjandana won the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Award and has since performed with the Cape Town and Dutch National Operas, as well as London’s Royal Opera House.
Applications for the 2025 competition close on 17 July 2025.
To apply or find out more, visit: https://bbcf.uk/vobo.
