Five young Maltese opera singers nominated by tenor Joseph Calleja are being sponsored by Malta International Airport, the Austrian Embassy and other partners to join a prestigious summer academy in Salzburg.

The chosen five singers are: tenor Nick Agius Darmanin, tenor Cliff Zammit Stevens, mezzo soprano Clare Ghigo, soprano Nicola Said and baritone Joseph Lia.

After a competitive application process opens in January, the five singers will attend next year’s summer academy at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. The university has been responsible for the work and teaching of outstanding personalities such as Bernhard Paumgartner, Clemens Krauss and Paul Hindemith.

The summer academy is an international course organised at the same time as the famous Salzburg Festival, which has been organised since 1920 in the city that gave the world its most renowned composer Amadeus Mozart.

Austrian Ambassador Petra Schneebauer announced the nominations at the Skyparks Business Centre in Gudja during a reception entitled Moonlight on the Terrace.

The evening was hosted by Malta International Airport in collaboration with the Austrian Embassy, to mark the last full moon of summer.

President George Abela attended the reception and spoke about his upcoming state visit to Austria next year.

MIA chief executive officer Markus Klaushofer said the reception was organised to mark the end of a record summer for the airport.

“The impressive tourism figures this year came about thanks to the collaboration of all stakeholders involved. In August alone, we saw more than half a million passengers pass through the airport, making it the best month ever recorded. And this positive trend is expected to continue,” he said.

“To mark this success, we have decided to offer top musical talent the opportunity to further their studies overseas in line with our strong belief that international experiences and cross-cultural collaborations are the key to success.”

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