[attach id=249472 size="medium"]Jonas Kaufmann[/attach]

Frankfurt Opera was crowned the world’s best opera company at the inaugural International Opera Awards which were set up to promote opera to a wider audience as it comes under increasing financial pressure.

The award was one of 21 prizes announced at a ceremony in central London to kick off The Operas, an annual awards show set up by Opera Magazine and British businessman Harry Hyman.

German Jonas Kaufmann, often described as the “new king of tenors”, was crowned the best male singer after strong reviews from productions of Carmen and with his solo albums, Verismo Arias and Wagner, becoming bestsellers within weeks of release. He beat competition from Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel, tenors Aleksandrs Antonenko, Piotr Beczala and Malta’s own Joseph Calleja, as well as bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni.

Swedish soprano Nina Stemme, who received rave reviews in Munich, Milan and Paris for her Wagner, beat five others, including Joyce DiDonato and Sarah Connolly to be named best female singer.

Briton Antonio Pappano, music director of Britain’s Royal Opera House, won the award for best conductor.

Hyman said the awards were intended to broaden the audience for opera and encourage new talent by creating bursaries.

“I hope they will become the Oscars of opera,” he said.

The awards received 1,500 nominations from 41 countries and the winners were decided by a 10-member jury made up of opera critics, opera house chiefs and singers.

The award for the best new production went to The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov that was performed by the Netherlands Opera and directed by Russia’s Dmitri Tcherniakov, who also won the award for best director.