The Awards Committee of the Vancouver Opera Guild is pleased to announce that following careful consideration of the many excellent applications submitted for 2025, the judges’ unanimous decision was to award this year’s Career Development Grant ($7,000) to soprano Leila Kirves of Vancouver. She is an alumna of the University of British Columbia. In 2023 she was with the Gerdine Young Artists Program at the Opera Theater of St. Louis. Amongst other awards she was a 2021 District Winner of the Metropolitan National Council Auditions and won Third Place at the Northwest Regional level in 2022.
This grant will enable Leila to undertake an audition tour in Germany, an essential part of her career development, particularly given her fach, a dramatic soprano capable of singing heavier roles performed less often in North America than in Europe. In addition, Leila plans on preparing for this tour by undertaking extra coaching and making several new recordings.
The three judges, Chair David Agler (formerly Music Director of Vancouver Opera and Artistic Director, Wexford Festival), Judith Forst (Canadian mezzo-soprano) and Dale Throness, Lecturer in Voice, UBC) noted the large number of high quality applicants in this year’s pool. The Vancouver Opera Guild is heartened to see that Canada continues to produce such a high caliber of young opera singers.
