Turkish soprano wins Marije Kraja festival

TIRANA, Nov. 6 – Turkish soprano Deniz Yetim from the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet has been announced the winner of the 14th edition of the Marije Kraja international opera festival which this year brought together 15 finalists from around the world.
“This is very important to me. It’s been two years since I won big awards but I was craving for this prize in Albania because even my professor won an award at this festival several years ago,” said the Turkish soprano.
Singer Marigona Qerkezi from Kosovo came in second, while Romanian tenor Alazaroae Remus won third place. Greek soprano Vassia Zacharopoulou grabbed the special prize awarded by festival’s orchestra.
“Differently from previous editions, this edition brought two simultaneous competitions during the festival’s three nights, the competition with the most beautiful arias and the song competition with the most,” said Zana ȥla, the festival’s host and producer.
Albanian mezzo-soprano Irida Dragoti and Kosovo soprano Marigona Qerkezi were among the shortlisted contestants in this year’s edition held from October 31 to November 1 at the Opera House in Tirana.
In last year’s edition, South Korean bass singer Ji Sang Ryu was announced the winner of the 13th edition of the Marie Kraja opera festival which made its comeback after a one-year absence due to financial problems.
Established in 1999 soon after renowned Albanian soprano Marie Kraja passed away at the age of 88, the festival was initially held as a national competition, before becoming Albania’s only internationally renowned operatic festival in the next few editions.
The careers of several young performers including Albanian tenor Josif Gjipali, soprano Evis Mula, Belgium’s Micheal Fisch and Turkey’s Perihan Diana Nayir kicked off at the Marie Kraja festival.
In 2009, young Albanian soprano Evis Mula managed to sign a two-year contract with La Scala, Milan’s world famous Opera House after winning the Marie Kraja festival.
The festival’s jury is composed of some of the most prestigious directors of European and American opera houses.