Date
22/6/2026

Eduarda Dias, a student on the Master’s degree programme in Music Education – specialising in Instrumental and Ensemble Music at the Higher School of Applied Arts (ESART) of the Castelo Branco Polytechnic (IPCB) – won first prize in the final of the Setúbal Voz Competition for Young Opera Singers 2026, held on 21 June at the Luísa Todi Forum in Setúbal

The award from the event, organised by the Setúbal Voz Association (ASV), secured the young woman from Castelo Branco, who holds a degree in degree in Music – specialising in Singing also from ESART-IPCB, a cash prize of 1,200 euros. A second prize and the OperaTools prize were also awarded.

In the semi-final, held a week earlier and during which the seven finalists were selected, the contestants performed two arias: one from an opera and a compulsory piece commissioned for this year’s competition. This was the song O Pavão e o Corvo by Alexandre Delgado, basedon a poem by Bocage.

This stage included the Prize for Best Interpretation of Alexandre Delgado and the Bocage Prize, awarded to the best candidate born in, resident in or studying in the municipality of Setúbal.

The performances were judged by a panel comprising Aleksei Bogutskyi (choreographer and artistic director of the Worldwide Ballet Theatre), Jorge Salgueiro (artistic director of ASV), Mariana Chaves (member of the Setúbal Opera Company), Rafaela Albuquerque (soprano andartistic director of OperaTools), Regina Dinis (president of ASV) and Salomé Cunha (member of the Setúbal Voz Choir).

The public will have the chance to hear the five winners perform once again at the Winners’ Recital, which will take place on 4 July, from 11.30 am, at the Church of the Convent of Jesus in Setúbal.

Established in 2021, the competition aims to encourage young singing students, discover young talent and promote opera, as well as helping to consolidate Setúbal’s reputation as a national centre for opera and to promote the Portuguese operatic repertoire.

Dedicated to opera and contemporary music and the arts, ASV’s artistic project is centred on the Setúbal Opera Company, the Youth Musical Theatre Workshop and the Setúbal Voz Choir.

(photos: ASV)