Bampton Classical Opera has announced the winners of its 2025 Young Singers’ Competition, following an outstanding final held on Tuesday 25 November at the Leonard Wolfson Auditorium, Wolfson College, Oxford.
Soprano Seohyun Go was awarded First Prize, with the Second Prize shared by mezzo-soprano Emma Roberts and soprano Erin Rossington. The Accompanists’ Prize went to pianist Daniel Peter Silcock.
The competition, launched in 2013 to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, aims to identify exceptional emerging singers aged 21 to 32 who are currently studying or working in the UK.
From an initial field of 54 entrants and two preliminary rounds, eight finalists were selected to perform before a distinguished panel comprising tenor Bonaventura Bottone, mezzo-soprano Jean Rigby, and vocal coach and accompanist Ingrid Surgenor.
The judges reached a unanimous decision in awarding the top prize to Seohyun Go, praising her “serene presence,” “flawless performance,” and “seemingly unlimited range,” particularly in her interpretations of works by Marx, Handel, Respighi and Mozart. Bottone noted that she brought exceptional radiance and precision to ornamentation seldom achieved at this level.
The high standard of performances led the panel to award joint Second Prize. Emma Roberts impressed with a programme rich in expressive detail and exceptional coloratura in Handel’s Rinaldo, while Erin Rossington delivered what the panel described as a “superb performance,” highlighted by a striking rendition of “Come scoglio” from Mozart’s Così fan tutte.
This year’s finalists represented an exciting cohort of emerging talent, including singers from leading conservatoires and professional training programmes. Their repertoire ranged from baroque arias to late-romantic song, showcasing breadth, technical assurance and artistic individuality.
The competition continues to attract support from major charitable organisations, with the 2025 edition funded by the John S. Cohen Foundation, the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust and the Bishopsdown Trust. Caroline Garthwaite sponsored the Accompanists’ Prize.
Bampton Classical Opera is well known for championing young artists, many of whom go on to perform with companies such as the Royal Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne and Opera North.
The company also has a reputation for staging rare and rediscovered operas from the late 18th century in new English translations, with performances in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and at major venues across the UK.
