It was the wait of the world

What would the headlines be if the 12th Operalia, Placido Domingo’s annual opera competition, had been an Olympic event? “U.S.A. Shut Out of Awards�? “Long Jury Deliberations Suggest Conflicts, Debates�? “Crowd at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Grows Restive as Clock Ticks Toward Midnight�? “Scoring System Criticized as Four Competitors Rack Up Same Totals�?

OK, so the weeklong Operalia 2004 wasn’t an athletic competition. But at the finals Saturday night, it felt a lot like one, pitting 17 finalists from seven countries against one another for $185,000 in prizes. They were the survivors from a field of 43 singers, all 30 or younger. The evening began at 7:30. The 10 judges retired for debate three hours later. By 11:45, what was left of the 2,600 people originally in the audience -- a respectable number, actually -- began rhythmically clapping to signal impatience at the delay.

Domingo, who had earlier led the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra in accompanying all the singers, arrived onstage to thank everyone for being patient. He pointed out how difficult the judging had been when the level of the competitors was so high. Then, “without drumroll,� as he said, he announced the winners.

Woo Kyung Kim, a 27-year-old tenor from South Korea, took the first-place award of $50,000. He had sung “Salut! Demeure chaste et pure� from Gounod’s “Faust.� Nataliya Kovalova, 28, from Ukraine, won the $35,000 second prize. She sang Violetta’s final Act 1 scene from Verdi’s “La Traviata.� Dmitry Voropaev, 29, from Russia, won third place, $20,000, for singing “Dalla sua pace� from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.�

Four singers tied, Domingo said, at a slightly lower score than the top winners. He announced extra prizes of $10,000 each for soprano Maria Jooste, 30, of South Africa; baritone Vitaliy Bilyy, 29, of Ukraine; tenor Dmitry Korchak, 25, of Russia; and bass Mikhail Petrenko, 29, of Russia.

Korchak and Korean bass In-Sung Sim, 29, each took home $10,000 for winning prizes in the zarzuela category. Zarzuela is the Spanish national form of musical theater. Russian soprano Irina Lungu, 24, won $10,000 in a new prize established by Puerto Rico. The $10,000 “People’s Choice� award, voted on by the audience, went to Kovalova, who had sung Violetta.

All the competitors, who already have professional experience, were strong. Some were genuinely exciting. In addition to Kovalova, the audience particularly cheered Korchak; Jooste; American baritone Quinn Kelsey, 26, and tenor James Valenti, 27; Korean baritone Hye-Soo Sonn, 28; and Russian bass Mikhail Petrenko, 29. All with good reason.

The judges were Jean-Pierre Brossman, general director of the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris; stage director Marta Domingo, Placido’s wife; Thierry Fouquet, artistic director of the Opera de Bordeaux; Jonathan Friend, artistic administrator of the Metropolitan Opera in New York; Sabine Hodl, season planning and casting director of the Vienna Staatsoper; Peter Mario Katona, artistic administrator of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Jean-Louis Pichon, artistic administrator at the Grand Theatre l’Esplanade, St. Etienne, France; Adres Rodriguez, general director of the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile; Emilio Sagi, artistic director of the Teatro Real in Madrid; and Helga Schmidt, director of the Palacio de las Artes in Valencia, Spain.

There were no groans but only cheers at this group’s decisions. But as at the Olympics, debates are certain to follow. Let the careers flourish.