Sarah Richmond is one of 40 out of 450 singers from 32 countries around the world to be selected to sing at Weikersheim Palace in Germany this week, as one of these cohorts will take home €10,000.
She is the only singer selected to participate from the UK/Ireland.
Sarah, a single mother, has focused on her singing for the past year as she recovered from a particularly bad dose of Covid and is delighted with the results.
Mezzo soprano, she is no stranger to success in the world of classical music.
She won the 2021 Toronto Mozart Vocal Competition and the 2022 New York NYIOP ANON Competition and is known for her emotional engagement, with Opera Magazine remarking, “Her voice was brilliant and clear, her playing utterly compelling.”
Over the years she has performed with Wexford Festival Opera, Irish National Opera, Longborough Festival Opera, Random Opera, North West Opera and the Belfast Ensemble.
An advocate of contemporary music, Sarah has given world premieres including Lucrezia in What Happened to Lucrezia at Wexford Festival Opera, however, she is equally at home on the concert platform and has given numerous recitals over the years.
She appeared regularly on Radio Ulster and broadcast on BBC Radio 3, RTE Lyric FM and PBS and worldwide as a soloist for the Irish Rugby Football Union.
Sarah is now looking forward to Weikersheim Palace where she will compete in the prestigious Debut Contest alongside counterparts from the United States, South Korea, Russia, Belarus, China, Japan, France, Italy, from Sweden, Iceland, Ukraine, Germany, Kazakhstan and Austria.
Sarah will perform with Doriana Tchakarova in front of a distinguished jury at the event which runs from September 18-25.
The final will be with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Würzberg.
Eager to participate, Sarah said: “I am so happy to show my son that hard work and perseverance pays off.
“It is an honor to have reached this milestone.
“Who knows, maybe I’ll pick up the €10,000 and we can go on a dream vacation”
