Houston Grand Opera Announces 2026 Concert of Arias Winners
Elite emerging artists honored at 38th Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition
HOUSTON, TX / ACCESS Newswire / February 9, 2026 /Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to announce the winners for this year 's Concert of Arias, the 38th Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, held the evening of Feb. 6 at the Wortham Theater Center and livestreamed for worldwide audiences.
The 2026 Concert of Arias winners include:
1st Place prize of $25,000: Scarlett Jones, Soprano
2nd Place prize of $15,000: Misael Corralejo, Tenor
3rd Place prize of $10,000 : Lauren Randolph, Mezzo-soprano
The Audience Choice Award of $5,000: Misael Corralejo, Tenor
The Ana Mariá Martínez Encouragement Award of $2,000: Viktoriia Shamanska, Soprano
The Encouragement Award winner and all non-placing finalists also received a prize of $3,500.
The winners of the competition were chosen by a panel of opera-world luminaries: guest judge/mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, Co-Director of the Lehrer Vocal Institute at the Music Academy of the West; guest judge Julien Benhamou, Director of Production for the Théâtre des Champs Élysées and a casting consultant for the Metropolitan Opera and the Festival d 'Aix-en-Provence; and judge Khori Dastoor, HGO General Director and CEO. Celebrated soprano and HGO favorite Ana María Martínezsponsored the winner of her Encouragement Award, with in-person and online audiences selecting the winner of the Audience Choice Award.
At the event, each finalist sang two arias accompanied by the HGO Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Patrick Summers, HGO 's longtime Artistic and Music Director, who at the end of this season will assume a new role with the company: Music Director Emeritus and holder of the Robert and Jane Cizik Music Director Emeritus Chair.
The competition unfolded live at the Wortham Theater Center, where an in-person audience was joined by viewers tuning in from around the world via HGO 's social channels. Houston Public Media executive producer and Hello Houston host Ernie Manouse served as livestream host, sharing the evening 's excitement with real-time commentary and exclusive behind-the-scenes moments.
Each season, HGO 's Eleanor McCollum Competition brings the opera world 's most promising emerging voices to Houston, reflecting the company 's commitment to the art form 's future. Singers arrive from around the world to compete in a rigorous multi-round process designed to identify artists with the potential to join the esteemed Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio and go onto major careers in opera. The journey culminates in the Concert of Arias, the competition 's live final round.
"Tonight 's concert was a celebration in every sense," says Dastoor. "These extraordinary young artists brought fearless joy and inspiring artistry to the stage, delivering performances they-and we-can be deeply proud of. It was thrilling to watch them step onto the Brown stage to perform with our beloved orchestra, led by Maestro Summers. The Concert of Arias is the purest expression of HGO 's mission: discovering, nurturing, and championing the voices that will define the future of opera."
"The Butler Studio team has been working tirelessly since last year, conducting a global search for the most promising rising voices in opera," says Butler Studio Director Colin Michael Brush. "It was incredibly moving to witness such a high level of achievement from our finalists on the Concert of Arias stage. We could not be prouder of them. Based on what we heard tonight, opera 's future is in excellent hands."
From a pool of more than 1,000 applicants, HGO advanced 18 singers to the semifinal round before selecting an elite group of seven finalists for the competition 's final round, the Concert of Arias. Along the way, these artists engaged with the company, working closely with music staff and gaining an inside view of HGO as they prepared to perform on the Cullen stage.
The full list of finalists included sopranos Scarlett Jones, Viktoriia Shamanska, Arpi Sinanyan, and Kayla Rae Stein; mezzo-soprano Lauren Randolph; tenor Misael Corralejo; and bass-baritone Tzvi Bat Asherah.
This year 's Concert of Arias was graciously chaired by Drs. Rachel and Warren A. Ellsworth, IV. Through the generosity of many supporters, more than $815,000-the the largest amount in the event 's 38-year history-was raised to benefit the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers and the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio.
HGO was able to feature the HGO Orchestra at the 2026 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers thanks to the generosity of supporters Kathleen Moore and Steve Homer. The company was able to offer premier cash prizes thanks to supporters Michelle Beale and Dick Anderson (first place); Kelly and Cody Nicholson (second place); Ms. Diane M. Marcinek (third place); Jill A. Schaar and George Caflisch(Audience Choice); Hon. Theresa and Dr. Peter Chang, Jacqueline Macha and Brian Faulkner, Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Galfione, Dr. Alexandra Ikeguchi, and Dr. Yin Yiu and Ron Domantay (non-placing finalists); and Ana María Martínez (Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award).
Founded in 1977, the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio is internationally recognized as one of the world 's leading young artist programs. The program offers a rigorous, immersive training environment centered on hands-on professional experience, including regular coaching with leading industry artists, performance opportunities in HGO mainstage productions, recitals, and other concert engagements. In 2023, longtime HGO supporters Sarah and Ernest Butler established a $22 million fund within the HGO Endowment-the largest gift in the company 's history-leading to the program 's renaming in recognition of their extraordinary commitment to opera.
2026 Concert of Arias Winner Biographies:
1st Place
SCARLETT JONES
(United Kingdom)
Soprano
Scarlett Jones is currently pursuing a Master of Music at The Juilliard School, where she studies with Darrell Babidge and is a proud recipient of the prestigious Kovner Fellowship and Higley Scholarship. Jones 's recent operatic performances include Gertrude in Humperdinck 's Hansel and Gretel with Juilliard Opera, Ariadne (cover) in Strauss 's Ariadne auf Naxos with Dramatic Voices Berlin, and Miss Jessel (cover) in Britten 's The Turn of The Screw, also with Juilliard Opera. Jones earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London under the tutelage of Eamonn Mulhall and Robert Bottriell. During her time there, she performed the title role in Errollyn Wallen 's Dido 's Ghost, as well as Waltraute in Wagner 's Die Walküre and Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung with the school 's Postgraduate Opera Scenes.
2nd Place and Audience Choice Award
MISAEL CORRALEJO
(Mexico)
Tenor
Misael Corralejo has been in residence at the Mexico Opera Studio (MOS) since 2024. In 2025, he debuted as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchiand as Lauro in the opera Paso del Norte, both MOS productions. The same year, he was invited to participate as an active member of the Bel Canto Institute in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. He was named a Finalist in the 2025 Carlo Morelli National Vocal Competition. In 2024, he won the Mexico District Award at the Metropolitan Opera 's Laffont Competition, and in 2025, he won the Encouragement Award at the Laffont Competition in Denver. He won second prize and was a semifinalist in the zarzuela category at the 2024 Carlo Morelli National Vocal Competition and was a semifinalist and special guest at the 2024 San Miguel Opera Competition.
3rd Place
LAUREN RANDOLPH
(UNITED STATES)
Mezzo-soprano
Lauren Randolph is currently studying with Elizabeth Bishop at The Juilliard School, where she is a recipient of the prestigious Kovner Fellowship. In 2025, she was recognized as a National Finalist in The Metropolitan Opera 's Laffont Competition. Randolph 's recent operatic performances include Madame de Croissy in Poulenc 's Dialogues des Carméliteswith Juilliard Opera and Grimgerde in Wagner 's Die Walküre with The Santa Fe Opera. In addition to operatic repertoire, Randolph is also a skilled concert soloist, having recently performed as the Soprano 2 soloist in Matthew Aucoin and Peter Sellars 's Music for New Bodies. In 2023, she debuted with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Civic Orchestra as the Alto soloist in Bach 's cantatas 40 and 110. In December, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as the Alto soloist in Handel 's Messiahwith the Cecilia Chorus of New York.
The Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award
VIKTORIIA SHAMANSKA
(Ukraine)
Soprano
Currently residing in Poland, Viktoriia Shamanska is a student at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music, where she studies solo singing with Prof. Dr. Hab. Agnieszka Monasterska. She has performed as a soloist with the Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic, collaborating with conductors such as José Miguel Pérez-Sierra, Alexander Humala, and Davide Levi. A laureate of numerous international vocal competitions, she was a finalist in the Stanisław Moniuszko International Vocal Competition (2025) and received honorable mention at the Ada Sari International Vocal Competition (2025), 2nd Prize at the Ars et Gloria Competition (2025), and 3rd Prize at the Antonina Campi International Vocal Competition (2024). In 2024, she trained at the Rossini Academy "Alberto Zedda" in Pesaro, where she made her debut as Corinna in Rossini 's Il viaggio a Reims during the Rossini Opera Festival. She is part of the Opera Academy in Warsaw.
To learn more about the evening, visit HGO.org/COA.
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About Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is one of the largest, most innovative, and most highly acclaimed opera companies in the United States. General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor assumed leadership of the organization and responsibility for its strategic vision in 2021. HGO was the only American finalist for Opera Company of the Year in the 2025 International Opera Awards, and the only American company to be nominated three times. In fulfilling its mission to advance the operatic art, to serve the Houston community, and to be a global leader in the future of opera, HGO has led the field in commissioning and producing new works (76 world premieres to date) and in training and nurturing promising young artists and administrators. In 2025, the company launched the Houston Grand Opera record label, enabling it to share American operatic works with a broad international audience. HGO contributes to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation through a diverse and innovative program of performances, community events, and education projects that reaches the widest possible public. The company 's pioneering Community and Learning initiative has served as a model for other arts organizations. HGO invites all Houstonians to experience superlative opera without the barrier of price through discounted single tickets and subscriptions, subsidized student performances, and free productions.
HGO has toured extensively and has won a Tony, three Grammy awards, and three Emmy awards. It is the only opera company to win all three honors.
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SOURCE:Houston Grand Opera
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