For an outstanding production that opened, or for the overall accomplishments of a company or individual in opera and music theatre, between January 2018 and June 2019.

Lady Macbeth of Mtensk (Birmingham Opera Company)

Panel citation: Another sensational production from Birmingham Opera Company embracing and embedding its community in world-class work. This is the kind of thing we all wish we were doing – a model to us all in being ambitious and truly going for it. It delivers the pure drama and emotional punch of opera without gimmicks – the audience feels right inside it, and it proves how resonant, inclusive and exciting opera is.

Also shortlisted:

• Royal Opera
• The Second Violinist (Irish National Opera & Landmark Productions)
  

The 2019 Opera and Music Theatre Award was decided by an independent panel drawn from across the music profession comprising:

• Anna Patalong, soprano, founder of SWAP'ra
• Ashutosh Khandekar, Editor, Opera Now
• Daisy Evans, director
• Emily Gottlieb, Chief Executive, National Opera Studio
• Fiona Maddocks, writer