Inspired by the legacy of the legendary soprano Maria Callas, who launched The Dallas Opera in her 1957 company debut, this award is given to a single performer each season in recognition of a particularly memorable and outstanding company debut. Winners are selected by Dallas Opera subscribers each season by popular vote.
2025/2026 Winner
Etienne Dupuis
Baritone
Rodrigo in Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo
“I have always believed that the characters, the story, should come first. We should strive to achieve a certain communication of our emotional and psychological arcs, despite the sometimes ridiculously hard vocal requirements and, perhaps, even the quite challenging modern interpretations of these timeless masterpieces. To receive such a prize for a role I have honed for the last 10 years brings me such a deep and powerfully emotional sense of accomplishment. I hope you felt even a tiny fraction of the joy I experienced performing for you all. I am humbled, thank you!”
Past Winners:
2024/2025 Sylvia D’Eramo
2023/2024 Long Long
2022/2023 Kangmin Justin Kim
2021/2022 Joyce El-Khoury
2019/2020 Terrence McNally
2018/2019 Stephanie Blythe
2017/2018 Kyle Ketelsen
2016/2017 Marina Costa-Jackson
2015/2016 Joyce DiDonato
2014/2015 Ekaterina Scherbachenko
2013/2014 Isabel Leonard
2012/2013 Susan Graham
2011/2012 Myrto Papatanasiu
2010/2011 Laura Claycomb
2009/2010 Ben Heppner
2008/2009 James Valenti
2007/2008 Catherine Naglestad
2006/2007 Christopher Ventris
2004/2005 Latonia Moore
2003/2004 Indira Mahajan
2002/2003 Irini Tsirakidis
2001/2002 Elizabeth Futral
2000/2001 Chen Sue Panariello
1999/2000 Patricia Racette
1998/1999 Mary Mills
1997/1998 Cynthia Harmon
1996/1997 Denyce Graves
1995/1996 Hei-Kyung Hong
1994/1995 Maureen O’Flynn
1993/1994 Cecilia Bartoli
1992/1993 Jerry Hadley
1991/1992 Sharon Sweet