Grammy-winning soprano Sumi Jo has become the first Asian artist to receive the Maria Callas Special Award, adding another major honour to her distinguished international career.

The South Korean lyric coloratura soprano accepted the 12th annual prize in Verona, Italy, the city where the legendary Greek-American soprano Maria Callas made her celebrated Italian debut in 1947.

The award recognises artists who have made an outstanding contribution to the world of opera and to preserving Callas’s artistic legacy.

Sumi Jo. Photo Kim Young Jun

Jo described receiving the honour as “one of the greatest privileges” of her career, noting the symbolic significance of accepting the award on the anniversary of Callas’s Verona debut.

One of the world’s foremost interpreters of the bel canto repertoire, Jo rose to international prominence after winning a string of major vocal competitions in the 1980s. She has appeared with leading opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala and the Paris Opera, and won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for Richard Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten.

The Maria Callas Special Award is the latest in a long list of international honours for the soprano, who was appointed to Italy’s Order of the Star in 2019 and received South Korea’s highest cultural decoration, the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, in 2023.

Jo has maintained a close artistic connection with Callas throughout her career, frequently presenting tribute concerts celebrating the legendary diva’s repertoire and influence.

Sumi Jo performs a 40th Anniversary Recital – Continuum – at Sydney Town Hall, 2 October.