Kazakh opera singer Aigerim Altynbek took first place in the XI International Opera Competition CLIP 2025. The young performer not only won, but also passed in the key nominations of the competition and became the absolute winner, winning the first prize, the audience award, the award for best female voice and the prize of music critic, artistic director and teacher Carlo Maier.

This success became a real historical event for Kazakh culture. For the first time in the history of the competition, a representative of Central Asia showed such confident and unconditional leadership.

– Throughout the history of the competition, Aigerim Altynbek was first in the ranking of all jury members from the very beginning of the competition — this is a very rare case, which only confirms the correctness of the public's choice, which gave her the Emotion Prize, — said the chairman of the jury of the competition, Domenic Meyer.

200 applications from all over the world were submitted for the competition. Only 10 performers reached the final. They took part in a gala concert accompanied by the Teatro Carlo Felice orchestra in the central square of Portofino.

The prize for the best female voice of the competition was awarded to Aigerim Altynbek by the Ibanez-Atkinson Foundation (Chile) — an organization that searches for and supports young talented vocalists around the world. The Foundation cooperates with leading theaters and develops its own youth program in collaboration with the opera house in Santiago. It was they who first decided to support a non-European singer on the South American continent, providing Aigerim Altynbek with a professional recommendation and an invitation to further cooperation. This is an important step towards expanding the international career of the Kazakh artist outside of Europe.

This brilliant success was a real breakthrough for the whole country. Despite the fierce competition, Aigerim Altynbek proved that the Kazakh vocal school is able to dictate standards at major international venues.

As a reminder, Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino (CLIP) is one of the most prestigious international vocal competitions, held annually in Portofino, Italy. Its jury includes leading impresarios, directors and directors of major opera houses in Europe, including the Vienna Opera, La Scala, Glyndebourne, the Metropolitan and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

The Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan congratulates Aigerim on her victory. This achievement has become a source of pride for the whole country and a confirmation of the high creative potential of Kazakhstan in the global cultural arena.