Launched in 2005, the Opera News Awards — the only awards in the United States given specifically for opera — are presented by the Metropolitan Opera Guild and Opera News magazine (published by the Guild) to recognize distinguished contributions to the art form.
The winners of the first Opera News Awards were mezzo-sopranos Susan Graham and Dolora Zajick, conductor James Conlon (currently music director of the Los Angeles Opera and previously chief conductor of the Op_ra national de Paris), retired soprano R_gine Crespin, and tenor/conductor/administrator/ operatic superman Plšcido Domingo.