Mezzo-soprano Elīna Garāna and director Kirill Serebrennikov will be awarded this year's "BZ" newspaper culture prize. The Latvian singer is considered the undisputed best in her field, the Axel Springer media group announced on Thursday. For the Russian director, Mozart is "both therapist and life-giving pill.".

BZ Culture Prize

With this award, the tabloid newspaper honors for the 32nd time artists who have made Berlin their home and whose work enriches the cultural life of the capital and has international appeal.

Garanča has long since become a favorite with audiences at the Berlin State Opera. "A voice with tremendous range and expressiveness, with its warm and powerful timbre, Elina Garanča touches the soul," it was said. Serebrennikov, persecuted and imprisoned in his homeland, has lived in Berlin since 2022, where he directs at the Komische Oper and the Deutsche Oper.

Further prizes in the form of a dancing bronze bear designed by the Berlin artist Ernst Leonhardt go to the writer Herta Müller, the actor Alexander Scheer, the artist Norbert Bisky, and the composers and producers Peter Plate and Ulf Sommer.

"Every investment in culture and education is an investment in humanity, in our free lives, in democracy," said BZ editor-in-chief Jan Schilde. This year's award winners "all contribute in their own way, with their magnificent artistic work, to education, to social cohesion, to civilization, to the freedom of our city.".

The BZ Culture Prizes will be awarded on April 15th at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Actress Meret Becker will host the evening. Around 800 guests from the arts, culture, and society are expected to attend.

The tabloid newspaper has been awarding the culture prize since 1992. Previous winners include the former director of the Berlin State Opera, Jürgen Flimm, the Mexican-French tenor Rolando Villazón and the violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter .

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