The 2025/26 Götz Friedrich Prize for young opera directors will be awarded to Giulia Giammona and Elena Maria Artisi. The jury decided, for the first time, to award two prizes "in light of two equally compelling productions," the Deutsche Oper Berlin announced on Tuesday. The prize, which includes a €5,000 award for each director, will be presented to them in Berlin on November 19.

Giulia Giammona, Elena Artisi

The German-Italian director Giammona (born 1995) is being honored for her production of Paul Hindemith's "Cardillac" at the Meiningen State Theatre. Artisi, born in Berlin in 1997, receives the prize for Gaetano Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" at the Altenburg Gera Theatre.

The Götz Friedrich Prize was established by the renowned opera director and long-time artistic director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin to help young talents launch their careers. Awarded since 1998, previous recipients include Franziska Severin, Stefan Herheim, Sebastian Baumgarten, Benedikt von Peter, Elisabeth Stöppler, Anna Bernreitner, and most recently, Aileen Schneider. From 2018 to 2022, the prize was awarded by the German-Language Opera Conference; since then, the award has returned to the director's (1930-2000) main place of work.

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