The Mildred Miller International Voice Competition was founded in 2011 to identify and nurture talented young singers. The competition is named for Pittsburgh Festival Opera founder Mildred Miller Posvar, who sang for 26 illustrious seasons at the Metropolitan Opera and other world capitals. This season, Pittsburgh Festival Opera will be presenting a Special Mezzo-Soprano Edition in a digital-only format in response to COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings. This is the 10th year of the event, so we are celebrating the year of the Mezzo to demonstrate the importance that voice-type plays in the history of the PFO - from its founding to its new artistic leadership.

In September 2020, Pittsburgh Festival Opera received 155 applicant videos for consideration. From this initial screening, 13 finalists were chosen. On Friday, November 6 at 7:00 PM EST, all 13 finalists will be presented in an online concert featuring the high-definition videos that were created by the finalists using camera and audio equipment provided to each singer by Pittsburgh Festival Opera. The online audience can vote live for the “Audience Favorite” prize during this concert. Winners will be announced publicly on Sunday, November 8 at 7:00 PM EST and presented in an online concert featuring the videos of the First, Second, Third Prize, and Audience Favorite winners.