Tenor Duke Kim and soprano Kathleen O'Mara are recognized for their contributions to the company's artistic legacy

(Los Angeles) April 16, 2026 — LA Opera has announced the 2026 recipients of the Eva and Marc Stern Artist Award: tenor Duke Kim and soprano Kathleen O'Mara.

The Stern Artist Award was established in 2021 by Eva and Marc Stern, two of the greatest champions and most dedicated supporters in the history of LA Opera. The annual award serves as an expression of gratitude to gifted artists who have made an indelible mark on LA Opera's artistic profile. The award recipients will receive $25,000 each.

“One of the great joys Eva and I have found in our involvement with LA Opera is watching exceptional artists grow and flourish, both on this stage and beyond,” said Marc Stern. “This year, we are especially proud to celebrate two remarkable artists on the rise. Duke Kim has already made a powerful impression in two leading roles in Los Angeles, with another to come next season, and audiences have thrilled to his continued evolution. Kathleen O’Mara represents the very best of LA Opera’s young artist program—an artist of extraordinary promise now stepping onto the world stage. It brings us tremendous joy to see her exceptional gifts recognized more widely, and we're also excited for her return next season in her first leading role with the company. Together, they exemplify the vibrant future of opera, and we are honored to celebrate their achievements and their enduring connection to the company we cherish.”

Duke Kim
Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Orange County, tenor Duke Kim made his LA Opera debut in 2024 as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette and returned earlier this season as Tony in West Side Story. His next LA Opera appearance will be in the title role of Candide later this year.

"Growing up in Orange County, I attended many performances at LA Opera," said Duke Kim. "Witnessing the extraordinary artists on that stage played a significant role in inspiring me to become a better artist. To now perform on that very stage feels deeply meaningful—a true full-circle moment. I am sincerely grateful for this award and for the steadfast support that Eva and Marc have shown to LA Opera and its artists. Their generosity continues to make a profound impact on LA Opera, as well as the arts and sciences across the nation. It is a great honor to receive an award that carries their name.”

His appearances this season include Roméo at both Semperoper Dresden and Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia with the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, a staged production of the Mozart Requiem with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto at the Philharmonie de Paris with Le Cercle de l’Harmonie. Future engagements include a debut with the Canadian Opera Company as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore and a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Ferrando in Così fan tutte. He made his Met debut in 2024 as Tamino in The Magic Flute. He is a second-place winner of Operalia (2022), second-place winner at the inaugural Juan Pons International Singing Competition (2022), Grand Finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera's Laffont Competition (2021), and a recent graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera.

Kathleen O'Mara
Soprano Kathleen O'Mara was a member of LA Opera's Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program from 2023 to 2025. After her critically acclaimed company debut in 2023 as Berta in The Barber of Seville, she was asked by the Metropolitan Opera to make her Met debut in the same role in 2025. Additional company appearances include the First Maid in The Dwarf   in 2024 and a performance as guest soloist in a concert starring soprano Angel Blue. She will return to LA Opera in October as Micaëla in the season-opening new production of Carmen, her first leading role with the company.

"I am truly honored to receive the Marc and Eva Stern Artist Award," said Kathleen O'Mara. "My time as a young artist at LA Opera was deeply rewarding and exceeded my already high expectations. From the beginning, I was fortunate to be surrounded by an exceptional community of talented and inspiring artists, and I found an unexpected sense of connection and support among the people who make up LA Opera; it truly feels like my second home. The opportunities I was given and the knowledge I gained during my time in the program have been invaluable, and I will carry those experiences with me throughout my career. I am especially grateful for this award, as it reflects the continued support I feel even beyond my time as a Young Artist, and I sincerely thank Marc and Eva Stern for their generosity."

This season, she returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and as the First Lady in The Magic Flute. She also returned to Milan's La Scala to reprise Helmwige in Die Walküre and debuted with the Bavarian State Opera in Munich as the Fifth Maid in Elektra. In May, she will debut with Seattle Opera as Micaëla in Carmen. Future seasons include her Dallas Opera debut as Elsa in Lohengrin as well as debuts with the Santa Fe Opera and Barcelona Symphony. Last season, in addition to her Met debut, she debuted at La Scala as Helmwige in Die Walküre, at San Diego Opera as Mimì in La Bohème,    and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in excerpts from Carmen conducted by Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl. She was awarded first prize at the 2025 Queen Sonja Singing Competition and first prize and the Birgit Nilsson Prize at the 2024 Operalia Competition.

About Eva and Marc Stern
Chairman of the company’s board of directors from 2002 to 2021, and now serving as Honorary Chairman, Marc Stern has been the driving force in bringing many of the world’s most influential artists to Los Angeles. The Sterns have been involved in nearly every aspect of LA Opera over many years, championing more than 15 ambitious projects including the 2010 Ring cycle, numerous new productions, and DVD releases of La Traviata (with Renée Fleming) and the double Grammy Award-winning Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (with Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone). Through the Eva and Marc Stern Principal Artists Fund, which they established in 2017, they have underwritten performances of major stars including Angel Blue, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Rod Gilfry, Susan Graham, Domingo Hindoyan, Isabel Leonard, Ana María Martínez, Audra McDonald and Rachel Willis-Sørensen. The Sterns were the co-chairs of Plácido Domingo’s 30th anniversary celebration at LA Opera and the underwriters of his 50th anniversary celebration at the Metropolitan Opera.

Marc Stern is Chairman of The TCW Group, Inc., a Los Angeles-based asset management firm. He was first elected to LA Opera’s board in 1992. Marc is also Vice Chairman of LA28, the organization bringing the Olympics and Paralympics to Los Angeles in the summer of 2028. He is involved in numerous other philanthropic activities, including serving on the boards of the Metropolitan Opera and the California Institute of Technology. He is also a minority owner of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Eva Stern is a clinical social worker and philanthropist whose work is guided by a deep commitment to underserved youth and to strengthening connection across an increasingly divided culture. In Southern California, she has focused on expanding opportunity through education, the arts, and mentorship. Her involvement with the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools Foundation grew out of a belief in public education as a powerful equalizer, and in 2006 she helped establish the Marc and Eva Stern Math and Science School. She is also a member of The Blue Ribbon.

Previous Honorees
The inaugural Stern Artist Award recipients in 2021 were soprano Angel Blue, soprano Janai Brugger, bass-baritone Craig Colclough, tenor Joshua Guerrero and mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey. Tenor Ben Bliss, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges and soprano Liv Redpath were the 2022 honorees. The award went to conductor Lina González-Granados and bass-baritone Nicholas Brownlee in 2023, and to conductor Louis Lohraseb, director Kaneza Schaal and administrator Patricia McLeod in 2024. Last year's honorees were tenor Anthony León and soprano Erica Petrocelli.

Learn more at LAOpera.org/SternAward.

Click here to hear from this year's honorees.

About LA Opera
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies.

In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The LA Opera Connects department offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. Learn more at LAOpera.org.

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