MOSCOW, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian soprano Yekaterina Shcherbachenko has been named the BBC Singer of the World 2009 after winning the world's most prestigious operatic competition in Cardiff, the broadcaster said.
"This is the happiest day of my life," said the 32-year-old Bolshoi Theater leading soloist after beating rivals from Japan, Italy, Ukraine and the Czech Republic in the final, which took place on Sunday night.
A total of 600 singers started the competition, organized by BBC Wales, with just 25 making it to the semifinals.
Shcherbachenko, who stunned the audience in the second round with Tatyana's Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin, forsook her native Russian in the final to perform in French, Italian and English, closing with Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress.
The Russian takes home 15,000 pounds ($24,400) in prize money, but far more valuable could be the international exposure.
The only other victory for a Russian singer in Cardiff turned Dmitry Khvorostovsky into an international opera star, playing opera houses all over the world since winning the contest in 1989.
