Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and a number of Company-affiliated artists have been nominated for International Opera Awards.

This is the first year of the awards and, the only awards to focus exclusively on opera, it is hoped that they will become the Oscars of the opera world. Designed to promote excellence in opera, they recognize the achievements of performers, producers and backstage teams.

Music Director of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano has been nominated in the Conducting category while the Royal Opera House Orchestra have been nominated in the Orchestra category.

Those nominated in the Male Singer category include Aleksandrs Antonenko, who will sing the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca this July; Jonas Kaufman who will sing the title role in Don Carlo; and Bryn Terfel who appeared in Keith Warner’s production of The Ring Cycle earlier in the Season.

Joyce DiDonato, who will perform in John Fulljames’s new production of La donna del lago; andSarah Connolly, who performed in The Ring Cycle, are nominated in the Female Singer category.

Other nominees include Ryan Wigglesworth, who conducted Birtwistle’s The Minotaur in Covent Garden earlier this year and is up for the Newcomer Award; Richard Jones, whose production of Britten’s Gloriana opens in June has been nominated for the Director Award; and Nicola Luisotti, who will be conducting Verdi’s Nabucco on the Main Stage in March and has been nominated for the Conductor Award alongside Antonio Pappano. Allan Clayton, who will perform in Written on Skin; and Sophie Bevan, who will sing Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, are nominated in the Young Singer category.

Watch Ryan Wigglesworth rehearsing for The Minotaur as part of our highlights from Royal Opera LIVE

In the DVD category, recordings of The Royal Opera performing both Richard Jones’s production of Il trittico and Jonathan Kent’s production of Tosca are both nominated. There is also a Reader’s Award, which allows the public to vote for a singer of their choice. Cast your vote online

All other categories will be judged by an independent panel of industry experts, including John Allison, editor of Opera Magazine. He commented:

“Driven by the feeling that true excellence in opera is seldom celebrated enough, and that new and emerging artists need all the support they can get, The Operas (as we hope they will come to be known) will address both these needs while bringing together leading members of the ‘industry’ and its supporters.”

The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Hilton Park Lane on the 22 April 2013. View the full list of nominees.