The young soloist of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre, baritone Valeriu Caradja, has won the First Prize of the “Hariclea Darclee” International Voice Competition, held in Braila, Romania. Launched in 1995, “Hariclea Darclee” Competition is held once in two years. This year the contest brought together 150 participants from 26 countries. After three selection stages, 28 of them made it to the final, and the first place was won by the Moldovan baritone. The Jury was formed by renowned personalities from Italy, Israel, France, Germany and Romania, and was headed by the competition’s founder and honorary president Mariana Nicolesco. “There are four major international canto competitions in the world: Belvedere in Viena, Maria Callas in Athens, Luciano Pavarotti in Philadelphia, and Hariclea Darclee in Braila. Neither of them compares to what Mariana Nicolesco has created in this city", said the Italian conductor Marco Balderi, member of the jury. The 26-year-old Valeriu Caradja graduated from the Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts. Since 2005 he is the soloist of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre.