Irish singer one of two winners in US Wagner competition

Irish dramatic soprano Miriam Murphy was announced as one of two winners of the first International Wagner Competition in Seattle on Saturday night.

Ms Murphy (32), from Tralee, won $15,000 for her performance of two arias. British baritone James Rutherford was the other winner in a contest which featured eight finalists, including German-based tenor Paul McNamara, who is from Limerick. Ms Murphy said she had been delighted to get through to the final eight and was "really very pleased" to have won. "I was just happy to have got there as Seattle is like the home of Wagner and they take their Wagnerians very seriously."

She said it was particularly difficult for dramatic sopranos to survive as it took so long for their voices to develop: "In this field, you are in your late 30s before you really hit your stride, so it is difficult to sustain oneself until then." Up to last Christmas, she had been working as a receptionist at Heathrow airport in London while continuing to train her voice. "So the $15,000 will come in very handy," she added.

Now she is hoping that her prize will open doors to opera houses in the US and Britain. She begins a contract at London's Covent Garden tomorrow in the production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and does not expect to get back to Tralee to celebrate her win until her contract ends in October.

Ms Murphy's teacher, the opera singer Veronica Dunne, said it was a "fantastic achievement" to be selected for the competition and was "like winning the Grand National" to take one of the two main prizes. "I haven't stopped crying since I heard the news. I'm thrilled for her," she said.