On 17 and 18 December 2025, the competition for bel canto arias from the Italian and French opera repertoire organised by Kulturfonds Baden e.V. took place at the Karlsruhe University of Music. A work by Jacques Offenbach was a mandatory part of the competition. Students at the Karlsruhe University of Music enrolled in soloist, bachelor's and master's degree programmes with a major in singing or opera were eligible to apply. In addition, the ‘Anneliese Fried Prize’ was offered as a special prize for contralto singers. Contralto singers from the Baden music academies in Karlsruhe, Freiburg and Mannheim were eligible to apply. There were 17 applications, and 15 candidates actually competed. The jury admitted six of them to the second round. Four of these will receive awards. The Anneliese Fried Prize for altos, worth €2,000, goes to Slavica Božić from the Mannheim University of Music. There are three prizes in the Bella Voce competition: A sponsorship prize of €1,000 goes to mezzo-soprano Laura Streckert (class of Prof. Christiane Libor). Second prize and €2,000 went to baritone Xiaocheng Wang (class of Prof. Stephan Kohlenberg), while first prize, worth €3,000, was awarded to bass-baritone Fan Yang (class of Prof. Hanno Müller-Brachmann). All prize winners will perform at the prize winners' concert on 16 April 2026 in the Velte Hall of Gottesaue Palace. They are also scheduled to perform at the Kulturfonds anniversary concert on 18 June in the Wolfgang Rihm Forum of the University of Music.
The jury consisted of: Boris Ignatov, Director of Casting at the Stuttgart State Opera, Vincent König from the opera management team at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, contralto Anneliese Fried, former singer at the Badisches Staatstheater, who promotes her rare voice type with the special prize, Mathias Tritsch, President of the Kulturfonds Baden e.V., and Claus-Dieter Hanauer, Vice-President of the Kulturfonds and music journalist.