Elizabeth Llewellyn took top prize in the final of the Voice Of Black Opera Awards, held in Birmingham on Saturday.
The soprano from London received the inaugural VOBO Award in a contest which saw performances from six other finalists at the University of Birmingham's Great Hall.
The VOBO Awards is a biennial competition introduced to find the best black or Asian opera singer across the Continent.
Among the panel of judges was international mezzo and soprano Grace Bumbry.
Designed to encourage and recognise excellence among black and Asian classical singers, a major aim of the VOBO Awards is to improve the appreciation of classical music and opera within those communities.
Other winners at the final included baritone Peter Brathwaite, who won the Samuel Coleridge Taylor Award for best performance of a song by a black composer, and Nadine Mortimer-Smith, who won the Brixtonian Award for the most promising voice.
The final also saw powerful performances by tenor Bernard Abervandana, mezzo soprano Shola Hector, soprano Alison Buchanan and tenor Boyce Batlang.
* Highlights from the VOBO Awards can be heard on BBC Radio 3 on Monday, November 2, and Tuesday, November 3, during the Performance on Three programme from 7pm.
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