Gütersloh, October 28, 2007. Marina Rebeka (27) from Latvia has won first prize, which carries a cash award of €15,000, at the Bertelsmann Stiftung's 12th NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition.The soprano won over the international jury headed by Francisco Araíza with a performance of the arias “Qual fiamma” from the opera “I Pagliacci” by Ruggero Leoncavallo and “È strano, è strano“ from Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata“. Second prize (€10,000) was awarded to the 21-year-old Argentinian bass Fernando Javier Radó, while tenor Diego Torre (27) from Mexico won third prize and €8,000. 1,100 young singers from 66 nations had auditioned in preliminary rounds held around the world, 47 had qualified for the final round in Gütersloh.