Eleven-time Oscar-nominated songwriter Diane Warren and opera singer Anna Netrebko have been named the 2020 Polar Music Prize Laureates. Variety reports that the two will receive the award, and its accompanying one million Swedish Kroner (about $103,700 USD) each, on June 9 at Stockholm’s Grand Hôtel.
Founded in 1989, the Polar Music Prize honors “the power and importance of music.” Past recipients include Björk and Emmylou Harris.
“I am delighted that the 2020 Polar Music Prize Laureates are Anna Netrebko and Diane Warren, two impressive, supremely talented women, who are both at the top of their respective professions,” said Marie Ledin, managing director of the award org.
Warren received her 11th Oscar nod for songwriting at Sunday night’s awards. She was recognized for penning “I’m Standing With You” for Roxann Dawson’s faith-based film “Breakthrough.” “RBG’s” “I’ll Fight,” “The Hunting Ground’s” “Til It Happens to You,” and “Beyond the Light’s” “Grateful” are among the other tunes for which she’s received Academy Award nominations.
Warren won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for “Burlesque’s” “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me.” She also received a Grammy for writing Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me,” the theme song for 1996 feature “Up Close and Personal.”
She has collaborated with the likes of Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, Cher, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, and Mariah Carey.
“I don’t have confidence in myself as a human being, but I have unshakeable confidence in my music,” Warren said of her Polar Prize honor. “When I know something is right, when I know a song is right for somebody … I believe, and it’s unshakeable.”
Netrebko CDs include “Diva: The Very Best of Anna Netrebko,” “Romanza,” and “Anna Netrebko: Live at the Metropolitan Opera.” “Aida,” “Macbeth,” “Carmen,” and “La bohème” are among the soprano’s many opera credits. The Austro-Russian artist has been honored by both the Russian and Austrian governments as well as the Metropolitan Opera Guild.
“When I get on stage, something happens and the quality of the performance is ten times better, like I have a voice telling me what to do,” Netrebko commented. “It’s always been with me. You are entering the stage to give everything you have. You have to put your soul, your heart, and all of your knowledge to reach the souls of the audience.”
