The founder of the Silesian Opera was the world-renowned artist Adam Didur. His stature quickly allowed him to gather a dedicated team of experienced staff and build the newly established institution on a strong, credible foundation of first-class artists with a high reputation in the opera world. In subsequent years, the Bytom theater earned the reputation of being the premier opera house in the country and the title of "talent hotbed." Associated with the Silesian opera scene were such renowned soloists as Bogdan Paprocki, Andrzej Hiolski, Krystyna Szostek-Radkowa, Romuald Tesarowicz, Maria Fołtyn, Wiktoria Calma, Natalia Stokowacka, Anna Lorenc, Jolanta Wrożyna, Antonina Kawecka, Wiesław Ochman (also as director); and dancers such as Barbara Bittnerówna, Olga Sawicka, Gerard Wilk, and Henryk Konwiński. Young talent is promoted through the Opera Singers' Competition, held in Bytom since 1979 and named after the founder of the Silesian Opera, Adam Didur. To date, the Opera has hosted six national and four international editions. This competition is a unique event—one of the few of its kind in the world—and its winners have been championing Polish musical culture for decades.