John Chest Wows Audience and Judges

Dreamy John Chest

John Chest was clearly the audience favorite a the 2010 Stella Maris International Vocal Competition and almost walked away with the judges top prize, as well. The blonde barihunk walked away with the €15,000 audience favorite prize money and a test contract with Deutsche Grammophon. 

Chest sang a broad range of music throughout the competition, topping it off with a stunning rendition of "Look, through the port" from Britten's "Billy Budd." He also performed "Dunque io son" from the Barber with fellow Merola participant Daniella Mack, Rigoletto in the quartet from Verdi's opera, "Auf dem flusse" from Schubert's "Winterreise," "Lord God of Abraham" from Mendelssohn's "Elijah," the Pierrot-Lied from Korngold’s "Die tote Stadt" and the famous Largo from Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia."

Singers in the competition must be nominated by one of the top opera eight opera companies in the world. Chest was nominated by the Bavarian State Opera and his partner in the Barber duet, Daniella Mack, was nominated by the San Francisco Opera, where Chest was part of the prestigious Merola Opera Program. 

Our source at the competition wrote, "Chest looked every bit as good as he sounded. This guy has true star quality."

John Chest: Future Billy Budd?

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