Chan Hee Cho and Johannes Kammler take top prizes at Neue Stimmen

Chan Hee Cho at Neue Stimmen

South Korean bass Chan Hee Cho took the top prize for men at the Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition, delivering a powerful rendition of Banquo's aria from Verdi's Macbeth "Come dal ciel precipita." He followed this up with a thunderous performance of "La calunnia" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. 

Chan Hee Cho studied at Hanyang University College of Music in Seoul and won first prize at both the 2016 Gian Battista Viotti International Music Competition in Italy and at the 2015 Seoul Philharmonic Vocal Competition. In 2015,  he made his professional debut at the Seongnam Arts Center opera house in the title role of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

Second place went to German baritone Johannes Kammler, who sang "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and "Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen" from Korngold's Die tote Stadt. 

Johannes Kammler at Neue Stimmen

Kammler will be an ensemble member at the Bavarian State Opera for the 2017-18 season where he will perform Le Dancaïre in Carmen, Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos and Count Dominik in Arabella. He made his debut at the Verbier Festival in 2015 as Marcello in Puccini's La bohème.

Third place went to Chinese tenor Mingjie Lei.

For the women, mezzo-soprano Svetlina Stoyanova took the top prize, as second place went to mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo, and third place went to mezzo-soprano Zlata Khershberg.

In 2009, barihunk Iurii Samilov took top honors at the young age of 21. He has been a member of the ensemble at the Frankfurt Opera since 2014.

Derek Chester and Marco Vassalli

Our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!