Six Low Male Voices Amongst 20 Finalists at Cardiff Singer of the World

Leonardo Lee and Patrick Guetti

Low male voices will be well represented at the 36th BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, as they comprise six of the final twenty competitors. Competing for the prestigious prize from June 15-22 will be baritone Jorge Espino from Mexico, baritone Badral Chuluunbaatar from Mongolia, baritone Leonardo Lee from South Korea, baritone Andrei Kymach from Ukraine, bass Patrick Guetti from the United States  and bass-baritone Richard Ollarsaba from the United States.

Winners of the Singer of the Year Prize and Song Prize will receive £20,000 and £10,000 respectively. An Audience Prize of £2,500 will also be awarded. 

This year's panel of judges will be opera director David Pountney, tenor José Cura, soprano Dame Felicity Lott, mezzo-soprano Federica von Stade, and Grange Park Opera founder Wasfi Kani.

Richard Ollarsaba sings "Se vuol ballare" from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro:

A number of operas most famous low voices were winners at Cardiff, most famously Dmitri Hvorostovsky who won the Main Prize in 1989 and Bryn Terfel who won the Song Prize that same year. Other winners have included Mongolian baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar who was co-winner of the Song Prize in 2017, Tommi Hakala who won the Main Prize in 2003, Christopher Maltman who won the Song Prize in 1997, Paul Whelan who won the Song Prize in 1993 and Jacques Imbrailo who won the coveted Audience Prize in 2007.

The other 2019 competitors are Guadalupe Barrientos, Lauren Fagan, Camila Titinger, Mingjie Lei, Katie Bray, Adriana Gonzalez, Luis Gomes, Roman Arndt, Karina Kherunts, Yulia Mennibaeva, Owen Metsileng, Sooyeon Lee, Lena Belkina and Angharad Lyddon.

Remembering Cardiff's 1989 epic "Battle of the Baritones"

Dmitri Hvorostovsky at Cardiff in 1989

As we wrap up the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, we're recalling the most famous show down of all, which was the 1989 "Battle of the Baritones" between Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Bryn Terfel.

The Siberian barihunk went on to win the competition and, of course, both men have gone on to sensational international careers. Hvorostovsky sangs two pieces from Verdi, Rodrigo's aria "O Carlo, ascolta" from Don Carlo and "Eri tu che macchiavi" from Un ballo in maschera, "Ja vas lyublyu" from Tchikovsky's Queen of Spades.

The late, great soprano Elizabeth Soderström, who was one of the judges in 1989, famously marked a series of exclamation marks on her scorecard as she listened to Hvorostovsky sing. The performance wasn't as easy as it looked, as Hvorostovsky has just listened to Bryn Terfel over the speakers and, for the first time, realized that he could lose the competition. When he went out on stage, he was determined to give it 110%, but almost fainted when he took, not one, but two long phrases in Rodrigo's aria on a single breath. The gambit obviously paid off and the singer is still known 28 years later for his ability to float long Verdian phrases on a single breath.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky's 1989 performance at Cardiff:

The win also came with a bid of levity, as an excited Hvorostovsky grabbed the crystal trophy from the Lord Mayor before she could hand it to him. He also won more than the trophy and prize money, as Russian President Boris Yeltsin gave him a huge apartment in the middle of Moscow as a prize for his win.

He later moved from Moscow to London after his family felt threatened by the Russian mafia.

The "Battle of the Baritones" has never been repeated, although many believed that this year's competition might have been the year, with its rich crop of top notch low voices. However, in 2013, there was a "Battle of the Mezzos" when Jamie Barton squared off against Daniela Mack, Barton grabbing the crystal trophy.

John Chest simultaneously singing two English language operas in Germany

John Chest as Billy Budd in Berlin

American barihunk John Chest, who just finished a successful run as Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Philadelphia, is back in his home base of Germany where he's pulling off an amazing feat of operatic stamina: He'll be singing two English language operas in Germany simultaneously!

Chest opened on May 26th in the title character of Britten's Billy Budd at the Deutsche Oper Berlin before heading off to the Semperoper Dresden to sing the role of the wealthy stockbroker Nick Carraway in John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby tonight, tomorrow and on June 1st. Hunkentenor Peter Lodahl is singing jay Gatsby and tickets are available online. He then heads back to Berlin for Billy Budd (where the Barihunks team will be in attendance!). To top it off, he also became a father for the first time this year along with his wife soprano Layla Claire.

Chest originally started working on Billy Budd back in 2008 as an apprentice artist and chorus member at the Santa Fe Opera. He made his role debut in 2014 in Berlin in a highly-acclaimed performance, which was the first performance of the piece at the Deutsche Oper. The current production features Gidon Saks as John Claggert, Richard Croft as Edward Vere, Simon Pauly as Donald and fellow barihunk Seth Carico as Mr. Redburn. Tickets are available online.

John Chest at Billy Budd and Gidon Saks as the evil John Claggert

After he wraps us Billy Budd, the jet-setting baritone heads off to the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Chest, where he'll represent the U.S. along with baritone Anthony Clark Evans. He'll be singing more American music, as he plans on performing Aaron Copland’s “Old America Songs.”

Other barihunks in the competition include bass Dominic Barberi representing England, bass Roberto Lorenzi representing Italy and calendar model Iurii Samoilov reprenting the Ukraine.

The Song Prize rounds will be broadcast in the BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (June13 -16) with the song prize final live on Radio 3 In Concert (Friday, June 16) and on BBC Four presented by Petroc Trelawny and American soprano Angel Blue (Saturday, June 17).The four concerts at St David’s Hall, Cardiff will be broadcast on BBC Four (June13 - 16). The Grand Final will be broadcast live on both BBC Four and BBC Radio 3 on Sunday, June 18. 

Dominic Barberi to represent U.K. at Cardiff Competition

Dominic Barberi

28-year-old, German-born, Scottish bass-barihunk Dominic Barberi, who just wrapped up a run as Baron Douphol in Verdi's La traviata at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden opposite Ailyn Pérez, will represent the U.K. at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition on June 18th.

Barberi is currently a member of the ensemble at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where he has also sung Colline in Puccini's La bohème, Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, as well as roles in Wagner's Parsifal , Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Puccini's Manon Lescaut and Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea.

Barberi went to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he graduated with Distinction in his Performance Masters in 2014. He then moved on to the Berlin Staatsoper International Opera Studio. His big breakthrough came with Opera North where he performed in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea.

Upcoming performances include the premiere of Daniel Pacitti's Luther Oratorio with the Berlin Philharmonic and Alvise Badoero in Ponchielli's La Gioconda at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck.