We love our readers for a million reasons, but mostly for the great photos that they send to us. Our best material comes from our readers, like this picture of Dominik Köninger perfoming Jesus in director Tobias Kratzer's current production of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion(Johannespassionen) at the Värmland Opera in Karlstad, Sweden. The production also includes barihunk Johan Rydh as Pilatus and runs every Saturday until April 8th.
Dominik Köninger as Jesus(Foto: Johanna Sterner)
Köninger's career has taken off since he won First Prize at the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition last year. On April 15-16, he joins conductor Christopher Hogwood, the Limburg Cathedral Boys Choir and the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra for performances of Mozart’s version of Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia.
This year, Köninger will join the ensemble of Komische Oper Berlin in Berlin, where he will perform Guglielmo, Il Conte, Orfeo and Orest in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride. In 2013, he makes his debut as Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte at New National Theatre in Tokyo.
Dominik Köninger sings Mozart's "Hai gia vinta la causa":
Köninger also just released his first recording, a performance of Orff’s Carmina Burana in the version for two pianos and percussion on SONY Classical. We've also learned about another proposed recording project that we'll post when have additional information.
We've been following the meteoric career of German barihunk Dominik Köninger since he started blowing away judges at the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition last year. Although he's been performing on stages since 2004, when he made his operatic debut at the Ludwigsburger Schloßfestspiele, his victory in London has made him a hot commodity with opera companies and major conductors.
Köninger sings Beethoven's 'Adelaide' and Korngold's "Du reine Frau aus Licht und Elfenbein" in the finals:
On April 15-16, he joins maestro Christopher Hogwood, the Limburg Cathedral Boys Choir and the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra for performances of Mozart’s version of Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia.
He will also perform Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte at the New National Theatre in Tokyo in a new production by Damiano Michieletto.
We also have some news that's so fresh it hasn't even appeared on the opera company's website. This year, Köninger will join the ensemble of Komische Oper Berlin in Berlin, where he will perform Guglielmo, Il Conte, Orfeo and Orest in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride.
Two barihunks have survived to the Final Four in the Wigmore Hall/Kohl Foundation International Song Competition that we reported on a few days ago. Jonathan McGovern, who we first featured when he starred in Nico Muhly's "Two Boys" is one of the finalists. The other is German baritone Dominik Köninger who was new to the site. The first prize winner will receive £10,00, with the next two finishers receiving £5,000 and £2,500 respectively.
The final round will take place on Thursday, September 8. The finalists can perform songs in any language as long as the lied was written after 1900. They have up to 30 minutes to perform their selections. The non-baritones in the finals are mezzo Dorottya Lang and tenor Stuart Jackson.
Born in Heidelberg, the German baritone Dominik Köninger studied in Karlsruhe with Prof. Roland Hermann. Since his debut in 2004, he has performed at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Hamburg State Opera, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Theater an der Wien or Bavarian State Opera. Starting with the 2012/13 season, Dominik will be an ensemble member of the Komische Oper Berlin and he will make his debut at NNT in Tokyo in 2013.
Here is Köninger singing Mozart's "Hai gia vinta la causa... Vedro mentr'io sospirio" from "Le nozze di Figaro":
Winner of the 2nd Prize at this year's Kathleen Ferrier Awards, Jonathan McGovern read Music at King’s College London and continued his studies with Philip Doghan and Audrey Hyland. He was winner of the gold medal and 1st Prize at the Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition 2010. Recent highlights include recitals at Chester Music Festival, St James’ Piccadilly, the Forge Camden, Kings Place and the National Portrait Gallery. He was a member of the prestigious Royal Academy of Music Song Circle, and will join the Britten–Pears Young Artists in September for a new production of Albert Herring. He made his ENO debut this summer as Jake in the world-première of Nico Muhly’s opera Two Boys.
We couldn't find an audio or video clip of Jonathan McGovern to share with you. Admittedly, we find this a bid odd for a singer.
