Man and Girl Fashion: Konstantin Shushakov

Dominik Köninger

German barihunk Dominik Köninger has kept the baritone winning streak alive by winning the 2011 Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition. Köninger won £10,000 for his first place finish. As we've been reporting, baritones Jonathan Beyer, Gabriel Preisser, Andrei Bondarenko, Mark Diamond, Philippe Sly and Konstantin Shushakov have been cleaning up at various vocal award competitions. We've dubbed this the "Golden Age of Baritones" and Köninger's win only reinforces our claim that we're in the greatest era ever for low voices.

Even the prize for best duo (singer and accompanist) went to a baritone, as Jonathan McGovern and his accompanist Timothy End walked away that coveted prize. The duo was awarded £5,000 for winning the prize.

Unfortunately, the competition posts video of the awards celebration, but not of any of the singing (a curious omission). Below the video we've added two sound clips of Köninger, so that you can actually hear his artistry. He's performing Johann Strauß's "Brüderlein" and Ravel's Chanson épique. Here is the announcement of the winners:

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Konstantin Shushakov

The baritone winning streak that we've been covering in international singing competitions suffered a minor setback at this year's Operalia competition. Russian baritone Konstantin Shushakov came in second place after being nudged out by American tenor René Barbera and South African soprano Pretty Yende.

"I was one of the two baritones who were allowed into the finals," Shushakov told Voice of Russia. "I was surprised to see how many tenors reached the finals. That was a real battle of tenors, you know. But all competitions after all are aimed to help singers get access to the world`s best opera stages. Very often those who received second or third prizes become even more successful than top-prize winners."

Barihunk Erwin Schrott is a past winner of the competition.

The annual competition, which was founded in 1993 by tenor Placido Domingo, was held last Sunday. The competition is held in a different city each year. During Sunday's ceremony, Domingo received the Russian Order of Friendship for his work in cultural exchange.

Here are some selections of Shushakov from other performances.

Meanwhile, across the globe at the Utah Festival Opera, Gabriel Preisser was redeeming baritones as he won the final round of the Lirico Concorso Competition and will now advance to the interantional finale in Italy. The Barihunks Team wishes him well.

Gabriel Preisser

Dominik Köninger Keeps Baritone Winning Streak Alive in Competitions

Konstantin Shushakov Garners 2nd Prize at Operalia; Gabriel Preisser Advances

Dominik Köninger Keeps Baritone Winning Streak Alive in Competitions

document.write(ultimaFecha);

Konstantin Shushakov Garners 2nd Prize at Operalia; Gabriel Preisser Advances

document.write(ultimaFecha);