Eunju Kwon wins 1st prize at NEUE STIMMEN 2009

Eunju Kwon (24) from South Korea is the winner of the 15,000 EUR Grand Prize in the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s international NEUE STIMMEN singing competition. The soprano won over the judges, chaired by Dominique Meyer, with her rendition of the arias “No word from Tom” from Igor Stravinsky’s opera “The Rake's Progress” and “Eccomi in lieta vesta“ from Bellini’s “I Capuleti e i Montecchi.” Second Prize (10,000 EUR) went to Kihwan Sim (bass), who celebrated his 26th birthday on Oct 30, the day of the semi-finals. Tenor JunHo You (29) came in third, winning 8,000 EUR. More than 1,100 young singers from 63 nations had applied for this year’s competition, and 41 young opera talents qualified during world wide preliminary auditions to compete in the final round in Gütersloh.

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NEUE STIMMEN 2009 - Prize Winners

Eunju Kwon

1st Prize Winner

Kihwan Sim

2nd Prize Winner

JunHo You

3rd Prize Winner

NEUE STIMMEN Prize Winners and Finalists

Franco Fagioli

On April 24^th Franco Fagioli will make his North American debut at the Chicago Opera Theater (COT). He sings the title role in Francesco Cavalli’s Jason. Brian Dickie, General Director of the COT, discovered the then 22 year old Fagioli during auditions for the 2003 NEUE STIMMEN competition in Argentina. In 2003 Franco was the first countertenor to win the top prize of this competition.

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Andriana Chuchman

Andriana Chuchman, price-winner of the 2009 competition, will join Franco Fagioli in this season’s production of Cavalli’s Jason at the Chicago Opera Theater. The Canadian soprano sings the role of Alinda.

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Diego Torre

The Mexican tenor, awarded 3rd prize in the 2007 competition, made his debut at The Metropolitan Opera in New York during the current 2009/2010 season. In April he will come back to perform in Germany. At the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau Diego will sing the role of Masaniello in Daniel F.E. Auber’s opera La Muette de Portici. The opening night is on April 24, 2010.

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Christiane Karg

VERWANDLUNG - Lieder eines Jahres

Christiane Karg presents her first solo CD. For this lieder recital, the NEUE STIMMEN 2007 prize-winner has put together selected pieces from Schubert to Ligeti dealing with the changes in season during a year.

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