Warner Classics, August 24, 2015

Joyce & Jonas: ECHO Klassik's female and male Singer of the Year revealed!

Jonas Kaufmann and Joyce DiDonato hailed king and queen of the voice in the prestigious German classical awards.

Two opera superstars, admired by legions of fans and a new generation of aspiring young singers. No big surprise, to be honest, that Jonas Kaufmann and Joyce DiDonato have been hailed Male and Female Singer of the Year respectively in Germany's classical music awards. DiDonato certainly had a tremendous year, of which the highlights include singing the American national anthem to 25 million viewers at the Major League Baseball World Series - a long-held dream for the American mezzo, performing underneath the Eiffel Tower at the Bastille Day celebrations, curating her own concert and master class series at Carnegie Hall, and flitting between Italian arias and American Songbook for the opening of the 2014-15 season at Wigmore Hall, with maestro Antonio Pappano at the piano (a recital set to be released as a double album, Joyce & Tony, next week). But it is for her album of Neapolitan bel canto rarities, Stella di Napoli, that she has been crowned ECHO Klassik Singer of the Year. "I am beyond honoured to receive the ECHO Klassik Award as singer of the year, especially for this project that has meant so much to me," she said, "One of the great privileges I’ve had as a musician is to be afforded the luxury to record long-forgotten works, and being given the opportunity to shine a spotlight on brilliant but overlooked composers such as Carafa, Pacini, and Mercadante has been a joy." Jonas Kaufmann already won Solo Recording of the Year in 2014 for his Verdi recital album, so it was an auspicious beginning to the year when in February he made a rare studio recording of Aïda in Rome, as part of an all-star cast including Anja Harteros in the title role and Erwin Schrott. That album is slated for release on 2 October; Kaufmann will sing Radames in Aïda again next month for sold out performances in Munich. Congratulations to the reigning king and queen of the opera world.