World Music Monaco - Voice Piano Violin

Russian baritone Roman Burdenko is the delighted winner of the fifth Monte Carlo Voice Masters competition. He was presented with the Prince Rainier III Prize, worth €30,000, on Saturday 18 June following a high-energy three-day competition.

The two youngest competitors, the Irish soprano Helen Kearns, 29, and Roman Burdenko, 27, battled it out during the hotly contested finals at the Rainier III auditorium. Accompanied by the Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, directed by Daniele Callegari, they each performed five opera arias, including works by Gounod, Verdi and Tchaikovsky.

After almost an hour of deliberation, the extremely demanding jury, consisting of Helga Schmidt, Inva Mula, Pierre Médecin and Philippe Labro chose Roman Burdenko as this year’s winner despite an almost faultless performance by Helen Kearns. His steely determination, forceful ability to embody different characters, stage presence and “will to win,” as the jury’s chairman, Ruggero Raimoni, explained, finally tipped the balance in his favour.

As well as the Rainier III Prize, Burdenko will now enjoy a concert tour that will take him across France and around the world. The venues include the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Vigan festival, and the Musical Sundays in Garches. This series of concerts will enable the young baritone to raise his profile among a wider audience.