Male choir beat Pope to Classical Brit Awards title
- Published
Only Men Aloud and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa were among the winners
The winners of a TV talent show have beaten the Pope to the album of the year at the Classical Brit Awards.
Only Men Aloud, winners of the BBC's Last Choir Standing, won with Band of Brothers, beating Alma Mater's Music From The Vatican, featuring the Pope.
Other winners included conductor Vasily Petrenko and soprano Angela Gheorghiu.
Soprano Kiri Te Kanawa was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the ceremony hosted by Myleene Klass at London's Royal Albert Hall.
The New Zealand-born singer joins a list of past recipients which includes Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.
The soundtrack of the year was awarded to the Oscar-nominated Revolutionary Road by American composer Thomas Newman, while Thomas Ades won composer of the year for the Tempest.
Only Men Aloud's win saw them beat 14-year-old Faryl Smith, a finalist on Britain's Got Talent in 2008.
Teenager Smith also lost out in the young British classical performer category to violinist Jack Liebeck.
The critics' choice award went to Verdi's Messa Da Requiem performed by the Roma Orchestra Dell' Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia.