Actors Win for Their Voices

Elisabeth Schwarz

For the eighth year in a row, Germany's Hörbuch Hamburg Osterwold Prizes were awarded to the actors whose vocal talents in reading aloud were deemed the best during the year. Elisabeth Schwarz and August Zirner were this year's recipients of the prize. Schwarz won for her reading of Natascha Kampusch's 3096 Tage (3096 Days), which according to CEO Johannes Stricker was deeply impressive because of her "respectful distance from the text and a sincere and genuine sympathy for the facts at the same. A reading that lasts."

Zirner was busy filming the TV-adaptation of Herman Hesse's The Homecoming, so he joined the ceremony only via audio, "with an audio thank you and audio regret."
In presenting the prize, Margrit Osterwold, founder of the award, said: "August Zirner's versatility on stage and in front of the camera is also his great strength in front of the microphone. The joy with which he infuses the text, combined with emotion and charm, thrills not just listeners but also directors!"

 Some 150 guests attended the event, held at the publisher's villa on the Elbchaussee in Hamburg. Performing at the event was the Spardosen Terzett - the piggybank trio. Among the many actors and actresses attending were also past winners Nina Petri and Hans Scheibner.