Introducing a barihunk duo performing in Chicago: Carl Frank & Brian von Rueden

Carl Frank (L) and Brian von Rueden (R)

We saw Oliver Camacho, part of the OperaNow! podcast team, post a picture of Carl Frank on Facebook with the comment, "Future barihunk." We checked him out and figured, "Why wait?" While we were were checking out the program that they are both performing, we noticed yet another barihunk in the cast.

Meet Carl Frank and Brian von Rueden, who will both be performing in "Cantate Domino," a program of German and Danish cantatas from the 17th century. There will be two Chicago perfomances, the first on Thursday, January 9th at Ebenezer Lutheran Church and the second on Monday, January 13 at the Chicago Temple. Tickets are available online.

Carl Frank regularly performsin both opera and oratorio.  He is a recent member of the Florentine Opera Studio, where he performed El Dancairo in Bizet's Carmen, Sid in Britten's Albert Herring, and Antonio Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. He has also performed Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with the Arbor Opera Theater Training Workshop.  Other roles include Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, John Brooke in Adamo's Little Women, Der Tod in Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Dr. Falke in Strauss' Die Fledermaus and Ford in Verdi's Falstaff.

Frank holds degrees in both Political Science and Vocal Performance from DePauw University and received his Master of Music from the University of Michigan.

 Brian von Rueden sings Mozart's "Abendempfindung"  with VOX 3

A native of Wausau, Wisconsin, baritone Brian von Rueden has been active in multiple areas of classical music in the Chicago area for over a decade. He has performed in oratorios, recitals and operas, as well as programmed recitals, commissioned new works, and composed music.

Von Rueden has served as Artistic Director for VOX 3 Collective since it was founded in 2006.  In this role, he has programmed and appeared on over 40 recitals in the company’s six seasons to date, each with a different cultural or thematic focus.  As a singer, Von Rueden has appeared in various operas, including Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Britten's  Rape of Lucretia, Krasa’s Brundibar, and Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges.

He has also often appeared in concert repertoire, having sung the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, bass solos in Handel’s Messiah, Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, and several cantatas and masses of Johann Sebastian Bach, most notably with Ars Musica Chicago and the Chicago Bach Ensemble. Von Rueden can be heard on VOX 3 Collective’s recordings “New Song” and “Spirit Within,” singing Eric Reda’s Iconic Waltzes and Frank Ferko’s Merton Songs.

Von Rueden earned his Master of Business Administration from National Louis University, his Master of Music from Roosevelt University and his Bachelor of Music from Valparaiso University.

Also, make sure to check out the always erudite Oliver Camacho on the OperaNow! podcast, which is available on iTunes or online. He is generally joined by the prematurely retired barihunk Michael Rice, mezzo Jennifer Rice and the hyper-entertaining Doug Dodson.