Bevy of Barihunks at Wolf Trap's summer festival

Norman Garrett (left), Michael Adams (center) and Harry Greenleaf (right)

Now in it's 43rd year, the Wolf Trap Filene Young Artist program has featured some of the greatest singers in opera while in the nascent part of their careers. This year, they are bringing back one of their most esteemed alums, Eric Owens, as their first Wolf Trap Opera Artist in Residence. Owens will have a lot of low voice company, as numerous singers who have been featured on Barihunks are performing during their summer festival. Owens will perform in Aria Jukebox with some young aritsts on July 13th. Accompanied by Kim Pensinger Witman, audience members will have an opportunity to select the songs and arias.

Jeongcheol Cha

The first opera will be Handel's Giulio Cesare featuring Jeongcheol Cha as Achilla. He is new to this site (except for a brief mention). The Korean native has been featured in two important opera premieres, in the role of Wu Tianshi in the American premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Kommilitonen! in November 2011 and as Prince Gabriel III in the world premiere of David T. Little’s Vonkensport. He is a graduate of Seoul National University, Bard College Conservatory, and the Juilliard School. In the 2013-2014 season, Jeongcheol was heard at the Metropolitan Opera as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly and as second Watchman in Die Frau ohne Schatten.

Performances of Giulio Cesare are on June 27, June 29 and July 1st.  Other cast members include John Holiday as Cesare, Alex Rosen as Curio, Renée Rapier as Cornelia, Ying Fang as Cleopatra and Carolyn Sproule as Sesto.

On June 28th, Ryan Speedo Green will perform Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Choral Arts Society of Washington under the baton of Bramwell Tovey. Other soloists include soprano Tracy Cox, mezzo Virginie Verrez and tenor Robert Watson. Green was recently featured on our site when his Live in HD performance was canceled by the Met.

Tobias Greenhalgh

On July 19th and 20th, the amazing Steven Blier will join barihunk and part-time Super Hero Tobias Greenhalgh and four other young artist in a "Houseful of Songs," where the audience will be taken through a house and have selected pieces of music performed in each room.

On July 27, accompanist Jeremy Frank will join a sextet of Studio Artists, including baritone Alex Rosen and baritone Harry Greenleaf. The will perform pieces by Auric, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud, Poulenc, and Tailleferre.

Baritone Harry Greenleaf, a native of Wixom, Michigan, is a graduate of Michigan State University where he appeared in several productions, including Mozart's La finta giardiniera (Nardo), Gilbert & Sullivan's the Pirates of Penzance (The Pirate King), Sondheim's A Little Night Music (Carl-Magnus), and Mozart's the Magic Flute (Papageno). In 2013, Greenleaf appeared as Baron Douphol in Wolf Trap Opera's production of Verdi's La traviata at the Filene Center with the National Symphony Orchestra. Harry will begin his Master's degree in voice at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music this fall. Outside of singing, Harry enjoys reading, running outside, and playing racquetball.

From August 8-16, Wolf Trap will feature a French double-bill of Milhaud's Le pauvre matelot and Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirésias. Regular readers of this site know that we often feature Les mamelles de Tirésias and its barihunk role of Le Mari, which will be performed by Tobias Greenhalgh in this production. The cast also includes Harry Greenleaf as Monsieur Barbu and Michael Adams, who has been featured on this site, as Presto. The title role will be performed by soprano Mireille Asselin. Norman Garrett and Ryan Speedo Green, who have been regulars on our site, are both featured in Le pauvre matelot.

Tickets for all performances are available online or by calling 1.877.WOLFTRAP.