UPDATED: Barihunk trio in Glyndebourne's Carmen

Paulo Szot, Christophe Gay and Gavan Ring (l-r)

CORRECTION - JUNE 24, 2015: We were informed that we were sent a cast list with the wrong Escamillo, as David Soar is singing the role and not Paulo Szot. We apologize for any inconvenience. David Soar was born in Nottinghamshire and studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio. Highlights in his 2014/15 season include Pistola in a new production of Falstaff at the Saito Kinen Festival and a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Colline La bohème.

David Soar

ORIGINAL POST: The Glyndebourne Festival will feature a barihunk trio in David McVicar's production of Bizet's Carmen with Paulo Szot as Escamillo, Christophe Gay as Le Dancaire and Gavan Ring as Moralés. The opera will run from June 28-July11 and the cast also includes Stéphanie D'Oustrac as Carmen, Pavel Cernoch as Don Jose and Lucy Crowe as Micaela. 

Tony Award-winning baritone Paulo Szot remains one of the most popular singers in the world of opera. Later this year, he'll reprise the role of Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera alongside Toby Spence, Susan Graham and Lucy Crowe.  Other recent appearances at the Met have included the Captain in John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer and Kovalyov in Shostakovich's The Nose.

We introduced Gavan Ring to readers in October 2014 after having been impressed by his performance in the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition. After Carmen, Ring heads to the Edinburgh International Festival to perform Bill Bobstay in HMS Pinafore and then to Opera North for Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Next year, he'll be back at Opera North for Guglielmo in Così fan tutte.

Christophe Gay, who is new to this site, graduated from the Nancy Conservatoire National in Singing and Chamber Music. He made his debut at the Nancy Opera House in Dallapiccolla's Il Prigioniero followed by Re Cefalo in the world premiere of Detlev Glanert's Enigma at the Montepulciano Festival. In September, Gay will sing Monsieur de Brétigny in Massenet's Manon at the Opéra de Marseille, followed by Bobinet in Offenbach's La Vie Parisienne.