Watch a Bevy of Barihunks in Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition

Marcin Hutek and Daniel Mirosław

Polish barihunks Marcin Hutek and Daniel Mirosław are just two of a bevy of barihunks performing in the 9th International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition, which will take place from May 9-14 in Warsaw. Phase I will be held with piano on May 9 and 10, Phase II with piano on May 11 and 12, and the Grand Finale with orchestra on May 14. Stage I will feature 87 singers chosen by the selection panel and they will sing two pieces (an operatic aria from the 18th–19th century and a Polish song from the 19th–20th century in the original or a translation).

The competition will be transmitted live online HERE. You can read about some of the competitors below. The Phase I broadcast begins at 10 AM CEST, Warsaw time (1 AM PST/4 AM EST).

You can listen to Marcin Hutek HERE and Daniel Miroslaw HERE. Below is a sampling of the baritones and basses competing this year. Previous prize winners include barihunk Mariusz Kwiecień, Aleksandra Kurzak, Wioletta Chodowicz, Urszula Kryger, Małgorzata Walewska and Marcin Bronikowski.

Hubert Zapiór

Hubert Zapiór is scheduled to sings Mozart, Chopin, Donizetti, Britten, Piotr Czajkowski and Moniuszko. He was born in 1993 and studied at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music and the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. A prize-winner of national and international singing competitions, including 3rd prize at the 8th Leyla Gencer Voice Competition in Istanbul. A participant in the Young Talents Development Programme at the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw. He has performed the title role of Don Giovanni (Mozart) at the Świętokrzyska Philharmonic and the Warsaw Chamber Opera, and at the latter company has appeared in a number of shows in the Youth Stage project as well as being Count Almaviva in a student production of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. You can listen to him HERE.

Iurii Samoilov

Iurii Samoilov, who has appeared on this site and in our charity calendar, is scheduled to sing Bellini, Mozart, Britten Glière, Mieczyslaw Karłowicz, Massenet and Szymanowski.  He was born in 1988 and graduated from the National Academy of Music of Ukraine in Kiev (2011). He has taken part in projects for young artists at the Salzburg Festival and the Rossini Festival in Pesaro. A member of the opera studio at the Frankfurt Opera since 2012, where his roles include Figaro in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and the title part of Julius Caesar in the opera by Handel as well as parts in operas for children (the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni). In 2015 he debuted in Basel as Guglielmo in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte. His concert repertoire has taken him to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and London’s Royal Albert Hall, among other venues.

Petro Ostapenko

Petro Ostapenko is scheduled to sing Verdi, Moniuszko, Bellini, Orff, Dezsö Zador, Władysław Źeleński and Piotr Czajkowski. He was born in 1988 and studied at the National Music Academy of Ukraine from 2008-2013. In 2010 he became a soloist at the National Operetta Theatre in Kiev, where he debuted in the role of Freddy in Loewe’s My Fair Lady and Maurice in Kálmán’s Das Veilchen vom Montmartre. A participant in the Ion Dacian Operetta Festival in Bucharest. In 2013 he was a participant in the opera studio of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and in the 2014/15 season performed there in La Cenerentola (Dandini) and Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Officer) by Rossini.

Krzysztof Baczyk

Krzysztof Baczyk is scheduled to sing music from Henryk Czyż, Rachmaninov, Bellini, Stravinsky, Borodin, Weber and Tadeusz Szeligowski. He was born in 1990 and graduated from the Academy of Music in Poznań. He has been working regularly with Poznań’s Teatr Wielki since 2011, where his roles include Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro. He also performs at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. A prize-winner and finalist of vocal competitions, including the Andrzej Hiolski Competition in Kudowa-Zdrój (2014). A participant in the Young Talents Development Programme at the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera and the Opera Creation Workshops at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, part of the European Network of Opera Academies.

Thomas Faulkner

Thomas Faulkner is scheduled to sing music by Mozart, Weinberg, Richard Strauss, Brahms, Rimsky-Korsakov, Moniuszko and Handel. He was born in 1983 and graduated from Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music. He is a member of the Opera Studio at Oper Frankfurt, where he has performed among others the roles of the Police Inspector in Der Rosenkavalier and the Wigmaker in Ariadne auf Naxos by R. Strauss and the Old Passenger in Weinberg’s The Passenger. He has also performed at the Scottish Opera (Banquo in Verdi’s Macbeth), the Wexford Festival Opera (Dulcamara in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute) and in productions of the British Youth Opera (Bartolo in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and the title role in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale). He is also in demand as a concert soloist.

Andrezej Filończyk

Andrezej Filończyk is scheduled to sing Bellini, Mieczyslaw Karłowicz, Piotr Czajkowski, Weinberger, Verdi and Moniuszko. He was born in 1994 and studies at the Academy of Music in Wrocław. Since 2014 he has been a participant in the Young Talents Development Programme at the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera. A prize-winner of many vocal competitions, including the International Vocal Competition in Petrovice (1st prize) and the Music Without Borders International Vocal Competition in Druskininkai (2nd prize). In 2015 he debuted at Poznań’s Teatr Wielki in the role of Tonio in I Pagliacci by Leoncavallo, and also performed the title role of Eugene Onegin in the opera by Tchaikovsky. He also works with the Polish National Opera in Warsaw, where he has sung the role of the Commissioner in Madama Butterfly by Puccini.

Łukasz Hajduczenia

Łukasz Hajduczenia is scheduled to sing Handel, Moniuszko, Rossini, Korngold and Piotr Czajkowski was born in 1985 and in 2010  graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. He continued his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (with Laura Sarti) and at the opera faculty of London Associated Studios. A prize-winner of many vocal competitions, including the Ada Sari International Vocal Art Competition in Nowy Sącz. His repertoire includes a number of leading opera parts; he also performs a wide range of oratorio, chamber and contemporary music. He recently recorded a CD with a cycle of songs by Dariusz Przybylski (DUX).

Piotr Halicki

Piotr Halicki is scheduled to sing Bellini, Chopin, Mozart, Britten, Rachmaninov, Piotr Czajkowski, and Moniuszko. He worn in 1985 and studied at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in 2007-2012. In 2012 he started working with the Teatr Wielki in Łódź, making his debut in the role of Scarpia in Tosca by Puccini, and the next year – with the Warsaw Chamber Opera (debuting as Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart). A prize-winner of Polish and international vocal competitions. His opera repertoire includes the part of Jontek (Moniuszko’s Halka), Marcello (Puccini’s La Bohème) and Demetrius (Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream).