"As One" opens at Portland Opera with Lee Gregory

Hannah Penn and Lee Gregory (Photo by Cory Weaver/Portland Opera)

Barihunk Lee Gregory, who starred in the Southern California premiere of Laura Kaminsky's opera "As One" at the Long Beach Opera in 2017, will reprise the role up the coast when he opens as "Hannah before" at the Portland Opera on March 22nd.

The world premiere of Laura Kaminsky's opera "As One," which explores the revelatory and redemptive journey of a transgender individual, opened on September 4, 2014 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with the real-life married couple of mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and barihunk Kelly Markgraf. The opera was a critical success and has been performed throughout the country.

Joining Lee Gregory in Portland as "Hannah after" will be soprano Hannah Penn.

Performances will be on March 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 and tickets are available online. There will be an extended Q&A after the Sunday, March 24th performance, which is free and open to the public.

Kaminsky was inspired to write As One after reading an article in the New York Times in 2008 about a New Jersey marriage in which one of the parties transitioned from male to female, transforming the couple from straight to gay. The opera is based on the life experience of noted filmmaker Kimberly Reed.

As One provides insights into both the personal and philosophical questions at the core of how personhood is defined, as well as into the compromised civil and humans rights of transgender individuals in the broader societal framework.

Barihunk Matt Worth named to faculty at SF Conservatory of Music

Matt Worth (Photo from artist website)

Barihunk Matthew Worth is joining the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music n Fall 2019, joining the voice department led by chair and former tenor César Ulloa. The acclaimed school has a number of noted singers on faculty, including Catherine Cook, Susanne Mentzer, Patricia Craig, Deborah Voigt and Rhoslyn Jones.

Last season, he created the role of the Narrator in the world premiere of The Passion of Yeshua with the Oregon Bach Festival. This season he will return to the role at Royce Hall in Los Angeles and again with the Buffalo Philharmonic. He recently could be seen on PBS' Great Performances as Father Flynn in Douglas Cuomo's Doubt from Minnesota Opera.

The 2018-2019 season also includes Worth’s return to Boston Lyric Opera as Figaro in Rosetta Cucchi’s production of Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and a workshop performance of Laura Kaminsky and Kimberly Reed’s Postville, commissioned by Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Opera.

Last season, Worth performed the title role in David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s JFK with Opéra de Montréal, Bernstein’s Arias & Barcarolles with the New York Festival of Song at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Laura Kaminsky and Mark Campbell’s As One with Cincinnati Opera, and recitals at the University of Cincinnati and Austin Peay University.

Kelly Markgraf and Sasha Cooke to reprise "As One"

Kelly Markgraf and Sasha Cooke (Photo: Brooklyn Academy of Music)

The real-life married couple of mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and barihunk Kelly Markgraf have made Laura Kaminsky's opera "As One" a bit of a calling card since premiering the work at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2014. The couple will perform the work for one night only on August 7th at the Chautauqua Opera. They will be joined by the Fry String Quartet, who premiered the work with them.

Markgraf has performed the work with Opera Colorado and the San Diego Opera, while Sasha Cooke performed it at the Hawaii Opera Theater. 

Kaminsky was inspired to write the opera after reading an article in the New York Times in 2008 about a New Jersey marriage in which one of the parties transitioned from male to female, transforming the couple from heterosexual to homosexual.

As One provides insights into both the personal and philosophical questions at the core of how personhood is defined, as well as into the compromised civil and humans rights of transgender individuals in the broader societal framework.

The opera can also be seen at the Cincinnati Opera with Matthew Worth and Amber Fasquelle on July 30th.    

Sasha Cooke and Kelly Markgraf reprise transgender opera As One

Sasha Cooke and Kelly Markgraf rehearsing As One

The real life husband and wife team of Kelly Markgraf and Sasha Cooke will reprise their roles of "Hannah before" and "Hannah after" in Laura Kaminsky's As One at the Hawaii Opera. There will be four performances from January 11-16 at the Aloha Tower Pier 10 Cruise Ship Terminal in Honolulu. Tickets are available online.

The couple premiered the piece in 2014 at The Brooklyn Academy of Music and will perform it together again at the Chautauqua Opera on August 7th.

Two singers, a baritone and a mezzo-soprano, together portray the character Hannah.  The two singers embody a young boy who knows he is different but can't understand how or why. The 70-minute opera traces the life of young Hannah through her eventual gender reassignment. 
 
Kaminsky was inspired to write the opera after reading an article in the New York Times in 2008 about a New Jersey marriage in which one of the parties transitioned from male to female, transforming the couple from straight to gay. The opera is based on the life experience of noted filmmaker Kimberly Reed. 

After wrapping up As One, the couple travels to the drier climate of Arizona, where they will perform a concert version of Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, his one-act opera from the early ‘50s about life in suburban America. Performances are with the Tucson Symphony and run from February 2-4. 

Lee Gregory in Southern California premiere of As One

Baritone Lee Gregory

Lee Gregory is the latest barihunk to take on the role of Hannah, the transgender protagonist of Laura Kaminsky's groundbreaking opera As One. Gregory will play "Hannah before" and Danielle Marcelle Bond will portray "Hannah after" in Long Beach Opera's production directed by David Schweizer. This will be the first performance in Southern California. 

Performances will be on May 13, 20 and 21 and tickets are available online. There will be a pre-opera talk with Artistic Director Andreas Mitisek one hour before each performance.

Kaminsky was inspired to write As One after reading an article in the New York Times in 2008 about a New Jersey marriage in which one of the parties transitioned from male to female, transforming the couple from straight to gay. The opera is based on the life experience of noted filmmaker Kimberly Reed.

As One provides insights into both the personal and philosophical questions at the core of how personhood is defined, as well as into the compromised civil and humans rights of transgender individuals in the broader societal framework.

Luis Alejandro Orozco to play transgender character

Luis Alejandro Orozco as "Hannah Before" (photos by C. Stanley Photography)

Luis Alejandro Orozco is the latest barihunk to take on the role of Hannah, the transgender protagonist of Laura Kaminsky's groundbreaking opera As/One. Orozco will play "Hannah after" and Ashley Cutright will portray "Hannah Before" in this new production at UrbanArias by director Octavio Cardenas. This will be the first performance in Washington D.C. 

Performances will be on October 3, 4, 9 and 10 and tickets are available online.

Kaminsky was inspired to write As One after reading an article in the New York Times in 2008 about a New Jersey marriage in which one of the parties transitioned from male to female, transforming the couple from straight to gay. The opera is based on the life experience of noted filmmaker Kimberly Reed.

As One provides insights into both the personal and philosophical questions at the core of how personhood is defined, as well as into the compromised civil and humans rights of transgender individuals in the broader societal framework.

ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR TODAY!!! Click on the Lulu button below.  
 

West Edge Opera's summer season features barihunks in each show

Dan Kempson, Nikolas Nackley & Zach Altman

The ever innovative West Edge Opera in Berkeley, California is about to launch their summer season and all three operas feature barihunks. The season will also be performed in three unique settings around the East Bay.

Laura Kaminsky's As One will feature popular barihunk Dan Kempson opposite soprano Brenda Patterson. The piece be performed at The Oakland Metro, a punk rock venue reflective of Oakland’s gritty art scene and the ideal space for such a provocative piece.   

As One premiered at The Brooklyn Academy of Music just this past September with the husband and wife team of Kelly Markgraf and Sasha Cooke. Kaminsky was inspired to write the opera after reading an article in the New York Times in 2008 about a New Jersey marriage in which one of the parties transitioned from male to female, transforming the couple from straight to gay.
The opera is based on the life experience of noted filmmaker Kimberly Reed.

Two singers, a baritone and a mezzo-soprano, together portray the character Hannah.  The two singers embody a young boy who knows he is different but can't understand how or why. The 70-minute opera traces the life of young Hannah through her eventual gender reassignment.  Performances are on July 26 and 31, and August 8th.

Alban Berg’s Lulu will be performed in the abandoned and decaying 1912 Beaux-Arts train station at 16th Street in Oakland where the movies Funny Lady and RENT were filmed. The Oakland 16th Street Station (also known as the Oakland Central Station) was for decades Oakland's main train station. It is now being revived as a space for arts and events. In a bit of luxury casting, barihunk Zachary Altman, who is making a name for himself in Basel, will perform the role of the Athlete. He also happens to be Dan Kempson's husband. Performances are on July 25, and August 2 and 8.

The final opera is Monteverdi’s, Ulysses, which will be staged at the American Steel Studios, a former pipe factory turned six acre art studio that’s now home to steel fabricators, sculptors, vertical aerial and trapeze performers, glass artists, and more. The opera stars Nikolas Nackley in the title role and performances are on August 1, 7 and 9.

Tickets and additional cast information is available online. 

Transgender themed opera to open at BAM

Kelly Markgraf and Sasha Cooke

The world permiere of Laura Kaminsky's opera "As One," which explores the revelatory and redemptive journey of a transgender individual, is opening on September 4th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Kaminsky was inspired to write the opera after reading an article in the New York Times in 2008 about a New Jersey marriage in which one of the parties transitioned from male to female, transforming the couple from heterosexual to homosexual. The opera has been cast with the real-life married couple of mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and barihunk Kelly Markgraf, as well as string quartet.

You can listen to three soundclips from the opera below. 

As One provides insights into both the personal and philosophical questions at the core of how personhood is defined, as well as into the compromised civil and humans rights of transgender individuals in the broader societal framework.

Performances at BAM run from September 4-7 and tickets are available online. 

People on the other side of the country can check out the opera in April 2015 at the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University.  Cooke's role will be sung by mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert, but Kelly Markgraf will remain in the cast. The Fry Street Quartet will perform at both venues.