You can watch Hungarian barihunk Marcell Bakonyi as the King of Hungary online at OperaVision in Ferenc Erkel's Bánk bán, which is considered the national opera of the country. The tragic story of has not left the repertoire in Hungary since it was first performed in 1861. It’s performed regularly on national holidays, often with school kids in the audience. The opera includes two amazing arias for the baritone leads, Bánk bán and the King of Hungary, as well as the obligatory soprano mad scene from the era.
The main storyline is based on the assassination of Queen Gertrúd, wife of Andrew II in 1213.
Composer Ferenc Erkel is barely known outside Hungary, where he’s revered as the father of Hungarian music and the composer of the country’s national anthem. The opera is rarely heard outside of Hungary because it's hard to find singers who can sing in Hungarian.
Marcell Bakonyi sings "Se vuol ballare" from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro:
Marcell Bakonyi has not been featured on our site before, but his aria is a tour de force, which is worth hearing. Marcell studied voice at the Leo-Weiner Conservatory of Music in Budapest and at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart, Germany. From 2007-2008 he was a member of the ensemble at Theater Heidelberg, followed by being an ensemble member at the Landestheater Salzburg, where he sang the roles of Bartolo and Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Kaspar in Weber's Der Freischütz, Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca, Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore and Leporello Mozart's Don Giovanni. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Ensemble at the Nürnberg State Theater.
In 2011, he made his debut as Pietro in Verdi`s Simon Boccanegra at the Budapest State Opera House.
Hungarian barihunk Marcell Bakonyi, who is new to this site, will be starring in the world premiere of composer Zsófia Tallér's opera Leander és Lenszirom (Leander and Linseed). The fairy tale opera is the story of Leander the
goblin and Princess Linseed. Librettist Barnabás Szöllősi based the story on Andor Szilágyi's fable with the intent to appeal to children. It will be performed at the Erkel Theater under the auspices of the Hungarian State Opera. Performances are on April 18 and 19.
Marcell Bakonyi was born in 1980 in Győr, Hungary and studied voice
at the Leo-Weiner Conservatory of Music in Budapest, and later at the
Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart, Germany. He appeared in the Stuttgart Opera School’s
productions of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Bastien und Bastienne, as
well as in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
For the Young Opera
series at the Staatsoper Stuttgart he took part in the world premiere of
Matthias Heep’s Träumer. He also sang the role of Lord Sidney in
Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims at the Pesaro International Rossini
Festival. From 2007-2008 he was a member of the ensemble at Theater
Heidelberg. From 2008 to 2009
he was a member of the Zürich International Opera Studio, where he sang the role of the Steersman in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.
In 2009 he appeared at the Schwetzinger Festival in Handel’s Ezio.
Marcell Bakonyi sings "Tardi s'avvede" from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito.
Since
2009, he has been a member of the ensemble of the Landestheater Salzburg
where he sang the roles of Bartolo and Figaro in Mozart`s Le nozze di
Figaro, as well as Kaspar in Weber`s Der Freischütz, Angelotti in
Puccini's Tosca, Dulcamara in Donizetti`s L'elisir d`amore and Leporello
Mozart`s Don Giovanni.
In April 2011, he won the International
Competition Rolando Nicolosi in Rome and received a Special Price at
Marcello Giordani Competition in Catania, resulting in an invitation to
make a major North-American debut. In the same year he has made
his debut as Pietro in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra at the Budapest State
Opera House. In the Summer of 2012, he made his U.S. debut as the Speaker in Mozart`s Die Zauberflöte at the Crested
Butte Music Festival in Colorado.
At the Budapest Opera House he has performed
Colline in Puccini's La bohéme, Ferrando
in Verdi's Il Trovatore and Masetto in Mozart`s Don
Giovanni. In 2013, he made his debut at the Innsbruck Festival für Alte Musik as
Publio in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito.
In 2014, he performed Colline in
a revival of the famous Stefan Herheim production of La bohéme in Oslo, as well as Leporello. On May 2, he'll singBach's Mass in B Minor in Turin, Italy.
Yesterday we featured barihunks out in the English countryside, so it's only appropriate that we head up into the Colorado Rockies today. In beautiful Crested Butte, Colorado a trio of barihunks is also taking up Mozart. At the Crested Butte Music Festival, Philip Cutlip (Papageno), Keith Miller (Sarastro) and Marcell Bakonyi (Speaker) are performing the Magic Flute at the famed ski resort.
Keith Miller & Philip Cutlip
We've featured Cutlip and Miller extensively on this site in the past, but Bokonyi is a new singer for us.Bakonyiwas born in 1980 in Győr, Hungary. He
studied voice at the Leo-Weiner Conservatory of Music in Budapest, and
later at the Hochschule für Musik, Stuttgart with Professor Julia
Hamari where he also attended classes in Lieder singing.
Since 2009 he has been a member of the ensemble of the Landestheater
Salzburg where he sang the roles of Bartolo and Figaro in Le Nozze di
Figaro, as well as Kaspar in Der Freischütz, Angelotti in Tosca and
Bacco in Arianna, Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore and Leporello in Don Giovanni.
Crested Butte is best known for their international film festival, skiing and as the birthplace of mountain biking. The Music Festival presents diverse array of music, dance and opera. This year's lineup includes Broadway tunes, bluegrass, jazz, sacred, chamber, symphonic and operatic fare. There is also a young artist training program headed by tenor Marcello Giordano. The Magic Flute will run from July 25-29. Visit their website for additional information.
In a sign that barihunks are being viewed as sex symbols more widely, Keith Miller was asked to model for this Suburu ad and we think he looks pretty hot.
