Trio of low male voices in UK staged premiere of Smetena's Libuše

James Quilligan (Photo: Twitter @JamesQuilligan)

Regular readers (with a long memory) might recall our post in 2015 about the first barihunk sextet to be featured in a professional production. British barihunk James Quilligan was part of that cast and now he's featured with a trio of male low voices in the the British staged premiere of Smetana's 1872 masterpiece Libuše.

The U.K. debut of Libuše will debut take place on March 18th with the University College Opera. Joining Quilligan as Chrudos, will be British baritone Robert Davies as Libuše's husband Přemysl and Scottish baritone John Mackenzie as Lutobor. Joining the men will be Kirstin Sharpin as the queen Libuše and Eve Daniell as Krasava. The opera is directed by Cecilia Stinton. Additional performances are on March 20, 22 and 23 and tickets are available online.

Premysl's aria and quartet from Libuše:

In Czech historical myth, Libuše, the title character, prophesied the founding of Prague. In the current production, Smetana's Bohemian queen and her medieval court reside in a modern-day city, where soaring skyscrapers promise glamour and wealth at a human cost.

The opera was composed in 1871–72 for the coronation of Franz Josef as King of Bohemia, but was not performed. The opera was finally premiered nine years later at the National Theatre in Prague. After a fire destroyed the theater, the opera was performed at the reopening in 1883. The current production is being performed to celebrate the refurbishing and reopening of the 541-seat Bloomsbury Theatre, marking the University College Opera's return to its home after three years away performing at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Nicholas Crawley in sexy Cosi fan tutte at Reisoper

Yaroslav Abaimov, Robert Davies & Nicholas Crawley (L-R)

The last time that British barihunk Nicholas Crawley was featured on this site, he was featured in nothing but a towel as Don Basilio in the Nederlandse Reisoper's production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville.  He's currently appearing in with the company in Mozart's Così fan tutte in a production directed by Dutch actor Xander Straat.

He's joined by the Ferrando of hunkentenor Yaroslav Abaimov. Straat has duo outfitted in form-fitting tattoo body suits and colored beards while disguised in an effort to prove their girlfriends as unfaithful. Performances are running from February 9 -March  19 and tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Crawley studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London where he was awarded The Independent Opera Vocal Scholarship 2012. After completing the Master of Arts in Vocal Studies and Royal Academy Opera Advanced Diploma course he joined De Nederlands Reisopera as a resident artist where he has also performed Sleep, Hymen and Winter in Purcell's Fairy Queen as well as Petrus in a staged Bach's St John Passion.