Jesse Blumberg in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers

Jesse Blumberg and Jennifer Black in Three Decembers at the Atlanta Opera

Barihunk Jesse Blumberg is the latest singer to take on the role of the gay son Charlie in Jake Heggie's chamber opera Three Decembers.

The opera deals with family secrets that are uncovered over the course of three Decembers, each a decade apart. Glamorous actress Madeline Mitchell and her two adult children struggle to reconcile the truth and lies about their lives and relationships.

Mezzo-soprano Theodora Hanslowe sings the role of the mother Madeline Mitchell, which the composer wrote for the legendary Frederica von Stade, while Jennifer Black portrays the other sibling Beatrice. The piece will be performed in the intimate Alliance Theatre on May 29, May 30 and May 31.

Daniel Teadt sings Charlie's aria from Three Decembers:

Two other companies will be performing Three Decembers this season, with the Kentucky Opera's running from November 13-15 and Florentine Opera from March 11-20. 2016. Keith Phares will sing the role of Charlie at Florenine Opera, a role he has performed in San Francisco, Houston and Des Moines.

The Dallas Opera has announced the commission of Heggie's next opera, Great Scott, with a libretto by Terrence McNally, set for a premiere on October 30, 2015, starring Nathan Gunn. The production will then head to the revived San Diego Opera in May 2016.

Upcoming performances for Jesse Blumberg include excerpts from Monteverdi's L'Orfeo with Voyces, Rosebmüller's Cantatas with ACRONYM, and Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Handel's Messiah with the American Bach Soloists.

Barihunk Messiahs Abound

John Brancy

There are a ton of baritones making some extra holiday cash by singing Handel's Messiah over the next week. We would love to be in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina to hear John Brancy with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. There are four performances beginning tonight and ending on Friday, December 21st. The Tuesday night performance is already sold out, so get your tickets now. 

Curtis Sullivan as Neptune at Opera Atelier

A thousand miles north of Charleston, Curtis Sullivan will join the 100-member Peterborough Singers for the Messiah today and tomorrow at the George Street United Church. Tickets are available online.

Jesse Blumberg

San Franciscans are welcoming back Jesse Blumberg who is repeating his successful performances of the Messiah with the American Bach Soloists. Performance are on December 20. 21 and 22 and tickets are available online. Blumberg will return to the Bay Area on February 19th for the West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's "Green Sneakers." Tickets are now on sale.

Finally, here is a classic version of "The Trumpet Shall Sound" sung by Samuel Ramey.

Barihunks calendars are selling fast, so order yours today before the last minute shoppers get online. 

Jesse Blumberg to Sing Finzi in NYC; Handel's Messiah in SF

Jesse Blumberg

At Barihunks we like to expose readers to music that they may not be familiar with. So we were thrilled when we saw that Jesse Blumberg was singing Gerald Finzi's "Fear No More the Heat o' the Sun" at the St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The piece is based on a deeply moving setting of Shakespeare’s verse from Cymbeline (Act IV, Scene 2) and isn't performed nearly enough.

Bryn Terfel singing Finzi's "Fear No More the Heat o' the Sun"



Also on the November 10th program is "Dona nobis pacem" and "Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus" by Finzi's friend and contemporary Ralph Vaughan Williams. Visit the St. Thomas website for additional information.

Jesse Blumberg will appear at Grace Cathedral with ABS

If you're on the opposite coast, you can hear Jesse Blumberg with the American Bach Soloists in San Francisco. He will be performing Handel's "Messiah" on December 15 and 16 at San Francisco's magnificent Grace Cathedral atop Nob Hill and at the Mondavi Center in Sacramento on December 18.




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Blumberg Back in Bay Area

Jesse Blumberg

Barihunk Jesse Blumberg makes his much anticipated return to the San Francisco Bay Area next week in a program of early music with the American Bach Soloists. Blumberg joins countertenors Clifton Massey and Ian Howell, tenor Aaron Sheehan and soprano Elizabeth Weigle in a program that includes Purcell's "Come, ye Sons of Art" and "Now Does the Glorious Day Appear," as well as Handel's "Te Deum in D Major" and "Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne."


For additional concert information visit the American Bach Soloists website. 


Readers of this site will recall that Blumberg performed the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's heartfelt and emotional song cycle "Green Sneakers." The American baritone is also the founder of the Five Buroughs Music Festival in New York. 


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Jesse Blumberg's New CD and More Messiah

It's been a year since we first featured barihunk Jesse Blumberg after he delivered a rousing performance of Handel's Messiah with the American Bach Soloists in San Francisco. Blumberg is back with the group to reprise his performance this month.

Blumberg is also the featured soloist on the world-premiere recording of Ricky Ian Gordon’s "Green Sneakers," a song cycle for baritone, string quartet and empty chair. The cycle was written by Gordon after his partner died of AIDS and it is an extremely personal and heartfelt composition. Blumberg whose singing is as stunning as his looks, delivers a poignant and memorable performance. You can buy the CD by clicking HERE.



Composer Ricky Ian Gordon knew from the beginning of working on this piece that he wanted Blumberg as his soloist. This is what he told Opera Today:

“Because of the honesty and intimacy of these poems I knew that a performer who was false in any way would kill Sneakers. It had to be a singer who was essentially an open vessel. Jesse is like that with his unusual combination of strapping casual masculinity and comfort in his own body. He’s unsaddled by any kind of ego that gets between him, the music he is singing and the words he is conveying.”



For readers on the East Coast, you should check out his website for his schedule. In March, he will also be performing Harlekin in Richard Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos" with the Boston Lyric Opera.



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Jesse Blumberg Will Make Your Trumpet Sound

[Color photo by Cory Weaver; B&W photo by Nick Granito]

I went to hear Jesse Blumberg sing Handel's Messiah with the American Bach Soloists and he sounded as good as he looks. His delivery of the line, "...but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his Glory shall be seen upon thee" was the greatest that I've ever heard live or recorded. His closing piece, "The trumpet shall sound" was truly magnificent, made all the better by him cutting a mean figure in his tuxedo.

He is performing it again tonight at Jackson Hall in Davis, California at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased either by calling (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or going to www.mondaviarts.org.

Blumberg was scheduled to reprise his role in the Grapes of Wrath, but Opera Pacific has become a victim of the economic crisis. Hopefully, somebody will hire him to sing a barihunk role to fill the void on his calendar.

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