Jonathan Woody and Kyle Guglielmo in scenes from new American operas

Jonathan Woody and Kyle Guglielmo

Bass-barihunk Jonathan Woody and barihunk Kyle Guglielmo will be part of an upcoming showcase of scenes from new American operas. They will perform with the American Opera Project's (AOP) "Composers & The Voice: Six Scenes 2016," a concert of opera scenes from ten artists emerging in the world of contemporary opera.

The libretti cover a wide range of stories, from Sigmund Freud and Mabel Dodge Luhan to events taking place in a spaceship, an asylum, and a uterus. The composers Matthew Barnson, Carlos R. Carrillo, Nell Shaw Cohen, Marc LeMay, Cecilia Livingston, and Sky Macklay and librettists Edward Einhorn, Duncan McFarlane, Emily Roller, and Mark Sonnenblick, were chosen by AOP to spend a year creating new works in its bi-annual fellowship program Composers & the Voice.

The performances will be held on Friday, September 30 at 8:00pm at South Oxford Space (138 S. Oxford St.) in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the home of AOP, and on Sunday, October 2 at 2:30pm at the National Opera Center (330 7th Ave, 7th floor) in Manhattan. Tickets range from $10-$25 general admission and are available online. 

Kyle Guglielmo sings "Joey, Joey, Joey" from Most Happy Fella:

Woody and Guglielmo will be joined by coloratura soprano Tookah Sapper, lyric soprano Jennifer Goode Cooper, mezzo-soprano Caitlin McKechney and tenor Blake Friedman.

Guglielmo has appeared with LoftOpera, Sarasota Opera, American Opera Projects, American Lyric Theater, The Princeton Festival, Piedmont Opera, and the Westfield Symphony (now New Jersey Festival Opera). He sang Dr. Pill in the premiere of Daron Hagen's Little Nemo in Slumberland at Sarasota Opera.  Kyle made his Carnegie Hall Debut in April singing the Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's Celebrations from MASS with the Yale Symphony, arranged and conducted by John Mauceri.

American bass-baritone, Jonathan Woody, obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Maryland, College Park and completed his Master of Music degree in Early Music at McGill University.  He has recorded with the Trinity Wall Street Choir under the Musica Omnia label, most recently being featured on the premiere recording of Ralf Yusuf Gawlick's Missa Gentis Humanae for 8 voices. In May 2014, Quill Classics featured him as soloist for a concert of German and French music by Brooklyn Baroque.

Justin Hopkins and Doug Carpenter to sing in Stephen Schwartz gala

Justin Hopkins

Two barihunks are slated to appear at a New York City gala honoring composer Stephen Schwartz. 

Bass-barihunk Justin Hopkins, who just finished a critically-acclaimed run as Nourabad in the Pearl Fishers at the Fort Worth Opera and Doug Carpenter.

Schwartz, is the composer and lyricist of such Broadway hits as Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell, as well as Séance on a Wet Afternoon, developed by the American Opera Projects. Hopkins will perform "Children of the Wind" from Rags, composed by Charles Strouse with lyrics by Schwartz. Carpenter, who just finished a run as Lt. Joe Cable in South Pacific at the Paper Mill Theater,  will sing "Proud Lady" from Bakers Wife.

Doug Carpenter rehearsing South Pacific

Schwartz also contributed lyrics for a number of successful films, including Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt and Enchanted. Schwartz has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards and has been nominated for six Tony Awards.

The gala entitled "Opera Sings Broadway Sings Opera," features some of the biggest names in opera and Broadway, including Lauren Flanigan, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Betsy Wolf, Michael Marcotte, Michael McCorry Rose, Simone Osborne, Jessica Phillips, Bailey Grey and Tony Ponella.

The gala is on Monday, May 12th at The Players, 16 Gramercy Park South with a 6:30 pm VIP cocktails and hors d'oeuvres reception,  7:30 pm cocktail hour and 8:00 pm performance. For tickets call 718-398-4024  or visit their online site.   

Doug Carpenter will be performing in Ed Dixon's new musical comedy Cloak and Dagger at the Signature Theatre in Washington DC from June 12-July 6.