Polish bass-barihunk Daniel Miroslaw joins Glyndebourne's La traviata

Daniel Miroslaw

Polish bass-barihunk Daniel Miroslaw will be appearing in two of the Glyndebourne Festival operas this season, beginning on June 12th when he takes over as Doctor Grenvil from Henry Waddington in Verdi's La traviata. The cast also includes Kristina Mkhitaryan as Violetta in her Glyndebourne debut, Zach Borichevsky as Alfredo Germont and Igor Golovatenko as Giorgio Germont. Miroslaw will also be performing on June 16 and 19.

You can see Glyndebourne's 2014 of La traviata with the thrilling tenor Michael Fabiano from June 8-15 by clicking HERE.

Daniel Miroslaw sings "It's just another Rumba":

On June 25, he takes the stage as Truffaldino in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos with fellow barihunk Björn Bürger as Harlequin. The cast also includes the legendary baritone Sir Thomas Allen as the Music Master, soprano Lise Davidsen in the title role, tenor AJ Glueckert as Bacchus and Erin Morley as Zerbinetta. Performances run through July 27.

Miroslaw is a member of the Frankfurt Opera, where he's slated to sing a number of roles this season, including Eustazio in Handel's Rinaldo, Ferrando in Verdi's Il Trovatore and Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto.  In April 2018, he will be making his debut at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago singing a title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

Rafael Fingerlos tours with Nederlandse Reisoper

Rafael Fingerlos as Harlekin (photo by Marco Borggreve)

Austrian barihunk Rafael Fingerlos is touring as Harlekin with the Nederlandse Reisoper in their production of Richard Strauss’Ariadne auf Naxos. The production is directed by Laurence Dale with stunning costumes by Gary McCann and features Soojin Moon as Ariadne, Jennifer France as Zerbinetta, Martin Momrich as Bacchus and Karin Strobos as the Composer.

Performances are remaining on September 20 and 22 in Zwolle, 24th in Arnhem, 27th in Maastricht, 29th in Breda and October 1st in Den Haag, 6 and 8 in Amsterdam. Tickets are available online.

Trailer for Ariadne auf Naxos at the Nederlandse Reisoper:

Fingerlos will become a fest ensemble member at the Vienna State Opera beginning with their 2016/17 season. His first role will be Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia on November 12 opposite the Rosina of Isabel Leonard and Almaviva of Pavel Kolgatin. Performances run through December 20.

Jason Duika wrapping up young artist program with two shows

Jake Duika showing off his guns

Barihunk Jason Duika looks like he's squeezing in some gym time along with his vocal coaching during his five months with the Benenson Young Artist Program.

He recently reprised the drinking song "Ò vin, dissipe la tristesse" from Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet at the Yale medical schools conference on "Music and Tourettes."

This season with Palm Beach Opera he performed Dancairo in Bizet's Carmen with Zachary Nelson as Escamillo and Tobias Greenhalgh as Moralés under the direction of John De Los Santos. He also performed Dr. Malatesta in the family performance of Donizetti's Don Pasquale. From March 18-20 he'll be singing the Wigmaker and covering Harlekin in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Then on March 29, he'll wrap up his time with Palm Beach Opera performing French and German lieder in their Liederabend. Tickets for both remaining shows are available online. 

On April 9 and 10, he will return to his alma mater, Alma College in Michigan to sing the title role of Saul in Handel's oratorio along with countertenor Bryan DeSilva and tenor Wilson Nichols.

Andrew Lovato returns to Minnesota for role debut as Harlequin

Andrew Lovato as Harlequin at Minnesota Opera

Andrew Lovato is returning to the Minnesota Opera to make his role debut as Harlequin in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. He made his Minnesota Opera debut as Sonora in Puccini's La fanciulla del West and subsequently performed Young Raymond in the world premiere of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell's The Manchurian Candidate and Le Dancaïre in Bizet's Carmen.

Performances of Ariadne auf Naxos will run from September 26-October 4 and tickets are available online. Lovato will be joined by Amber Wagner as Ariadne, Brian Jagde as Bacchus, Erin Morley as Zerbinetta and Hanna Hipp as The Composer. 

This summer, Lovato premiered the role of Harry Engel in Ricky Ian Gordon’s Morning Star in his Cincinnati Opera debut. He will be singing the role of Slim in Of Mice and Men with Austin Opera in January 2016. In March 2016, he returns to the Minnesota Opera to perform Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca.

NOW ON SALE: The 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar

Glyndebourne to stream six operas

Jacques Imbrailo as Billy Budd (Photograph: Tristram Kenton)

This summer Glyndebourne will be streaming six operas worldwide, three live from the festival and three recorded in previous seasons.

The first opera to be streamed will be Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos on June  4th at 7:00pm GST.  It will be followed by Verdi's Falstaff on June 21st at 1:30pm GST.    

Of interest to barihunk lovers is the July 12th broadcast of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro featuring Audun Iversen's Count and Vito Priante's Figaro from a 2012 performance. Also of interest will be Jacques Imbrailo as the title character in Britten's Billy Budd slated for broadcast on August 23rd.

In between those two operas will be Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie on July 25th and Donizetti's Don Pasquale on August 6th.

Visit the Glyndebourne website for more information.

Introducing Bass-Barihunk Aaron Sorenson

Aaron Sorenson (Photo by Barihunks)

Despite the fact that our homepage includes the definition of a "barihunk" that includes basses, the most common question we get is: "Can a bass be on barihunks?" The answer is a resounding YES and we admittedly love any low voice (even the mezzos!). Aaron Sorenson is a great example of why we'd be fools to not include basses on this site.

We had the pleasure of seeing his artistry live at the Fort Worth Opera as Benoit and Alcindoro in La Boheme, as well as a hilarious turn as the Wigmaker in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. While we were in Fort Worth, we joined photographer Michael Yeshion for a photo shoot with Sorenson, Michael Mayes and Anthony Reed. A few of those shots are previewed here and more will be appearing in our 2014 Barihunks Calendar.

Basses Aaron Sorenson and Anthony Reed (Photo by Michael Yeshion)

The Nebraska native honed his craft at Yale Opera Program and has gone on to sing Masetto in
Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Father Trulove in Stravinky’s The Rake’s Progress at the Wolf Trap Opera, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen and Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, and Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Tosca, and The
Rake’s Progress with Des Moines Metro Opera.

He'll be returning to the Fort Worth Opera Festival next season as the French General in Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night.

We also found this little tidbit on the Wolf Trap Opera blog: “When not singing (opera), Aaron Sorensen can most often be found in the kitchen whipping up something delectable and sinfully delicious. Taught by his grandmothers and mother, he is a foodie at heart and is infamous for his desserts. He is also an avid fan of hiking and the outdoors. It doesn’t happen often, but when time allows Aaron also enjoys watching movies and pointless television. So far, the best movie he has seen this year is, without a doubt, The Muppet Movie!”

If you're a barihunk based in New York, we recommend that you contact Michael Yeshion for your headshots. If you want to be considered for next year's calendar, he can shoot some great photos for you. Any barihunk can submit photos for consideration to the calendar or the website at Barihunks@gmail.com. A photo in a Barihunk tee-shirt increases your chances of inclusion.

Michael Mayes stopping traffic in Fort Worth

Michael Mayes makes waiting for the bus tolerable

We say it every year, if you don't have the Fort Worth Opera Festival on your travel itinerary then you missing one of the best festivals in the United States. Although the festivals at Glimmerglass, Spoleto and Santa Fe might be better known, the quality and innovation at Fort Worth Opera is unsurpassed. General Director Darren Woods has created one of the most entertaining festivals in the United States with a mixture of operatic standards and fascinating contemporary works. 

This year's standard fare includes Puccini's La boheme, Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment and Puccini's La boheme featuring another of our favorite young barihunks Wes Mason. The contemporary work this year is Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied and it's all the buzz in Fort Worth due a bunch of bus benches featuring barihunk Michael Mayes that are literally stopping traffic.

Mayes will portray Colonel Floyd James (Jim) Thompson, America’s longest-held prisoner of war. The opera by Tom Cipullo looks back on Thompson's years as a captive in Vietnam and features Mayes in the title role. Fort Worth Opera often challenges their ticket holders with new works and the productions are often the audience favorites. Last year they featured Mark Adamo's comedy  Lysistrata that had audiences rolling in the aisles and the previous year they offered Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox that became the hottest ticket in town.

If this year's fare is half as great as their ad campaign, they have another hit on their hands. Michael Mayes was one of the stars of Lysistrata and he showed off his comic skills to great effect. But readers of this site will know that his dramatic skills recently prompted composer Jake Heggie to say that Mayes was the definitive Joseph De Rocher in his opera Dead Man Walking.

Tickets and additional information about the Fort Worth Opera Festival are available on their website.