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 willdebut 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.
The barihunk trio of Nathan Lay, Jeremy Kleeman and Simon Lobelson opened this weekend in the Sydney Chamber Opera's production of Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. This is the company's first production of the opera, which is being directed by Kip Williams, winner of the coveted Helpmann Award for his work as a director. Additional performances are on August 21, 22, 24, 25 and 26 and tickets and additional cast information can be found online.
We introduced Nathan Lay, who sings Tarquinius, to readers last year. He has won the National Liederfest, Australian Music Events’ Opera Scholar
of the Year, the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Aria, placed third in
the Herald Sun Aria and won the 2016 Australian International Opera Award. He has performed with Opera Australia, Melbourne Opera,
and has recently completed the Victorian Opera Developing Artist
Program along with his Master of Music at The
University of Melbourne. He is featured prominently on Remembrance, a CD of songs and poems in memory of the soldiers that fought in World War One. During his time at Victorian Opera, he
performed in Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George, Puss in Boots, La traviata, Hansel and Gretel, The Magic Pudding – The Opera, Richard Mills’ Remembrance, I Puritani, Weill’s Die sieben Todsünden featuring Meow Meow, Massenet's Cendrillon, and Mr. Mayor in Richard Mills’ world premiere of The Pied Piper.
Nathan Lay sings Britten's "Look! Through the port comes the moon astray":
We also introduced Jeremy Kleeman, who will be singing Collatinus, to readers last year after a reader submitted him to us. Kleeman is a graduate of Victorian Opera’s Developing Artist Program, and has a
Master of Music in Opera Performance and Bachelor of Music from the
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. In 2014 and 2015, Jeremy was a
scholar with Melba Opera Trust on the Joseph Sambrook Opera Scholarship,
and was the 2016 recipient of the Dame Heather Begg Memorial Award. Upcoming engagements will include soloist in the Duruflé Requiem with the Melbourne Bach Choir, Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea with Pinchgut Opera and soloist in Nielsen’s Symphony no. 3 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Roles with the Victorian Opera have included Lord Valton in I puritani, Marquis D’Obigny in La traviata, Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods, Jonas Fogg in Sweeney Todd, Mother in Seven Deadly Sins and Albert the Pudding in the Green
Room award-winning world premiere The Magic Pudding – The Opera.
Simon Lobelson has been featured three times on Barihunks, dating back to 2008! He was born in Sydney to Egyptian parents and spent his childhood in Brussels before moving to Australia. He received his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Sydney and his postgraduate degree at London’s Royal College of Music. He was a finalist in the 2011 Wagner Society Competition and a Tait Memorial Trust 2011 Thornton Foundation Award recipient. He is also a coach at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Lobelson has performed over 70 operatic roles including Doctor Falke in Die Fledermaus, Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Geôlier in Dialogues des Carmélites, Osmin in Mozart’s Zaide, and Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff. His recordings include The Sofa, Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Nicolai Mass with the Israel Camerata, The Fairy Queen and Charpentier’s David et Jonathas. He has also been featured on broadcasts for Classic FM, Fine Music FM, Foxtel and
BBC Radio 3, as well as soundtracks to exhibitions at both the Australian and
British Museums, and on the inflight soundtrack for British Airways and
Qantas flights.
Brian James Myer, Colin Ramsey and Matthew Hanscom
Opera San Jose's upcoming performance of Puccini's La boheme will feature the barihunk trio of Matthew Hanscom as Marcello, Colin Ramsey as Colline and Brian James Myer as Schaunard. There will be six performances from April 15-30, including three with budding soprano superstar Julie Adams as Mimi.
The opera will be updated the end of WWI, when Paris was delirious with
optimism for the new century and great artists like Nijinsky, Stravinsky, Picasso and
Coco Channel were creating a new way of life in the art's capital of the world.
The barihunk trio also appeared together in Opera San Jose's production of Kevin Puts' Silent Night, with Colin Ramsey as Father Palmer, Brian James Myer as Ponchel and Matthew Hanscom as Matthew Hanscom as Lt. Gordon.
The April 23rd performance will also feature a pre-performance brunch in the elegant courtyard of the California Theatre. Tickets for La boheme and the brunch are available online.
Evan Hughes (photo Leela Rose) and with Guido Loconsolo in Don Giovanni
The Semperoper Dresden just opened Mozart's Don Giovanni with the barihunk trio of Lucas Meachem as the Don, Guido Loconsolo as Leporello and Evan Hughes as Masetto. The production runs through July 3rd and the cast includes Maria Bengtsson as Donna Anna, Aga Mikolaj as Donna Elvira, Peter Sonn as Don Ottavio, Christina Bock as Elvira and Michael Eder as the Commendatore. Tickets are available online.
Guido Loconsolo sings the Catalog Aria from Don Giovanni:
Lucas Meachem can next be seen at the San Francisco Opera as Dr Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, Chorèbe in Berlioz's Les Troyens at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly at the Dallas Opera.
Evan Hughes is now a member of the ensemble at the Semperoper Dresden and can be seen in upcoming performances as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème, Cesare Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca and Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte.
Guido Loconsolo can next be seen as Publio in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito at the Teatro Real de Madrid. He also appears on an new CD of Don Giovanni on Sony Classics with Andrei Bondarenko in the title role.
Hadleigh Adams at SF Opera's Lab Pop-Up Opera in San Francisco
For years, opera companies have been trying innovative ways to attract younger audiences to the artform. The San Francisco Opera may have figured out the formula, as their Pop-Up concert at The Chapel, an old mortuary converted into a 1914 nightclub, drew a packed audience of 500 rowdy attendees to the heart of San Francisco's hip Mission District.
Hadleigh Adams sings "Come un'ape ne'giorni d'aprile" from La Cenerentola:
Barihunk Hadleigh Adams was the perfect emcee, eliciting shouts from men
and women to take off his shirt (which he didn't do!). He was joined by
fellow barihunks Anthony Reed and Brad Walker, tenor Pene Pati, mezzo
Laura Krumm and soprano Amina Edris. All are alums of the prestigious
Merola Opera Program, who went on to become Adler Fellows with the San
Francisco Opera. They were joined by Ronny Michael Greenberg at the
piano, who recently accompanied barihunk Marco Vassalli for his U.S.
debut recital.
The SF Opera Lab explores innovative programming that celebrates the
power of the human voice theatrically in intimate spaces beyond the War
Memorial Opera House. They are also intended to be informal and drinks
are allowed at the performance.
Hadleigh Adams & Laura Krumm sing "Dunque io son" from The Barber of Seville:
The next SF Opera Lab production opens tonight with seven performances
running through APril 10th. Michael Cavanagh will direct Ana Sokolović's
Svadba-Wedding and audience members will be part of the action with
actual champagne served at the wedding. Additional information is
available online.
Hadleigh Adams will be performing Falke in Die Fledermaus with the Cincinnati Opera in June. Anthony Reed can be seen this season at the San Francisco Opera in Jenufa, Andrea Chenier, Aida and Madama Butterfly. Brad Walker will be appearing with the San Francisco Opera this season in Carmen, Andrea Chenier and The Makropulos Case.
Daniel Okulitch with Samantha Gossard (left) and Joshua Bloom (right)Photo by Cory Weaver
The Lyric Opera of Kansas City is opening its 58th season with Mozart’s Don Giovanni featuring
the barihunk trio of Daniel Okulitch in the title role, Joshua Bloom as
Leporello and Rhys Lloyd Talbot as Masetto. Performances are on
September 26 and 30 and October 2 and 4 at the Kauffman Center for the
Performing Arts. Tickets are available online.
The opera is being done in a film noir theme set in the mid-20th century featuring snap-brim fedoras, trench coats and dimly lit speakeasies. Seville has been replaced by the mean streets of the big city as dark shadows hide mistaken identities.
“Film noir is about seduction and about mystery, and the lead character, Don Giovanni, is about seduction and about mystery,” said Deborah Sandler, general director and CEO of the Lyric Opera. The opera is directed by Kristine McIntyre. “There’s a lot that happens in this opera that we don’t see. It’s kind of in the dark. It’s about hints. The darkness and the shadows of film noir seem to be a very good lens with which to see this opera.”
Lyric Opera of Kansas City's Don Giovanni Photo by Cory Weaver
Okulitch has sung the title role in Portland, Vancouver, Colón, Palm Beach, New York City Opera and will reprise it in Santa Fe next season with fellow barithunks Kostas Smoriginas as Leporello and Soloman Howard as the Commendatore.
After Don Giovanni, Bloom will portray The Pirate King in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in October at both Théâtre de Caen and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. Okulitch will head to the Manitoba Opera where he will sing Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Talbot just completed the Young Artist program at Glimmerglass where he performed the Speaker/Second Priest in Mozart's The Magic Flute and the Apparition in Verdi's Macbeth.
The Teatro Massimo di Palermo will be alternating casts in Puccini's La bohème, which opens on September 18th. The cast performing on September 19, 22, 25 and 27 will feature the Italian barihunk trio of Simone Alberghini as Marcello, Dario Russo as Colline and Italo Proferisce as Schaunard. Additional information is available online.
We introduced Simone Alberghini when he appeared as Don Giovanni in a production with and "18 and older" warning at the Perm Opera. The other singers are new to this site.
Dario Russo graduated with a degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures, focusing on Russian and German. After finishing his studies, he became a member of the Opera Studio Nederland of Amsterdam and was part of the Opera Workshop as the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova. Recent performances have included
Enrico in Anna Bolena in Catania, Count Walter in Luisa Miller at the Teatro di San Carlo.Demetrio in Rossini's Demetrio e Polibio at the Teatro San Carlo of
Naples, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni at Opera Basel, Raimondo in Lucia di
Lammermoor at the Teatro San Carlo of Napoli and Colline in Trieste. He next sings in Bari where he'll perform Colline with the Marcello of fellow barihunk Giorgio Caoduro.
Naples native Italo Proferisce studied piano and voice at the Conservatorio G. Martucci in Salermo and attended the Accademia di Alta Formazione del Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He was a finalist or winner in numerous vocal competitions between 2009-2011. He made his debut as Don Perizonio in Cimarosa's L'impresario in angustie in Budrio in 2011. He performed as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro and as the father in Fortunato's Falcone e Borsellino at the Teatro Verdi di Pisa, Marcello in La Bohème with Teatro Ammitato in Florence and Deputato Flamingo in Don Carlos with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Roderick Willams, Peter Brathwaite & Vitali Rozynko (L-R)
Today is another first for Barihunks, as we feature our first barihunk trio in Puccini's Madama Butterfuly, where Roderick Williams is singing Sharpless, Peter Brathwaite is performing Yamadori and Vitali Rozynko is portraying the Imperial Commissioner. The performances are at the De Nationale Reisopera in the Netherlands and runs through October 10th in the following cities: Enschede, Arnhem, Den Bosch, Apeldoorn, Rotterdam, Zwolle, Den Haag, Amstelveen, Heerlen and Amsterdam. The cast also includes Annemarie Kremer as Cio-Cio San and Eric Fennell as Pinkerton.
HRH King Willem-Alexander and the cast of Madama Butterfly
Opening night was attended by His Royal Highness King Willem-Alexander, who succeed his mother Princess Beatrix on April 30, 2013, becoming King of The Netherlands. There is some interesting Dutch history with the opera. In 1877, King William III of the Netherlands announced that he as going to marry the French opera singer Eleonore d'Ambre.whom he ennobled as Countess d'Ambroise without the government's consent. Under pressure from society and the government, he abandoned their marriage plans.
The Lyric Opera of Kansas City is opening its 58th season with Mozart’s Don Giovanni featuring the barihunk trio of Daniel Okulitch in the title role, Joshua Bloom as Leporello and Rhys Lloyd Talbot as Masetto. Performances are on September 26 and 30 and October 2 and 4 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available online.
The trio are also all alumni of the prestigious Merola Opera Program in San Francisco, with Daniel Okulitch taking part in 2002, Joshua Bloom in 2001 and 2003, and Rhys Lloyd Talbot in 2013 and 2014. Elizabeth Caballero, their Donna Elvira, was in the program with both Okulitch and Bloom.
After Don Giovanni, Bloom will portray The Pirate King in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in October at both Théâtre de Caen and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. Okulitch will head to the Manitoba Opera where he will sing Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Talbot just completed the Young Artist program at Glimmerglass where he performed the Speaker/Second Priest in Mozart's The Magic Flute and the Apparition in Verdi's Macbeth.
Carmen's barihunk trio: Valdis Jansons, Ricardo Crampton & John Paul Huckle
There will be two free, live streaming broadcast of Bizet's Carmen from the Teatro Carlo Felice, with alternating Escamillos. The first one is on Friday, May 8th at 8 PM CET/2 PM EST featuring Mattia Olivieri as Escamillo, John Paul Huckle as Zuniga and Ricardo Crampton as Morales. The second broadcast will be on Tuesday, May 12th at 3 PM CET/9 AM EST. In the second broadcast Valdis Jansons will sing Escamillo. Click HERE to watch the live stream.
Carmen will be rotated between Sonia Ganassi on May 8th and Anna Malavasi on May 12th. You can see the opera live until May 17th.
We managed to get the three barihunks appearing in Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd at the Teatro Carlo Felice to pose for a backstage photo before a recent performance. Valdis Jansons is rotating the title role with Phillip Addis, while Ricardo Crampton performs the role of A Novice and John Paul Huckle sings Dansker for the entire run.
The production directed by Davide Livermore has been praised for turning the stage into a ship and lowering and rising the sets to create a sense of navigation. There is one remaining performance left on April 23. You can also watch a video of Phillip Addis discussing the role of Billy Budd.
If you can't make it to Billy Budd, you can still catch the barihunk trio in the Teatro Carlo Felice's upcoming production of Carmen, where Jansons will sing Escamillo, Huckle performs Zuniga and Crampton takes on Morales. Jansons will be rotating the matador's role with another barihunk, Mattia Olivieri, who proved quite popular with our readers when we first posted about him. He was even featured in our Best of 2014 post as one of our hottest newcomers to the site.
Carmen will be rotated between Sonia Ganassi and Anna Malavasi. The opera opens on May 8th and runs through May 17.
Evan Hughes(left & far right)and Daniela Mack as Carmen (Production photo: Ken Howard)
Due to a heavy demand for tickets, the Santa Fe Opera has added another performance of Bizet’s Carmen to the final week of its current season. The opera features the barihunk trio of Kostas Smoriginas as Escamillo, Evans Hughes as Zuniga and Dan Kempson as Le Dancaire. The sensational mezzo Daniela Mack, who was the runner up at the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, is singing the title role.
A performance has been added on August 18th, making a total of thirteen performances of the popular French opera. The opera’s season will end with a performance of Carmen on August 23rd. Tickets are available online.
All three barihunks have been featured on our site before.
Kostas Smoriginas(photo: Ken Howard)
Lithuanian barihunk Kostas Smoriginas is making his Santa Fe Opera debut with this production and he appears to be an instant favorite with audiences. In 2010, he made his American opera debut as Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Washington National Opera, a role he later repeated at the San Francisco Opera. He returned to Great Britain to appear as Escamillo in Carmen in Opera North’s new production, having made his debut in the role at Berlin’s Staatsoper.
Evan Hughes is a grand prize winner in the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition, who is also making his debut with the Santa Fe Opera. A member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, he won praise as Don Alfonso in the 2012 production of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte at Lincoln Center. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2013 as Crebillon in Puccini’s La Rondine .
Dan Kempson from Barihunks calendar (left)and in Santa Fe's Carmen(photo: Ken Howard)
Dan Kempson made his Santa Fe Opera debut during the 2012-13 season as Le notaire in Offenbach's Grande-Duchesse of Gerolstein. We recently featured him in performances of Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox with Skylight Music Theatre and as Lieutenant Gordon in Fort Worth Opera’s production of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night.He will be making hisdebut with the Opera San Antonio as Badger the Miner in Tobias Picker's The Fantastic Mr. Fox on September 23rd.
Elliot Mador, Brandon Cedel and Edwin Crossley-Mercer
If you followed any of the press around Tara Eraught's treatment by British reviewers concerning her appearance as the Octavian in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier at Glyndebourne, you can rest assured that no such criticism will be hurled at director Jonathan Kent’s updated production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. The company has assembled an ensemble of great singers who also look like they were cast for a Baz Luhrmann blockbuster Hollywood film.
Edwin Crossley-Mercer and Elliot Madore (photo: Robert Workman)
In the title role is the rising Canadian star barihunk Elliot Madore, who is joined by Edwin Crossley-Mercer as Leporello and Brandon Cedel as Masetto. Madore returns to Glyndebourne after his successful 2012 Festival debut in Ravel's L’heure espagnole. Madore joins a distinguished roster of Don's that dates back to the legendary performances of John Brownlee in the 1930s and includes Giuseppe Valdengo, Kim Borg, Enest Blanc, Ruggero Raimondi, Benjamin Luxon, Brent Ellis, Sir Thomas Allen, Richard Stilwell, Olaf Bar and Gerald Finley.
The current cast also includes the sensational young British tenor Ben Johnson as Don Ottavio, Canadian soprano
Layla Claire reprising her 2012 appearance as Donna Anna, Italian soprano Serena Farnocchia as Donna Elvira, Lenka Máčiková as Zerlina and
Andrés Orozco-Estrada making his Glyndebourne debut conducting the London
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Lenka Máčiková, Elliot Madore and Brandon Cedel
If you can't make the performance, you can watch their 2010 production featuring Gerald Finley as Don Giovanni, Luca Pisaroni as Leporello and Guido Loconsolo as Masetto on July 6th. Later today, you can watch the aforementioned production of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier live from Glyndebourne, starring Kate Royal, Teodora Gheorghiu and Tara Erraught, and conducted by Robin Ticciati. The broadcast begins on Sunday June 8 at 4.30pm GST/11:30am EST/8:30am PST. Click HERE to watch.
