Opera isn't dying, but it will be at the Green-Wood Cemetery starting on June 6th and making a ghostly reappearance on June 8 and 10.
The world premiere of David Hertzberg's chamber opera The Rose Elf will be presented in the catacombs of the historic cemetery, which was founded in 1838. The opera will be directed by the visionary director R. B. Schlather and features bass-barihunk Andrew Bogard, along with the amazing, award-winning mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey, as well as lyric soprano Alisa Jordheim and hunkentenor Kyle Bielfield.
The Rose Elf, which is based on Hans Christian Anderson's 1839 story The Elf of the Rose, tells the tale of two lovers torn apart by a senseless act of violence; and of a strange and sensuous being, at once near and distant, who witnesses this tragedy and is transformed.
Andrew Bogard(left) and Kyle Bielfield (right)
When the "rural cemetery" movement started in the 1830's and burials moved from churches to park-like settings, cemeteries became gathering places for the public. They were often designed by noted landscape architects like Frederick Law Olmsted and included Victorian gardens, beautiful statues, fountains and gathering areas.
Opera companies are also seeking out more original spaces to perform operas, with West Edge Opera performing in an abandoned train station and an old pipe and steel factory, On Site Opera put on a production at Madame Tussauds Wax museum as well as the Bronx Zoo, and an interactive opera was performed at the old Los Angeles Train Station complete with headphones and unsuspecting passengers as part of the "cast".
The amazing young mezzo Samantha Hankey:
For The Rose Elf, spectators will be placed in long single rows along the sides of the central space, with a nine-piece orchestra at the far end and the singers moving up and down. The catacombs, which were built in the 1850s are normally closed to the public. Ticket information is available online.
Andrew Bogard has a Master of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School. He won first place in the 2014 Mario Lanza Scholarship Competition, second place and audience choice in the 2015 Cooper-Bing Opera Columbus Competition, and was a Mid-Atlantic regional finalist and encouragement award recipient in the 2015 MET Competition. Last season he joined the Washington National Opera's Young Artist Program, where he sang the title role in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Leporello in Don Giovanni.
Laurence Meikle, who recently made the transition to bass, opened last night at the Festival della Valle d'Itria as Carlo Belmonte in Meyerbeer's rarely performed opera Margherita d'Anjou. Meikle began exploring the transition to bass in 2016 when he performed Mozart's Così fan tutte with Fabio Luisi at the Festival della Valle d'Itria.
Margherita d'Anjou marked Meyerbeer's debut and first real success at the Teatro alla Scala. The opera is loosely based on an actual historical themes about the English Wars of the Roses. The opera was the first by Meyerbeer to mix historical events and personages with fictional characters and situations, as his French grand operas Les Huguenots, Le prophète and L'Africaine were later to do. It contains opulent
virtuoso and broad choral passages, along with several ensembles for male voices, including a trio for bass voices.
Laurence Meikle
The opera premiered at La Scala on November 14, 1820 and was subsequently performed throughout Europe in Italian, French and German. It received its US debut in New Orleans on April 17, 1854. This is the first modern era production of the opera that is fully stage, There was a concert performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London in November 2002. A new critical edition of the score was published by Ricordi Berlin in 2015.
From October 29 to November 8, Meikle will return to the Teatro di San Carlo as Osmin in the Strehler production of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. He performed there earlier this year as Grenvil in Verdi's La traviata.
Bass-barihunk calendar model Aaron Sørensen will show off his amazing low F as Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Charlottesville Opera (formerly Ash Lawn Opera). Sørensen recently performed the role to great acclaim with the Mississippi Opera. The Charlottesville cast will include Eglise Gutiérrez as Gilda, Matthew Vickers as the Duke of Mantua and Hyung Yun as the ill-fated father Rigoletto.
The opera opens on July 9th at the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre at Virginia Tech University and then heads to the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia for performances on July 14, 16 and 19. Tickets are available online.
Barihunk Jérôme Varnier made his role debut as Méphistophélès tonight in Gounod's Faust at Opéra Grand Avignon. There will be one additional performance on June 11th.
The cast in this new production includes Nathalie Manfrino as Marguerite, Florian Laconi as Faust and Lionel Lhote as Valentin. Tickets are available online. Varnier will repeat the role of Méphistophélès with Opera Massy on November 10 and 12, with Ludivine Gombert as Marguerite, Thomas Bettinger as Faust and fellow barihunk Régis Mengus as Valentin.
Varnier has also performed the role of Brander in the Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust, based on the same German legend.
Kuwaiti born barihunk Tareq Nazmi will make his Carnegie Hall debut on October 24th performing in Mozart's Requiemin D Minor,” K. 626 and Bach’s Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243 in a 1733 revision of the original, in E-flat Major, BWV 243a, which was written ten years earlier. He'll be backed by the KlangVerwaltung Orchestra and Chorgemeinschaft Neubeuern Chorus and soloists soprano Susanne Bernhard, mezzo-soprano Anke Vondung and tenor Daniel Johannsen. Tickets are available online.
He also had two role debuts this year, Zaccaria in Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco in St. Gallen in April 2017 and Basilio in Gioachino Rossini’s Barber of Seville at Berlin’s Komische Oper in July 2017.
You can hear samples of his singing on his website, including Tuba mirum from Mozart's Requiem. Click HERE.
Tareq Nazmi has been a permanent member of the Bavarian State Opera since the 2012-13 season where he's performed the Minister in Beethoven's Fidelio, Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni, the Speaker in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Colline in Puccini's La bohème, Silvano in Cavalli's La Calisto, Mitjucha in Mussogsky's Boris Godunov, First Nazarene in Richard Strauss' Salome, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen, Truffaldin in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Obrist in Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten, and Astolfo in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia.
Don't forget to order you 2017 Barihunks in Bed calendar, which is now on sale by clicking HERE.
John Paul Huckle poses in the beautiful Teatro di San Carlo
Umberto Giodano's Fedora is often dubbed his "other" opera (referrring to hit Andrea Chenier) or it's remembered for the Loris's Act 2 aria Amor ti vieta, which has become a favorite of tenors worldwide.
The
opera has hung around because the story, based a play by Victorien
Sardou, packs some emotional punch. After all, he was the author of the
play that became Tosca,
which Puccini later made into his successful opera.
A number of great sopranos have taken on the title role, including Magda Olivero (who recently died at age 104) and Maria Callas, who performed it at La Scala (where is that recording?). More recently Mirella Freni Angela Gheorghiu, Renata Scotto, Daniela Dessì, Eva Marton, Virginia Zeani and Katia Ricciarelli have sung the role. You'd be hard pressed to find a tenor who hasn't performed Amor ti vieta at some point in his career, and great recordings (both live and studio) exist from Franco Corelli, Mario Del Monaco, Beniamino Gigli, Jussi Bjorling,
Placido Domingo, Roberto Alagna, Giuseppe di Stefano, Nicolai Gedda, Tito Schipa, Jose Carreras, Roland Villazon, Jonas Kaufmann and
Luciano Pavarotti.
Renata Scotto and Placido Domingo perform Fedora:
The Teatro di San Carlo in Naples will present the opera from May 3-11 with an all-star cast headed by Fiorenza Cedolins in the title role and Giuseppe Filianoti as Count Loris. Bass-barihunk John Paul Huckle will take on the dual assignment of Cirillo and the doctor Boroff. Tickets and cast information is available online.
The Teatro di San Carlo will also be presenting a double-bill of Granados' Goyescas and Puccini's Suor Angelica from May 28-June 28 with barihunk César San Martin as Paquiro in the first half of the program. Tickets and cast information is available online.
César San Martin appears in Goyescas
The story of the Giordano opera revolves around Fedora Romazoff, a Russian princess engaged to wed Count Vladimir, who is shot before the opera starts. Fedora sets out to avenge his death and she extracts a
confession from Count Loris, who is enamored with her. She denounces Loris in a letter before realizing that he shot Vladimir not for political reasons, but
because Vladimir was having an affair with his lover Wanda. As could only happen in verismo opera, Fedora then tells Loris that she loves him and they run off to Switzerland together. While there, Loris finds out that his brother
died in jail after being accused of
complicity in Vladimir's death, which prompts his mother to drop dead. Loris realizes that the "mystery woman" who had
denounced him and killed both his brother and his mother was Fedora. He then flies into a fit of rage. Overcome with guilt and
grief, Fedora drinks poison from a hollow crucifix hanging around her neck. As she dies, Loris forgives her, but it is too late, and
she dies in his arms as the song of a shepherd boy is heard from the
Alpine foothills.
He has been referred to as the original barihunk by some, for leading
the way in sexy portrayals of the low voice repertory. His video of
Boito's Mefistofele
from the San Francisco Opera has become a cult classic with opera
aficionados. He continued his sexy shirtless portrayals as Attila
that were not only sexy, but set the vocal standard to this day.
His amazing vocal
flexibility and range has allowed his to sing roles ranging from Argante
in Handel’s Rinaldo to the title role in Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle. His
repertoire includes the florid passages of Handel, the bel canto roles
of Bellini and Donizetti, the great baritone roles of Verdi and Puccini,
great American operas and even many of the great Russian and French
bass roles.
Samuel Ramey sings "Ecco il mondo" from Boito's Mefistofele:
He is still actively performing, although in less demanding roles. On
May 6 and 8, he'll be singing the role of the Old Hebrew with Tulsa
Opera in Saint Saens' Samson et Dalila with Frank Porretta and Dana Beth Miller in the title roles. In recent years he's performed the title role of Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle at Opera Omaha, Basilio in The Barber of Seville at New Orleans Opera, Timur in Puccini's Turandot at the Met and Leone in Verdi's Attila at the San Francisco Opera.
If he sang nothing else, he would be famous for his interpretation of Boito’s Mefistofele,which
has included seventy performances in the Robert Carsen production of
the opera specifically created for him. In fact, devilish roles have
dominated his stage performances, including Berlioz's devil in La damnation de Faust; the sinister Nick Shadow in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress; and the tour de force of all four villains in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann.
In 1992 Mr. Ramey sang all of Offenbach’s villains for the Metropolitan
Opera’s opening night, prompting one critic to write, “[It was] the
best interpretation of the four villains I can remember in the last 25
years. This is the stuff of which operatic legends are made.” In 1996, Ramey presented a sold-out concert at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall
titled A Date with the Devil in which he sang fourteen arias
representing the core of this repertoire, and he continues to tour this
program throughout the world.
Samuel Ramey sings "Mentre gonfiarsi l'anima parea" from Attila:
Samuel Ramey holds the distinction of being the most recorded bass in
history. His more than eighty recordings include complete operas,
recordings of arias, symphonic works, solo recital programs, and popular
crossover albums on every major label. His recordings have garnered
nearly every major award including three Grammy Awards, Gran Prix du
Disc Awards, and “Best of the Year” citations from journals including Stereo Review and Opera News. His exposure on television and video is no less impressive, with video recordings of the Metropolitan Opera’s Carmen, Bluebeard’s Castle, Semiramide, Nabucco, and the compilation “The Met Celebrates Verdi;” San Francisco Opera’s Mefistofele; The Rake’s Progress from the Glyndebourne Festival; Attila from La Scala; and the Salzburg Festival’s Don Giovanni. Ramey is seen frequently on television in appearances with “Live
from the Met” and “Live from Lincoln Center” as well as other
productions taped for PBS.
Following his phenomenal success in opera, concert, and recordings,
Samuel Ramey’s sold-out Carnegie Hall recital in 1987 added a fourth
dimension to his spectacular career. His returns to New York’s Carnegie
Hall for solo recitals in February 1995 and November 1998 were the
culmination of extensive, critically-acclaimed North American tours
which had taken Mr. Ramey from Alaska to Alabama, with appearances on
America's finest vocal series. His European recital career is equally
notable, with sold-out appearances in all the music capitals.
A native of Colby, Kansas, Samuel Ramey was active in music
throughout high school and college. In 1995 he was named “Kansan of the
Year,” and in 1998 the French Ministry of Culture awarded him the rank
of Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters.
We haven't posted about bass-barihunk Anatoli Sivko since the BARITONE BLACKOUT at the OPERALIA competition in Los Angeles in 2014.For those of you who have forgotten, that's when 11 of the 40 competitors at OPERALIA were some of the best low voices on the opera scene, but not a single one made it to the final round.
Sivko not only made it to the final round with two other baritones, but took the top men's prize at the Neue Stimmen competition today. Elsa Dreisig took the top prize for women, as well as the audience prize. Tenors Pene Pati and Lukhanyo Moyake took second and third prize respectively. Miriam Albano and Bongiwe Nakani were the other winners among the women.
Anatoli Sivko sings Verdi's "O tu, Palermo"from I vespri siciliani:
Anatoli Sivko graduated from the Molodechno Music College and the Belarusian State Academy of Music. Since graduating, he
has been a soloist of Bolshoi Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Minsk. He's performed in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, Verdi’s Attila, Monteverdi’s Orpheus, and
Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera.
During the 2015-2016 season he makes his house debuts in Un ballo
in Maschera at theBayerische Staatsoper, Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame at Netherlands
Opera and Leporello in Don Giovanni in Barcelona.
MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGER FROM 9 COUNTRIES.
Our latest reader submission is bass-barihunk Seán Kroll, who recently toured China with the South Shore Orchestra and wrapped up a run as Achilla in Handel’s Cesare in Egitto with Dramma Per Musica in New York City.
Kroll is an alumnus of the Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Santa Barbara and Saint
Petersburg Opera artist development programs. He received his
Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University and
trained at the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy. He performed Poulenc’s rarity Le Bestiaire with the Chicago Opera Theater.
Last Spring he made his New York City debut as Placido Quesara/Escamillo in the off-Broadway performances of Roboff & Newman’s Carmen’s Place: A Fantasy.
Kroll has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. His roles have included Don Giovanni, Escamillo and Zuniga in Carmen, Colline and Marcello in La bohème, Papageno , Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte, Dulcamara, Ewald in Lehár’s Springtime, Melchior in Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors and Sam in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti.
He can next be seen in Rameau's Pygmalion at Madame Tussaud's in New York from June 17-21 with On Site Opera.
French bass-barihunk Nicolas Courjal will appear in Félicien David's operatic rarity Herculaneum on Saturday, March 8th with the Brussels Philharmonic. Courjal will sing the roles of Nicanor and Satan, in a cast that includes Véronique Gens as Lilia, Karine Deshayes as Olympia and Edgaras Montvidas as Hélios. Tickets are available online.
Herculanum premiered at the Paris Opera on March 4, 1859 and is considered one of the last compositions written in the grand style of French opera often associated with Fromental Halévy and Giacomo Meyerbeer. Opera in France would change forever in 1861 when the Paris version of Tannhäuser at the Paris Opéra.France had also experienced a decade of some of Verdi's most popular operas, including Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La traviata.
Nicolas Courjal sings Lothario's aria from Thomas' Mignon:
Located in the Roman antiquity, the opera shows the
downfall of a regime and the demise of the city of Herculaneum as God's
vengeance for the decadence of this time. Davids Herculanum was a
spectacular success, a mixture of music, mass scenes, lavish
decorations, revolutionary spirit and ballet. And it had a final scene
that left the Parisian audience whooping with delight: The explosive
eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, that famously buried Herculaneum.
Nicolas Courjal can next be heard as the King in Lalo's Le roi d'Ys the Opera de Marseilles from May 10-18.
