Reader Submission: Finnish Barihunk Markus Suihkonen

Markus Suihkonen (photos: Vilja Tamminen)

Our latest reader submission is 25-year-old Finnish bass Markus Suihkonen, who someone spotted as The Herald in Bayerische Staatsoper production of Verdi's Otello. The production also features hunkentenor Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, so you know he had to stand out.

There is one more performance on December 21, before it returns in the Summer for additional performances on July 12 and 15, also featuring Suihkonen.

Watch Markus Suihkonen at the 11:50 mark:

Before taking up singing at the Sibelius Academy, Suihkonen studied the cello for 15 years. In 2015, he won the Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition and was awarded a scholarship from the Martti Talvela Foundation.    

He made his professional debut at the Finnish National Opera in 2015 in Shostakovich's The Nose. He has performed at the Mariinsky Theater, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Vlaamse Opera and at the Royal Opéra de Wallonie.

He is part of the Young Artist Ensemble at the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, Belgium.

He returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper in April as King René in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta and then takes on Publio in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège.

Sean Michael Plumb's debuts new website; Returns to Bayerische Staatsoper

Sean Michael Plumb (Photo Dario Acosta)

American barihunk Sean Michael Plumb has a new website and management page with Étude Arts. His website includes his new bio and schedule. He will be returning to the ensemble of the Bayerische Staatsoper for the 2017-18 season to sing Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Dandini in La cenerentola, and Prosdocimo in Il turco in Italia

He was a member of the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project in 2016 and has been a young artist at The Glimmerglass Festival, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Aspen Music Festival.

We featured Plumb back in 2012 when he made his national television debut in the HBO documentary “Renée Fleming: A YoungArts MasterClass.” He was honored by President Obama as a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts at a ceremony at The White House and has garnered a multitude of awards for his singing including the Grand Prize of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions

Highlights of Sean's 2017-18 season include the following performances:

Il Trittico (Marco) - Bayerische Staatsoper, December 2017 - January 2018, July 2018

Così fan tutte (Guglielmo) - Bayerische Staatsoper, March 2018

La cenerentola (Dandini) - Bayerische Staatsoper, March 2018

Liederabend - Munich, April 2018

Tristan und Isolde (Melot) - The Cleveland Orchestra, April 2018

Die Zauberflöte (Papageno) - Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, June 2018

Erwin Schrott's year all Don Giovanni & Figaro

Erwin Schrott

Erwin Schrott's stage performances for the remainder of the year is nothing but Mozart's Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro. Tomorrow night he performs Don Giovanni in a concert version of the opera in the tent in Gstaad performed by the orchestra La Scintilla from the Zurich Opera under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado. The cast includes Véronique Gens and Regula Mühlemann.

On September 15ht, he opens at the Royal Opera House in London for seven performances as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with fellow barihunk Stéphane Degout as Count Almaviva. The cast includes Ellie Dehn as the Countess, Kate Lindsey as Cherubino and Ann Murray as Marcellina.

In October, he heads to the Wiener Staatsoper to portray Leporello in Don Giovanni with fellow barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien in the title role. The cast includes Andrea Carroll as Zerlina and Juliane Banse as Donna Elvira.

The trend continues into 2016, when he returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich as Don Giovanni in a barihunk-laden cast that includes Alex Esposito as Leporello and Brandon Cedel and Tareq Nazmi rotating as Masetto.

His only U.S. performance is scheduled for December 12th when he performs Rojotango, his show of tangos by Astor Piazzolla and Pablo Ziegler as well as Argentinean and Brazilian folk songs.

Reader Submission: Leonard Bernad

Leonard Bernad in Mirandolina and at the Neue Stimme competition

A reader sported Romanian bass-barihunk Leonard Bernad in his scivvies in the cast of Bohuslav Martinů's Mirandolina with the Bavarian Opera Studio. Bernad joined the Opera Studio last year after a stint with the Cologne Opera Studio where he performed Chirurgo in Verdi's La Forza del Destino, Second Prisoner in Beethoven's Fidelio, Wilhelm Grimm in Wolf-Ferarri’s Aschenputtel, and the Second Senator in Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten.

During his time in Munich, he'll be performing the Usher in Verdi's Rigoletto, Guardian of the City in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, the Customs Officer in Puccini's La bohème, Floras assistant in Verdi's La traviata, Hauptmann in Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin, Yakusidé in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Cappadocier in Strauss' Salome and Ambrogio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia.


Bernad studied at the National University of Music in Bucharest with the great Romanian soprano Maria Slatinaru. After graduating, Bernad made his debut at the National Opera of Bucharest playing Canciano in Wolf-Ferrari’s I quattro rusteghi.

Leonard Bernad in 2010 singing Fiesco's aria:

In 2011, he competed in the prestigious Neue Stimme competition, sang in the tribute honoring the 100th birthday of Gian Carlo Menotti and performed at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia under the musical direction of Plácido Domingo.

In 2012, he appeared alongside Edita Gruberova in Bellini’s La straniera at the Philharmonie am Gasteig in Munich and at the Vienna Musikverein in celebration of her 45th anniversary on the opera stage. He also also performed the role of Bartolo in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro in Valencia, under the stage direction of the great bass Ruggero Raimondi.

There are two performances of Martinů's Mirandolina remaining on April 30th and May 11. He also will be  appearing in La bohème from May 4-10.

Interview with Michael Nagy

Michael Nagy (photo: Sven Cichowicz)

We've featured Michael Nagy on this site since our second year running (2008) and have enjoyed watching his amazing development as an artist. Operafocus just ran an interview with the German barihunk that you can read HERE. '

Michael Nagy is currently performing the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni at Den Norske Opera. He has additional performances running from March 29 through April 12. Tickets are available online.

He next heads to Munich to perform Stozius in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten at the Bayerische Staatsoper from May 25-June 6. He then performs in and AIDS fundraiser and gala concert in Bonn, Germany on June 15th featuring soprano Roberta Invernizzi, mezzo Nino Surguladze, tenor Massimiliano Pisapia, baritone Massimo Cavalletti and others.

Gunther Groissboeck Interview; In Munich's "Rusalka"

Gunther Groissboeck in Munich's Rusalka

It's been way too long since we've featured one of our favorite singers, Gunther Groissboeck. He's currently singing the Water Goblin from May 22-June 4 at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. Click HERE for cast and performance information.

For those of you who read German, HERE is an interview with the German barihunk.

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