Ildar Abdrazakov to open La Scala season as Attila

Ildar Abdrazakov as Attila (left)

Bass-barihunk Ildar Abdrazakov will open the 2018-19 La Scala opera season in Milan in the title role of Verdi's Attila. This will be the company's second opening night dedicated to the early works of the great Italian composer, following Giovanna d'Arco in 2015, starring Anna Netrebko and Carlos Álvarez. Attila will be conducted by Riccardo Chailly and directed by Davide Livermore in a new production.

The opera is based on the play Attila, King of the Huns by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner, and it premiered on March 17, 1846 at the La Fenice in Venice. It is is the ninth of the Verdi's 28 operas, following Ernani and preceding Macbeth.

In 1812, Ludwig van Beethoven conceived the idea of writing an opera about Attila and approached August von Kotzebue to write the libretto. Obviously, it was never written, as Fidelio was his only full opera.

Ildar Abdrazakov and Quinn Kelsey sing the Attila/Ezio duet:

Verdi's opera is set in mid-5th century Rome and tells the story of Attila the Hun and his eventual downfall.

The opera includes a number of popular pieces for both baritones and basses, including Ezio's cabaletta "È gettata la mia sorte," which roused the Italian people around the the adoption of a liberal constitution by Ferdinand II. Atilla's best known aria is "Mentre gonfiarsi l'anima parea," where he awakes and tells Uldino of a dream in which an old man stopped him at the gates of Rome and warned him to turn back. The aria was made famous in recent times by the great American bass Samuel Ramey. The opera's prologue also includes one of the great duets for two low male voices, "Tardo per gli anni," where Ezio offers Attila the entire Roman empire if Italy can be left unharmed.

The opera opens on December 7th and additional information can be found online.  

Edwin Crossley-Mercer finally performing in United States

Edwin Crossley-Mercer's promo for his upcoming Ohio concert

We unabashedly have a few favorite singers at Barihunks and Edwin Crossley-Mercer is among our absolute favorites. Ever since a reader sent us an effusive email after hearing him in recital (along with a pirate sound clip!), we've been hooked. It doesn't hurt that he has that Anderson Cooper-ish sexiness about him AND an amazingly beautiful voice.

We're always bemoaning the fact that he rarely performs in the United States, but that's changing this year. On March 3, he'll be featured in the Art Song Festival in Berea, Ohio (just outside of Cleveland). His program includes songs by Beethoven, Schubert, Richard Strauss, Vaughan Williams, Fauré, Debussy, Bizet and Cosma. Tickets are just $30 and students are free. Call 440-826-7664 for more information.

From May 17-25 he'll join another wunderkind, conductor Gustavo Dudamel, in performances of the title character in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. You won't want want to miss these performances, which are part of a Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy that the orchestra is performing. The Countess will be the incredible Dorothea Röschmann and the Count will be fellow barihunk Christopher Maltmann. The production set is designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, with costumes by couturier Azzedine Alaïa. On alternating nights you can enjoy Don Giovanni with barihunks Mariusz Kwiecien and Ryan Kuster. Casts for Così fan tutte have not been announced.

Edwin Crossley-Mercer

Crossley-Mercer is currently in France performing Thésée in Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie in Bordeaux and Versailles. From March 22-30, he'll take on the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Opéra De Dijon. The Masetto will be the adorable Australian barihunk Damian Pass. Tickets are available online. 

Edwin Crossley-Mercer sings Beethoven's "Elegy on the Death of a Poodle":

Edwin Crossley-Mercer sings Beethoven Rarities on French TV

Edwin Crossley-Mercer

It's no secret that two of our favorite young lieder singers are Henk Neven and Edwin Crossley-Mercer, both of whom have also impressed critics and audiences. We were thrilled to be informed that Crossley-Mercer recently appeared on a French television show called "Beethov' on the Rocks." He sang three songs that are rarely heard in a Beethoven recital and once again he was magical.

The first piece he sings is "Elegie auf den Tod eines Pudels" (Elegy on the Death of a Poodle), for voice & piano, WoO 110. Scholars believe that the song was composed sometime before 1793. The song was not published until the 1860s, as part of the complete edition of Beethoven's works printed in Leipzig. boasts some of the most advanced formal characteristics of any of Beethoven's Bonn-era songs. The first two strophes are through-composed, which in itself is unusual because most of Beethoven's songs before 1800 were strophic. As the narrator reflects on the death of his pet, and on death's destruction of all earthly pleasures, the tempo remains slow, the piano accompaniment is pensive, and the atmosphere is tainted with minor harmonies. An abrupt change in mood after the second strophe divides the song into two sections, the second of which is organized in a unique manner.

Edwin Crossley-Mercer begins singing around the 59:11 minute mark:

In late 1809, Beethoven began composing folk song arrangements for the Scottish publisher George Thomson, located in Edinburgh. Thomson first sent Beethoven a group of forty-three melodies, without texts, which the composer began to set in November. By July, 1810, Beethoven was able to send these settings, plus ten more to Thomson. Nine more songs followed in 1812. From this point on it seems that Beethoven asked Thomson to send the texts along with the melodies, a request that was not always fulfilled. Their professional relationship continued through 1820. Although Beethoven composed nearly 180 folk song settings for Thomson, the Scottish publisher printed only 125. The rest were published after Beethoven's death, some not seeing the light of day until the twentieth century.

Among them were Crossley-Mercer's next two selections, "Since greybeards inform us that youth will decay," WoO. 153 (20 Irish Songs for voice, piano, violin and cello, no. 4, G. 224 no. 4, published 1814/6 and "The pulse of an Irishman", WoO. 154 (12 Irish Songs for voice, piano, violin and cello) no. 4, G. 225 no. 4, published 1814/6.

The Taming of Teddy

Teddy Tahu Rhodes

 Kiwi Barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes was recently featured in the Macarthur Chronicle in anticipation of his upcoming performances. From February 4-11 the 6'5" singer will be singing Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte and a group of Roald Dahl-esque children's songs by Richard Rodney Bennett. Rhodes will be joined by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, who will also perfrom Maheler's famed Adagietto (surely to calm down the beating hearts of Rhodes' ardent fans). Visit the ACO website for additional concert information.

Here is the article, titled "The Taming of Teddy":

Described by some of his more excitable fans as the Brad Pitt of opera, New Zealand baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes certainly has plenty of stage presence.

But it’s not just the muscles, shaved head and good looks that legions of female opera fans are tweeting and blogging about.

The New Zealand baritone also has a passion for his craft and a voice that gets better as he gets older - and his hair thins. [Continued HERE].

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"Teddy Bare" Discusses HIs ACO Tour

In this preview video, Teddy Tahu Rhodes talks with great excitement about his upcoming tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He goes so far as to say that "excitement" wells up inside of him when he thinks about it. He can rest assured that his fans down under had the same reaction when he appeared on the schedule, which encompasses seven cities over the course of seventeen days.

He also goes into wonderful detail about the two song cycles that he's performing. The first being Beethoven's magnificent "An die ferne Geliebte," known in English as "To the Distant Beloved." Their has been much speculation over the years about who Beethoven's "distant beloved" was, with most scholars agreeing that it was Antonia Brentano, a married woman who he met in 1812, but never pursued.

Some scholars also believe that it was written as a secret message to his nephew Karl, who Beethoven obsessed over for years.

Rhodes' other set of songs is Richard Rodney Bennett's "Songs Before Sleep," known as Roald Dahl-esque settings of children's songs.



Here is the entire program for Rhode's appearance with the ACO:

MAHLER: Adagietto
BEETHOVEN: An die ferne Geliebte
BENNETT: Songs Before Sleep
SAXTON: Birthday piece for RRB
PROKOFIEV: Five Melodies
MENDELSSOHN: String Quartet No.3

Also, don't forget to vote in our greatest Hamlet poll. You can watch the videos in the following post.

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