Joshua Bloom to premiere solo opera for bass; Role debut at Bluebeard

Joshua Bloom (Photo: Kim Hardy)

There aren't many solo works for bass, so we were thrilled when we learned that Joshua Bloom would be starring in the world premiere of Richard Ayres' The Garden at the Gaudeamus Muziekweek opening on September 5th. The work will be paired with two musical compositions, William Kuo's In flieht wie ein Schatten and William Dougherty's The new normal.

The one-man, semi-staged opera with video is a cyclical tale about a man who, dissatisfied with his life, starts digging from his garden down to the center of the earth. He then climbs a tree and is transported through clouds and flocks of birds, ever higher up into the heavens, only to land up in the very same tree in his garden. 

Tickets are available online.  

After The Garden, the Australian singer will head to the Irish National Opera for a piece with double the cast, Béla Bartók's two singer masterpiece, Bluebeard's Castle. This will be Bloom's role debut in the one-act opera based on the French literary tale "La Barbe bleue" by Charles Perrault. Bloom will be joined by soprano Paula Murrihy as his ill-fated wife Judith.

The piece didn't receive its U.K. premiere until 1957 at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre, which was 39 years after the opera debuted.

Performances are on October 12, 13 and 14 and tickets are available online.

Günter Papendell in Calixto Bieto's Gianni Schicchi

Günter Papendell as Achille (left) and

We wouldn't normally think of pairing sexy German barihunk Günter Papendell with provocative director Calixto Bieto in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, but neither would we think of pairing the Puccini comedy with Bartok's bleak Bluebeard's Castle. Leave it to the Komische Oper in Berlin and Bieto to do just that.

Papendell, who've we've seen in various states of undress at the Komische, will play the role of the Schicchi.

The two operatic masterpieces both premiered in 1918, the same year that the Germans surrendered and ended WWI. The works could hardly be more different, and yet they are combined to form an operatic double bill - black Italian comedy meets Hungarian psycho-drama.

The Komische website states, "Little would appear to link Gianni Schicchi and Bluebeard’s Castle - except for their unadorned depiction of the human abyss. That master of melody Giacomo Puccini spices up his story of the family arguing about their inheritance at the deathbed of the patriarch with tearjerkers such as "O mio babbino caro". Béla Bartók penetrates into the depths in the complex landscape of the soul with his dense score. A grim mystery is hidden behind the seven forbidden doors in Count Bluebeard's Castle, and exposing this mystery will prove the downfall of one young woman."

Bluebeard's Castle and Gianni Schicchi at the Komische Oper

Gidon Saks will sing the role of Bluebeard in the Bartok opera. The operas are being performed without intermission, running approximately 2 1/2 hours. Performances run from March 1 through July 8.

This season Papendell can also be seen at the Komische as Don Giovanni, Escamillo, Achille in Handel's Giulio Cesare and Odysseus. In May, Gidon Saks heads across town to portray Nick Shadow in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress at the Deutsche Oper.

Zachary James on PBS "Sweeney Todd" with Emma Thompson

Zachary James in PBS' "Sweeney Todd" (right)

Keep an eye out for a tall, sexy, bald guy with a muscle shirt during the September 26th broadcast of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on PBS. That's Zachary James, who has sung the title role in Sweeney Todd, but appears as part of the ensemble in this production.

The show, which stars Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson and legendary opera singer Byrn Terfel, will air as part of public television's Live From Lincoln Center.  Audra McDonald, who hosts the broadcast, also appears in the uncredited role of the beggar woman.

The production, directed by Lonny Price and conducted by Alan Gilbert, played to sold out crowds at Avery Fisher Hall from March 5 through March 8.

Zachary James returns to the operatic stage from September 15-20, when he portrays Abraham Lincoln in Philip Glass' The Perfect American. The opera imagines the final months of Walt Disney’s life, including mythical imaginings of Abraham Lincoln and Andy Warhol. British baritone Christopher Purves will be portraying Walt Disney. Additional information and tickets are available online.

In October, he returns to the United States to take on the title role in Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle opposite soprano Megan Nielson at Opera Ithaca.