Cleveland Orchestra to perform 5 operas with 5 barihunks

Simon Keenlyside, Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Eric Owens, Bo Skovhus and Ludwig Mittelhammer (center)

The Cleveland Orchestra announced that it is extending the contract of Music Director. Franz Welser-Möst’s for five years until 2027, which would be his 25th anniversary with the company.

They also announced five operas for upcoming seasons, each featured a noted barihunk.

First up will be Berg's Lulu, which runs from May 16-22, 2020 and features Bo Skovhus as Dr. Schön. The all-star cast will feature Barbara Hannigan in the title role, Jennifer Johnson Cano as Countess Geschwitz and John Tomlinson as Schigolch.

Next up will be a performance of Verdi's Otello in the 2020-21 featuring barihunk Simon Keenlyside making his role debut as the evil Iago. No other cast information was available.

The 2021-22 season will also include Wagner's Parsifal featuring barihunk Hanno Müller-Brachmann as Amfortas, along with tenor Piotr Beczala in the title role, mezzo-soprano Okka von der Damerau as Kundry and bass Peter Rose making his role debut as Gurnemanz.

The 2022-23 will undoubtedly feature a slew of barihunks in Puccini's almost all-male cast in  La Fanciulla del West. Bass-barihunk Eric Owens and soprano Tamara Wilson will both be making role debuts as Jack Rance and Minnie respectively.

The 2023-24 season will feature an all to rare U.S. appearance by Ludwig Mittelhammer, who will be features as Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. He'll be joined by tenor Julian Prégardien as Tamino and bass Peter Kellner as Sarastro.

Sean Michael Plumb steps in as Schaunard

Sean Michael Plumb

American barihunk Sean Michael Plumb will step in for Andrea Borghini in today's family performance of Puccini's La bohème at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. The cast also includes Lavente Molnár as Marcello, Bálint Szabó as Colline, Guangun Yu as Mimi, Golda Schultz as Musetta and Bryan Hymel as Rodolfo.

He joined the company's ensemble in 2016, when he sang the Porter in Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Servitore and Sicario in Verdi's Macbeth, Moralèe in Bizet's Carmen, Olav Bjaaland in Srnka's South Pole, Harlekin in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos , Yamadori in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola. 

This season, he sings Moralèe in Bizet's Carmen, which opens on February 16th, followed by two performance in March: Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte and Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola.

He is schedule for two upcoming performances in the United States this year, singing Melot in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with the Cleveland Orchestra and Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.