Barihunk Paul La Rosa will star as Aeneas in an adaptation of Henry Purcell's "Dido & Aeneas"
at the historic catacombs at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
The performance is part of The Angel’s Share, a new series of opera and
chamber music concerts presented by Death of Classical at the cemetery.
The series takes its name from the distiller’s term for whiskey that
evaporates while maturing in the barrel, thus going to the angels.
Paul La Rosa as Aeneas
La Rosa will be joined by the rising star Daniela Mack as Dido, along
with Molly Quinn as Belinda, and Vanessa Cariddi as the Sorceress. The
opera will be directed by tenor Alek Shrader, and will incorporate
spoken dialogue from Christopher Marlowe’s play “Dido, Queen of
Carthage." Shrader and Mack are one of many husband and wife teams
currently singing on the opera stage. The couple participated with La
Rosa in San Francisco's Merola Opera Program for young artists.
Performances are slated for June 4, 5, 7, and 8 and tickets are available online. The catacombs are normally not open to the public.
Paul La Rosa as Aeneas
Each performance will begin with a pre-concert reception with food, drinks, and a whiskey tasting overlooking the Manhattan skyline and the New York Harbor at sunset. At dusk, guests will then follow a candle-lit pathway down to the Catacombs for the performance.
We previously posted about The Angel’s Share performance of the Red Elf featuring bass-barihunk Andrew Bogard and hunkentenor Kyle Bielfield.
Barihunk Paul La Rosa will star as Aeneas in an adaptation of Henry Purcell's "Dido & Aeneas" at the historic catacombs at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. The performance is part of The Angel’s Share, a new series of opera and chamber music concerts presented by Death of Classical at the cemetery. The series takes its name from the distiller’s term for whiskey that evaporates while maturing in the barrel, thus going to the angels.
La Rosa will be joined by the rising star Daniela Mack as Dido, along with Molly Quinn as Belinda, and Vanessa Cariddi as the Sorceress. The opera will be directed by tenor Alek Shrader, and will incorporate spoken dialogue from Christopher Marlowe’s play “Dido, Queen of Carthage." Shrader and Mack are one of many husband and wife teams currently singing on the opera stage. The couple participated with La Rosa in San Francisco's Merola Opera Program for young artists.
Performances are slate for June 4, 5, 7, and 8 and tickets are available online. The catacombs are normally not open to the public.
We previously posted about The Angel’s Share performance of the Red Elf featuring bass-barihunk Andrew Bogard and hunkentenor Kyle Bielfield.
Opéra de Montréal will present the Canadian premiere of composer David T. Little and Alberta-born
librettist Royce Vavrek's “JFK". The opera will star
two of the world's most popular barihunks in the lead roles: Matthew
Worth, who takes on JFK and Daniel Okulitch, who portrays LBJ. Worth shares both
the good looks and New England charm of our 35th President, while
Okulitch matches the Vice President's imposing 6' 4" frame.
The duo premiered the piece at the Fort Worth Opera Festival in April 2016 to great acclaim. They'll be joined by many of the same cast members, including mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as Jackie Kennedy, soprano Talise Trevigne as the housekeeper Clara Harris and the agent of fate Clotho, tenor Sean
Panikkar as the secret service agent Henry Rathbone and the
agent of fate Lachesis and Cree Carrico as Rosemary Kennedy.
Musical excerpts from JFK:
JFK delves into the hours President John F. Kennedy spent in Fort Worth, Texas immediately before his assassination in Dallas. The opera explores the subconscious of this complicated couple, examining their physical and emotional pain, their joy and love, and their metamorphosis into American myth.
Opéra de Montréal co-commissioned the piece with the Fort Worth Opera and the
American Lyric Theater. The opera opens on January 27, 2018 and runs through February 3, 2018. Tickets are available online.
Our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for
purchase HERE.
In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book
this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the
calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!
Barihunk Edward Nelson looking sexy onstage and offstage
Barihunk Edward Nelson is heading up an all-star cast of singers for an Oktoberfest celebration at San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall on October 3rd. The American singer will be joined by the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and opera stars soprano Julie Adams, mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack and tenor David Blalock.
Bavarian-born associate conductor Christian Reif will lead the orchestra in its first ever Oktoberfest, complete with German food and beer, as well as a polka dance party. Nelson will perform “Fin ch'han dal vino” from Mozart's Don Giovanni and Ambroise Thomas' "Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse" from Hamlet, both of which have themes around drinking wine.
Other selections on the program include Lumbye's Champagne Gallop, Johann Strauss, Jr.'s Champagne Polka, Romberg's “Drinking Song" and "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from Verdi's La traviata
Tickets and additional information is available online.
As we wrap up the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, we're recalling the most famous show down of all, which was the 1989 "Battle of the Baritones" between Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Bryn Terfel.
The Siberian barihunk went on to win the competition and, of course, both men have gone on to sensational international careers. Hvorostovsky sangs two pieces from Verdi, Rodrigo's aria "O Carlo, ascolta" from Don Carlo and "Eri tu che macchiavi" from Un ballo in maschera, "Ja vas lyublyu" from Tchikovsky's Queen of Spades.
The late, great soprano Elizabeth Soderström, who was one of the judges in 1989, famously marked a series of exclamation marks on her scorecard as she listened to Hvorostovsky sing. The performance wasn't as easy as it looked, as Hvorostovsky has just listened to Bryn Terfel over the speakers and, for the first time, realized that he could lose the competition. When he went out on stage, he was determined to give it 110%, but almost fainted when he took, not one, but two long phrases in Rodrigo's aria on a single breath. The gambit obviously paid off and the singer is still known 28 years later for his ability to float long Verdian phrases on a single breath.
Dmitri Hvorostovsky's 1989 performance at Cardiff:
The win also came with a bid of levity, as an excited Hvorostovsky grabbed the crystal trophy from the Lord Mayor before she could hand it to him. He also won more than the trophy and prize money, as Russian President Boris Yeltsin gave him a huge apartment in the middle of Moscow as a prize for his win.
He later moved from Moscow to London after his family felt threatened by the Russian mafia.
The "Battle of the Baritones" has never been repeated, although many believed that this year's competition might have been the year, with its rich crop of top notch low voices. However, in 2013, there was a "Battle of the Mezzos" when Jamie Barton squared off against Daniela Mack, Barton grabbing the crystal trophy.
Daniela Mack and Matthew
Worth in JFK(Photo:
Allison V. Smith NY Times)
The Fort Worth Opera, in
collaboration with the American Lyric Theater, debuted JFK tonight, about the final twelve hours of President John F. Kennedy's life. The opera will star
two of the world's most popular barihunks in the lead roles: Matthew
Worth takes on JFK and Daniel Okulitch portrays LBJ. Worth shares both
the good looks and New England charm of our 35th President, while
Okulitch matches the Vice President's 6' 4" frame.
LBJ (left) and Daniel Okulitch in Brokeback Mountain
Joining them in the cast will be the amazing mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as Jackie Kennedy, Talise Trevigne as hotel maid Clara
Harris, hunkentenor Sean Panikkar as JFK's secret
service agent and confidant Henry Rathbone, Cree Carrico as Rosemary Kennedy and Katharine Goeldner as Jackie Onassis. The opera was written by composer David T. Little and librettist
Royce Vavrek, who collaborated on the critically acclaimed opera
Dog Days in 2012. Additional performance will be on May 1 and 7 and tickets are available online.
"Spin, Measure Cut" from a workshop for the opera JFK:
The Fort Worth Opera is a fitting setting for the premiere of JFK, as it's the last place that the
President slept before being gunned down in Dallas. JFK left the Hotel
Texas (now the Fort Worth Hilton) on the rain-soaked morning of November
22, 1963, and spoke to thousands who had waited in the rain to hear him
speak. Those remarks were to be his final public speech.
One
of America's most innovative opera companies, the Fort Worth Opera has
collaborated with the American Lyric Theater to produce an opera based
on President John F. Kennedy's final twelve hours. The opera will star
two of the world's most popular barihunks in the lead roles, as Matthew
Worth takes on JFK and Daniel Okulitch portrays LBJ. Worth shares both
the good looks and New England charm of our 35th President, while
Okulitch matches the Vice President's 6' 4" frame.
Joining them in the cast will be the amazing mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as Jackie Kennedy, Talise Trevigne as hotel maid Clara
Harris, and the thrilling tenor Sean Panikkar as JFK's secret
service agent and confidant, Henry Rathbone. The opera is being written by composer David T. Little and librettist
Royce Vavrek, who collaborated on the critically acclaimed opera
Dog Days in 2012.
The
opera, which is slated to premiere at the Fort Worth Opera's 2016
season, is the perfect setting, as it's the last place that the
President slept before being gunned down in Dallas. JFK left the Hotel
Texas (now the Fort Worth Hilton) on the rain-soaked morning of November
22, 1963, and spoke to thousands who had waited in the rain to hear him
speak. Those remarks were to be his final public speech.
The American Lyric Theater
and the Collegiate Chorale will produce a workshop of the
opera-in-progress this November, which will bring together the
world-premiere cast together for the first time. On Tuesday, November 25
at 7:00 PM, American Lyric Theater will present InsightALT: JFK at
Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. The InsightALT series provides the
public with the opportunity to look inside the process of creating new
operas at all stages of their development through a combination of
performance and discussion with the creative artists behind these new
works. InsightALT: JFK will feature excerpts from the opera, as well as a discussion, moderated by ALT artistic director Larry Edelson,
between composer David T. Little, librettist Royce
Vavrek, Fort Worth Opera's General Director Darren K. Woods, and the
cast members.
In the 2015 season, the Fort Worth Opera will present David T. Little and Royce Vavrek's Dog Days, along with Verdi's La traviata and Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet, starring barihunk Wes Mason in the title role. Daniel Okulitch can next be seen in September with the Milwaukee Symphony singing Mozart's Don Giovanni with André Courville as Masetto and Matthew Rose as Leporello. You can listen to Matthew Worth on a live stream of Bernstein's Candide on WCRB on August 17th from the Tanglewood Festival.
Evan Hughes(left & far right)and Daniela Mack as Carmen (Production photo: Ken Howard)
Due to a heavy demand for tickets, the Santa Fe Opera has added another performance of Bizet’s Carmen to the final week of its current season. The opera features the barihunk trio of Kostas Smoriginas as Escamillo, Evans Hughes as Zuniga and Dan Kempson as Le Dancaire. The sensational mezzo Daniela Mack, who was the runner up at the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, is singing the title role.
A performance has been added on August 18th, making a total of thirteen performances of the popular French opera. The opera’s season will end with a performance of Carmen on August 23rd. Tickets are available online.
All three barihunks have been featured on our site before.
Kostas Smoriginas(photo: Ken Howard)
Lithuanian barihunk Kostas Smoriginas is making his Santa Fe Opera debut with this production and he appears to be an instant favorite with audiences. In 2010, he made his American opera debut as Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Washington National Opera, a role he later repeated at the San Francisco Opera. He returned to Great Britain to appear as Escamillo in Carmen in Opera North’s new production, having made his debut in the role at Berlin’s Staatsoper.
Evan Hughes is a grand prize winner in the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition, who is also making his debut with the Santa Fe Opera. A member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, he won praise as Don Alfonso in the 2012 production of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte at Lincoln Center. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2013 as Crebillon in Puccini’s La Rondine .
Dan Kempson from Barihunks calendar (left)and in Santa Fe's Carmen(photo: Ken Howard)
Dan Kempson made his Santa Fe Opera debut during the 2012-13 season as Le notaire in Offenbach's Grande-Duchesse of Gerolstein. We recently featured him in performances of Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox with Skylight Music Theatre and as Lieutenant Gordon in Fort Worth Opera’s production of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night.He will be making hisdebut with the Opera San Antonio as Badger the Miner in Tobias Picker's The Fantastic Mr. Fox on September 23rd.
There are two big announcements out San Francisco, one dealing with a small production and one with the City's international opera company.
Tickets have gone on sale for the West Coast premiere of American Composer Ricky Ian Gordon's highly personal masterpiece "Green Sneakers."The work was written as a way for Gordon to find
solace from the grief of losing his partner, Jeffrey Grossi, to
AIDS, and following their last few months together. Hailed as “a
triumph”, ”superb mini-opera”, “a masterpiece” by Opera Today. Every
live performance of the piece has become a cathartic experience and left
the audience transformed and uplifted. Barihunk Jesse Blumberg, who
created the piece, joins San Francisco's exciting Del Sol Quartet in this performance. We've referred to this piece as a modern day "Winterreise" and it is not to be missed!
Director John De Los Santos
The work will be performed at the Southside Theater at Fort Mason in San Francisco on February 19th. Seating is limited, so purchase tickets today. Fans of Blumberg in New York are in luck, as Green Sneakers will be featured as part of Lincoln Center Presents on April 6th at the Kaplan Penthouse. Tickets are available online. The San Francisco performance will be directed by John De Los Santos, who we named the top opera director in 2010.
Greer Grimsley returns to San Francisco
The San Francisco Opera has also announced its 2013-14 season, which features some of the most famous and popular barihunks in the business. Ildar Abdrazakov will take on the title role in Boito's Mefistofele opposite soprano Patricia Racette and tenor Ramón Vargas. The opera company is reviving the 1989 Robert Carsen production that famously made Samuel Ramey a certifiable bare-chested barihunk. In an unapologetic nod to ticket sales being a priority, General Director David Gockley announced that uber-barihunk Nathan Gunn will reprise the role of Gaylord Ravenal in Jerome Kern's Show Boat that won him rave reviews at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Fans of Greer Grimsley will be thrilled to learn that he's coming to the fair city by the Bay with a Wagner score in his hand. The booming bass will be taking on the title role in Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. Two barihunks who have appeared on this site will alternate the title role in Rossini's The Barber of Seville. Lucas Meachem will sing opposite the Rosina of Isabel Leonard and Audun Iversen will sing opposite Daniela Mack. The adorable tenor Alek Shrader will also be singing in performances that feature Daniela Mack, his real-life wife. For the complete season, check out the San Francisco Opera's official season announcement. Don't forget to purchase your 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar:
