Asheville Opera lands world premiere of highly anticipated Borzoni premiere; Second performance in Chicago

Joshua Jeremiah and Trevor Martin

We've always maintained that the smaller houses and festivals are where the best new operas are being performed. So kudos to the Asheville Lyric Opera for landing the highly anticipated world premiere of composer Clint Borzoni and librettist John de los Santos' "When Adonis Calls" on May 11th. Asheville is also the home of Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, whose poetry was refashioned into the libretto.

The opera, which was work-shopped at the Fort Worth Opera Festival's Frontiers series of new works in 2015, chronicles the tumultuous correspondence between an established writer and an eager young admirer.

"Two Nooses" from the Fort Worth Opera Festival

The piece is scored for two baritones, string quartet, percussionist and two dancers (and comes with an adult content warning). When Adonis Calls features a low and high baritone, and Asheville Lyric Opera will feature two amazing performers in Trevor Martin and Joshua Jeremiah, as well as two local dancers. The opera will have additional performances on March 12 and 13 and is expected to sell out in the 110 seat Masonic Temple. Tickets are available online.

Composers and opera administrators will tell you that a second performance of a work is often more difficult than the premiere. Remarkably,  Adonis already has a second performance scheduled in Chicago with the Thompson Street Opera Company this Fall. Details are forthcoming. Our site has also learned that discussions are underway for a West Coast premiere.

Marco Vassalli sings Clint Borzoni's beautiful "Stufen" with Musica Marin:

Borzoni, along with Jake Heggie, has become particularly associated for writing major roles and works for low male voices. He has written a song cycle for bass-baritone Tim Hill, several songs for bass-baritone Randal Turner, penned two pieces for String Quartet and baritone for Marco Vassalli, and is currently working on a commission for bass Malte Roesner to be premiered at Musica Marin this year. Turner’s songs appear on his CD, “Living American Composers” and were performed at the 9/11 tribute at the U.S. embassy in Switzerland. He also wrote a two act opera titled “Antinous and Hadrian,” which features a baritone lead. His opera The Copper Queen, also to a libretto by John de los Santos, won Arizona Opera's Sparks Competition for new works in a runaway. The opera is based on a true story about the alleged ghost of a prostitute haunting a historic hotel in Bisbee, Arizona.

Paul La Rosa in tango opera Maria de Buenos Aires

Paul La Rosa rehearsing Maria de Buenos Aires in San Diego (Photo: Angel Mannion)

Barihunk Paul La Rosa will taking on the role of El Payador (the gaucho minstrel) in Astor Piazzolla's tango infused opera Maria de Buenos Aires. The San Diego Opera is presenting four performances of the increasingly popular piece between January 26-28, with a 7 PM and 10 PM curtain on the 27th. Tickets are available online.

The opera will be directed by John de los Santos, who has directed the piece throughout the country, and will direct it again with barihunk Luis Alejandro Orozco at the Fort Worth Opera Festival from April 27 and May 5. Paul La Rosa's tango partner will be soprano Aubrey Babcock.

The opera opens with Duende (the Narrator) who relates the story of Maria, a prostitute born in the slums “one day when God was drunk … with a curse in her voice.” Maria is seduced by the rhythms of the tango and soon becomes “the most sorcerous singer and lover” in Buenos Aires. However, her “fatal passion” arouses the wrath of robbers and brothel madams who shoot her to death, and bury her in an unmarked grave. In death, Maria is pulled into a dreamlike Hell where she encounters the choral circus of psychoanalysts who dissect her to the core. She makes a resurrection of sorts when the Duende summons her to return as a Shadow, give birth to a new Maria, and haunt the sordid streets of Buenos Aires which she once walked.

Director John de los Santos talks about Maria de Buenos Aires:

Unlike most who contributed to the origins and development of the tango, Piazzolla came from a different background. He was a classically trained, refined musician and composer. Piazzolla undoubtedly made tango available to a wider audience and helped extend its boundaries, both stylistically and geographically. For that, he was equally admired and criticized, but it is almost universally recognized that Piazzolla’s style lent tango worldwide cultural legitimacy, even in what is known as the realm of “classical” music.

Besides being an extraordinarily talented composer, he was also an exceptional bandoneon player. Piazzolla drew from classical and contemporary sources as well as from the deep roots of tango, creating a powerful synthesis that propelled it from being in some regards a thing of the past to a contemporary language, reinvigorating the style.

Barihunk Luis Alejandro Orozco makes his Nashville debut

Luis Alejandro Orozco

Barihunk Luis Alejandro Orozco, who has made El Payador in Piazzolla's Maria de Buenos Aires his signature role, will return to the role for what he estimates to be the fifteenth time. The Mexican-American barihunk will make his company debut with the role at the Nashville Opera from November 10-12.

Despite its reputation as the Capital of Country Music, it appears that this night of Argentinian opera and dance is the hottest ticket in town, as all three performances are sold out. However, there is a wait list that you can get on.

The production will be directed by John Hoomes and will feature Argentine dancers Mariela Barufaldi and Jeremías Massera (founders of Miami's Tango Axis Argentine Tango School) along with bandoneón player Rodolfo Zanetti and soprano Cassandra Zoe Velasco as Maria.

The opera has become popular in Germany, where is has been performed in apparently every city that starts with the letter "B": Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Biel and Bremen. The opera can next be seen at the San Diego Opera with barihunk Paul La Rosa as El Payador from January 26-28 and then at the Fort Worth Opera Festival on April 27 and May 5 (performers have not been announced, but we've learned that it will be Luis Alejandro Orozco). Both productions are directed by John de los Santos.

Malte Roesner, 2018 Barihunks Calendar/Photo Book

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!

JFK opera debuts in Fort Worth with barihunk duo

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.

Green Sneakers "Dream Team" reuniting in San Antonio

Cellist Kathryn Bates and Jesse Blumberg in Green Sneakers

One of our favorite collaborations in all of opera is coming to Opera Piccola of San Antonio. Barihunk Jesse Blumberg will be rejoining the acclaimed young director John de los Santos and the riveting Del Sol Quartet for a repeat of their powerful performance of Ricky Ian Gordon's Green Sneakers, which played for one night in San Francisco last year. We were at that performance and there wasn't a dry eye in the theater when the opera ended.

Opera Piccola will present two performances on May 10 and 12 in a double-bill with Gordon's Orpheus and Euridice. Tickets are available online.

Green Sneakers, which is broken into nineteen songs and runs about 80 minutes was written with Jesse Blumberg in mind. The piece is scored for baritone, string quartet, and empty chair, with a libretto by the composer. It premiered on July 15, 2008 in Vail, Colorado and has had a number of subsequent performances since, mostly with Blumberg.

Ricky Ian Gordon today wrote the mini-opera as a way of dealing with the loss of his lover Jeffrey Grossi to AIDS in 1996. In an interview with the Advocate Gordon said, "The world is so different now than it was when Jeffery died in 1996. Young people today missed seeing what it was really like at the height of the AIDS crisis so for them they think it’s OK because you just get to take a few pills all the time. Today, HIV is romanticized in a way because you get to be like that character in Rent, but young people need to know that there’s nothing romantic about it."

You can read the entire interview HERE. 

Director John de los Santos and composer Ricky Ian Gordon

Jesse Blumberg just wrapped up a successful run as Papageno in the famous Barrie Kosky/1927 production of Mozart's Magic Flute at the Minnesota Opera. Blumberg can next be heard performing Schubert's Winterreise at the Kerrytown Concert House on May 17th and Aeneas in Purcell's Dido & Aeneas at the Connecticut Early Music Festival on June 7 and 8.

De los Santos has just brought Bizet's Pearl Fishers to life at the Fort Worth Opera Festival, which has a final performance tonight. From July 16-19, the wunderkind director will work his magic with Rossini's L’Italiana in Algeri at the Seagle Music Colony.

Ricky Ian Gordon has been one of the busiest composers in the world, with premieres of his new operas A Coffin in Egypt and "27." A Coffin in Egypt can next be seen at Opera Philadelphia from June 6-15 and "27" will premiere on June 14 at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

Interview with Lee Poulis

 

Lee Poulis & Sean Panikkar (photo: Rachel Parker)

Theater Jones, which covers the arts scene in North Texas, recently ran a feature on Lee Poulis, who is starring in the Fort Worth Opera Festival production of Bizet's Pearl Fishers directed by John de los Santos.

“The role of Zurga has a lot of singing and two of the highest notes I have ever sung on stage,” he says. “Usually, a high G is the top in baritone roles. Bizet writes an optional A flat and an A natural. I am singing them because they fit in my voice and they are not in highly dramatic moments, where you would be tempted to oversing. I love this role.”

You can read the entire article HERE. 

There are two performances remaining on April 27 and May 2. Click HERE for tickets or additional information.

Matt Worth to star in premiere of The Manchurian Candidate

Matt Worth to star in The Manchurian Candidate

Matt Worth, who is currently performing Starbuck in Jake Heggie's Moby-Dick with the Washington National Opera, will star in the world premiere of Kevin Puts' The Manchurian Candidate, the third commission of the Minnesota Opera's New Works Initiative. This is second opera from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts, who debuted Silent Night with the company, which was broadcast on PBS and is being revived at the Fort Worth Opera Festival this spring.

The opera is based on a 1959 novel by Richard Condon, which inspired two film adaptations. In the story, Major Ben Marco, Sergeant Raymond Shaw and the rest of their infantry platoon are kidnapped during the Korean War and brainwashed to believe that Shaw saved their lives in combat - for which Congress awards him the Medal of Honor. Years after the war, Marco begins having a recurring nightmare about Shaw murdering two of their men while under observation by Chinese and Soviet officials. When Marco learns that another soldier from the platoon also has been suffering the same nightmare, he determines to solve the mystery. They discover that the Communists have been using Shaw as a sleeper agent, a guiltless assassin subconsciously activated while playing solitaire to obey orders. Shaw's KGB handler is his mother Eleanor, a ruthless power broker working with the Communists to quietly overthrow the U.S. government and establish her husband, the McCarthy-esque Senator Johnny Iselin, as a puppet dictator.

 Matt Worth sings "A sermon about doubt" from Douglas Cuomo's Doubt:

Così fan tutte, 2011; Doubt, 2013) will create the role of Sergeant Raymond Shaw
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/Minnesota-Operas-20142015-Season-Includes-HANSEL-AND-GRETEL-THE-ELIXIR-OF-LOVE-and-More-20140220#scjseCsjIKXk3PM8.99

Così fan tutte, 2011; Doubt, 2013) will create the role of Sergeant Raymond Shaw
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/Minnesota-Operas-20142015-Season-Includes-HANSEL-AND-GRETEL-THE-ELIXIR-OF-LOVE-and-More-20140220#scjseCsjIKXk3PM8.99

Così fan tutte, 2011; Doubt, 2013) will create the role of Sergeant Raymond Shaw
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/Minnesota-Operas-20142015-Season-Includes-HANSEL-AND-GRETEL-THE-ELIXIR-OF-LOVE-and-More-20140220#scjseCsjIKXk3PM8.99

Worth, who previously received rave reviews with the company as Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte and as Father Flynn in the world premiere of Douglas Cuomo's Doubt, will take on the critical role of Sergeant Raymond Shaw. He'll be joined by soprano Brenda Harris as Eleanor Iselin and bass Daniel Sumegi as Senator Johnny Iselin.

soprano Brenda Harris (Macbeth and The Dream of Valentino, 2014) will sing the role of Eleanor Iselin opposite bass Daniel Sumegi (The Flying Dutchman, 2003) as Senator Johnny Iselin. Kevin Newbury (Doubt) directs and Music Director Michael Christie conducts this Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative production.
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/Minnesota-Operas-20142015-Season-Includes-HANSEL-AND-GRETEL-THE-ELIXIR-OF-LOVE-and-More-20140220#scjseCsjIKXk3PM8.99

Performances will run from March 7-14, 2015

Justin Hopkins makes role debut as Leporello

Justin Hopkins in Leporello and Opera in the Height's Don Giovanni artwork

Barihunks calendar model and rising star in the bass-baritone repertory Justin Hopkins just made his role debut as Leporello with Houston's Opera in the Heights. Although the role was originally double-cast, Hopkins is slated to sing all seven performances. The production has been moved to the mid-20th century with artwork from surreal artist René Magritte covering the sets. 

This is certainly not Hopkins first foray into Mozart, as he's performed Bartolo and Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Verbier Festival, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte with the Santa Fe Concert Association and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Pensacola Opera.

Music critic D.L. Groover in the Houston Post called his Leporello the "standout performance."

Remaining performances are on February 7, 8 and 9 and tickets are available online.

Lee Poulis, John de los Santos and Sean Pannikar

Hopkins is returning to the Fort Worth Opera Festival to perform Nourabad in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers in a production directed by the amazing young director John de los Santos. Barihunk Lee Poulis will sing Zurga and hunkentenor Sean Panikkar takes on Nadir, so this production promises lots of eye candy. Performances are on April 19, 27 and May 2 and tickets are available online. 

If you haven't experienced the amazing opera that happening in Fort Worth, you should make travel plans now. They are also featuring Kevin Puts' Silent Night, Mozart's Così fan tutte and Daniel Crozier and Peter M. Krask's With Blood, With Ink.

Dan Kempson & Matthew Morris together in La bohème

Dan Kempson & Matthew Morris from previous Barihunks calendars

Two of the most popular guys to ever appear in our annual Barihunks Charity Calendar will be appearing together on stage together. Dan Kempson and Matthew Morris will be performing scenes from Puccini's La bohème with the Savannah Symphony at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts on January 31st.

Kempson will perform Marcello and Morris will take on Schaunard. The duo will be joined by Meechot Marrero as Mimi, Amy Shoremount-Obra as Musetta, Cooper Nolan as Rodolfo and Scott Russell as Colline. Tickets range from $16 to $70 and are available online.

Dan Kempson in Sweeney Todd

Upcoming performances for Kempson include a reprisal of his critically acclaimed performance in Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox with the Skylight Music Theater from March 14-30. He then takes on the role of Lieutenant Gordon in Kevin Puts' Silent Night at the Fort Worth Opera Festival. The cast also includes fellow barihunks Morgan Smith and Craig Irvin. Performances are on May 4 and 10 and tickets are available online.

We also suggest you check out Kempson's sound files on his website, which includes one of the most beautiful performances of Johanna from Sondheim's Sweeney Todd that we've ever heard.

Matthew Morris performing in Santa Fe (Photo by Barihunks)

Upcoming performances for Matthew Morris include Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem from February 19-23 with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. On April 10 and 12 he sings the complete role of Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème with the El Paso Opera. Tickets are available online.

Hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock & Bass-Barihunk Aaron Sorensen receive latest Barihunks Calendar Grant

Aaron Sorensen and Jonathan Blalock

Our latest grantees from the proceeds of our 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar may be a surprise to some people. We had a lot of interesting requests for the second grant, but none struck us as original as a concert featuring a tenor and a bass! That's what hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock and bass-barihunk Aaron Sorensen suggested and we loved the idea immediately.

We can't think of many times that we've ever seen that combination in a concert hall and we wanted to help make it happen. Although a place and time has not been set of this date, the discussion around the program is quite intriguing. We also believe that the recital will be paired with some other big announcements related to the two singers. Both singers are clearly on the cusp of major careers and theaters are taking notice.

Blalock as Lazaro in Before Night Falls, Photo by Ellen Appel.

Blalock recently premiered the role of Paul in Greg Spear's critically acclaimed opera Paul's Case with Urban Arias. He is reprising the role from January 8-13 with the Prototype Festival in New York. Barihunk Keith Phares is also reprising the role of Paul's father. The opera is based on the famous short story by Willa Cather. He first caught our eye with two stunning performances at the Fort Worth Opera Festival, appearing shirtless in both Jorge Martin's Before Night Falls and Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox. Last season, he was one of the many gifted young artists at the Santa Fe Opera.

We also first spotted Aaron Sorensen at the Fort Worth Opera where he appeared as Benoit and Alcindoro in La Boheme, as well as a hilarious turn as the Wigmaker in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Sorensen is a true bass, which is a rarity in opera these days. We have a feeling that we'll be watching this amazing talent grow into a great Verdi/Wagner bass as his career advances.

The Nebraska native honed his craft at Yale Opera Program and has gone on to sing Masetto in
Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Father Trulove in Stravinky’s The Rake’s Progress at the Wolf Trap Opera, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen and Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, and Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Tosca, and The
Rake’s Progress with Des Moines Metro Opera.

He'll be returning to the Fort Worth Opera Festival next season as the French General in Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night.

Anthony Reed receives "Encouragement Award" at Met Regionals

Anthony Reed in the new Barihunks Charity Calendar

Anthony Reed, who is featured in the month of May in the new Barihunks Charity Calendar, received an Encouragement Award at the 52nd Annual Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions held last night at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Milwaukee.

Reed studied voice at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire and during his senior year first competed in the Met Auditions. He won, advanced to the next round,  and was asked to sing a featured recital for the Florentine Opera, where he and two other winners sang aria selections.

In 2010, he performed Frère Laurent in four productions of Gounod's Romèo et Juliette at the Seagle Music Colony.  The following summer he returned to the prestigious summer program as a Lisa Reid scholar to sing Lindorf, Coppélius, Dr. Miracle, and Dapertutto in their production of Offenbach's Les Contes d’Hoffmann.  During the summer of 2012 he was a member of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio appearing in the chorus for both Don Giovanni and The Rake’s Progress.   

In 2013, Reed made his professional operatic debut at the Fort Worth Opera Festival singing Truffaldino in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, as well as being featured in the inaugural year of Frontiers, a new showcase of new opera works.​

Kangmin Justin Kim, Corrie Stallings, Caitlin Ruby Miller, Ian Koziar and Joe Shaddaay

Reed is currently attending the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He will be performing in two upcoming productions there this season. On November 22, he'll appear as Dr. Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore and then on May 2 & 4, 2014 as Don Magnifico in Rossini's La Cenerentola.
 
Winners at this years Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions were countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim, mezzo Corrie Stallings, soprano Caitlin Ruby Miller, tenor Ian Koziar and tenor Joe Shaddaay

Don't forget that money from this year's Charity Calendar will be determined from suggestions on our Facebook page or on Twitter using the hashtag #Barihunks2014. Money can go to young artist programs or any efforts involving young artists, including recording, recitals or performances. You can purchase a calendar and help out young artists by clicking HERE.

Jesse Enderle crosses over into musical theater

Jesse Enderle

Jesse Enderle opens tomorrow in Claude-Michel Schönberg's Les Misérables at the San Antonio Playhouse's Russell Theater as Javert. Performances will run from October 3-November 3 and tickets are available online.

At 28 years, Les Misérables is now the longest running musical in the world. It has been translated into 22 different languages and performed in 42 countries and 319 cities.  The San Antonio production adds one more professional performance to the 48,000 that have occurred worldwide,  giving it a total audience of more than 60 million people. There have been over 47 cast recordings of Les Misérables including albums, singles and symphonic. Both the original Broadway cast album and the symphonic recordings won Grammy awards.

Philip Quast sings Javert's suicide aria:

We first learned about Fargo native Jesse Enderle when he was two-time regional winner in the Metropolitan Opera Regional Council Auditions in Wisconsin. We then saw him in a hysterical turn as Pooh-Bah in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado at the Fort Worth Opera Festival.

In addition to Fort Worth, he has appeared with the Central City Opera, Tulsa Opera and the Arbor Opera Theatre. Other roles he has performed include Baron Douphol in La Traviata, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Escamillo in Carmen, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, and Sid in Albert Herring.

Also, make sure to order your 2014 Barihunks charity calendar with 16 of the hottest baritones in all of opera. Click HERE to order today. All proceeds are going to benefit young artists and young artist programs.

Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of The Pearl Fishers

Philip Cutlip as Zurga at Minnesota Opera

On this date 150 years ago, Georges Bizet' s Les pêcheurs de perles  (The Pearl Fishers) premiered at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris. Along with Carmen, it's one of his nine operas that has managed to maintain a place in the standard repertoire of opera companies around the world. Occasional performance of La jolie fille de Perth and Ivan IV can still be seen, but they are relatively rare.

The Pearl Fishers tells the story of how two men's vow of eternal friendship is threatened by their love for the same woman, whose own dilemma is the conflict between secular love and her sacred oath as a priestess.

Despite a good reception by the public, press reactions to The Pearl Fishers were generally hostile and dismissive, although other composers, notably Hector Berlioz, found considerable merit in the music. The opera was not revived in Bizet's lifetime, but from 1886 onwards it was performed with some regularity in Europe and America.

William Burden and (the original barihunk) Nathan Gunn in Pearl Fishers:

After its opening run, The Pearl Fishers was not performed again until eleven years after Bizet's death when it was presented in Italian at La Scala on March 20, 1886. After this it received regular stagings in European cities, often with the Italian version of the libretto. These revivals, which possibly reflected the growing success of Carmen, were followed by the publication of several versions of the music that incorporated significant differences from Bizet's original.

The opera is also somewhat responsible for the term "barihunks," as opera lore has it that director Francesca Zambella coined the phrase to describe a shirtless Nathan Gunn, who was singing the role of Zurga in her Philadelphia production in 2004.

The role of Zurga has certainly kept us busy at Barihunks, as it is often staged either shirtless or with a liberal amount of skin exposed. Barihunks on the site as Zurga include Lee Poulis, Philip Cutlip, Nmon Ford, Troy Cook, Craig Verm, Liam Bonner, David Adam Moore and, of course, Nathan Gunn.

Upcoming performances of the opera, include performances the Fort Worth Opera Festival from April 19 to May 2, 2014 starring Lee Poulis as Zurga and Sean Panikkar (of Forte fame) as Nadir. As an added bonus, barihunk Justin Hopkins has been cast as Nourabad. The production will be directed by the exciting and talented John de los Santos. 

A concert performance in Nantes, France will feature two barihunks familiar to readers of the site, Etienne Dupuis as Zurga and Nicolas Courjal as Nourabad.

Barihunks lunch in New York City

Dan Kempson, Jonathan Estabrooks and Chris Herbert

We hosted another Barihunks Lunch in New York City this week. Although the Met rehearsal schedule prevented a number of singers from attending, three of our favorite young singers joined a table that included a composer, an accompanist, the executive director of an opera organization, a photographer...and even a hunkentenor!

We featured Dan Kempson in our last post, but we should let you know about his upcoming schedule. He's currently covering the role of Jake in Nico Muhly's Two Boys at the Metropolitan Opera, which opens on October 21st. In the Spring, he returns to the Fort Worth Opera to portray Lt. Gordon in Kevin Puts' Silent Night. Fans on the West Coast can catch him in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra.

Jonathan Estabrooks sings Soliloquy from Carousel:

Jonathan Estabrooks will be singing two supporting roles in the American Debut production of Felipe Padilla De Leon's Noli Me Tangere based on the famous Filipino novel by Dr. Jose Rizal. The opera will be performed on October 4, 5 and 6 at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College. Keep an eye on our site for updates about his upcoming classical/crossover debut album, which was funded through Kickstarter.  

New York Polyphony sings "Times go by turns"

Christopher Herbert continues to perform recitals in addition to his work with New York Polyphony. The talented vocal quartet resumes touring on October 6th with stops in Alabama, New Hampshire, Virginia and California. Check out their complete schedule online. Their latest album Times go by Turns is available for purchase and download. The program features masses by Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, a three-voice religious setting by medieval English composer John Plummer, and three new works written for New York Polyphony by composers Gabriel Jackson, Andrew Smith and Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.

Justin Hopkins part of "30 Days of Opera" at Opera Memphis

We have always maintained that some of the best opera happens away from the major houses at the second tier houses. One of the most innnovative opera companies is Opera Memphis, run by director Ned Canty, who won us over in Santa Fe with his brilliant work on Gian Carlo Menotti's “Last Savage.”

He is one of the leaders in bringing opera to the masses and attracting new audiences to the art form. His latest project is "30 Days of Opera," a month-long event of free opera performances performed at various public venues around the Memphis area. The 30 days will end in time for the company’s season-opening production of Verdi's Rigoletto on Oct. 3th and 5th.

During the first four days they performed at two parks, two libraries, Aldo's Pizza, City Hall, the Little Tea Shop and at the corner of South Main and Monroe.

 

As part of their promotion, Ned Canty appeared on WNEG Channel 3 with soprano Caitlin McKechney and barihunk calendar model Justin Hopkins, who walked onto the television set singing Escamillo's music from Bizet's Carmen. The Philadelphia native will be making his debut with the company as Ceprano in Rigoletto. Also in the cast is fellow barihunk Matthew Treviño as Monterone/Sparfucile, Michael Corvino as Rigoletto, Anya Matanovič as Gilda, Jason Slayden  as the Duke and Caitlin McKechney as Madellena. Tickets are available online.

Hopkins will be singing Nourabad in Bizet's Les Pecheurs de perles at the Fort Worth Opera Festival next spring with our favorite young director, John de los Santos.

Aaron Sørensen to appear at (le) Poisson Rouge

Aaron Sørensen

We recently introduced Aaron Sørensen to readers when he was appearing with the Fort Worth Opera Festival. Now New Yorkers are going to get a chance to experience this gifted  and sexy young bass. He'll be appearing at (le) Poisson Rouge in an evening of music including Purcell, Gounod, Britten, Verdi, Mahler, and John Adams.

Gotham Chamber Opera and composer-in-residence Missy Mazzoli's band Victoire will be featuring Sorenson along with soprano Angela Fout, mezzo-soprano Abby Fischer and tenor Matthew Tuell in a night of music spanning 350 years. The show is on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 7:30pm (doors open at 6:30pm) at 158 Bleecker Street in New York City. Tickets are $15-$25 and are available online.

Aaron Sørensen will be returning to the Fort Worth Opera Festival next season as the French General in Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night.

Introducing Bass-Barihunk Aaron Sorenson

Aaron Sorenson (Photo by Barihunks)

Despite the fact that our homepage includes the definition of a "barihunk" that includes basses, the most common question we get is: "Can a bass be on barihunks?" The answer is a resounding YES and we admittedly love any low voice (even the mezzos!). Aaron Sorenson is a great example of why we'd be fools to not include basses on this site.

We had the pleasure of seeing his artistry live at the Fort Worth Opera as Benoit and Alcindoro in La Boheme, as well as a hilarious turn as the Wigmaker in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. While we were in Fort Worth, we joined photographer Michael Yeshion for a photo shoot with Sorenson, Michael Mayes and Anthony Reed. A few of those shots are previewed here and more will be appearing in our 2014 Barihunks Calendar.

Basses Aaron Sorenson and Anthony Reed (Photo by Michael Yeshion)

The Nebraska native honed his craft at Yale Opera Program and has gone on to sing Masetto in
Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Father Trulove in Stravinky’s The Rake’s Progress at the Wolf Trap Opera, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen and Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, and Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Tosca, and The
Rake’s Progress with Des Moines Metro Opera.

He'll be returning to the Fort Worth Opera Festival next season as the French General in Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night.

We also found this little tidbit on the Wolf Trap Opera blog: “When not singing (opera), Aaron Sorensen can most often be found in the kitchen whipping up something delectable and sinfully delicious. Taught by his grandmothers and mother, he is a foodie at heart and is infamous for his desserts. He is also an avid fan of hiking and the outdoors. It doesn’t happen often, but when time allows Aaron also enjoys watching movies and pointless television. So far, the best movie he has seen this year is, without a doubt, The Muppet Movie!”

If you're a barihunk based in New York, we recommend that you contact Michael Yeshion for your headshots. If you want to be considered for next year's calendar, he can shoot some great photos for you. Any barihunk can submit photos for consideration to the calendar or the website at Barihunks@gmail.com. A photo in a Barihunk tee-shirt increases your chances of inclusion.

Wes Mason launches new website; Ben Affleck Doppelgänger?

Wes Mason (photo by Michael Yeshion)

People often ask us, "Where did you get that photo?" The answer is often on a singer's website, where we've learned one can find a treasure trove of sexy photos. It seems singers (or their website designers) are more inclined to post hot photos that their managers (oh, the boring headshot!).

American barihunk Wes Mason is no exception and he's launching his new website today with some male model-esque photos by New York City-based photographer and actor Michael Yeshion. In another example of the changing face of opera, Mason's new photos look like they were pulled from GQ or Vanity Fair rather than an opera program. Some of our recent posts have talked about fitness and image in opera and how it needs to catch up with other art forms in marketing and appealing to a broader audience. Mason's new website is a perfect example of the marketing aspect of that discussion.

Separated at Birth: Ben Affleck and Wes Mason

We've heard singers like Daniel Okulitch and Nathan Gunn talk eloquently about how opera needs to catch up with movies and television in order to survive. When we looked at Wes Mason's new photos it struck us that he's following that script by channeling a pretty hot Ben Affleck look with the baritone beard and seductive "stare at the camera and look serious" pose. You can visit Mason's new website at www.wesmasonstage.com.

Mason is currently at the Fort Worth Opera as Marcello in La bohème following his performances in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. He'll be making his mainstage debut next year as Masetto in Don Giovanni with Opera Philadelphia. Meanwhile, he's getting rave reviews again in Fort Worth, where he became a household name in opera for his stunning portrayal as Cuban dissident and poet, Reinaldo Arenas, in the world premiere of Jorge Martín’s Before Night Falls in 2010.

The esteemed critic Scott Cantrell of the Dallas Morning News dubbed Mason the "vocal standout" in a La bohème cast filled with vocal talent. Performances run through May 3 and tickets and additional cast information is available online. We highly suggest making a trip to Fort Worth if you can get away, as Michael Mayes' riveting performance in Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied will be running through May 11. We'll be there!

Previous engagements for Mason have included Masetto in Don Giovanni with Opera Naples, Moralès in Carmen with the Glimmerglass Festival, Le Dancaire in Carmen with Michigan Opera Theater, Valentine in Faust and both Schaunard and Marcello in La bohème with the Crested Butte Music Festival.

Mason was a finalist in the 2012 Opera Index Competition, Encouragement Award winner in the 2012 Loren L. Zachary Society Competition, Second Place Regional Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2009 and a three-time nominee for the Sarah Tucker Study Grant in 2012, 2010 and 2009.

Michael Mayes stopping traffic in Fort Worth

Michael Mayes makes waiting for the bus tolerable

We say it every year, if you don't have the Fort Worth Opera Festival on your travel itinerary then you missing one of the best festivals in the United States. Although the festivals at Glimmerglass, Spoleto and Santa Fe might be better known, the quality and innovation at Fort Worth Opera is unsurpassed. General Director Darren Woods has created one of the most entertaining festivals in the United States with a mixture of operatic standards and fascinating contemporary works. 

This year's standard fare includes Puccini's La boheme, Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment and Puccini's La boheme featuring another of our favorite young barihunks Wes Mason. The contemporary work this year is Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied and it's all the buzz in Fort Worth due a bunch of bus benches featuring barihunk Michael Mayes that are literally stopping traffic.

Mayes will portray Colonel Floyd James (Jim) Thompson, America’s longest-held prisoner of war. The opera by Tom Cipullo looks back on Thompson's years as a captive in Vietnam and features Mayes in the title role. Fort Worth Opera often challenges their ticket holders with new works and the productions are often the audience favorites. Last year they featured Mark Adamo's comedy  Lysistrata that had audiences rolling in the aisles and the previous year they offered Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox that became the hottest ticket in town.

If this year's fare is half as great as their ad campaign, they have another hit on their hands. Michael Mayes was one of the stars of Lysistrata and he showed off his comic skills to great effect. But readers of this site will know that his dramatic skills recently prompted composer Jake Heggie to say that Mayes was the definitive Joseph De Rocher in his opera Dead Man Walking.

Tickets and additional information about the Fort Worth Opera Festival are available on their website.

More Acclaim for Michael Mayes in Dead Man Walking

Michael Mayes in Eugene Opera's Dead Man Walking (Photo: Cliff Coles)

Michael Mayes continues to wow both audiences and critics with his frightening, yet beautifully sung, portrayal of Joseph DeRocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Tonight he wrapped up the reprisal of the role that made opera afficionados take note after his performance in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The latest critic to by wowed is Marilyn Farwell from The Register-Guard, who wrote:

As the killer Joseph DeRocher, baritone Michael Mayes has become what the composer himself calls the “definitive” interpreter of this role. His imposing physicality and menacing demeanor were frightening. And he sang the role impeccably. Two scenes highlighted his vocal and dramatic gifts: a beautifully rendered memory of being by a river with a woman on a hot Louisiana night, and his stunning solo scene in his cell, pacing with the anger and fear of a caged animal.

Mayes now heads to the Fort Worth Opera Festival where he will portray Colonel Floyd James (Jim) Thompson, America’s longest-held prisoner of war. The opera by Tom Cipullo looks back on Thompson's years as a captive in Vietnam and features Mayes in the title role.

Tickets and additional information about the Fort Worth Opera Festival are available on their website.Mayes opens