Showing posts with label gounod faust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gounod faust. Show all posts

Monday, November 26, 2018

Nicolas Courjal getting downright devilish in 2019

Nicolas Courjal (left) and Méphistophélès
The role of Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust will be a main feature of French bass-barihunk's 2019 season, as he takes on the devilish role twice in the first part of the year.

From February 10-21, he'll perform the role at Opéra de Marseille with fellow barihunk Étienne Dupuis as Valentin. The cast also includes Nicole Car as Marguerite, Jean-François Borras and Jean-Pierre Furlan rotating the role of Faust, Philippe Ermelier as Wagner and Kévin Amiel as Siebel.

Then from May 22-28, he travels 159 kilometers down the road to Opéra de Nice where he'll be joined by Armando Noguera as Valentin, Stefano Secco as Faust, Nathalie Manfrino as Marguerite, Philippe Ermelier as Wagner and Camille Tresmontant as Siebel.

The final scene from Faust with Nicolai Ghiaurov, Joan Sutherland and Franco Correlli:


Gounod's libretto is based loosely on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part One. It debuted at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris on March 19, 1859. After its successful debut, it traveled to Germany, Belgium, Italy and England.

The opera opened the original Metropolitan Opera on October 22, 1883 and went on to become one of the most popular operas in the house, having received 753 performances to date.

In between performances, of Gounod's Faust, Courjal will sing the role of Bertram in Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable at La Monnaie with an all-star cast headed by soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Dimitry Korchak.

Friday, June 9, 2017

Barihunk Jérôme Varnier makes role debut as Méphistophélès

Jérôme Varnier
Barihunk Jérôme Varnier made his role debut as Méphistophélès tonight in Gounod's Faust at Opéra Grand Avignon. There will be one additional performance on June 11th.

The cast in this new production includes Nathalie Manfrino as Marguerite, Florian Laconi as Faust and Lionel Lhote as Valentin. Tickets are available online. Varnier will repeat the role of Méphistophélès with Opera Massy on November 10 and 12, with Ludivine Gombert as Marguerite, Thomas Bettinger as Faust and fellow barihunk Régis Mengus as Valentin.

Varnier has also performed the role of Brander in the Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust, based on the same German legend.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Georgios Iatrou to sing Valentine in Essen

Georgios Iatrou
We love it when colleagues suggest that we post someone that they're performing with, which is what soprano Jessica Muirhead did in a recent Twitter post about Georgios Iatrou. In fact, they both shared tweets on the same day about their upcoming performances in Gounod's Faust on March 9 and 11, and April 4 at the Aalto Musiktheater in Essen, Germany. Iatrous will be singing Valentin to her Marguerite. An alternate cast with fellow barihunk Martijn Cornet will open the run on February 13 and run through February 25.

Martijn Cornet
Iatrou is engaged at the Aalto Musiktheater from 2015-17, where he's performing Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, Schaunard in Puccini's La boheme, Silvano in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, Kostandis in Martinů's The Greek Passion and the Speaker in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Performances of Il barbiere di Siviglia run from June 4-July 9 and tickets and cast information is available online


Jessica Muirhead is also in the ensemble at the Aalto Musiktheater where she is performing Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, the title role in Dvorak's Rusalka and Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Régis Mengus in Les Mamelles de Tirésias with notorious nude scene

Régis Mengus and Céline Mellon
33-year-old Régis Mengus opened today in Opèra de Lausanne's production of Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias. The production with sets by Ricardo Sánchez Cuerda and directed by Emilio Sagi is the same one in which barihunk Gabriel Bermúdez appeared nude at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (our most popular post of all-time). From all accounts Mengus also appears nude in the current production. We'll keep an eye out for photos and video! Tickets are available online.

Mengus was a childhood internet sensation long before he became known in the world opera. A few years ago, a video of him with fellow boy soprano Hyacinthe de Moulins singing Rossini's Cat Duet began appearing on blogs and websites drawing millions of views. The performance was with the famed boys choir Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois, who were presenting a concert in Seoul, Korea in 1996.

Mengus, who came from a blue collar family with little exposure to the arts, was drawn to music as a young boy. He started piano lesson at the age of six, but joined the choir two years later after realizing that singing was his true passion. Shortly after joining the group, he rose to the coveted role of soloist with the boys choir.  In October 2013, he won both the First Prize and the Audience Award at the International Competition of Singing in Vivonne. In March 2014, he won First Prize, the Audience Award, and a Special Award at the International Competition of Bordeaux.

Next up for Mengus is Karnac in Lalo's Le Roi d'Ys in March and Valentin in Gounod's Faust back in Lausanne.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Brett Carter to set himself on fire after wrapping up sexy Valentin in Mainz

Brett Carter as Valentin in Gounod's Faust
We've posted about Aussie barihunk Brett Carter's sexy Valentin in Gounod's Faust (Margerete) before. He is down to his last two performances on January 17 and February 14th at the Staatstheater in Mainz, where he is a member of the ensemble. You can get tickets and additional cast information online.

On March 11th, he'll open in Pascal Dusapin's Perelà with the amazing tenor Peter Tantsits in the title role. Perelà tells the story of the mysterious "man of smoke" who appears in an unnamed city, and charts his rise and fall through a series of tragicomic encounters with its inhabitants. The opera does include male nudity for the tenor. Carter sings the role of the old valet Alloro,who sets himself on fire hoping to emulate the lightness of Perelà. 

 

On December 26th and January 19th, he'll be singing Orff's Carmina Burana in Mainz with soprano Marie-Christine Haase and countertenor Alin Deleanu. In July, he returns to his native Australia where he''ll sing the title role in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Queensland Performing Arts Center. 

You can hear Carter sing excerpts from Faust, Carmina Burana and The Barber of Seville on his website.

Carter studied Classical Guitar and Voice at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He then became a member of the Australian Opera Studio where his roles included Mozart’s Conte Almaviva, Don Giovanni and Britten’s Tarquinius. After receiving a Scholarship to participate in the Cincinnati Music Festival in Lucca, Italy, he then went on to become a Young Artist with Opera Queensland. During this time he received first prize in the German Australian Opera Grant and from 2007- 2014 was a member of the Hessischen Staatstheater in Wiesbaden. 

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Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Brett Carter's sexy Valentin in Mainz

Brett Carter in Mainz's production of Faust
We first introduced Aussie barihunk Brett Carter to readers last year when he was performing  Mercurio in Cavalli's Calisto at the Hessischen Staatstheaters in Wiesbaden. We featured some sexy shots of him performing in Britten's Rape of Lucretia and Ravel's L'heure espagnole.

Brett is a now an ensemble member at the Staatstheater in Mainz, where his upcoming performances include the baritone solo in Orff's Carmina Burana opening on November 22 and Alloro in Dusapin's Perelà in the Spring 2016. He's currently performing Valentin in Gounod's Faust (Margerete) and once again showing off a little skin for the German audiences. Performances run through February 14 and additional cast information and tickets are available online.

Next year, he'll be returning to his native country to sing the title role in Rossini's The Barber of Seville. 

Carter studied Classical Guitar and Voice at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He then became a member of the Australian Opera Studio where his roles included Mozart’s Conte Almaviva, Don Giovanni and Britten’s Tarquinius. After receiving a Scholarship to participate in the Cincinnati Music Festival in Lucca, Italy, he then went on to become a Young Artist with Opera Queensland. During this time he received first prize in the German Australian Opera Grant and from 2007- 2014 was a member of the Hessischen Staatstheater in Wiesbaden. 

MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGERS FROM 9 COUNTRIES.Support independent publishing: Buy this calendar on 
Lulu. 

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Introducing Zachary Luchetti (and his very funny bio)

Zachary Luchetti
We get a lot of Reader Submissions at this site and we love them. They tend to range from the "What were they thinking?" to "Why isn't this guy a professional model?" Every so often, one catches your attention for a very different reason, as is the case with Pennsylvania native Zachary Luchetti. His biography is not only the funniest singer bios that we've ever read, but it perfectly lampoons the beefed up biographies that many performers post on their websites. 

Luchetti is about to open as Wagner in the Berks Opera Company's production of Gounod's Faust starring Jeremy Galyon as Mephistopheles and hunkentenor James Valenti in the title role. In partnership with the Caron Treatment Centers, this production was conceptualized to address the issue of addiction. The performance depicts the cycle of addiction and rehabilitation with supertitles that are faithful to the language of the modern drug culture. Performances are on August 14 and 16 at the Miller Center for the Arts in Reading, PA and tickets are available online.

Zachary Luchetti in Pirates of Penzance (left)
Here is Luchetti's unedited bio:

Zachary Luchetti, baritone, is an Appalachian trained singer. He has cut his teeth on the regional scene from the flats of southern Ohio, through the Laurel Highlands, to the almost Pocono Mountains of Berks County, PA, with the majority of his work being done in Pittsburgh, the area’s Parisian cultural equivalent. A barihunk of once uncommon beauty, he used to possess an almost flat stomach and rather strong jaw line. However, in 2011 one of his best friends became pregnant with her first child, and he ate through the pregnancy with her. Now the aforementioned features have lost most of their sharpness, yielding to a more softened distinction.

A gifted and versatile performer, Mr. Luchetti’s performances are usually reviewed using one word superlatives ranging from “arresting” to “impressive” to “fine” (Reading Eagle). The self-observed go-to-guy on the regional D-List circuit, he makes no pretense about his status in the business. While he isn’t exactly sought after, he has amassed an impressive resume of over 70 roles in his short career, notably including Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Silvio in I Pagliacci, Amonasro in Aida and the Big Bad Wolf in DePue’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, for which he was once on local radio. Although he maintains a day job, Mr. Luchetti still makes enough money singing for all of the contract work to eat up his tax refund when he enters his many 1099-Misc forms into Turbo Tax®.

Currently he is considering semi-retirement so that he can focus on a job that will yield enough net income to allow him to go out with friends when they call, take a vacation to a place not within a day’s driving distance and start a savings account without worrying about dipping below the minimum balance most banks require. When he is not singing, Mr. Luchetti relaxes by sitting in a lawn chair on the sidewalk outside his street level one bedroom apartment. There he enjoys blasting Whitney Houston ballads through the only window in his residence and sipping whatever almost decent discount wine he came across on the last chance wall at the liquor store, all the while waiting for the typical late afternoon bar fights to erupt at the local watering hole adjacent to his location where someone was allegedly shanked a couple years ago. 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo's sexy Méphistophélès in Berlin

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as Méphistophélès
Italian barihunk Ildebrando D'Arcangelo is starring in director Philipp Stölzl’s psychologically gripping production of Gounod's Faust at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Stölzl, who has also directed Wagner's Rienzi and Parifal with the company, has also made his name in film. He directed “North Face,” “Goethe!” and “The Physician,”  as well as music videos for Madonna and Garbage.

There are additional performances on June 27 and 30, and July 2 and 5.  

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as Méphistophélès
After Faust, D'Arcangelo heads to Verona to perform the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni. In November, he returns to Berlin to perform the Count in Le nozze di Figaro at the Staatsoper with fellow barihunks Lauri Vasar as Figaro and Olaf Bär as Antonio.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Kevin Thompson gets devilish again

Kevin Thompson as Mèphistophélés
Kevin Thompson is back as Mèphistophélés in Gounod's Faust, this time with the West Bay Opera in Palo Alto, California. He previously performed the role at the Fundación Teatro Nacional Sucre in Ecuador to great acclaim. The 6'5" American casts a towering and imposing figure as the demon and brings a booming bass to match.

In the current production, imagined by director Ragnar Conde, the action takes place in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future, with survivors living among the scrapped, dysfunctional detritus of abandoned power plants.

Kevin Thompson sings Agnus Dei from Beethoven's Missa Solemnis:


There are three more performances at the Lucie Stern Theatre, including Sunday, May 24, Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

This summer, Thompson heads to the Santa Fe Opera, where he will appear as a Jew in Richard Strauss' Salome and cover Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Barihunk duo in Paris Opera's Faust

Ildar Abdrazakov and Damien Pass
The Opéra national de Paris has put together a dream cast for their upcoming production of Gounod's Faust, which opens on March 2nd. It'll will be headed by two barihunks, Ildar Abdrazakov and Damien Pass, who are Méphistophélès and Valentin respectively. Two of the most amazing tenors in the business, Piotr Beczala and Michael Fabiano, will be alternating nights as Faust, while the thrilling soprano Krassimira Stoyanova takes on Marguerite.

Performances run through March 28th and tickets are available online.

After Faust, Abdrazakov heads to the Salzburg Easter Festival for two performances of the Verdi Requiem on March 31st and April 3. Pass will remain at the Bastille to sing the Hunter in Dvorak’s Rusalka from April 3-26 in a Robert Carsen production.

Friday, February 20, 2015

André Courville to get devilish at AVA


André Courville being a little devilish
Our post this morning about AVA graduate John Viscardi performing Valentin in Gounod's Faust with the Michigan Opera, prompted almost an immediate reply from a Philadelphia opera fanatic who informed us that current AVA student André Courville will be performing bass role of Méphistophélès. He'll be performing the role from April 25-May 9 at the Helen Corning Warden Theater in Philadelphia, Centennial Hall in Haverford and Central Bucks East H.S. in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Additional information can be found online.

If you can't wait until April, you catch the Louisiana native as the bass soloist in Bach's Mass in B minor with
Vox Ama Deus a the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia form March 2-April 3.

Properly introducing John Viscardi

John Viscardi (photo Arielle Doneson)
We kind of introduced American barihunk three years ago while he was at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia, when we featured him in a photo of students mocking a Vanity Fair spread of famous opera singers. However, it was just pointed out to us that we've actually never profiled the lyric baritone as we have Scott Conner and Wes Mason, who also appeared in the photo.

We just learned that he's been cast as Valentin in Gounod's Faust at the Michigan Opera Theater with Matt Boehler as Méphistophélès, which is running from May 9-17. This will be his debut with the company.

In the 2013/14 season, Viscardi performed Torero in Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar and Abdallo in Verdi's Nabucco with Opera Philadelphia, and made his debuts with the Shreveport and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestras. He was also featured soloist in “Eve and Friends” with Maestro Eve Queler at Alice Tully Hall, and an Apprentice Artist with Santa Fe Opera. One of our favorite events was a joint concert with fellow barihunk Wes Mason in Philadelphia.

His repertoire includes Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, the title role in Billy Budd, Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande, and Yeletsky in Pique Dame.    

(l-r) Alexandra Maximova, Scott Conner, Maria Aleida, Nelson Ebo, Wes Mason, John Viscardi, and Chrystal Williams
Previous seasons have showcased Viscardi in Babes in Toyland as the Toy Soldier in his Lincoln Center debut at Avery Fisher Hall, as Prunier in La Rondine with Des Moines Metro Opera, The Dancing Master and Lamplighter in Manon Lescaut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Opera Naples.    

His awards include 4th place in the 2014 Giulio Gari Foundation Vocal Competition, Audience Favorite in the 2014 Annapolis Opera’s Vocal Competition, receipt of Santa Fe Opera’s 2013 Anna Case McKay Memorial Award, the Bertha Koempel Award in the 2012 Liederkranz Foundation Competition, a 2012 George London Foundation encouragement award, the Lys Symonette Award from the 2011 Kurt Weill Foundation- Lotte Lenya Competition, 2nd Place Prize in the 2011 Giargiari Bel Canto Competition, 1st place in the 2010 Mario Lanza Scholarship Competition, and 3rd place in the 2010 Giargiari Bel Canto Competition.