Barihunks galore in Hamburg's Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy; Livestream of Don Giovanni from Rome

André Schuen and Kyle Ketelson in Don Giovanni (© Brinkhoff/Mögenburg)

The Hamburg State Opera kicked off its Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy of opera with the premiere of Don Giovanni on October 20th featuring the barihunk trilogy of Andrè Schuen in the title role, Kyle Ketelsen as Leporello and Alexander Tsymbalyuk as the Commendatore. Additional performances are on October 23, 26, 29 and November 3, 6 and 9.

On October 22, they will add Così fan tutte to the rotation with barihunk John Chest as Guglielmo.  Additional performances will be on October 22, 27, 31 and November 2. The final opera will be Le Nozze di Figaro, which opens on November 1, with additional performances on November 5, 8 and 12. The cast features barihunks Christoph Pohl as the Count and Wilhelm Schwinghammer as Figaro.

Tickets for all three operas are available online.

Alessio Arduini as Don Giovanni in Rome

If you can't make it to an Hamburg or another opera house featuring Don Giovanni, you can watch a performance from the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma on Oct. 26, 2019 on OperaVision. The cast includes barihunk Alessio Arduini in the title role, along wtih Vito Priante, Emanuele Cordaro, Antonio Di Matteo, Juan Francisco Gatell, Maria Grazia Schiavo, Salome Jicia, and Marianne Croux. The livestream may not play in some countries.

Introducing Florian Spiess in Almira's return to Hamburg

Florian Spiess

Almira was George Frideric Handel's first opera, composed when he was just 19 years old. The opera was first performed in Hamburg in January 1705 where is returns to the Staatsoper on October 21st. Handel arrived in Hamburg in the summer of 1703 and played as a violinist in the theatre at the Gänsemarkt, as well as playing the harpsichord with the orchestra. Much of the music is in the French orchestral style with a mix of Italian and German style arias. The story deals with the universal operatic themes of love, power and jealousy.

Singing the role of Raymondo, King of Mauretania, is the imposing Austrian bass Florian Spiess, who is new to this site.  He began singing as a member of the Wiltener Sängerknaben (Wilten Boys' Chorus), before becoming the boy soprano soloist with the Vienna Boys' Choir from 1990-1994.

Florian Spiess

His formal vocal training began at the Tyrolean Conservatory where he performed in Guys and Dolls, Into the Woods and as Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni. He continued his studies at the Vienna Music University including one year on a German-Austrian Richard Wagner Foundation scholarship.

In 2009, he became a  member of the Landestheater Linz where he sang Silvano in Cavallis La Calisto, Figaro in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, three roles in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann and Jupiter in Rameau's Platée.  From 2010-2013, he was a member of the Volksoper Wien where he sang in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Puccini's Tosca and Turandot, and Verdi's Rigoletto.

After a season on the roster of the opera at the Volkstheater Rostock, he joined the ensemble of  the Hamburg State Opera. His roles have included Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen, the Priest/Badger in Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen and the Speaker of the Temple/Second Armoured Man inMozart's Die Zauberflöte.

Future performances include Biterolf in Wagner's Tannhäuser and Colline in Puccini's La Bohème.
Tickets and additional cast information for Almira is available online.