Former baritone Ryan Taylor is taking over the Minnesota Opera, after he successfully revived the Arizona Opera. Taylor certainly would have been a candidate for barihunks during his singing days, but he was winding down his career as we were revving up the site. Taylor takes over on May 1 and you can read more on the Star Tribune website. We recently posted about another barihunk, Jason Hardy, who took over the reigns of OperaDelaware.
His current programming at Arizona Opera includes Bizet's Carmen in February with the barihunk trio of Ryan Kuster as Escamillo, Joseph Lattanzi as Morales and Calvin Griffin as Zuniga (and the sensational Daniella Mack as Carmen). That will be followed later in the month by Mozart's Don Giovanni with barihunks Morgan Smith and Joseph Lattanzi rotating the title role and Ryan Kuster singing Masetto.
Another of his great legacies will be Arizona Spark, which workshops new compositions. Our personal favorite is Clint Borzoni's Copper Queen, with a libretto by John De Los Santos. The opera tells the story of Julia Lowell, the ghost that haunts a famed hotel in
Bisbee, Arizona, once prominent as a mining town for both copper and
“Bisbee-blue” turquoise. You can hear sound clips HERE. The Minnesota Opera also has a long tradition of presenting new works, including composer Kevin Puts' Silent Night, which won the Pulitzer Prize.
Borzoni will be presenting two new works in San Francisco next week for String Quartet and Baritone with barihunk Marco Vassalli. Tickets are available online.
American barihunk Jason Hardy has created quite the buzz on barihunks at least two times. Once when he appeared shirtless in the New York City Opera's sexy production of Don Giovanni (featuring fellow barihunks Kelly Markgraf and Daniel Okulitch) and again when he proposed to his now wife Carrie onstage after a performance of Le nozze di Figaro at Opera Birmingham.
After creating a name for himself onstage, he's now moving backstage to be the new Managing Director of OperaDelaware, where he's served as Director of Development and
Community Engagement since 2013. In his new and expanded role, Hardy will continue to
oversee the company's fundraising efforts while taking on new
responsibilities in the day-to-day operations of OperaDelaware including
administrative and artistic functions.
Over his 18-year career as a
singer, Hardy performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and The
Kennedy Center. He has sung with the New York City Opera, Opéra de
Montréal, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the National Symphony
Orchestra.
Hardy holds a bachelor's degree from Emory University in Atlanta. He
also earned a Master of Music and Artist Diploma from the
Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University.
OperaDelaware's spring 2016 festival will feature performances of two
fully staged productions at The Grand Opera House in Wilmington,
including the East Coast Premiere of Franco Faccio's Hamlet and Giuseppe
Verdi's Falstaff. Both are adapted by librettist Arrigo
Boito, from William Shakespeare's plays.
American barihunk Kevin Greenlaw pulled a quick one on his girlfriend soprano Marjukka Tepponen during a New Year's Eve gala in Jyväskylän, Finland. Tepponen walked on stage to sing theduet "Lacidaremdamano" from Mozart's Don Giovanni. On the other side of the stage, she was expecting baritone MikaPohjonen. However, Greenlaw walked out singing the duet, pulled out a ring, knelt before her and proposed marriage (she accepted, much to the audience's delight).
MarjukkaTepponenandKevinGreenlaw met last year while singing Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in Turussa (Turku), Finland. The couple will perform Siblelius' fiendishly difficult Kullervo Symphony with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra on April 17th. Much to his delight, she accepted, making them the second operatic couple to get engaged on stage in a week after tenor Pene Pati proposed to Amina Edris during the Christmas holiday. Greenlaw isn't the first barihunk to pop the question on stage. In 2009, Jason Hardy proposed to girlfriend Carrie Kahl after a performance of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at Opera Birmingham (she also accepted).
She
was about to sing La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni when, instead
of her intended duet partner coming on stage, up popped her boyfriend on
bended knee.
She is Finnish soprano, Marjukka Tepponen. He is British baritone, Kevin Greenlawn.
Well, what could she say?
The pop-up happened during a New Year’s gala concert in Jyväskylä, a
small Finnish town with its own opera and symphony orchestra.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2015/01/true-romance-soprano-is-bowled-over-by-stage-proposal/#sthash.bWYATgu9.dpuf
She
was about to sing La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni when, instead
of her intended duet partner coming on stage, up popped her boyfriend on
bended knee.
She is Finnish soprano, Marjukka Tepponen. He is British baritone, Kevin Greenlawn.
Well, what could she say?
The pop-up happened during a New Year’s gala concert in Jyväskylä, a
small Finnish town with its own opera and symphony orchestra.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2015/01/true-romance-soprano-is-bowled-over-by-stage-proposal/#sthash.bWYATgu9.dpuf
She
was about to sing La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni when, instead
of her intended duet partner coming on stage, up popped her boyfriend on
bended knee.
She is Finnish soprano, Marjukka Tepponen. He is British baritone, Kevin Greenlawn.
Well, what could she say?
The pop-up happened during a New Year’s gala concert in Jyväskylä, a
small Finnish town with its own opera and symphony orchestra.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2015/01/true-romance-soprano-is-bowled-over-by-stage-proposal/#sthash.bWYATgu9.dpuf
She
was about to sing La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni when, instead
of her intended duet partner coming on stage, up popped her boyfriend on
bended knee.
She is Finnish soprano, Marjukka Tepponen. He is British baritone, Kevin Greenlawn.
Well, what could she say?
The pop-up happened during a New Year’s gala concert in Jyväskylä, a
small Finnish town with its own opera and symphony orchestra.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2015/01/true-romance-soprano-is-bowled-over-by-stage-proposal/#sthash.bWYATgu9.dpuf
She
was about to sing La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni when, instead
of her intended duet partner coming on stage, up popped her boyfriend on
bended knee.
She is Finnish soprano, Marjukka Tepponen. He is British baritone, Kevin Greenlawn.
Well, what could she say?
The pop-up happened during a New Year’s gala concert in Jyväskylä, a
small Finnish town with its own opera and symphony orchestra.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2015/01/true-romance-soprano-is-bowled-over-by-stage-proposal/#sthash.bWYATgu9.dpuf
She
was about to sing La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni when, instead
of her intended duet partner coming on stage, up popped her boyfriend on
bended knee.
She is Finnish soprano, Marjukka Tepponen. He is British baritone, Kevin Greenlawn.
Well, what could she say?
The pop-up happened during a New Year’s gala concert in Jyväskylä, a
small Finnish town with its own opera and symphony orchestra.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2015/01/true-romance-soprano-is-bowled-over-by-stage-proposal/#sthash.bWYATgu9.dpuf
She
was about to sing La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni when, instead
of her intended duet partner coming on stage, up popped her boyfriend on
bended knee.
She is Finnish soprano, Marjukka Tepponen. He is British baritone, Kevin Greenlawn.
Well, what could she say?
The pop-up happened during a New Year’s gala concert in Jyväskylä, a
small Finnish town with its own opera and symphony orchestra.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2015/01/true-romance-soprano-is-bowled-over-by-stage-proposal/#sthash.bWYATgu9.dpuf
Alex Lawrence backstage in Zürich in Carmen and from his new website homepage
Our features on Wes Mason and John Brancy have prompted readers to point us to other new websites from barihunks around the world. The latest is Alex Lawrence, who is currently a member of the ensemble at Opernhaus Zürich. In 2011, Lawrence completed his studies at Philadelphia’s prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts and went on to appear at the Lucerne Festival, Theater Basel, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Tanglewood. He made his European professional debut this past year in the in Berg’s Wozzeck.
On May 23, he'll be appearing as Sam in Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti at Opernhaus Zürich. Later this summer, he'll make his major role debut at the Glimmerglass Festival as Cavaliere Belfiore who becomes king for the day in Verdi's Un Giorno di Regno. Performances will run from July 21-August 24 and the cast also includes two other singers who have appeared on this site, Jason Hardy as Baron Kelbar and Andrew Wilkowske as La Rocca. Glimmerglass is run by director Francesca Zambello, who is credited with coining the phrase "barihunk," so this casting comes as no surprise.
Alex Lawrence sings "Fin ch' han dal vino" from Don Giovanni
Other performances at Glimmerglass this season include über-barihunk Nathan Gunn as Lancelot in Camelot and Ryan McKinny as the title character in Wagner's Flying Dutchman in a cast that includes Jay Hunter Morris as Erik and the amazing Melody Moore as Senta. Check out the Glimmerglass website for additional information.
Make sure to check out Alex Lawrence's new website where you can follow his career, enjoy production photos and view videos. You can also follow him on Twitter @LawrenceBariton.
American Lyric Theater (ALT) has announced three newly commissioned operas and the release of the company's first recording with barihunk Daniel Okulitch.
Three new opera commissions are being developed under the auspices of ALT's Composer Librettist Development Program - with themes ranging from the war on drugs in Mexico, to the national disavowal of a scientific genius because of his sexuality, to the true story of the effects of war and homecoming on an American soldier who served as an officer in an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit.
Lawrence Edelson, ALT's Producing Artistic Director, said of the new commissions, "I am very proud to announce these three new operas. Many opera companies commission new works from established composers. Here at ALT, we are deeply committed to identifying gifted emerging operatic writers and providing them with both mentorship and financial support as they develop new works. The three operas being commissioned by ALT this season are also part of our initiative to develop works that expand the traditional audience base for opera while confronting critical contemporary issues."
The casts have not been announced, but we've been assured that at least one role is for a barihunk. Check out the video previews below and see if you can figure out which one.
LA REINA
Composer: Jorge Sosa; Librettist: Laura Sosa Pedroza
La Reina draws its narrative from the drug trade in Mexico and the United States. The story of revenge and corruption on both sides of the border is inspired by some of the most vivid real life players in this increasingly violent war from the past and present, including Sandra Ávila Beltrán, El Guero Palma, El Pozolero, DEA agent Enrique Camarena, Mexican President Felipe Calderón, and US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. The opera is being written for classically trained singers and a chamber orchestra of acoustic and electronic forces. The libretto for La Reina is being written in both Spanish and English, reflecting the symbiotic relationship between Mexico and the United States, and the shared responsibility of the current drug conflicts.
THE LONG WALK
Based on the book, The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life that Follows, by Brian Castner
Composer: Jeremy Howard Beck; Librettist: Stephanie Fleischmann
A solider comes home from war and must adapt to a world that is forever changed. This is a timeless story, though the context continues to change. Based on the critically acclaimed 2012 memoir by Brian Castner, The Long Walk dives deep into the mind of a American soldier who has returned from Iraq after serving as an officer in an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit. Castner's battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which he calls "the Crazy with a capital C," is at the center of this moving personal story of a man struggling to reintegrate himself back into his family life upon his return from the war.
THE TURING PROJECT (title to be announced)
Composer: Justine F. Chen; Librettist: David Simpatico
Commissioned in honor of the Turing Centennial, The Turing Project is a historical fantasia based on the life of the English scientist Alan Turing. The opera explores Turing's extraordinary contributions to mankind, his county's disavowal of him because he was gay, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. The opera imagines the man inside the legend, the unique perspective he had on the universe, the public and unashamed view he had of his own homosexuality, and the impact he had upon the future of civilization.
Jason Hardy (left) and Daniel Okulitch in NYCO's Don Giovanni
ALT has also announced the release of its first CD on Albany Records "The Golden Ticket." The comic opera by Peter Ash and Donald Sturrock is based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and was commissioned by the American Lyric Theater and Felicity Dahl in 2006.
The Golden Ticket received its world premiere in partnership with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2010, and its European debut in partnership with the Wexford Festival in October 2010. A live recording, conducted by composer Peter Ash, was produced by ALT in partnership with The Atlanta Opera during performances in Atlanta in March 2012. The cast is lead by barihunk Daniel Okulitch and also includes fellow barihunk Jason Hardy as Grandpa George and Mr. Beauregard.
The CD will be available after December 1st on AlbanyRecords.com, Amazon.com, Arkivmusic.com, hbdirect.com, and at other classical music retailers. Digital downloads will be available from iTunes and other similar services shortly thereafter.
Daniel Okulitch's "New American Art Songs" is currently available at GPR Records.
Nicholas Nelson
If you're on the West Coast, you'll be thrilled to know that the aforementioned Jason Hardy and Daniel Okulitch will be reprising their successful portrayals of Leporello and Don Giovanni from New York City Opera at the Portland Opera. They will be joined by another barihunk, Nicholas Nelson as Masetto. Performances will run from November 2-10. Tickets and additional performance information are available online.
Canadian barihunk Daniel Okulitch will reprise his huge success as Willy Wonka in The Golden Ticket opening tonight with the Atlanta Opera. The opera is based on author Roald Dahl's classic story "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," which became the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." The opera was written by American composer Peter Ash and British librettist Donald Sturrock and was co-commissioned by the American Lyric Theater and Felicity Dahl. The Opera Theater of St. Louis, Wexford Opera Festival and the the American Lyric Theater co-produced the world-premiere.
Here is some rehearsal footage from the current production:
Okulitch created the role for the world-premiere of The Golden Ticket in 2010
with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. This will be his debut with the Atlanta Opera debut. From all accounts, his performance is a "must see" masterpiece of acting and singing.
Fair warning to Wonka purists, four of the roles played by children in the movie will logically be performed by adult opera singers.
The opera will run from March 3-11 and you can find additional information on the Atlanta Opera website. The cast also includes barihunk Jason Hardy as Grandpa George/Mr. Beauregard.
You can order Daniel Okulitch's CD at a special 10% for Barihunks
readers by clicking on the logo at the bottom of the GPR Records page
that looks like this:
Wes Mason (L) in "Before Night Falls" & Naples, Florida at sunset
Normally when one thinks of opera in Naples, one thinks of the Teatro di San Carlo. That beautiful theater has seen its fair share of gorgeous barihunks over the years, including the legendary Ettore Bastianini.
However, the Naples with the best current crop of barihunk is in Southern Florida on the western edge of the Everglades. The city that usually attracts tourists who come for fishing, gator watching and ecotourism, is suddenly the new hotspot for barihunk lovers.
Jason Hardy (top) and Matthew Trevino (bottom)
Opera Naples will have two performances of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" on January 20 and 22 with a trio of barihunks. Matthew Trevino will sing the title role, Wes Mason will be Masetto and Jason Hardy will be Leporello. The photo of Hardy above is from the highly acclaimed Don Giovanni at New York City Opera in 2009. When we first ran the shirtless photos of Hardy, a soprano emailed us a note that said, "Wow. Who knew?" Regular readers of the site will recognize the shirtless photo of Wes Mason from his acclaimed performance of "Before Night Falls" with the Ft. Worth Opera, a role that he'll reprise with the Orchestra Miami later this year. Matthew Trevino just finished a successful tour of Ireland as Sarastro in the "Magic Flute" and in March will sing the King in Aida with the Arizona Opera.
We think this performance is worth a trip to Southern Florida, so grab your fishing pole and your swamp waders and order your tickets HERE. Who knows, you might run into one of the many famous residents of the town, including Donald Trump, Larry Bird, Mike Ditka or Bob Seger.
American barihunk Daniel Mobbs decided to take his role in the "Marriage of Figaro" quite literally. Before heading to the Portland Opera for his appearance as Figaro in Mozart's opera, he tied the knot with his partner Vince Barone in New York City on October 7th.
Mobbs is returning to the Portland Opera after successful appearances as Don Giovanni in 2006 and Lord Sidney in Rossini's "Il viaggio a Reims."Performances are on November 4, 6, 10 and 12. Visit the Portland Opera website for tickets and additional performance information.
Regular readers of the site might recall that barihunk Jason Hardy popped the question to soprano Carrie Kahl after a performance of the "Marriage of Figaro" at Opera Birmingham in March 2010.
Here is Daniel Mobbs singing Figaro's arias, "Se vuol ballare" and "Aprite un po'quegli occhi" from 2009:
New York Times critic Anthony Tommasi has written a review of the new Metropolitan Opera production of "Don Giovanni." Readers are well aware that this production was plagued by the last-minute injury of Mariusz Kwiecien, who New Yorkers had eagerly anticipated performing the role for the first time on the Met stage. Tommasini's review focuses a lot on Michael Grandage's production, which appears to suffer from many of the criticisms that beset his "Billy Budd" at Glyndebourne, which is an overly conservative and cautious portrayal of the opera. Much of the criticism's of Grandage's "Billy Budd" was that he stripped the sexual tension from the opera. We'll be curious if this Giovanni is different when Kwiecien, who along with Randal Turner is known as one of the most sexually charged Giovanni's, returns to the cast. [FYI: The Barihunks crew is attending the October 25 performance when Kwiecien returns].
Tommasini points out that this production paled in comparison to the "vivid" and "sexy" Christopher Alden production that the New York City Opera produced in 2009. We were unabashedly enthusiastic about the City Opera's "Giovanni," which we thought was one of the best ever produced. With City Opera slowly rising from the ashes, it will be nice to see some renewed competition in the Big Apple.
However, he did single out and praise the performances of the singers. Here is what he wrote about the barihunks.
[Mattei] was superb, singing alternately with suave, seductive phrasing and menacing intensity. At 6-foot-4, he was lordly, cagey, heady with desire and glibly reckless.
The bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni was a dynamic Leporello, singing with a muscular voice, rich colorings and agility. Handsome and full of bluster, this youthful Leporello exuded resentment while bowing to his master’s commands. But for the accident of birth, Mr. Pisaroni’s Leporello would be the nobleman and lady-killer. And there was some intriguing sexual tension in Giovanni’s roughhousing with his servant.
You can read Tommasini's entire review at the New York Times online site.
In January 2009, Barihunks made our first wedding announcement when we posted photos from the ceremony between Teddy Tahu Rhodes and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard. Of course, we've all come to know the New Zealand barihunk as "Teddy Bare" because of his surfer build and propensity to sing shirtless.
Last December, Jason Hardy created a sensation when he appeared on this site shirtless in pictures from New York City Opera's "Don Giovanni." One soprano emailed us a note that simply read, "WHO KNEW?"
Apparently it looks like soprano Carrie Kahl knew. So when Jason Hardy popped the question after the final curtain calls at Opera Birmingham's "Marriage of Figaro," Kahl quickly accepted his proposal. Hardy was performing Figaro and Kahl was portraying Barbarina.
The second and final performance is this Sunday at 2:30 PM and ticket information can be found HERE.
[Jason Hardy at New York City Opera] When Jason Hardy performed shirtless in the recent production of New York City Opera's production of Don Giovanni, there was collective "WHOA!" in opera circles. As you can see from the photo, Hardy deservedly attained instant barihunk status with his steamy performance. Hardy was one of two barihunks in the recent production of "Marriage of Figaro" at Opera Omaha, where ticket sales were brisker than usual.
The Omaha World-Herald wrote of his performance:
Bass singer Jason Hardy was no less successful in the title role, singing with a voice like black velvet ––equally dark and soft. Yet his dark instrument was also remarkably flexible. For instance, the notes in his aria “Non più andrai,” Figaro’s playful first act song to Cherubino, were surprisingly light and playful.
The other barihunk was Kelly Markgraf, who has appeared on this site before and is raising eyebrows throughout the opera world for his beautiful singing and equally good looks. Markgraf was also in the New York City Opera's "Don Giovanni," so perhaps Hardy and Markgraf are starting a "Two Barihunks" tour. The World-Herald wrote of his performance:
Kelly Markgraf, as the Count, sang with a voice that was so beautiful and burnished that you almost forgot his character’s vengeful, prideful nature.
Recently we posted some pictures from the very sexy and favorably reviewed production of Don Giovanni at New York City Opera. The cast included a veritable feast of barihunks, which included Daniel Okulitch, Kelly Markgraf and Jason Hardy. Daniel Okultich has been a regular on this site in various states of undress, and to a lesser extent so has Kelly Markgraf.
Jason Hardy is fairly new to this site and from the look of these pictures, he's been unfairly neglected. We also took the time to listen to his wonderful CD, which shows that his voice is as gorgeous as his body. We've created a handy link to Amazon if you'd like to enjoy it, as well.
If this is the look of the George Steel era at New York City Opera then we at Barihunks heartily approve. There was a lot of controversy and discussion about his hiring, particularly amongst opera aficionados on the East Coast. From what we heard from people who had worked with him, we knew all along that he would make the "People's Opera" interesting and he's lived up to his reputation.
Here is how City Opera described this new production:
Visionary director Christopher Alden reimagines this masterwork in a thrilling new production which explores the intersection of dark eroticism and strict Spanish-Catholic tradition in the early 20th century. Rising star Daniel Okulitch makes his City Opera debut as the notorious antihero.
Don Giovanni provides a lot of material for this site and we're grateful for some wonderful new images from NYCO. For more information visit the New York City Opera website. The production runs through November 22nd.
It is important the New York City has two major opera companies and this production shows why. City Opera will put on productions that one will never see at the Met. If you're in the New York, we encourage you to support this new regime which is working its way back to financial viability.
