Readers may recall the post about Stéphane Degout's nude scene in the title role of Olivier Py’s production of Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet at La Monnaie in Brussels. He rotated the role with fellow barihunk Franco Pomponi and we managed to find the photo above, but nothing as revealing as our Degout shots. The production also featured barihunks Jérôme Varnier as the ghost and Henk Neven as Horatio.
Director Olivier Py has never been shy about featuring male nudity, whether in operas like Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet or Alban Berg's Lulu, or theater productions like Die Sonne at Volksbühne Berlin. His Hamlet featuring Stéphane Degout in the buff created quite a buzz at both the Theater an der Wien and La Monnaie in Brussels. You can watch the entire opera below:
Pomponi opens today in John Adams' A Flowering Tree at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris, which runs through May 13. The piece is inspired by a southern Indian folk tale and describes the
trials and tribulations of a young couple subjected to a series of
rituals and trials designed to demonstrate the power of love. Tickets are available online.
John Brancy: On left from website, on right from Twitter feed
This must be the week of launching new websites, as John Brancy joins Wes Mason in getting a new site up and running. Brancy is one of a slew of barihunks who have been impressing judges at vocal competitions lately. He is a recent winner of the Sullivan Foundation Grand Prize and career grant, took 1st Prize at the Classical Singer Magazine Competition, and received the Gold Award for Voice at the YoungArts Foundation competition. He is a 2nd Place winner in the Gerda Lissner and Liederkranz competitions, and 3rd place winner in the 2012 Montreal International Music Competition. Check out his website HERE.
Brancy performs the role of Papageno at the prestigious Music Academy of the West this summer in Santa Barbara. From June 11-19 he'll be at Le Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris performing John Adam's "I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky." He also has upcoming performances at Oper Frankfurt, Gotham Chamber Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Saskatoon Symphony and Regina Symphony.
You won't find sexy pictures like those on Wes Mason's site, but there is a generous supply of audio of video to enjoy. Like most young singers who are serious about a career, Brancy has a strong presence on social media. You can follow him on Twitter @JohnBrancy, Facebook and YouTube.
On January 4th, baritones Dmitry Lavrov and Jonathan Beyer, who has been featured on this site, will attempt to keep the baritone winning streak alive at major competitions at the Paris Opera Awards. Beyer, of course, has become famous for his ability to win major competitions across the globe. This time he'll have to impress judges soprano Martina Arroya, baritone Sherrill Milnes and artistic administrator Daniel Lipton. The trio will select winners from the final ten competitors.
The judges will choose sex laureates, three female singers and three male singers who will receive diplomas. The January 4th Gala Performance ends with the awards and trophies attribution ceremony in the presence of media and press.
Dmitry Lavrov sings "Voyna i Mir" from Prokofiev's War and Peace:
The 10 winners will all perform selections in honor of the late soprano Maria Callas in the presence of the Grand Jury, sponsors, media, press and artists’ agents. The contestants will be accompanied by an orchestra.
The Maria Callas Prize will be awarded to two singers by the Callas Foundation for the best artistic performance.
The Audience Prize will be awarded to one singer by the main sponsor.
To request tickets, please visit the Paris Opera Awards website.
Beyer sings John Adams' "News has a kind of mystery" from Nixon in China:
If you're near Chicago tonight Beyer will be performing at the Presbyterian Church in suburban Orland Park at 7:30 p.m. The first half of the concert will be operatic and musical theater. The second half will be Christmas music. The concert will include guest mezzo-soprano soloist Joanna Wernette. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors. Information: (708) 448-8142.
You can help support young artists like Beyer and Lavrov by purchasing our 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar. There are only two weeks left to purchase this stunning collection of 14 of opera's hottest and most talented singers! PURCHASE ONE NOW BY CLICKING ON THE LULU BUTTON:
Matthew Worth in Virginia Opera's Orphee by Philip Glass
American opera didn't happen until more than 140 years after the first opera, Jacobo Peri's Daphne. William Henry Fry is considered the first American opera composer. He wrote the unperformed Aurelia the Vestal in 1841 followed by Leonora in 1845. Most early American composers are forgotten today. Perhaps the first who are remembered today are Walter Damrosch, Scott Joplin, Louis Gruenberg, Roger Sessions and Victor Herbert.
One composer who is largely forgotten today is Harry Lawrence Freeman, an early African-American composer who supported himself and his own opera company during his lifetime and performed to largely black audiences. In 1893, his opera Epthelia was the first opera performed in the U.S., which was written by an African-American composer.
Louis Gruenberg's "The Emperor Jones" with Nmon Ford:
Before the advent of World War II, a number of prominent American composers emerged whose music endures today, including Marc Blitzstein, Virgil Thomson, George Gershwin, Douglas Moore, Aaron Copland and Gian Carlo Menotti. Perhaps the most enduring works from this period are Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts and Gershwin's Porgy & Bess.
Robert Sims sings "I got plenty o nuttin'" from Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess":
The second half of the 20th Century saw the emergence of some of America's greatest composers ever, including Hugo Weisgall, Dominick Argento, Carlisle Floyd, Samuel Barber, Thomas Pasatieri, Philip Glass, John Adams and Stewart Wallace. In 1955, Carlisle Floyd wrote what many consider America's greatest opera, Susannah, which remains in the standard repertory today.
Samuel Ramey sings "Hear Me, O Lord, I beseech Thee" from Carlisle Floyd's "Susannah":
Long before the composing couple of Mark Adamo and John Corigliano emerged, America was blessed with lifelong companions Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti, who wrote some of the greatest operatic works in history. Barber penned Antony & Cleopatra and Vanessa, the latter with a libretto by Menotti. Antony and Cleopatra was commissioned to open the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966 with Leontyne Price and Justino Diaz.
Catherine Malfitano & Richard Cowan sing "Oh take those lips away" from
Barber's "Antony & Cleopatra":
Gian Carlo Menotti wrote the most performed American opera ever written, Amahl and the Night Visitors. His impressive list of operas include The Consul, The Saint of Bleeker Street, Amelia Goes to the Ball, The Old Maid and the Thief, The Telephone and The Last Savage. In 1958, Menotti founded the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy and then founded its companion festival in Charleston, South Carolina in 1977.
Bryan Elsesser sings "When the air sings of summer" from "The Old Maid and the Thief"
by Gian Carlo Menotti
The 21st century has seen an explosion of interest in living American composers, including Tobias Picker, John Adams, Philip Glass, Jake Heggie, Mark Adamo, Ricky Ian Gordon, Anthony Davis, Steve Mackey, John Corligliano, Daron Hagen and John Harbison. Philip Glass has been successfully writing operas for 35 years, with such major successes as Hydrogen Jukebox, Einstein on the Beach, Kepler, Satyagraha and Appomattox. He has composed over twenty operas.
Father Death Blues from Hydrogen Jukebox:
Although he is far less prolific than Glass, many people consider John Adams an equal to Glass as the greatest living American composer. His masterpiece is considered Nixon in China, which is currently being performed in theaters around the world. His other somewhat less successful opera is The Death of Klinghoffer.
Michael Mayes in Tulsa Opera's "Dead Man Walking"
Perhaps the modern day wunderkind of American opera is Jake Heggie, who has strung together a remarkable number of operas which are entering the standard repertory. His 2000 opera Dead Man Walking is becoming an audience favorite far beyond the U.S. shores. Of course, we love it, because it has become a major vehicles for barihunks who are portraying the convicted killer Joseph De Rocher . His other successes include The End of the Affair, Three Decembers and the recent hit Moby-Dick.
Norman Treigle sings "America the Beautiful" and "The Star Spangled Banner":
Watch John Adams' masterpiece "Nixon in China" live from the Théâtre du Châtelet beginning at 1 PM EST/11 AM PST. It stars barihunk Franco Pomponi as Richard Nixon, Kyung Chun Kim as Chairman Mao, Sumi Jo as Madame Mao and June Anderson as Pat Nixon. The video is supposed to remain available for three months.
Composer Patricia Leonard's “My Dearest Friend,” a musical work based on the letters between John and Abigail Adams, will have its world premier at 4 p.m. Sunday, September 25th at Harvard University’s Sanders Theater. American barihunk Jonathan Beyer, will portray President Adams and soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer will portray his wife.
Beyer, you may recall, has made a name or himself with another John Adams, who is the modern day composer. The young baritone has been winning singing competition performing "News has a kind of mystery" from "Nixon in China." You can find audio samples on Beyer's website.
John and Abigail Adams exchanged more than 1,100 letters between 1762 and 1801. Their personal accounts touch on some of the most significant events in American history, but they also cover domestic life in Boston and the sacrifice Abigail made to support her husband’s career. The music scored to the letters evokes feelings of patriotism and the quest for freedom, contrasted with the sorrows of personal family sacrifice.
The concert will also include Leonard Bernstein's “Kaddish” Symphony No. 3, dedicated to President John F. Kennedy.
Tickets are $10 and $15. For more information, call the box office at 617-496-2222.
Avirath Dodabele as young Omar and Paul LaRosa as Rambo
Our inbox has been filled with an unusually large amount of correspondence about the Opera Theatre of St. Louis' production of John Adams' "The Death of Klinghoffer." With our commitment to promoting contemporary opera we're kicking ourselves for not covering this production until late in the run. There is one performance left on Saturday, June 25.
Many of the emails were about Christopher Mageira, who plays the Captain, and who has not appeared on this site before. However, the heavy panting came through in the emails about Paul LaRosa's performance as Rambo. Fortunately, the opera company posted this photo on their website. We've posted a number of pictures of LaRosa and his muscled physique since his days at the Merola Opera Program.
Christopher Magiera as the Captain
Christopher Magiera is currently a member of the Dresden Semperoper., where he is singing Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Taddeo in L’italiana in Algeri and Robert in Iolanta. This summer, Magiera will make his Santa Fe Opera debut as Valentin in Faust where he will alternate the role with fellow American barihunk Matt Worth.
Magiera has won many awards and competitions. Most recently he won the 2009 Sullivan Foundation Grand Prize, was a 2008 Grand National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, an International Finalist in Placido Domingo’s World Opera Competition Operalia, and won First Place in the 2008 Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition. He has also received awards from the Jensen Foundation, Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, Florida Grand Competition, Maguerite McCammon Competition (Fort Worth Opera), Liederkranz Foundation, Bel Canto Foundation, Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, San Antonio Opera Vocal Competition and the Annie Wentz Prize (Vocal Performance, Peabody Conservatory).
Here is the Chorus of Exiled Palestinians from the opera:
In a competition devoted to oratorio and opera, barihunk Jonathan Beyer emerged as the winner of the Rochester Oratorio Society’s fourth annual Classical Idol Singing Competition. Topping nine other contestants, Beyer claimed the title, as well as winning the popular audience favorite award. The young American baritone sang "News has a kind of mystery" from John Adams' opera "Nixon in China."
The Classical Idol Competition has developed steadily since it’s inception in 2007, and now attracts vocalists from across the nation and Canada. As the reigning Classical Idol, Beyer will return to Rochester next season and perform as a soloist with the Rochester Oratorio Society.
Jonathan Beyer can next be seen in the world premiere of Jake Heggie's "Moby Dick" performing the role of Captain Gardiner. That production also includes barihunk Morgan Smith as Starbuck. The production runs from April 30 through May 16 at the beautiful new Winspear Opera House. Click HERE for more information.
