Verdi's masterpiece Aida premiered on December 24, 1871. The opera was commissioned for the grand opening of Cairo's Khedivial Opera House. Verdi did not attend the premiere in Cairo, as he was upset that opening night was not open to the general public. He considered the Italian premiere at La
Scala in Milan on February 8, 1872 to be its real premiere.
The U.S. premiere was on November 26, 1873 at the Academy of Music in New York City. The opera has been adapted for motion pictures on several occasions,
most notably in a 1953 production which starred Sophia
Loren.
Aida at the Teatro Carlo Felice
The opera includes three roles for low voice: Amonasro (king of Ethiopia), Ramfis (the high priest) and the King of Egypt.
A number of noted barihunks have sung each of the roles. The bass role of Ramfis has been performed by Ezio Pinza, Erwin Schrott, Nicolas Courjal, Andrea Mastroni, Kevin Thompson, Ain Anger, Raymond Aceto and Adrian Sâmpetrean.
The Kings: Soloman Howard at The Met and Anthony Reed at San Francisco Opera
The bass role of The King has been sung my Matt Treviño, Ben Wager, Jud Arthur, Kenneth Kellogg, Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Florian Spiess and Anthony Reed.
The baritone role of Amonasaro has been sung by Marco Vratogna, Sherrill Milnes and Michael Honeyman.
Ezio Pinza and Giovanni Martinelli sings "Mortal diletto ai Numi":
Some of the most famous numbers for low voices in Aida include the Act 3 duet between Aida and Amonasro "Ciel, mio padre...Rivedrai le foreste imbalsamate" and Ramfis' "Mortal, diletto ai Numi, a te fidate."
LoftOpera just opened Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth with barihunks Craig Irvin as Macbeth and Kevin Thompson as Banco, joined by Elizabeth
Baldwin as Lady Macbeth and Peter Scott Drackley as Macduff. The performances are at the Mast Chocolate Factory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and additional performances are on December 12, 14, 16 and 18.
The opera was staged by Laine Rettmer with barren rock sets by Andrea Merkx. The company continues to offer affordable prices and artisanal beer for patrons.
The 2017 Barihunks in Bed Calendar is selling fast! Get yours today.
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.
Kevin Thompson returns to the SF Bay Area as Osmin
Bass-barihunk Aaron Sørensen just wrapped up a successful run singing his first Osmin in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Houston Symphony. Now it's Kevin Thompson's turn to make his role debut in one of the most difficult roles for bass. The opera runs from February 13-22 at West Bay Opera in Palo Alto, California, which is a quick drive for anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area. It certainly will be worth the trip.
Thompson is returning the Bay Area where he was a huge success while with the Merola Opera training program in San Francisco. During his stint with Merola, he performed Falstaff in Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor and a stunning Basilio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. Eugene Brancoveanu, another former Merola graduate and fellow barihunk, will make his company directing debut with this production. He last appeared with the company singing Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.
Die Entführung aus dem Serail premiered in
1782 and contains
three arias for Osmin, one of which goes down to the lowest reaches of
the bass range. Mozart wrote the role of Osmin for the formidable bass Ludwig Fischer,
who was a friend of the composer.
The first aria is "Wer ein Liebchen hat gefunden," which advises the
listener to reward your loved one with kisses and make her life great,
as well as to locking up your woman's other lovers, lest they tempt her
to forget her faithfulness.
Kevin Thompson sings Beethoven's Agnus Dei from the Missa Solemnis:
In the aria "Solche hergelaufne Laffen" Osmin graphically explains why
he does not like Pedrillo. It's is mainly because Osmin and Pedrillo are
both in love with Blondchen and Pedrillo is in better favor with both
Blondchen and the Pasha.
After Pedrillo, Belmonte, Blondchen, and Konstanze are captured trying
to escape, Osmin sings of the delight that he will have when they are
all hanged in the aria "O wie will ich triumphieren," which dips down to a Low D (D2). Click HERE to listen to an amazing version by Kurt Moll.
The cast at West Bay Opera also includes Nikki Einfeld (another Merola graduate) as Kostanze, Michael
Desnoyers as Belmonte, Tapan Bhat at Pedrillo adn Chelsea Hollow as
Blonde. Tickets are available online.
Two of our very favorite (really, really) low voices will be making their respective role debuts as Osmin in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio).
The coveted Mozart bass role will be sung by Aaron Sørensen with the Houston Symphony Orchestra on January 23 and 25 under the baton of Andrés Orozco-Estrada. The cast also includes Lauren Snouffer as Konstanze, Paul Appleby as Belmonte, Rafael Moras as Pedrillo and Abigail Dueppen and Blonde. It will be performed in concert performance. Tickets are available online.
Matti Salminen sings "O, wie will ich triumphieren":
A month later Kevin Thompson will take on the role with West Bay Opera under the baton of José Luis Moscovich and directed by barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu. Performance will run from February 13-22. The cast also includes Nikki Einfeld as Kostanze, Michael Desnoyers as Belmonte, Tapan Bhat at Pedrillo adn Chelsea Hollow as Blonde. Tickets are available online.
Osmin, who the Pasha's comically sinister overseer of the harem, is a send-up of earlier stereotypes of Turkish despotism. Osmin's music includes some of the composer's most spectacular and vocally challenging music. His Act 3 aria "O, wie will ich triumphieren" includes characteristic 18th century coloratura passage work, and twice goes down to a low D (D2), one of the lowest notes demanded of any voice in opera. In the aria, Osmin sings of the delight that he will have when Pedrillo, Belmonte, Blondchen, and Konstanze are all hanged. The first Osmin was Ludwig Fischer, a bass noted for his wide range and skill in leaping over large intervals with ease.
Eleven basses show off their Low D:
Osmin's other arias are "Solche hergelaufne Laffen" from Act 1, where he explains in graphic detail why he does not like Pedrillo. Also in Act 1 is "Wer ein Liebchen hat gefunden," when he sings a song while picking figs, not realizing that Belmonte is watching. His song advises the listener to reward your love with kisses and make her life great. It also advises the young lover to lock up your woman's other lovers, lest they tempt her to forget her faithfulness.
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There are few operas with more great music for low voices than Verdi's Don Carlo. On May 27th, you can see two barihunks perform Rodrigo and the Grand Inquisitor in a concert version at the Martha Cardona Theater in New York City.
Rodrigo will be sung by Lee Poulis, who gets to sing "Carlo ch'è sol il nostro amore," "Per me giunto è il di supreme" and "Io morrò, ma lieto in core." Kevin Thompson, as the Grand Inquisitor, gets to sing the great duet "Il grand inquisitor!" with King Phillip.
Verdi’s original
version of the opera premiered in Paris in 1867 as Don Carlos, and was sung in
French. It was later translated into Italian as Don Carlo. The opera is
often considered to be one of Verdi’s greatest operas, despite the fact
that it has a darker tone and more complicated personalities than you’d
find in many of his other operas.
Verdi’s Don Carlo is an
epic story of love, jealousy, war, betrayal and death. Politics, love
and family loyalties are tested in this epic battle of wills involving a
tyrannical king, a despairing prince and an innocent young woman. When sung well, it's one of the most potent operas in the Italian repertory.
Tickets are $25 ($20 for singers, seniors, and students) and are available by calling (718) 490-4289.
If there is an earthquake in Ecuador tonight, it's probably been caused by the booming bass of Kevin Thompson. He's making his role debut as Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust at the Fundación Teatro Nacional Sucre. The performance also marks his South American debut. Performances run through November 17th.
The 6'5" American singer just wrapped up performances as the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi's Don Carlo at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the roles of Crespel, Schlemil, and Luther in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmannat Knoxville Opera.
You can catch him back in the United States when he performs Handel's Messiah in Washington D.C. at the Smithsonian Institute's Hirschorn Gallery on December 15th.
One of the most common questions we get is, "Do you post bass and bass-baritone singers." The short answer is "YES!!!" We post everything from the highest French lyric baritone to the bass with notes lower than that of a weary fog horn.
One of the basses that we're most excited about is Kevin Thompson, an alumnus of the Merola Opera Program, Juilliard, the Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Dramatic Young Voices, the American Institute of Musical Studies and the Aspen Music Festival.
Apparently, we aren't the only one impressed with this young singer, He's being booked around the world and is also a permanent part of the Smithsonian Institute’s Hirschorn Gallery's audio walk exhibit entitled "Words Drawn in Water" by artist Janet Cardiff, where he's featured singing “Old Man River.”
Kevin Thompson sings "Wie schön ist doch die Musik" from Richard Strauss'
Die Schweigsame Frau:
We're convinced that he'll have a great career singing Wagner and Strauss, but his current agenda seems focused on Verdi and Mozart. He'll be performing Verdi's Requiem tonight with the "Music in the Mountains" series in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Californians and Nevadans make the trip to this beautiful part of the world and it's worth adding to any music lovers travel agenda. The Requiem will be performed tonight, but the festival runs through July 3rd. Check out their website for additional information.
Thompson will keep the Requiem in his repertoire, as he performs it in both Idaho and North Carolina. Verdi will continue to play a prominent role in his career in 2013, as he takes on Ramfis in Aida in his his debut with Opera Santa Barbara in California on March 1st and 3rd. There are two other exciting young voices in that production that deserve mention, the Aida of Michelle Johnson, a Grand Prize Winner in the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and tenor Ta'u Pupu'a, the former football player turned hunkentenor.
Thompson's next appearance will be as Sarastro in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" with the Ash Lawn Opera from July 13-20.
Our post about the tallest barihunk generated a lot of mail with people speculating about someone who might be taller than Olivier Laquerre. Some of the names sent to us were Thomas Hampson, Paul Whelan, Luca Dall'Amico, Kevin Thompson, Jérôme Varnier, Gregory Gerbrandt and Greer Grimsley. We're pretty confident that none of these singers are taller than Laquerre.
However, the most credible email we received asked about Dutch baritone Wiart Witholt. His website includes the following press tidbit:
Wiard Witholt from the Netherlands has the dubious honour of being the tallest competitor ever in Cardiff Singer. I have no idea how this is known, perhaps somewhere there is the equivalent of a police file kept on everyone, with a photo of each one holding up a number. Anyway Wiard is the tallest at 6' 7½" which I think is 2m, though it is late at night as I type this.
[Gregory Gerbrandt, Greer Grimsley & Kevin Thompson]
