Donovan Singletary to perform in honor of Leontyne Price's 90th birthday

Donovan Singletary and Leontyne Price (from the National Portrait Gallery)

Barihunk Donovan Singletary will perform a concert in honor of Leontyne Price's 90th birthday on February 9th at the International House in Manhattan.

Leontyne Price, who became one of the first African Americans to perform in a lead at the Metropolitan Opera, is one of opera's most beloved and acclaimed singers in recent times. A lirico spinto soprano, she was considered especially well suited to the roles of Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Wolfgang Mozart and premiered Samuel Barber's Antony & Cleopatra at the newly built Met. After her retirement from the opera stage in 1985, she continued to appear in recitals and orchestral concerts until 1997. Price, who won 19 Grammy Awards, is also a recipient of the  Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Leontyne Price sings Ritorna vincitor! from Verdi's Aida:

Other African-Americans had preceded Price in leading roles at the Met. However, Price was the first African American to build a star career on both sides of the Atlantic, the first to return to the Met in multiple leading roles, and the first to earn the Met's top fee. In 1964, according to the Met archives, Leontyne Price was paid $2,750 per performance, on par with Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi. At the time, Birgit Nilsson, who was unique in singing Italian and Wagnerian roles, earned the Met's highest fee, $3,000 a performance. Price was briefly married to bass-baritone William Warfield.

Price had a long relationship with the International House, having lived and worked there in the 1950s, as well as serving on the Board of Trustees for more than 30 years. She gave a benefit concert at the International House in 1992 to support resident programs. Donovan Singletary was also a recent resident of the International House.

Singletary will be joined by current International House residents in program that will include selections from “Porgy and Bess” and “Aida,” as well as such personal favorites as the spiritual “I Will Overcome,” “The Boy Next Door” from “Meet Me in St. Louis” (which Price enjoyed performing at resident recitals), and Samuel Barber’s “Sure on This Shining Light.” Tickets for the concert are available HERE. 

Singletary has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in Macbeth, Don Carlo, Salome, Pelleas and Melisande and The Bartered Bride. He recently performed as Zuniga in Carmen and Jake in Porgy and Bess with the Seattle Opera and Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro and Achilla in Giulio Cesare with Fort Worth Opera. Donovan is also a Certified Personal Trainer, a recently signed fitness model, and a health and fitness enthusiast with more than 15 years of sports, fitness, and wellness experience under his belt. He received his NCCA-accredited personal training certification from the National Academy of Science and Medicine and will be a new addition on the SMART Model Management roster. 

Thomas Hampson named to Gramophone Hall of Fame

Thomas Hampson

Über-barihunk Thomas Hampson has been named to the Gramophone Hall of Fame, along with fellow singers Montserrat Caballé, Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko, Leontyne Price, Bryn Terfel and Fritz Wunderlich.

The Gramophone Hall of Fame celebrates those performers, producers, engineers and label executives whose contributions to classical music recording, whether through artistic excellence, innovation or imagination, have proved the most influential and inspiring.

For a complete list of both the 2013 inductees and a list of everyone previously inducted, please visit the Gramophone website.

Commemorating Samuel Barber (March 9, 1910-January 23, 1981)

Samuel Barber and Thomas Hampson

The great composer Samuel Barber died on this day in 1981 and we figured it was appropriate to commemorate him. After all, he gave us some of the most beautiful music ever written for baritone (as well as other voices).

Samuel Barber's music, masterfully crafted and built on romantic structures and sensibilities, is at once lyrical, rhythmically complex, and harmonically rich. He was born on March 9, 1910 in West Chester, Pennsylvania and died on January 23, 1981. Barber wrote his first piece at age 7 and attempted his first opera at age 10. At the age of 14 he entered the Curtis Institute, where he studied voice, piano, and composition. Later, he studied conducting with Fritz Reiner.

Giorgio Tozzi sings "For ev'ry love there is a last farewell" from Vanessa:

Samuel Barber wrote numerous songs set to some of the world's greatest poets, including James Joyce, Matthew Arnold, Rainer Maria Rilke, A.E. Housman, James Agee and James Stephens. Some of Barber’s greatest music stemmed from these poetic inspirations, including the Hermit Songs, Knoxville: Summer of 1915, the three powerful James Joyce settings and Rilke's texts for Mélodies passagères. His writing is lyrical with expressive and nuanced shadings and a keen connection to the text. Songs like "Sure on this shining night" have become standards on song recital programs.

Thomas Hampson sings "Un cygne" from Mélodies passagères: 

At Curtis, Barber met Gian Carlo Menotti with whom he would form a lifelong personal and professional relationship. Menotti supplied libretti for Barber's operas Vanessa (for which Barber won the Pulitzer) and A Hand of Bridge. Barber's music was championed by a remarkable range of renowned artists, musicians, and conductors including Vladimir Horowitz, John Browning, Martha Graham, Arturo Toscanini, Dmitri Mitropoulos, Jennie Tourel, Thomas Hampson, Gerald Finley and Eleanor Steber. His Antony and Cleopatra was commissioned to open the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966.

Gerald Finley sings "St. Ida's Vision":

Barber was the recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the American Prix de Rome, two Pulitzers, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His intensely lyrical Adagio for Strings has become one of the most recognizable and beloved compositions, both in concerts and films ("Platoon," "The Elephant Man," "El Norte," "Lorenzo's Oil").

 Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sing "Dover Beach":

For more information about Samuel Barber's songs, visit Thomas Hampson's Hampsong site dedicated to promoting the art of the American song.

Perhaps his greatest piece is Knoxville: Summer of 1915, which was written for Eleanor Steber and performed here by Leontyne Price.

Nmon Ford: The Next Great Emperor Jones?

Nmon Ford has one of the hottest bodies in opera. In fact the German magazine Bild wrote:

"Nmon Ford has not only a beautiful face and body, but also a gorgeous and powerful voice...The most beautiful baritone in the world"

So of course, Barihunks is eagerly awaiting more performances of Billy Budd and Don Giovanni where he can show off that physique. For the time being, we'll have to settle for him performing The Emperor Jones at the Teatro delle Muse in Ancona, Italy. This opera has an odd history. Although the title character is a black man, the original role was played by white baritone Lawrence Tibbett made out in blackface. The great African-American bass Paul Robeson sang the "Song of Freedom" from the opera in a film with the same name, but not a filmed version of the opera.

It's nice to see that we have a talent like Nmon Ford who can sing the title role au natural. This reminds me of the great story about Leontyne Price who received a complement about her makeup after a performance of Aida. "Oh, honey," replied Price, "This makeup doesn't run."

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