Benjamin Appl announces first U.S. recital tour

German barihunk Benjamin Appl, who has become one of the leading lieder recitalists in the world, has announced his first U.S. tour.

He will begin his tour in New York City for three nights at the Park Avenue Armory. On January 6th he will perform Schubert's Die schöne Mülllerin, followed by Schubert's Schwanengesang on January 8th and the composer's Winterreise on January 10th. 

He then heads to Portland, Oregon on January 13th, New Orleans on January 15 and 16, Cleveland on January 18 and finally Washington D.C. on January 20th. Those recitals will variously feature music by Schubert, Schreker, Schumann, Duparc, Grieg and Nico Muhly's "The Last Letter," a collection of five songs based on letters sent by soldiers during World War I. The piece was commissioned by the Barbican for Appl in 2015. 

He will be joined on the tour by his frequent accompanist James Baillieu. 

Simon Keenlyside to kick off Opéra de Paris recital series

Simon Keenlyside

Simon Keenlyside will kick of the 2017/2018 Opéra de Paris recital series this year along with acompanist Malcolm Martineau. The British barihunk will perform music by Sibelius, Schubert, Vaughan Williams, Somervell, Warlock, Warlock and Poulenc. The recital is on September 17th, but tickets go on sale on June 8th and are available online.

The series will continue with Sophie Koch on October 15, Mattias Goerne on April 22, Angela Gheorghiu on June 17 and Pietr Beczala on July 8.

Simon Keenlyside sings Francis Poulenc's "Hôtel":

Keenlyside can next be seen as Golaud in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande at the Vienna State Opera from June 18-30. The cast includes Adrian Eröd as Pelléas, Olga Berzsmertna as Mélisande, Bernarda Fink as Geneviève and Franz-Josef Selig as Arkel. Tickets and additional information is available online.

John Brancy recitals look at Freud, WWI

John Brancy flexing his vocal chops and his barihunk guns

American barihunk John Brancy has two fascinating recitals coming up before the end of the year.

On November 11, he'll join the gifted young soprano Janai Brugger at the New York Festival of Song for "Art Song on the Couch: Lieder in Freud's Vienna"  at the Merkin Concert Hall. NYFOS, Tuesday November 11th,  2014, 8pm  Merkin Concert Hall. The concert features music by Hugo Wolf, Gustav Mahler, Arnold Schoenberg, Richard Strauss, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Franz Schreker, and others.

The program will explore German lieder in the early years of the 20th century as it took on a new psychological and musical complexity. The duo will be joined at the piano by Michael Barrett and the always entertaining Steven Blier.

Visit the NYFOS website for ticket information.

On December 10th, Brancy will return to Vocal Arts DC for a recital honoring the centenary of World War I. The concert is titled "Silent Night: A World War I Centenary Tribute in Song" and features songs from England, Germany, Austria, France & America. He'll be joined by Peter Dugan at the piano. The program includes music by Butterworth, Gurney, Orff, Alma Mahler, Ravel, Poulenc, Debussy, Ives and renditions of "My Buddy" and "Danny Boy"

The gifted young singer, was the winner of both the Sullivan Foundation and Marilyn Horne Song Competitions before graduating from Juilliard. Brancy has also already made solo recital debuts at both Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, and has appeared in opera in Paris, Dresden, and Frankfurt.

Tickets are available online.

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Rene Pape uses his iPhone for encore

Rene Pape uses his iPhone for encore

Rene Pape's recital debut at La Scala was an eagerly anticipated event. He brought and all-German program to Milano, which delighted the crowd.

He decided to play to some Italian passions by singing Tosti’s "L’Ultima Can­zone" as an encore, but needed some help with the text. In a major sign that we've entered the digital age, he whipped out his iPhone and announced "text." He then proceeded to deliver a perfect version of the song in the backyard of Leo Nucci and Renato Bruson, who have made Tosti virtually a calling card at Italian recitals.

Renato Bruson sings "L'Ultima Canzone":