Rare Barihunk Trio in Puccini's Madama Butterfly

Roderick Willams, Peter Brathwaite & Vitali Rozynko (L-R)

Today is another first for Barihunks, as we feature our first barihunk trio in Puccini's Madama Butterfuly, where Roderick Williams is singing Sharpless, Peter Brathwaite is performing Yamadori and Vitali Rozynko is portraying the Imperial Commissioner. The performances are at the De Nationale Reisopera in the Netherlands and runs through October 10th in the following cities: Enschede, Arnhem, Den Bosch, Apeldoorn, Rotterdam, Zwolle, Den Haag, Amstelveen, Heerlen and Amsterdam. The cast also includes Annemarie Kremer as Cio-Cio San and Eric Fennell as Pinkerton.
 

HRH King Willem-Alexander and the cast of Madama Butterfly

Opening night was attended by His Royal Highness King Willem-Alexander, who succeed his mother Princess Beatrix on April 30, 2013, becoming King of The Netherlands. There is some interesting  Dutch history with the opera. In 1877, King William III of the Netherlands announced that he as going to marry the French opera singer Eleonore d'Ambre.whom he ennobled as Countess d'Ambroise without the government's consent. Under pressure from society and the government, he abandoned their marriage plans.

Reader submission: Joa Helgesson

Joa Helgesson

Joa Helgesson, is our latest "reader submission" and he was submitted by a regular attendee at the Göteborgs Opera. He studied voice at the University College of Opera in Stockholm and studied acting at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. After his vocal studies in Stockholm he participated in young artist programs ae the National Opera Studio in London and the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House.

His roles have included Figaro in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Shaunard in Puccini's La boheme, Bill in Weill's Mahagonny, Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Francesco in Verdi's I Masnadieri and Arsamene in Handel's Xerxes.

Helgesson was awarded scholarships from institutions the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Friends of Vadstena Academy and the Friends of Drottningholm Palace Theatre.

Joa Helgesson sings Largo al factotum:

He is currently performing Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly at the Stadttheater in Flensburg, Germany. There are performances running through February 14th. Additional information and tickets are available online. As soon as that run is over, he takes on Demetrius in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Performances run from February 15th to May 29th.