Barihunk Quartet in Schwarzenberg's Schubertiade

 Michael Nagy and Benjamin Appl (Top row, l-r),
Tarez Nazmi, Andrè Schuen (Bottom row l-r)

This year's Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, Austria features some of the leading barihunks in the world, including Michael Nagy, Benjamin Appl, Tareq Nazmi and Andrè Schuen.

On September 4th, Michael Nagy will join soprano Annette Dasch, mezzo Michael Schuster, tenor Paul Schweinester and pianist Gerold Huber for an evening of music by Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. Nagy will perform Schubert songs and Brahms' Four Duets for Alto and Baritone, op. 28.

On September 5th, Benjamin Appl will join soprano Sophie Rennert and pianist Graham Johnson for lieder and duets by Robert and Clara Schumann. Included on the program is Robert Schumann's Liebesfrühling, op. 37 and Myrthen, op. 25.

Benjamin Appl sings Schubert's Im Abendrot:

On September 6th Tareq Nazmi and pianist Gerold Huber will perform an evening of music by Schubert, Jacques Ibert (Chansons de Don Quichotte) and Robert Schumann (Lieder nach Gedichten von Hans Christian Andersen). Among the Schubert pieces will be Erlkönig and Prometheus.

On September 9th, Andrè Schuen  and Gerold Huber will join forces for Schumann's Zwölf Gedichte, op. 35 and Sechs Gedichte von Nikolaus Lenau and Requiem.

Other singers at this year's festival include countertenor Andreas Scholl, tenor Piotr Beczala, tenor Mauro Peter, tenor Klaus Florian Vogt, soprano Soile Isokoski, mezzo Elisabeth Kulman, and mezzo Magdalena Kožená. Tickets and additional information is available online.

Listen to Michael Nagy and the Berlin Philharmonic online

Michael Nagy

WQXR's broadcast of the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Alan Gilbert on December 9th will feature barihunk Michael Nagy in two of three works on the program.

The program will start with Bach's Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58.  The piece is scored for soprano and bass, two oboes, taille, two violins, viola, and basso continuo, with no choral interventions. He'll be joined by German soprano Christina Landshamer. The bass recitative talks about the history of persecution.

The piece will be followed by Mendelsohn's Third Symphony, Opus 56. Landshamer and Nagy will then return for Carl Nielsen's Symphony #3 (Sinfonia Espansiva). The symphony is the only one that Nielsen wrote that includes vocal music, as the second movement includes a wordless vocal part for soprano and bass-baritone. In some performances the soprano is replaced by a 4th clarinet and the bass by a 4th trombone.

The broadcast will be on Tuesday, December 9th at 9 PM EST (6 PM PST). The show is hosted by WQXR’s Annie Bergen and runs two hours.

In December, he takes on Papageno at the Bavarian State Opera in a cast that includes fellow barihunks René Pape as Sarastro and Tareq Nazmi as the Speaker. Tickets and additional cast information are available online. 

Xavier Rivera: Mr October

Make sure to order you 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar before the big holiday rush. It features 19 of the hottest men in opera.

Bevy of Barihunks in Broadcasts from Bavaria

Michael Nagy and Günther Groissböck

The Bavarian State Opera is continuing the popular live streaming of their performances which they debuted last year. This year's selection features some of our favorite barihunks in their free broadcasts which are available at STAATSOPER.TV.

Previous broadcasts have included Alban Berg's Wozzeck, Richard Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, Verdi's La forza del destino and Mozart's La clemenza di Tito.

Tareq Nazmi

On May 31st at 7 PM CET./1 PM EST they will present Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten with Michael Nagy as Stolzius and Tareq Nazmi as Obrist.

30-year-old Bass-Barihunk Tareq Nazmi, who is new to this site, was born in Kuwait and grew up in Munich. He studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich with Edith Wiens and Christian Gerhaher. He is a first prize of both the Walter and Charlotte Hamel Foundation prize and the National Song Contest.

Since the 2012-23 season, Tareq Nazmi has been a permanent member of the Bavarian State Opera where he has performed Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni, the Speaker in Mozart's Magic Flute, Colline in Puccini's La bohème, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen and Publio in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito.

Goran Jurić

On June 28th at 6 PM CET./Noon EST they will present a new production of Rossini's Guillaume Tell (William Tell) with Günther Groissböck as Gesler. Groissböck has been extremely popular on our site, especially the pictures of him in the "Brokeback Onegin," as it's been dubbed by opera bloggers. The cast also includes Goran Jurić as Walter Furst.

31-year-old Croatian bass-barihunk Goran Jurić is also new to the site. He has been a member of the Bavarian State Opera ensemble since the 2011-12 season. He received his Master's degree in Opera Studies at the Academy of Music at the University of Zagreb, where is completing his second Master's degree in Phonetics and Italian Language and Literature.

At the Bavarian State Opera he has performed Colline in Puccini's La bohème, Don Fernando in Beethoven's Fidelio, Biterolf in Wagner's Tannhäuser, Il Re in Verdi's Aida, Capellio in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Banco in Verdi's Macbeth, Il Frate in Verdi's Don Carlos and Timur in Puccini's Turandot. He also performs regularly with the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

On July 27th at 6 PM CET./Noon EST the company will present Claudio Monteverdi L'Orfeo with the amazing Christian Gerhaher and the stunningly talented Anna Bonitatibus.

Interview with Michael Nagy

Michael Nagy (photo: Sven Cichowicz)

We've featured Michael Nagy on this site since our second year running (2008) and have enjoyed watching his amazing development as an artist. Operafocus just ran an interview with the German barihunk that you can read HERE. '

Michael Nagy is currently performing the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni at Den Norske Opera. He has additional performances running from March 29 through April 12. Tickets are available online.

He next heads to Munich to perform Stozius in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten at the Bayerische Staatsoper from May 25-June 6. He then performs in and AIDS fundraiser and gala concert in Bonn, Germany on June 15th featuring soprano Roberta Invernizzi, mezzo Nino Surguladze, tenor Massimiliano Pisapia, baritone Massimo Cavalletti and others.

Michael Nagy sings Wolfram's Lied

Michael Nagy

Here is Germanbarihunk Michael Nagy singing Wolfram's Lied from Wagner's romantic opera 'Tannhäuser' at this year's Bayreuth Festival. Nagy is performing the role through August 25. Barihunk Günther Groissböck is also in the cast as Landgraf Herrmann. Click HERE for additional cast and ticket information.



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Michael Nagy in Rarely Heard Mozart

Michael Nagy rehearsing La finta giardiniera

We feature a lot of Mozart on this site and it tends to be the "Big 4": Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflote, Le Nozze di Figaro and Cosi fan tutte. Mozart buffs are always on the lookout for his lesser performed works. Well, they are in luck, as the suberb Mozart conductor Rene Jacobs will be leading a performance of "La finta giardiniera" at the Theater an der Wien running from November 12-22.

Jacobs has assembled and all-star team for the production that includes barihunk Michael Nagy, director David Alden, soprano Alexandrina Pendatchanska and the wonderful tenor Topi Lehtipuu.  Word has it that Nagy actually appears in the production wearing a skirt, which should be worth the price of admission. 

Nagy, Jacobs and the cast from Vienna will also perform the opera at Madrid's Teatro Real opening on December 4th. You can also click HERE to view our most viewed barihunk ever, Gabriel Bermudez, performing La finta giardiniera in 2006 in Madrid.


Nagy fans will be delighted to know that he is scheduled to sing Wolfram in the new production of Tannhäuser at Bayreuth this summer. Complete cast lists have not been posted on the Bayreuth site yet.

Nathan Gunn & Nicolas Teste coming to Vienna

Theater an der Wien will also be featuring two other barihunks this season. Nicolas Testé will perform Jupiter in Rameau's "Castor and Pollux" opening on January 20, 2011 followed by Nathan Gunn as Tarquinius in Britten's "Rape of Lucretia." If you've been planning a trip to France, this would be the time to go.

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