Tareq Nazmi to make Carnegie Hall debut

Tareq Nazmi

Kuwaiti born barihunk Tareq Nazmi will make his Carnegie Hall debut on October 24th performing in Mozart's Requiem in D Minor,” K. 626 and Bach’s Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243 in a 1733 revision of the original, in E-flat Major, BWV 243a, which was written ten years earlier. He'll be backed by the KlangVerwaltung Orchestra and Chorgemeinschaft Neubeuern Chorus and soloists soprano Susanne Bernhard, mezzo-soprano Anke Vondung and tenor Daniel Johannsen. Tickets are available online.

He also had two role debuts this year, Zaccaria in Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco in St. Gallen in April 2017 and Basilio in Gioachino Rossini’s Barber of Seville at Berlin’s Komische Oper in July 2017.

You can hear samples of his singing on his website, including Tuba mirum from Mozart's Requiem. Click HERE.

Tareq Nazmi has been a permanent member of the Bavarian State Opera since the 2012-13 season where he's performed the Minister in Beethoven's Fidelio, Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni, the Speaker in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Colline in Puccini's La bohème, Silvano in Cavalli's La Calisto, Mitjucha in Mussogsky's Boris Godunov, First Nazarene in Richard Strauss' Salome, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen, Truffaldin in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Obrist in Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten, and Astolfo in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia.

Don't forget to order you 2017 Barihunks in Bed calendar, which is now on sale by clicking HERE. 

Malte Roesner

Luca Pisaroni makes Canadian Opera debut as Maometto II

Luca Pisaroni and Leah Crocetto in Rossini's Maometto II in Santa Fe (Photo: Ken Howard)

Italian bass-barihunk Luca Pisaroni will be making his debut with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto from April 29 to May 14 in the title role of Rossini's Maometto II.  He had a huge success in this David Alden-directed production at the Santa Fe Opera in 2012 with Leah Crocetto as Anna, who will be joining him in these performances. They will be joined by tenor Bruce Sledge as Erisso  and mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong as Calbo.

The Venetian love story contains some of the Italian composers greatest music, but has somehow never entered the standard repertory, even in its reworked version Le siège de Corinthe. The only U.S. performance in recent years in addition to Santa Fe was the 1988 production at the San Francisco Opera, which was produced as a showcase for Simone Alaimo and June Anderson. Other performances internationally have included a 2008 performance in Pesaro, Italy with Michele Pertusi and a 2014 production in Rome with bass-barihunk Mirco Palazzi.

Luca Pisaroni sings Maometto's aria "All'invito generoso" in Santa Fe:

The best known pieces of music from the opera are sung by the mezzo character Calbo "Non temer: d'un basso affetto," the soprano Anna's "Giusto Cielo, in tal periglio," the duet between Maometto and Anna "Anna... tu piangi" and Maometto's thrilling aria "All'invito generoso."

Pisaroni next heads to Los Angeles to perform the Mozart Requiem under LA Philharmonic Gusavo Dudamel's baton on May 19, 20, 21 and 22.  He'll be joined by soprano Lucy Crowe, tenor Paul Appleby and mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu. Tickets are available online.

Xavier Rivera to make two debuts

Xavier Rivera

Budding talent Xavier Rivera, who will make a return appearance in our 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar, is slated to make his role debut as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème. The 24-year-old singer, who is currently based in San Francisco, will return to his native country for two performances of the piece with the Teatro de la Opera de Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by Kamal Khan and the cast features soprano Anaís Mejías as Mimi, José Daniel Mojica as Rodolfo, Elizabeth Rodríguez as Musetta, César Menendez as Marcello and César Torruela as Colline. Performances are on November 13 and 15.

Before heading to Puerto Rico, he'll make his official West Coast debut in Mozart's Requiem with the Oakland Youth Orchestra in Walnut Creek, California. He'll be joined by soprano Shawnette Sulker, mezzo Lisa Chavez and tenor Gabriel Liboiron-Cohen. Omid Zoufonoun, the Youth Orchestra’s new Principal Conductor will be making his debut in this concert in a program that includes Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and Bruch's Violin Concerto with Jessica Cao. Tickets are just $15 and are available online.

Earlier this year, Rivera sang the Requiem with the Orquestra Sinfònica de Puerto Rico in a cast that also featured José Daniel Mojica, who will join him in the La bohème performances.

Xavier Edgardo's singing Mozarts' Requiem and Così fan tutte

Xavier Edgardo

Xavier Edgardo, one of the most exciting and gifted young singers to emerge onto the scene in recent years will be performing Mozart's Requiem with the Orquestra Sinfònica de Puerto Rico on April 16th. He'll be joined by mezzo soprano Patricia Cay, soprano Zulimar Lopez and tenor José Daniel Mojica. You can contact the Luis Ferrè Performing Arts Center at 787-620-4444 for tickets and additional information.

Mozart’s Requiem was unfinished at the time of his death and most of the completed portions are attributed to his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr. There was much confusion about the completion of the work when Mozart died. This was due to Mozart's wife Constanze having to hide certain details in order to guarantee payment for the work. 

Fellow Puerto Rican Justino Diaz sings Guglielmo's aria "Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo": 

Xavier Edgardo will be sticking with Mozart, as he takes on Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte on April 26 & 27 at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico. We've heard him sing Guglielmo's aria "Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo" and it's worth a lot more than the meager $10.00 price of admission. 

The Puerto Rican native is headed to San Francisco to complete his Masters in Voice at the Conservatory of Music under tutelage of the famed tenor and professor César Ulloa. He'll return to Puerto Rico in November to sing Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème at the Teatro de la Ópera. 

In between, he'll be headed to Opera on the Avalon in St. John's, Newfoundland, where he's also slated to appear in La bohème. Our main mission at Barihunks is to assist young singers in their careers and we're part of the campaign to help send Xavier Edgardo to this important training program. Please join us in making a pledge of any amount, as it will go a long way in supporting this talented young artist. Click HERE to give today. 

Ryan Kuster in 9/11 Tribute & SF Opera Fall Season; Hampson's 9/11 opera

Ryan Kuster (L) & Thomas Hampson (R)

One of the most gifted young barihunks on the operatic horizon Ryan Kuster, who we've featured previously on this site. He was a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia before participating in San Francisco Opera's prestigious Adler Fellowship Program.

Kuster will be performing in the city of San Francisco's official tribute to the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack. The city and the San Francisco Opera have teamed up for a performance of Mozart's Requiem at Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park at 2 PM today. Kuster will be joined by fellow singers Nadine Sierra, Maya Layhani and Daniel Montenegro along with maestro Nicola Luisotti.

The San Francisco Opera has wisely engaged the future star in a number of this season's operas. Kuster will perform Escamillo in Carmen, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Astolfo in Lucrezia Borgia and a Mandarin in Turandot. For performance and ticket information visit the San Francisco Opera website.



The San Francisco Opera is also premiering composer Christopher Theofanidis' "Heart of a Soldier," which opened last night. The opera tells the story of Rick Rescorla, a British-born adventurer who fought in Vietnam before settling in New York as head of security for a brokerage firm based in the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001, his extraordinary courage and calmness in a crisis paid off: Rescorla led all of the 2,700 people under his care to safety—literally singing them down the stairs—before heading back into the burning building for one last check. He never emerged.

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