Jarrett Ott in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers; Original cast in Hawaii

Jarrett Ott

Barihunk Jarrett Ott will be taking on the role of Charlie in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers at Opera Memphis on April 1st and 8th.  He'll be joined by Cree Carrico as his sister Beatrice and Phyllis Pancella as their mother Madeline Mitchell. The role of Charlie has become a popular vehicle for barihunks, including Keith Phares, Matthew Worth and Jesse Blumberg.

Three Decembers tells the story of a famous stage actress – Madeline Mitchell – and her two adult children: Beatrice and Charlie. Both children resent their mother's long absences on the road and her lack of concern for the tragedies in their lives. Charlie believes his mother is distant because he is gay, even as his partner, Burt, is dying of AIDS. Meanwhile, Beatrice, trapped in an unhappy marriage, feels Madeline resents her enduring affection for their deceased father. As the story unfolds over the decades, long-simmering resentments surface, accusations are hurled, and family secrets revealed, leading ultimately to a hard-won peace and forgiveness for both the living and the dead.

On March 30th, Ott will appear at OUT at the Opera, a preview night for Opera Memphis at Playhouse on the Square from 7-10 PM. The event is intended to connect the opera company with the LGBT community. Tickets for the opera are available online.

Ott next performs Zurga in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers with the North Carolina Opera on April 28th and 30th.

Keith Phares in Three Decembers

A few thousand miles to the west, the Hawaii Opera Theater has assembled the three main cast members from the original 2008 production from the Houston Grand Opera and San Francisco Opera. Barihunk Keith Phares sings Charlie, with Kristin Clayton as his sister Beatrice and the indefatigable Federica von Stade as Madeline.

There are shows remaining on March 29th and 31st, and April 1st.  Tickets are available online. Next up is Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann with Wayne Tigges as the Four Villains, who we just posted about as a last minute substitution in Los Angeles.

Brad Baron singing, directing, writing, blogging (and posing)

Brad Baron and some of his selfies from social media

We finally got some video from barihunk Brad Baron's graduation recital at the Louisiana State University School of Music's Recital Hall on April 22, 2016. Baron graduated from Princeton University with an AB in English and Certificates in Theatre and Vocal Performance recently received his Masters of Music at Louisiana State University. 

Brad Baron sings Finzi's "Let Us Garlands Bring":

Brad Baron sings Schubert's "Erlkönig":

Brad Baron sings Poulenc's "Hôtel":

The multi-talented singer, also works as an actor, writer, playwright, blogger (Life of a Gay Pirate), gamer commentator, librettist and now director.

His play Last Ditch Playlist, which he's been developing for three years will be presented in a fully staged production at the Dixon Place MainStage in New York City on August 18th at 7:30 pm. He'll be directing the piece, as well. According to the theater website, "Last Ditch Playlist is an ode to the memory of a unraveling gay romance. Aaron and Wes’ joy and pain are evoked with sweeping sincerity in this new stage work, peeling away layers of the relationship as it is replayed ‘on shuffle’ in gripping scenes of intimacy, recollections, phone calls, internet chats, and lyricism."

The men of Brad Baron's play Last Ditch Playlist

In recent years he has contributed works to the New Jersey One Minute Play Festival, the Rainbow Festival with the La Strada Ensemble Theater, Luna Stage’s Annual Short Play Festival, the New Playwrights Series at The Villagers Theater, and the Gay Play Series with the Ringwald Theatre, where his work Homochondria was presented. He is currently working on a short comic libretto for Coffee Companion with composer Marc Hoffeditz and collaborators Esha Datta and Jennifer Peterson.

As a singer, he was an Encouragement Award winner in the Violetta DuPont Competition, a finalist in Classical Idol 8, a semi-finalist in the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Solo Competition, and a semi-finalist in the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition. He has performed at the Des Moines Metro Opera, Bronx Opera Company and Ohio Light Opera. He will be joining Opera Memphis this Fall as an Artist in Residence, where he will be performing Antonio in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and The Pirate King in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance during their 2016-2017 season.

We first got to know Brad Baron through Twitter and his entertaining tweets @BaronAsInRed.

Justin Hopkins part of "30 Days of Opera" at Opera Memphis

We have always maintained that some of the best opera happens away from the major houses at the second tier houses. One of the most innnovative opera companies is Opera Memphis, run by director Ned Canty, who won us over in Santa Fe with his brilliant work on Gian Carlo Menotti's “Last Savage.”

He is one of the leaders in bringing opera to the masses and attracting new audiences to the art form. His latest project is "30 Days of Opera," a month-long event of free opera performances performed at various public venues around the Memphis area. The 30 days will end in time for the company’s season-opening production of Verdi's Rigoletto on Oct. 3th and 5th.

During the first four days they performed at two parks, two libraries, Aldo's Pizza, City Hall, the Little Tea Shop and at the corner of South Main and Monroe.

 

As part of their promotion, Ned Canty appeared on WNEG Channel 3 with soprano Caitlin McKechney and barihunk calendar model Justin Hopkins, who walked onto the television set singing Escamillo's music from Bizet's Carmen. The Philadelphia native will be making his debut with the company as Ceprano in Rigoletto. Also in the cast is fellow barihunk Matthew Treviño as Monterone/Sparfucile, Michael Corvino as Rigoletto, Anya Matanovič as Gilda, Jason Slayden  as the Duke and Caitlin McKechney as Madellena. Tickets are available online.

Hopkins will be singing Nourabad in Bizet's Les Pecheurs de perles at the Fort Worth Opera Festival next spring with our favorite young director, John de los Santos.

Matthew Worth to premiere "Doubt" as Father Flynn

Matthew Worth strikes his Father Flynn pose
2012 (c) Aleutian Calabay for Minnesota Opera

The Minnesota Opera is presenting the world premiere of Douglas J. Cuomo’s opera Doubt, which opens on January 26th and runs through February 3rd. The libretto was written by playwright John Patrick Shanley, who based it on his Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play. The opera was commissioned by Minnesota Opera in collaboration with the Cincinnati Opera and the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. The opera is part of the opera company’s New Works Initiative, a landmark program designed to invigorate the operatic repertoire with an infusion of contemporary works.

Matthew Worth on playing Father Flynn in Doubt:

The premiere of Doubt will feature Matthew Worth as Father Flynn, who is accused of inappropriate behavior with a young African-American student. Soprano Christine Brewer will sing the role of the school principal Sister Aloysius, who makes the accusations and sets the drama in motion at the Bronx-based Roman Catholic in 1964. The young, idealistic Sister James will be played by Adriana Zabala and the boy's mother by mezzo Denyce Graves. Other than a chorus and a children's chorus, these are the only vocal roles. The opera will be conducted by Christopher Franklin and directed by Kevin Newbury. Tickets are available online.

Matthew Worth on Mozart and modern American opera:

Matthew Worth returns to the Minnesota Opera after a successful run as Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte in the 2011-12 season. After Doubt he'll return to the role of Guglielmo on March 15th with the Boston Lyric Opera. On April 4th and 6th, he returns to Opera Memphis to partake in the Midtown Opera Festival in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. This is his third world premiere, as he created the role of William Shrike in Lowell Liebermann's Miss Lonelyhearts with the Juilliard Opera and the Coachman in Stephen Hartke's The Greater Good at Glimmerglass Opera, which was recorded for Naxos.

Matthew Worth talks about the music of Doubt:

The play Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, won both the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Play. In 2008, Shanley wrote and directed the motion picture adaptation of Doubt, starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including a Best Adapted Screenplay nod for Shanley. 

Matthew Worth talks about some other projects: