Barihunk trio in Palm Beach's free waterfront concert

Andrew Bogard, Jason Duika and Michael Chioldi

On December 12th, the Palm Beach Opera will present their annual Opera@The Waterfront at the Meyer Amphitheater. The free concert on the Intracoastal Waterway is a chance to hear arias and ensembles performed by a combination of international opera singers and the Palm Beach Opera Young Artists, orchestra and chorus.

One of this year's featured stars is barihunk Michael Chioldi, who will sing "Si può?..." from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, "Io morro ma lieto in core" from Verdi's Don Carlo,  "This nearly was mine" from South Pacific and the famous quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto. Next season, Chioldi will sing Count di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore with fellow barihunk Brandon Coleman, who is singing Ferrando.

He'll be joined by Jason Duika, who is a Palm Beach Opera Young Artist and is featured in the 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar. He'll be singing "Ò vin, dissipe la tristesse" from Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet and the Ice Cream Sextet from Kurt Weill's Street Scene. This season with Palm Beach Opera he'll perform Dancairo in Bizet's Carmen and Dr. Malatesta in the family performance of Don Pasquale.

Joining them will be bass-barihunk Andrew Bogart, who is celebrating a birthday today and who is also a Palm Beach Opera Young Artist this season. He will be sing "La calunnia" from Rossini's Barber of Seville, the trio "O suave il vento" from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte and "Signorina in tanta fretta" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale.  This season with Palm Beach Opera, he will sing Lakai/Truffaldino in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and a family performance as the title character in Don Pasquale.

Enjoy Jason Duika and 17 more of the world's hottest opera singers in this year's Barihunk Charity Calendar. Order before the holiday rush!!!

Romain Dayez & Jason Duika 

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Tobias Greenhalgh performing staged of Schubert's Winterreise

American barihunk Tobias Greenhalgh, who joined the ensemble the Young Ensemble of the Theater an der Wien last year, will be performing in the premiere of a newly staged version of Schubert's Winterreise.

Czech choreographer Martin Dvorak has conceived the 2-part song cycle for baritone, a dancer/actor and pianist, who will be Marcin Kabaghe. The initial performance will be on Saturday, October 17th, with three additional shows in the Czech Republic in December. On December 17 and 18, it will be performed at the Museum of Applied Arts in Brno, with an additional performance scheduled in Prague on October 19.

The songs represent the voice of the poet as the lover, and form a distinct narrative and dramatic sequence. In the course of the cycle the poet, whose beloved now fancies someone else, leaves his beloved's house secretly at night, quits the town and follows the river and the steep ways to a village. Having longed for death, he is at last reconciled to his loneliness. The cold, darkness, and barren winter landscape mirror the feelings in his heart, and he encounters various people and things along the way which form the subject of the successive songs during his lonely journey. It is in fact an allegorical journey of the heart.

Tickets, which are only 10,00 EUR, are available online.

Greenhalgh is currently appearing as Littore in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at Theater an der Wien with Jennifer Larmore as Ottavia, Christophe Dumaux as Ottone and the Valer Sabadus as Nerone.

He'll be back in the U.S. in January to sing Moralès in Bizet's Carmen with the Palm Beach Opera. Also in the cast are Rinat Shaham as Carmen, Zachary Nelson as Escamillo and Riccardo Massi as Don Josè. The production will be directed by the sensational young director John De Los Santos. Tickets are available online.

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Calendar Model Profile: Jason Chandler Duika

Jason Duika far left, right (and with Romain Dayez in the Barihunks calendar, center)

We featured Jason Chandler Duika in the months of January and May in our new Barihunks charity calendar. He was an instant sensation with readers, so we figured that we're share a few more photos, video and biographical information about the emerging American baritone. 

After a solid first year at Palm Beach Opera in 2015, he was invited back to sing the roles of Dancairo, and cover Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, sing the family performance and cover Dr. Malatesta in Donizettis Don Pasquale, sing Paquiro in Goyescas, by Granados, and cover Harlequin, and sing the Wigmaker in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. In early April, he will return to his alma mater, Alma College in Michigan to sing the title role of Saul in Handel's oratorio.

Jason Duika sings Hamlet's "Ô vin dissipe la tristesse":

Jason entertains ambitions of singing throughout the world, particularly the repertoire of Donizetti, Mozart, Puccini, and eventually Verdi, whom he enjoys most.

"I am greatly honored to be featured as a part of the barihunks mission, to help, support, and maintain young operatic artists in their continuing journey to success."

The 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar is now on sale and available online. For the past four years, the calendar has raised money for young artist programs and young artist projects. Proceeds from this year's calendar will fund the creation of the Foundation for the Advancement of Baritones (FAB), which will fund baritone and bass cash prizes at song competitions, commission music for baritones and basses, and be used to fund other projects featuring low male voices.

New York-based composer Clint Borzoni has already been commissioned to write two songs for string quartet and baritone, which will be performed by calendar model Marco Vassalli in January.

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Jason Duika returning to Palm Beach Opera

Jason Duika after a workout

American barihunk Jason Duika will be returning as a young artist with the Palm Beach Opera, where he will be singing the role of Dancaïre in Bizet's Carmen and covering Zachary Nelson as Escamillo. He'll also be  covering Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Harlequin in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. He'll also be featured in the family performance of Don Pasquale.

Regular readers will recall that Duika created a bit of a sensation when his shirtless pictures appeared on the site. 

Joining him at the Palm Beach Opera Young Artist Program will be fellow barihunk Andrew Bogard, who has also been featured on this site as one of our Reader Submissions. Hopefully, we'll be able to convince them to send us a photograph of them together. 

Jason Duika sings "Ah per sempre" from I Puritani:

This year's Opera on the Waterfront will be at the Meyer Amphitheatre on December 12th and usually features the PBO young artists, as well as star singers from the Palm Beach Opera. Their season runs from January 22-March 20 and tickets and cast information is available online. 

Along with fellow barihunk Samuel James Dewese, Duika is also a finalist in this year's James Toland Vocal Arts Competition at Holy Names University in Oakland, California on June 26 and 27. Tickets are available online.

Introducing Palm Beach Opera's Jason Duika

Barihunk Jason Duika is new to the site. He was a finalist last year in the James Toland Vocal Competition and is currently a young artist with the Palm Beach Opera, where he is covering major roles. In December, he joined soprano Liana Guberman to sing in Ben Moore's Enemies, A Love Story at the company's outdoor concert.

In April 2014, he took the stage at Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern auditorium to sing the duet Si pel ciel, from Verdi’s Otello opposite tenor Andrew Lunsford, and the aria Di provenza from Verdi’s La traviata. In April 2013, he sang the baritone solos in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at the Spring Masterworks concert at Alma College in Michigan.

Jason Duika at the James Toland Vocal Competition:

In 2012, he covered baritone Kyle Pfortmiller in the role of Valentine in Gounod’s Faust at the Utah Festival Opera in Logan, and in the winter of 2013, he joined the Wichita Grand Opera to cover the roles of the Count in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Iago in Verdi’s Otello.

In 2009, while in graduate school at Portland State University, Duika sang the role of Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff opposite veteran baritone Richard Zeller. Among Duika’s other performance credits are the title roles in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at Portland State and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.

Duika holds a Bachelor of Arts in voice from Alma College, a Masters of Music in voice performance from Portland State University, and a Performer Diploma in opera from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, where he performed the title role of Dr. Falke in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus.

On March 26th, the Palm Beach Opera Young Artists will perform in a Liederabend at the Royal Poinciana Chapel. Tickets are available online.

Ildar Abdrazakov to Make American Solo Recital Debut

Ildar Abdrazakov

Ildar Abdrazakov, who you can see in the Live in HD broadcast of Bizet's Carmen tomorrow, will be making his American solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall on Jan 29th. Joined by pianist Mzia Bakhtouridze, the Russian bass-barihunk will sing a program that includes Fauré, Liszt, Ravel, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgsky. Tickets are available online.

On February 5th, he'll give his second U.S. recital at Florida’s Palm Beach Opera in a gala event titled “Seduction of the Senses: A Gala Evening with Ildar Abdrazakov.” The event is co-hosted by Donald Trump and tickets are limited. Email Lisa at lhuertas@pbopera.org for more information.

Fans in Europe can catch him in Rossini's Moïse et Pharaon at the Marseille Opera from November 8-16.

Make sure to order you 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar today. Enjoy 19 of operas hottest men. Click on the LULU button below to order your own copy.

Enjoy Tobias Greenhalgh for free on the waterfront

James Valenti & Tobias Greenhalgh

Two of the most beautiful faces in opera will be on stage together this Saturday, December 14th, when the Palm Beach Opera presents its first ever free Opera @ the Waterfront concert.  Hunkentenor James Valenti (who we've snuck on this site a few times) and PBO young artist Tobias Greenhalgh will be part of this afternoon concert at the Meyer Amphitheatre on the Intercoastal Waterway.

The event is free and open to the public. It is recommended that you bring all of the essentials for a picnic in the park. There are also $100 VIP tickets available, which include reserved seating refreshments and parking. The concerts begins at 12:30 PM at 104 Datura Street in West Palm Beach.

 

Barihunk Tobias Greenhalgh is currently a member of the Palm Beach Opera Young Artist Program. This season, Greenhalgh will be performing the role of Leo Stein in Ricky Ian Gordon’s new opera Twenty-Seven starring Stephanie Blythe at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. The opera tells the story of Gertrude Stein’s life in Paris between World War I and World War II at her famous home at 27 Rue de Fleurus.

 

Greenhalgh is a recent graduate of Juilliard, where he earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Vocal Performance. He and fellow barihunk John Brancy are co-creators of “Operation Superpower,” a superhero opera for kids, which was recently featured on a PBS Newshour special on entrepreneurship in the classical arts.

Baritones Continue Vocal Competition Dominance: Lattanzi, Cedel & O'Hanlon

Joseph Lattanzi sporting some Brooks Brothers clothing

We ran a post last month called "The Golden Age of Baritones is Now," in which we pointed out that baritones are dominating vocal competitions, stages and marketing campaigns like at no other time in history. The trend seems to be continuing in competitions much smaller than the Met Auditions, as well. Half of the finalists in the Palm Beach Opera’s vocal competition junior division (ages 18 to 23) were baritones. 

Brandon Cedel & Emmett O'Hanlon

The three baritones include Joseph Lattanzi, who we've previously featured on this site, Emmett O’Hanlon, and Brandon Cedel, who happens to be the other half of a barihunk couple. His partner is Jonathan Beyer, who we've been praising for his seemingly effortless ability to win vocal competitions. Apparently, it's rubbing off on Cedel. 

Other winners included soprano Danielle Adams, tenor Marco Stafani and soprano Betsy Diaz. The six finalists will be ranked and awarded $47,000 in prizes during an orchestral concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Kravis Center. For information, call 833-7888 or visit pbopera.org.

Lattanzi has put together a new website and was recently accepted into the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program, one of our favorite in the country. Lattanzi will be joining two of our favorite young barihunks in Seattle, Erik Anstine and David Krohn, who are respectively playing Leporello and Don Giovanni in the current YAP production of the Mozart opera. 

Amanda Opuszysnki and Erik Anstine (©Rozarii Lynch photo)

When we posted about Joseph Lattanzi a year ago, we predicted that he might have a future on this site and apparently we were right. We would like to wish all of the finalists in the PBO junior division vocal competition the best of luck with their careers. 

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David Adam Moore Sings Figaro on TV

The Many Faces of David Adam Moore

Barihunk David Adam Moore recently appeared on Seattle's KING Channel 5 to promote the Seattle Opera's production of Rossini's Barber of Seville. Moore rotated the role with Jose Carbo and both singers received rave reviews.

The Seattle Opera's next performance will be of Massenet's rarely performed opera Don Quixote with John Relyea as the title character. Performances will run from February 26 through March 12. For additional cast and performance information visit the Seattle Opera website.

Moore now heads to the Palm Beach Opera where he will sing two performances of Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte on February 25 and 27.



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The Men of Florida: Carmen at Palm Beach Opera

[Bradley Smoak as Zuniga; Photo courtesy of Palm Beach Opera]


[Nmon Ford and Bradley Smoak; Photo courtesy of Palm Beach Opera]

We know that Carmen likes to flirt with the men and Palm Beach Opera gave her plenty of hot men to tempt in their recent production. Grammy award winning singer Nmon Ford, who is a regular on this site, portrayed the swaggering Escamillo. From the looks of this picture, it's no wonder that poor Don Jose doesn't have a chance. We can't imagine that Carmen didn't also cast a few glances at the bass Bradley Smoak, who was portraying Zuniga.

Smoak is new to our site and a welcome addition. He's fairly new to the scene having recently made his international debut at the Wexford Festival in Ireland as Don Alfonso in Donizetti’s "Maria Padilla" and Pasha in Corigliano’s "Ghosts of Versailles." He has also performed with the Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis and Opera North. Smoak will be appearing with the Opera Theater of St. Louis in Le Nozze di Figaro, Eugene Onegin, and the world premiere of The Golden Ticket.



People in the Palm Beach area can see a possible emerging barihunk at their upcoming vocal competition on Sunday, April 25th. Joseph Lattanzi is in their Junior Division finals and from this photo we think that he may have a future on this site.

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Christopher Bolduc's Career About to Take Off

Christopher Bolduc is an emerging barihunk whose career we're watching. He already has appeared on this site's "It's hot in Santa Fe" feature (http://barihunks.blogspot.com/2008/05/its-hot-in-sante-fe.html). He's a student of Bill Schuman at the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts and it looks like his career is about to take off complete with agency representation.

We noticed that he's booked this spring with the Palm Beach Opera and the Santa Fe Opera. He will also be appearing at that hotbed of barihunks, the Fort Worth Opera, as Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore. You can watch a preview of his Belcore above. His agency profile states that he is currently preparing Marcello in La Boheme, Valentin in Faust and Silvio in I Pagliacci.

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