Eleven months after winning the 2012 George London Foundation Competition, Brandon Cedel has won the Middle Atlantic Metropolitan Opera Regional Council Auditions at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.. Cedel sang Henry Purcell's "Arise ye subterranean winds" from the Tempest and Aleko's Cavatina by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Also competing in tonight's competition was barihunk Matthew Morris. Both Morris and Cedel appeared in our 2012 calendar.
Brandon Cedel can next be seen performing the role of William Dale in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's production of Kevin Puts' "Silent Night." Performances run from February 8-17 and the cast includes barihunks Liam Bonner, Craig Irvin, Gabriel Preisser and Troy Cook. Tickets are available online.
There's one thing that we've learned in our five years of existence: Barihunks has a loyal group of ginger lovers. Every time we post a redhead on the site, we seem to get a half-dozen emails touting another "strawberry blond" singer.
A recent email came from a friend and it was about a wonderfully gifted singer who we both had seen many times on stage. It began, "Have you seen William Berger lately? Not sure what's he's done, but he's looking really H-O-T these days."
We're not sure either, but it looks like he's lost a stone or two and adopted a distinctly stylish new look. Whatever he's done, we agree that he looks as great as he sounds. We've seen other singers go through some amazing transformations recently, most notably the very public evolution of Michael Mayes from Bari-Chunk to Bari-Hunk, which remains one of our most visited and inspirational posts.
William Berger sings "Revenge Timotheus Cries" from Handel's Alexander's Feast)
Berger is an amazing talented baritone who sings with an incredible depth of emotion and colors his phrases beautifully. We still remember his performances with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra where he sang Aeneas opposite the great Susan Graham's Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas under maestro Nicholas McGegan. Even though he has no real aria the beauty of his singing was unforgettable.
He was also a successful Papageno for Garsington Opera last year, a role he'll be reprising next year at L'opéra de Toulon.
William Berger sings Mozart's "Abendempfindung"
Berger and McGegan are also releasing a recording of late 18th-century operatic arias with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Berger also has a highly-acclaimed new recording out called "Insomnia" and we encourage you to read Berger's own thoughts on this very personal project.
Greer Davis as Venus and Craig Verm as Adonis Florentine Opera (Photo by Kathy Wittman, Ball Square Films)
We recently posted about two production of "Dido & Aeneas" featuring buff barihunks Craig Verm and Zachary Gordin. Although we'll have to wait a week for Gordin's half-naked portrayal at West Bay Opera in Palo Alto, the reviews are in for Craig Verm. He was praised not only for his singing (which is still paramount), but his "sex appeal." Here's what the Third Coast Digest in Milwaukee had to say:
Craig Verm’s potent, lush baritone suits Adonis and Aeneas. Florescu and Verm conceived Adonis as essentially comic (until the poor fellow dies). Rivard and Meyers put him in a Fabio wig and beefcake outfit. Verm (who’s pretty buff) leaned into Davis’ fetching Venus with great and persistent ardor. Her deflections make for nifty comedy, even as the chemistry between them adds sex appeal (and one more thing to love about this show).
You can read the entire review by Tom Strini HERE.
Barihunk Jesse Blumberg makes his much anticipated return to the San Francisco Bay Area next week in a program of early music with the American Bach Soloists. Blumberg joins countertenors Clifton Massey and Ian Howell, tenor Aaron Sheehan and soprano Elizabeth Weigle in a program that includes Purcell's "Come, ye Sons of Art" and "Now Does the Glorious Day Appear," as well as Handel's "Te Deum in D Major" and "Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne."
For additional concert information visit the American Bach Soloists website.
Readers of this site will recall that Blumberg performed the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's heartfelt and emotional song cycle "Green Sneakers." The American baritone is also the founder of the Five Buroughs Music Festival in New York.
The leads for new barihunks keep coming in from Germany and we're grateful for it, as it has introduced us to some amazing new talent. The latest is Sebastian Geyer who just created a sensation as Aeneas in Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" at the Frankfurt Opera, which was being shown on a double bill with Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle." The German press hailed Geyer's performance as a "perfect portrayal." You can read a review in the Frankfurt Allgemeiner.
Sebastian Geyer as Papageno
Geyer has been regularly cast in Mozart's "Big 3" as Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Papageno in Die Zauberflote, as well as roles in Don Giovanni. In addition to his performances in Frankfurt, his career has centered around the German cities of Heidelberg, Mannheim and Stuttgart. He has also established himself as a concert performer and sings lieder ranging from Schubert to Wolfgang Rihm.
Geyer is next scheduled to appear in Wagner's rarely performed opera Die Feen in May 2011 at the Oper Frankfurt.
Our best posts come from our readers, so send us your comments, suggestions and Messiah listings to Barihunks@gmail.com
David Adam Moore who is as adept and gorgeous singing modern music or operatic standards, gets it both ways here. The Sybarite Chamber Players have updated Purcell's Dido and Aeneas to modern day Wall Street. You can read about it here:
