Kiwi Barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes was recently featured in the Macarthur Chronicle in anticipation of his upcoming performances. From February 4-11 the 6'5" singer will be singing Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte and a group of Roald Dahl-esque children's songs by Richard Rodney Bennett. Rhodes will be joined by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, who will also perfrom Maheler's famed Adagietto (surely to calm down the beating hearts of Rhodes' ardent fans). Visit the ACO website for additional concert information.
Here is the article, titled "The Taming of Teddy":
Described by some of his more excitable fans as the Brad Pitt of opera, New Zealand baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes certainly has plenty of stage presence.
But it’s not just the muscles, shaved head and good looks that legions of female opera fans are tweeting and blogging about.
The New Zealand baritone also has a passion for his craft and a voice that gets better as he gets older - and his hair thins. [Continued HERE].
In this preview video, Teddy Tahu Rhodes talks with great excitement about his upcoming tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He goes so far as to say that "excitement" wells up inside of him when he thinks about it. He can rest assured that his fans down under had the same reaction when he appeared on the schedule, which encompasses seven cities over the course of seventeen days.
He also goes into wonderful detail about the two song cycles that he's performing. The first being Beethoven's magnificent "An die ferne Geliebte," known in English as "To the Distant Beloved." Their has been much speculation over the years about who Beethoven's "distant beloved" was, with most scholars agreeing that it was Antonia Brentano, a married woman who he met in 1812, but never pursued.
Some scholars also believe that it was written as a secret message to his nephew Karl, who Beethoven obsessed over for years.
Rhodes' other set of songs is Richard Rodney Bennett's "Songs Before Sleep," known as Roald Dahl-esque settings of children's songs.
Here is the entire program for Rhode's appearance with the ACO:
MAHLER: Adagietto
BEETHOVEN: An die ferne Geliebte
BENNETT: Songs Before Sleep
SAXTON: Birthday piece for RRB
PROKOFIEV: Five Melodies
MENDELSSOHN: String Quartet No.3
Also, don't forget to vote in our greatest Hamlet poll. You can watch the videos in the following post.
