Leonard Bernad joins Flanders Opera (and The Four Tenors)

Leonard Bernad

Last April, we introduced Romanian bass-barihunk Leonard Bernad in his scivvies performing Bohuslav Martinů's Mirandolina with the Bavarian Opera Studio. He's opening today in Rossini's Armida at the Opera Vlaanderen as Armida's evil uncle Idraote and the leader of Armida's spirits Astarotte. The opera is best known for requiring four quality tenors and for some stunning music for the soprano.

Bernad joined the young artist ensemble at the Flanders (Vlaanderen) Opera this season after two years with the Bavarian Opera Studio. Upcoming roles with the company include Pharnaces in Zemlinsky's Der Konig Kandaules, Colline in Puccini's La bohème, Lodovico in Verdi's Otello and Joe in Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. 

A complete performance of Armida from Venice in 1970:

Armida is one of the famous 'opere serie' that Rossini composed for Naples. The librettist took his inspiration from Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso, an Italian literary masterpiece from the 16th century that has served as inspiration for countless opera composers. It takes place against the backdrop of the first Crusade in which Godfrey of Bouillon liberated Jerusalem.

The ad for Verdi's Otello at the Flanders Opera

The opera tells the story of the extraordinarily beautiful sorceress and princess of Damascus, Armida, who wreaks erotic havoc in the camp of the Christian knights. At work here is a mature and unseen Rossini. He combines the martial air of the battle-ready knights with the incomparable bel canto songs by the mysterious Armida. An Armida who, at the end of the opera, in the midst of her vocal pyrotechnics, is consumed by her own daemonic sensuality. An opera in which heroism and languid sensuality alternate.

Performance of Armida run through December 4 and tickets are available online.

Enjoy 18 more barihunks in our new Charity Calendar, which is on sale now. 

Marco Vassalli & Malte Roesner

Two Barihunks in Eva Marton Singing Competition Finals; Aghenie Alexandru takes 1st Prize

Aghenie Alexandru

Two barihunks have made it to the final round of the International Eva Marton Singing Competition being held on Saturday, September 20th at the Hungarian State Opera, with one taking 1st Prize.

29-year-old Romanian Aghenie Alexandru who studied voice at the Academy of Music Transylvania in Brașov, took 1st Prize over 10 other singers. In the finals he'll be performed "Avant de quitter ces lieux " from Gounod's Faust and "Il balen del suo sorriso" from Verdi's Il trovatore. 

In 2012 he appeared on stage in various performances in Italy, including the Teatro Sociale di Stradella, Teatro Lirico di Magenta, Teatro Sociale di Como and Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna. He recently sang  Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci  and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi at the Brașov Opera House.  He has won several prizes at singing competitions in Piatra Neamț in Romania, Manfredonia in Italy and Bucharest, Romania.

Danylo Matviienko

24-year-old Ukrainian Danylo Matviienko made it to the final round performing "Per me giunto è il dì supremo… Lo morro, ma lieto in core" from Verdi's Don Carlo and "O du, mein holder Abendstern" from Wagner's Tannhäuser.

Matviienko began his vocal studies in 2005, continuing at the Donetsk Music Academy since 2007. He has performed at the Donetsk National Dramatic Theatre and the Donetsk National Opera House.

Joining Eva Marton on the jury were tenor Vittorio Terranova and mezzo Elena Obraztsova. There will be a grand finals concert on Sunday night with additional prizes being awarded.

Reader Submission: Leonard Bernad

Leonard Bernad in Mirandolina and at the Neue Stimme competition

A reader sported Romanian bass-barihunk Leonard Bernad in his scivvies in the cast of Bohuslav Martinů's Mirandolina with the Bavarian Opera Studio. Bernad joined the Opera Studio last year after a stint with the Cologne Opera Studio where he performed Chirurgo in Verdi's La Forza del Destino, Second Prisoner in Beethoven's Fidelio, Wilhelm Grimm in Wolf-Ferarri’s Aschenputtel, and the Second Senator in Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten.

During his time in Munich, he'll be performing the Usher in Verdi's Rigoletto, Guardian of the City in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, the Customs Officer in Puccini's La bohème, Floras assistant in Verdi's La traviata, Hauptmann in Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin, Yakusidé in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Cappadocier in Strauss' Salome and Ambrogio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia.


Bernad studied at the National University of Music in Bucharest with the great Romanian soprano Maria Slatinaru. After graduating, Bernad made his debut at the National Opera of Bucharest playing Canciano in Wolf-Ferrari’s I quattro rusteghi.

Leonard Bernad in 2010 singing Fiesco's aria:

In 2011, he competed in the prestigious Neue Stimme competition, sang in the tribute honoring the 100th birthday of Gian Carlo Menotti and performed at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia under the musical direction of Plácido Domingo.

In 2012, he appeared alongside Edita Gruberova in Bellini’s La straniera at the Philharmonie am Gasteig in Munich and at the Vienna Musikverein in celebration of her 45th anniversary on the opera stage. He also also performed the role of Bartolo in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro in Valencia, under the stage direction of the great bass Ruggero Raimondi.

There are two performances of Martinů's Mirandolina remaining on April 30th and May 11. He also will be  appearing in La bohème from May 4-10.

NY Times says go to Oakland in 2012: "HOT" opera at the Crucible; Zachary Gordin with East Bay Symphony

Been to Oakland lately? We have three reasons to go: Great food and drinks, amazing music and barihunks.

Friday's travel section of the New York Times named Oakland, California as one of the 45 places to visit in 2012. Northern Californians have long known that Oakland is San Francisco's fog-free counterpart across the Bay, where young people have been moving in droves to open restaurants and bars, art galleries, buy homes and dubbing it the "Brooklyn of the West."

The New York Times wrote, "The historic Fox Theater reopened in 2009 and quickly cemented its status as one of the Bay Area's top music venues, drawing acts like Wilco and the Decemberists. Meanwhile, the city's ever more sophisticated restaurants are now being joined by upscale cocktail bars, turning once-gritty Oakland into an increasingly appealing place to be after dark."

Oakland resident Zachary Gordin as he appears in the 2012 Barihunks Calendar

Classical music fans have long known that some of the most innovative programming occurs under conductor Michael Morgan with his Oakland/East Bay Symphony Orchestra. His upcoming Carmina Burana will feature barihunk Zachary Gordin and it will be paired with Glazunov's rarely performed Saxophone Concerto from 1934. There is one performance on Friday, January 27th and tickets are available HERE. The performance is at the historic Paramount Theater, which is walking distance away from the recently restored Fox Theater (pictured above).

Eugene Brancoveanu

If you're looking for the really "hot" show in town, then head over to West Oakland's "The Crucible," where they have pioneered the concept of "fire operas." And we're literally talking about opera with real fire. A performance of a fire opera at The Crucible will make Brunnhilde's "Immolation Scene" look like a burning match. The Crucible is actually an industrial training center where people learn a variety of fire skills. Their current offering, "Machine," will feature molten metal pours, fire performers, glass blowers and blacksmiths.

MACHINE was written, conceived and directed by innovative director Mark Streshinsky. The music is by Clark Suprynowicz, who is known for his jazz and rock infused compositions of operatic and symphonic works.

The plot is based on a short story by science fiction author Derek J. Goodman, MACHINE is set in a fiery industrial universe in which workers have sold themselves into a lifetime of servitude. When one worker regains his power of self-determination, the story ignites into an explosive brew of escape plots, alliances and unlikely love interests

Performances are on January 11-14 and 18-21. Tickets are available HERE.

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Romanian Barihunk to Play Dracula

 What better news as Halloween approaches than to report that Romanian barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu has been cast as Dracula. This role is non-operatic and will introduce the dramatically intense and insightful singer to a whole new audience. Brancoveanu took the San Francisco Bay Area by storm with his edgy and original portrayal of Don Giovanni with the Berkeley Opera and the Livermore Valley Opera.

The performances with the Center Repertory Company will run from October 22 through November 20 at the Lesher Center for the Performing Arts.

Here's a highlight from an article about the production in the Walnut Creek Patch:

At least temporarily. Butler said he has found his ideal Dracula in Brancoveanu, whom he first saw in the title role in Berkeley Opera's production of Don Giovanni.


He's one of the hunky baritones tracked on barihunks.blogspot.com.


"I'd never seen a performance like that, especially in an opera," Butler recalls. "It was like a rock star performance, wildly creative. In the Dracula rehearsals, Eugene has been fantastic. He's a maniac, fearless. He comes up with great ideas, he's very bold, and he's got the physicality to pull them off."


In the Bay Area, Brancoveanu has sung the Pilot in The Little Prince and Belcore in L'elisir d'amore for San Francisco Opera and the Count in Livermore Valley Opera's Marriage of Figaro. He also sang the role of Marcello in Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme on Broadway. And he took many leading roles with the Romanian State Opera.


"Eugene told me that as a Romanian, he just had to play Dracula," Butler recalls. "He said, 'He's our national hero!' "

You can read the entire article HERE.

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Don Giovanni Hits the Streets

Eugene Brancoveanu in Livernore Opera's Don Giovanni

 

If there's one thing that we love at Barihunks it's great marketing. Often it's the smaller companies who come up with the greatest ad campaigns as they compete for attention with the major companies. We've generally found that the Ft. Worth Opera and Dallas Opera have much more interesting marketing campaigns than Lyric Opera of Chicago or the Vienna State Opera. We particularly love when the little regional companies really step up their game and show what's possible in the world of opera marketing.

Livermore Valley Opera in Northern California is one of those companies. Their marketing campaign for their upcoming Don Giovanni is sheer genius. The campaign appeals to both opera lovers and the person on the street. And that's exactly who they went after, the person on the street. Watch the video of barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu as he takes Don Giovanni's rakish ways to the streets of Livermore.



Opening night of Don Giovanni is Saturday, October 2 at 8 PM, with additional performances on Sunday, October 3 at 2 PM and Sunday, October 10 at 2 PM. For more information, please visit the Livermore Valley Opera website. The opening night performance will be preceded by a gala beginning at 5 PM.

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Eugene Brancoveanu Triumphs in Carmina Burana; SF Recital Next

Eugene Brancoveanu, who we are certain is one of the next operatic superstars, recently scored a major triumph singing Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote:

Outstanding guest vocalists filled the three solo rolls. Eugene Brancoveanu, baritone, displayed amazing versatility in his extensive solos. He exuded a calm earnestness in his "Omnia sol temperat" "The sun warms everything"; his powerful voice exploded vigorously in "Estuans interius" Burning inside. In "Dies, nox et omina" "Day, night and everything", Brancoveanu seamlessly traversed over three octaves as he described the various pains of love.

The former Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera now returns to the Bay Area to perform a song recital at the SF Conservatory of Music on Sunday, May 16th. Readers can get two for one tickets by visiting the City Box Office website and entering the promo code EB50.

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