Last month we posted about Alex Esposito's recital at Wigmore Hall, which happened on February 5th. We now have some video, which was part of the Rosenblatt Recital series.
Alex Esposito sings Tosti's "Non t'amo più":
Alex Esposito - ROSSINI Cade dal ciglio (Mosè in Egitto)
Alex Esposito - ROSSINI Accusata di furto (La Gazza Ladra)
Esposito can next be seen performing his signature role of Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni a the Théâtre du capitole in Toulouse, France. The title role will be shared by barihunks Christopher Maltman and Kostas Smoriginas. Performances run from March 15-28 and tickets are available online.
We're unabashedly huge fans of Italian barihunk Alex Esposito, especially when singing Mozart. His calendar is full of Mozart again this year with his definitive Leporello in Don Giovanni up next at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Also in the cast is Seth Carico, one of our favorite American singers, who will be taking on Masetto. Performances are on January 17, 19, 24 and 30 and tickets are available online.
Other upcoming performances as Leporello include one at the Théâtre du capitole in Toulouse (with barihunks Christopher Maltman and Kostas Smoriginas alternating as Don Giovanni) opening on March 15. On May 3rd he'll reprise his Leporello at the Bayersche Staatsoper in Munich with Gerald Finley as Don Giovanni and Tareq Nazmi as Masetto.
Seth Carico from our 2012 Barihunks calendar
Carico, who is now part of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper, can be seen this year as Biterolf in Wagner's Tannhäuser, theSacristan in Puccini's Tosca, Count Ribbing in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, Panthée in Berlioz' Les Troyens, Count Ceprano in Verdi's Rigoletto, Astolfo in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia andScriften in Dietsch's Das Geisterschiff.
Alex Esposito sings the catalogue aria from Don Giovanni:
Esposito will also be making his Rosenblatt Recitals debut at Wigmore Hall in London on February 5th. His program will include Leporello's catalogue aria, as well as "Vieni la mia vendetta" from Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, "Vi ravviso, o luoghi ameni"from Bellini's La Sonnambula, "Cade dal ciglio il velo" from Rossini's Mosè in Egitto. He will also sing songs by Beethoven, Cesti, Carissimi and Tosti. Tickets are available on the Wigmore Hall website.
If you're anywhere near the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, Parliament Hill or the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," then there are recitals near you that you won't want to miss.
We first learned about Gabriel Preisser about a year ago when we received an email from a respected figure in opera who touted him as the next great baritone voice. At the time, Preisser was performing small roles at the Kentucky Opera and heading off to the Pensacola Opera. He has since wowed the judges at the Lirico Concorso Competition and landed at the Minnesota Opera (with what seems like a planeload of barihunks. More on that in a future post). Preisser can be seen Thursday night as part of the Schubert Club's "The Magic of Mozart" series. He will be performing with soprano Angela Mortellaro and accompanist Aaron Breid. Click HERE for additional information.
Michael Kelly
Another singer who has been wowing judges in Michael Kelly, who recently showed off his vocal skills at the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition and was the winner of the 2011 "Joy in Singing Award." We also recently featured an entire recital from Michael Kelly on this site, which you can still watch.
If you'd like to see him live, he will be part of the New York Debut Artist Recital series on Monday, October 24th at 8pm in Merkin Hall. Visit their website for additional information. His recital will feature music by Schubert, Poulenc, Vaughan Williams, and William Bolcom, and introduce a new cycle written for him by Ben Moore. Jonathan Ware will be at the piano.
On Thursday, November 3rd, Kelly will appear at the Hungarian Consulate General with soprano Julia Küsswetter to perform music by Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt and Bartok. Additional information can be found at the German Forum website.
Jonathan Estabrooks
On Saturday, October 15 at 7:30 pm Jonathan Estabrooks and his brother Bryan Estabrooks will present a musical journey ranging from opera houses to night clubs. Hosted by Jian Ghomeshi from CBC Radio's Q, this promises to be an entertaining evening. Trust us that anything involving the Estatbrooks Brothers promises to be fun. The performance is at the Shenkman Arts Center in Ottawa. Click HERE for additional information.
Of course, you can always catch Jonathan Estabrooks at "A Singer's Life" on YouTube.
For those of you in London, the great Italian baritone Lucio Gallo is the next performer in the Rosenblatt Recital series on Wednesday, October 12 at 7:30 PM. He'll be bringing sunny Italy to England with an evening of songs and arias by Tosti. Visit the Rosenblatt Recital website for additional information.
Here is Gallo singing Mozart's "Hai gia vinta la causa" from "Le nozze di Figaro":
Here is a video of Rodion Pogossov performing Papageno's heartfelt aria from Die Zauberflöte. The performance was with the Rosenblatt Recital Series in London on October 30th.
Here is an interview with the Russian barihunk:
What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?
Life is not a sprint, but a long distance race.
Who do you admire? (It can be personal and/or professional)
My family, friends, well, I have a long list, I could write a book with all the names...
If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I would live in NYC, and when I'm older in New Zealand probably, to be close to nature.
What is your favourite TV show?
I don't know if it's a TV show, but I like the program "Inside the actor studio"
Is there an art form you don’t relate to?
Something where there is nothing to deal with a talent.
What other passions do you have aside from music?
Theatre, cinema, martial arts (just to watch), sport (sometimes also just to watch).
What one song would work as the soundtrack to your life?
It's hard to fit your life into one song; may be in the symphony instead; but I would say Moon River perhaps.
