Celebrating the anniversary of Aida's world premiere

Ain Anger as Ramfis at Houston Grand Opera

Verdi's masterpiece Aida premiered on December 24, 1871. The opera was commissioned for the grand opening of Cairo's Khedivial Opera House. Verdi did not attend the premiere in Cairo, as he was upset that opening night was not open to the general public. He considered the Italian premiere at La Scala in Milan on February 8, 1872 to be its real premiere. 

The U.S. premiere was on November 26, 1873 at the Academy of Music in New York City. The opera has been adapted for motion pictures on several occasions, most notably in a 1953 production which starred Sophia Loren.

Aida at the Teatro Carlo Felice

The opera includes three roles for low voice: Amonasro (king of Ethiopia), Ramfis (the high priest) and the King of Egypt.

A number of noted barihunks have sung each of the roles. The bass role of Ramfis has been performed by Ezio Pinza, Erwin Schrott, Nicolas Courjal, Andrea Mastroni, Kevin Thompson, Ain Anger, Raymond Aceto and Adrian Sâmpetrean.

The Kings: Soloman Howard at The Met and Anthony Reed at San Francisco Opera

The bass role of The King has been sung my Matt Treviño, Ben Wager, Jud Arthur, Kenneth Kellogg, Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Florian Spiess and Anthony Reed.

The baritone role of Amonasaro has been sung by Marco Vratogna, Sherrill Milnes and Michael Honeyman. 

Ezio Pinza and Giovanni Martinelli sings "Mortal diletto ai Numi":

Some of the most famous numbers for low voices in Aida include the Act 3 duet between Aida and Amonasro "Ciel, mio padre...Rivedrai le foreste imbalsamate" and Ramfis' "Mortal, diletto ai Numi, a te fidate."
 

Barihunk duo in Montrèal's Das Rheingold

Ryan McKinny and Soloman Howard

Opèra de Montrèal's upcoming performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold will feature the barihunk duo of Ryan McKinny as Wotan and Solomon Howard as Fafner.  The cast also includes Nathan Berg as Alberich, David Cangelosi as Mime, Aidan Ferguson as Fricka and Caroline Bleau as Freia. The production is directed by Brian Staufenbiel.

Performances are on November 10, 13, 15 and 17 at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montrèal. This is the first performance of the opera in the city in twenty years. Tickets are available online.

Watch Soloman Howard transform into Fafner:

The season will continue with barihunks Aubrey Allicock in Terence Blanchard's Champion and Nathan Keoughan in Ricky Ian Gordon's 27.

Upcoming performances for McKinny include reprising the role of Clarence in John Adams Girls of the Golden West at the Dutch National Opera and singing the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Houston Grand Opera.

Upcoming performances for Soloman Howard include the role of the Lion in Jeanine Tesori's The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me at the Washington National Opera and The King in Verdi's Aida at The Met.

Introducing Bastian Thomas Kohl & Étude Arts

Soloman Howard, Bastian Thomas Kohl and Sean Michael Plumb (L-R)

We'd like to introduce readers to the German bass-barihunk Bastian Thomas Kohl, as well as his management agency, Étude Arts.

The latter might seem unusual, but it's not often that we see a new agency, especially one that has two barihunks who we've featured, Soloman Howard and Sean Michael Plumb, and one that we somehow missed, Bastian Thomas Kohl. The agency was founded by IMG Artists Senior Vice President Bill Palant. He seems well-suited for the job, having worked in the business for 19 years after a career with the Metropolitan Opera’s Rehearsal Department and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood.  Most importantly, he has a degree in psychology from Oberlin College which will serve his well in this endeavor!

Bastian Thomas Kohl, began his musical career at the age of four and received his formal training at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig and in Vienna at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst.

His international career commenced at the age of nineteen as a member of the Opernchor Leipzig appearing frequently with Gewandhausorchester under the direction of Riccardo Chailly.  He joined the Opernhaus Zürich in the 2014-15 season as a member of the International Opera Studio and has been heard in productions of Lohengrin, Robin Hood, Fidelio and Fälle,  Upcoming performances in Zürich include roles in Iris Ter Schiphorst's children's opera Die Gänsemagd, Richard Strauss' Elektra, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, and Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame.

Upcoming performances for Soloman Howard include Banco in Verdi's Macbeth at Kentucky Opera, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr. in Philip Glass' Appomattox at Washington National Opera, Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at North Carolina Opera and Fafner in Wagner's Das Rheingold at Washington National Opera.

Upcoming performances for Sean Michael Plumb include Marcello in Puccini's La bohème at Curtis Opera Theater, Olav Bjaaland in Miroslav Srnka's South Pole with fellow barihunk Thomas Hampson at the Bavarian State Opera and Der Graf in Richard Strauss' Capriccio at Opera Philadelphia.

Sexy photos of Soloman Howard in Approaching Ali

Soloman Howard in Approaching Ali

Bass-barihunk Soloman Howard just wrapped up a reprisal of his performance as boxing great Muhammad Ali in DJ Sparr's Approaching Ali with the North Carolina Opera. Howard sang in the world premiere of the opera in the Summer of 2013 at the Kennedy Center. 

Sparr's one-hour opera was created under the auspices of the American Opera Initiative, Washington National Opera’s program for commissioning contemporary American opera. The libretto is by Mark Campbell and Davis Miller, based on Miller’s own autobiographical novella.

Soloman Howard in Approaching Ali

Fortunately for our readers, a number of amazing pictures appeared in Raleigh's Indy Week magazine of the singer accompanied by this article.

The opera tells the story of a young boy in North Carolina in the early 1960s who overcomes the loss of his mother and the trauma of being bullied when he sees Muhammad Ali on television. More than 20 years later, as a writer on the brink of middle age, he seeks to rekindle that spirit by visiting his boyhood hero in person at the home of Ali’s mother in Louisville.

Soloman Howard had a successful debut this season as the King in Verdi's Aida at the Met. This summer he'll sing Banco in Verdi's Macbeth and Sarastro in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Glimmerglass Festival. 

Soloman Howard to headline gala

Soloman Howard

Barihunk Soloman Howard, who we recently featured in a post about the Marian Anderson tribute, will be the featured artist at the "Phantom of the Opera" Gala of the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts. The July 26th event will honor music educator and choral director Joyce Garrett and actor Norm Lewis.

Norm Lewis recently became the first African American to portray 'The Phantom' in Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic production "Phantom of the Opera. Though the actor of the hit TV show Scandal is unable to attend in person, he is greeing the gala guests via video. Lewis will be honored with an award for his landmark accomplishment in absentia.

Joyce Garrett has been long associated with the famed Eastern High School Choir. She was honored by The Washington Chorus at the Embassy of France for her contributions to choral music and culture in Washington D.C. She has been the music director of many televised choral performances both nationally and overseas.

Soloman Howard, who has quickly captured the attention of the opera world, will be featured as the guest artist of the evening. A regular and favorite at the Washington National Opera, he has upcoming appearances in Verdi's La traviata at the Los Angeles Opera and in the composer's Aida at the Metropolitan Opera. 

The black-tie event begins at 6:30 PM at the Harmony Hall Regional Center John Addison Concert Hall in Fort Washington, MD. Tickets are available by calling.

Soloman Howard in televised Marian Anderson tribute

Marian Anderson & Soloman Howard

Bass-barihunk Soloman Howard will join soprano Alyson Cambridge in a televised tribute to the trail-breaking singer Marian Anderson tonight on Centric (a BET network).  The show,  Of Thee We Sing: The Marian Anderson Story,  pays homage to the singer and civil rights icon through performances, stories and archival footage. 

Marian Anderson was the first African-American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. She made history on Easter Sunday in 1939 when she sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The half  hour concert, which was made possible due to the intervention of Eleanor Roosevelt, made headlines across the country and was attended by more than 75,000 people. She had been denied the right to perform at two indoor venues because of her African-American heritage. It was the first time the Lincoln Memorial steps had been used as a place of peaceful protest.

The BET documentary tells the story of Marian Anderson’s indomitable spirit and explores her role in American History.

Of Thee We Sing: The Marian Anderson Story, is based on Washington Performing Arts tribute concert held at the DAR Constitution Hall on April 12, 2014. Also featured are soprano Jessye Norman, pop icon Dionne Warwick, the vocal group 3WB (brothers Marvin, Carvin, and BeBe Winans), actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, journalist Wolf Blitzer, American Idol winner Candice Glover and vocalist Annisse Murillo accompanied by a 250-voice choir.

Check your local listings for times.

North Carolina Opera announces barihunky new season

A well-dressed Soloman Howard and an undressed Troy Cook in Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirésias

North Carolina Opera has announced their new season and it includes some of our favorite singers. Anytime an opera company produces Puccini's La boheme, odds are that at least one of the three baritones will be a barihunk. The company has not announced their Schaunard, but we're thrilled that Troy Cook will appear as Marcello and Soloman Howard as Colline. Cook, you may recall is one of six singers who have appears on this site in the "full monty." Performances are on January 24 & 26, 2014.

Sidney Outlaw

Mozart's Così fan tutte will feature the ridiculously talented and brilliant Sydney Outlaw as Guglielmo. You can see the Brevard, North Carolina native in performances on October 3, 5 & 6, 2013. Fans in New York can catch him on November 4th at Carnegie Hall performing Mendelssohn's Walpurgisnacht & Mozart Requiem. He'll also be making his debut with the Atlanta Opera next year as Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Their final offering is Antonín Dvorák's magical opera Rusalka. Although this isn't a barihunk vehicle, it does include two rising soprano talents who you won't want to miss: future Wagnerian mega-star Heidi Melton and Joyce El-Khoury. There is one performance scheduled on March 14, 2014.

North Carolina Opera was formed in 2010 from the merger of Capital Opera Raleigh and The Opera Company of North Carolina. Visit their website for tickets and additional cast information.

Soloman Howard stars as Muhammid Ali

Soloman Howard in Approaching Ali

We're not sure how this almost slipped by us, but thanks to an alert reader, we've learned that the Washington National Opera is presenting the world premiere of composer D.J. Sparr's "Approaching Ali" today at the Kennedy Center. Bass-barihunk Soloman Howard, who we've featured on this site before,  will sing the role of Muhammad Ali. The opera based on the life of Muhammid Ali, is the second opera to premiere about a boxer within a week. Aubrey Allicock is starring as the bisexual boxer Emile Griffith in the world premiere of Tereence Blanchard' s Champion on June 15th in St. Louis.

Sparr's one-hour opera was created under the auspices of the American Opera Initiative, Washington National Opera’s program for commissioning contemporary American opera. The libretto is by Mark Campbell and Davis Miller, based on Miller’s own autobiographical novella.

The opera tells the story of a young boy in North Carolina in the early 1960s who overcomes the loss of his mother and the trauma of being bullied when he sees Muhammad Ali on television. More than 20 years later, as a writer on the brink of middle age, he seeks to rekindle that spirit by visiting his boyhood hero in person at the home of Ali’s mother in Louisville.

Muhammid Ali and Soloman Howard

A number of contemporary composers are writing operas based on news figures from our lifetime. Some of these include John Adams' "Nixon in China" and "The Death of Klinghoffer," Stewart Wallace's "Harvey Milk," Anthony Davis' "X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X," Mark-Anthony Turnage's "Anna Nicole Smith," Philip Glass' "Satyagraha" and Thomas Adès' "Powder Her Face." These operas have been dubbed "CNN opera" or "MTV operas," although with the new focus on sports figures, perhaps we should add "ESPN opera" to the vocabulary.

"Approaching Ali" will also feature baritone David Kravitz as Davis Miller, Aundi Marie Moore as Ali’s mother Odessa Clay, boy soprano Ethan McKelvain as Young Davis, Tim Augustin as Roy Miller and Catherine Martin as Sara Miller.

In addition to today's performance at 7:30 p.m., the opera will be repeated on Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m. There will be a Q&A with the artists and creative team following both performances.
All tickets are $30 and are available at the Kennedy Center Box Office, by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324, or online at www.kennedy-center.org.

Solomon Howard and Norman Garrett to join Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program

Norman Garrett (left in Carmen) and Soloman Howard with Indra Thomas and Noah Stewart

The Washington National Opera has announced its roster for their 12th season of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. It will include four baritones/basses, including two who we've featured on this site, Soloman Howard and Norman Garrett. They will be joined by baritone Christian Bowers and bass Wei Wu.

The program is expanding from ten artists to twelve artists this year and will include mentorship by its new Artist in Residence, soprano Deborah Voigt, as well as voice teachers Diana Soviero and William Stone, guest master teachers Carol Vaness and Peter Kazaras, and visiting vocal coach Kathleen Kelly.

The new class of young artists will participate in several world premiere productions during the 2013-2014 season, including new commissions from WNO’s American Opera Initiative and Jeanine Tesori’s new family opera The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me. The program will also continue its exchange with the Bolshoi Young Artists Opera Program and will send several artists to Moscow for a two-week period in 2014.

Other participants will include soprano Jacqueline Echols, tenor Yuri Gorodetski, tenor Yi Li, pianist Kevin Miller, pianist Tomoko Nakayama, mezzo Deborah Nansteel, tenor Patrick O’Halloran and soprano Shantelle Przybylo.

Barihunks to alternate Show Boat role at Kennedy Center

Rod Gilfry (L) and Michael Todd Simpson (R)

If you like your singers tall - say about 6' 5" - you might want to head to the Nation's capital where barihunks Rod Gilfry and Michael Todd Simpson are going to alternate the role of Gaylord Ravenal at the Kennedy Center. Performances begin on May 4 for a three week run. Featured in the smaller role of Joe, is Soloman Howard, who has also been featured on this site. He'll be alternating the role with Morris Robinson. The Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein classic will be directed by Francesca Zambello.

The cast also includes Andriana Chuchman and Jennifer Holloway sharing the role of Magnolia, Alyson Cambridge and Talise Trevigne as Julie, and Angela Renée Simpson and Gwendolyn Brown as Queenie.

Tickets are available online or by calling the Kennedy Center Box Office at (800) 444-1324.

Soloman Howard

In addition to his illustrious opera career, Gilfry has made a major mark singing musicals. He has sung the title role in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, appeared as Captain von Trapp in the Théâtre du Châtelet production of The Sound of Music, Lancelot in Camelot at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, and Emile de Becque in the U.S. National Tour of the Lincoln Center Production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific, a production that garnered 7 Tony Awards in 2008. In November, he be performing in Mark Anthony Turnage Anna Nicole at the New York City Opera.

Musicals are also not new to Michael Todd Simpson, who made his London debut at the Barbican performancing in Carousel with Opera North. He can next be seen performing Vaughan William’s A Sea Symphony with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra on April 13 and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on May 23, 24 and 25.

Reader Submission: Soloman Howard

Soloman Howard shows he has arms to match his voice

Our latest reader submission is Soloman Howard, affectionately known as SoHo to his friends. 

A native of Washington, D.C.,  Howard is in his second year of Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. This season he appears with the Washington National Opera as Il Commendatore in Mozart's Don Giovanni, which runs from September 20-October 13. The Don Giovanni's will be barihunks Paulo Szot and Ildar Abdrazakov and the Leporello is Andrew Foster-Williams. Last season he was seen on stage as High Priest of Baal in Verdi's Nabucco.

Solomon Howard "Total Praise" at the 1:09 mark (Check out those low notes):

His recent credits include a debut with Washington Concert Opera as Leone in Verdi's Attila, and performances at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage with the Conservatory Project. Previous engagements include Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, and many concerts with the Morgan State University Choir, including the role of Porgy in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, under the baton of Paul Freeman.

Howard is a graduate of Morgan State University and the Manhattan School of Music.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com