Reader Submission: Jeffrey Williams

Jeffrey Williams

We've said it numerous times, but it's worth repeating: Some of our favorite barihunks have been reader submissions. We have a couple of them to share with you this week beginning with Pennsylvania native Jeffrey Williams, who was spotted by a loyal reader in Philadelphia. 

This past summer, Williams attended the Russian Opera Workshop at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.  Following his time at the Russian Opera Workshop, he spent the remainder of the summer with barihunk Tom Krause at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and in Sachrang, Germany.  Previously, he studied abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, with French baritone, Didier Frédéric.  For two summers, Williams also attended Middlebury College’s German School and German for Singers program, studying with the late James McDonald, Ruth Ann McDonald, and Bettina Matthias. 

Williams has portrayed Lord Ruthven in Marschner’s Der Vampyr, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress, Prince Yeletsky in Pique Dame, the title role in Rachmaninoff’s Aleko, the title role in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Rabonnier (La rondine), Le Commissaire (Orphée), Jack Point (Yeomen of the Guard), Superintendent Budd (Albert Herring), Strephon (Iolanthe) and Marchese d’Obigny (La Traviata), as well as opera chorus work with the Washington National Opera, the late Baltimore Opera, and Florida Grand Opera.

Jeffrey Williams

He will be Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute with the University of Miami’s Frost Opera Theater and the Young Patronesses of the Opera (FGO) In-School Opera program with 35 performances throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties January-March 2013.  Ticket information will be made available in early January. Performances will also be streamed live online.

Williams currently studies with mezzo-soprano Robynne Redmon and baritone Tom Krause.  He is also a staff singer at Plymouth Congregational Church in Coconut Grove, FL.

Don't forget to buy your 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar before the New Year begins in three weeks:

Reader submission: Tom Krause

Tom Krause as Don Giovanni

Our latest reader submission is the Finnish baritone Tom Krause, who was a leading baritones for four decades across the globe. He originally planned on becoming a psychiatrist, and received his medical degree from Helsinki University. However, he opted for a career in opera, beginning his studies in Helsinki, and later at the Vienna Music Academy and in Berlin.

Since his debut in Berlin in 1957, Tom Krause has established himself as a leading baritone with a vast repertoire, ranging from Bach to Messiaen. He was with the Deutsche Oper Berlin for three years and was a member of the Hamburg State Opera for decades beginning in 1962, where he performed in a number of world premieres. He went on to perform in most of the major houses in Europe, including La Scala, Vienna, London, Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam and Rome. He performed leading roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, La Concrentola, Parisfal, Elektra, Cosi fan Tutte, The Queen of Spades, Katya Kabanova, and Saint Francois d’Assise.

In 1963, he made his American debut in America at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1967 as Count Almaviva.

Tom Krause appears on numerous recordings of both opera and lieder, including works by Brahms, Schumann, Moussorgksy, Schubert and Sibelius).

He is currently teaching in Hamburg and is member of numerous Voice Competitions through the world.