Final five baritones perform at Finnish vocal competition

Ilya Silchukov and Waltteri Torikka

Today marks the final day of the preliminary round of the Mirjam Helin International singing competition and five more baritones have performed. After today's singers wrap up, they will announce 16-20 singers who are moving on to the semi-finals on August 9-10. In the semi-finals each singer must perform a song by a Finnish composer, a group of solo songs lasting 15-20 minutes, and an opera or concert aria.

Finnish baritone Waltteri Torikka, baritoni sang with Marko Hilpo at the piano. He performed J.S. Bach's Ich habe genug from Cantata #82, Schumann's Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen, Mozart's Così dunque tradisci and Tchaikovsky's Don Juan Serenade. You can watch his performance HERE.

Belarusian baritone Ilya Silchukov performed with Kiril Kozlovsky at the piano. He sang Graun's So steht ein Berg Gottes, Rimsky-Korsakov's Drobitsia i pleštšet, Schumann's Du bist wie eine Blume, and Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo from Mozart's Così fan tutte. You can watch his performance HEREhttp://areena.yle.fi/tv/2351004.

Ukrainian baritone Oleksandr Pushniak sang with Kristian Attila at the piano. He performed Spohr's Judas Gott hat geredet, Schubert's Die Forelle,  Tchaikovsky's Otšego? and Lysenko's Khto vbyv joho? Tse vy? Oh tatu, tatu..." from Taras Bulba. You can watch his performance HERE.

Latvian baritone Rihards Millers performed with Ērika Apeine at the piano. He performed Händel's Why do the nations from the Messiah, Schubert's Der Wanderer,  Tchaikovsky's Don Juan Serenade and Tutto e disposto from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. You can watch his performance HERE.

Croatian baritone Matija Meić sang with Tuula Hällström at the piano. He sang  Händel's Revenge, revenge from Alexander's Feast, Tchaikovsky's Notši bezumnie, Schubert's Auf dem Flusse and Avant de quitter ces lieux from Gounod's Faust. You can watch his performance HERE.

The finals will be held on August 13 with eight prizewinners performing on August 15th. Singers will perform two works with orchestral accompaniment. Each singer will have a maximum of 20 minutes.

There will be 4 female and 4 male prizes, beginning at €30000 for 1st prize, €20000 for 2nd prize, €10000 for 3rd prize and €5000 for 4th prize. Tickets for all rounds are available online or at the Lippupiste ticket shop. 

Edward Laurenson says farewell to New Zealand with two concerts

Edward Laurenson

New Zealand barihunk Edward Laurenson, who we just introduced to readers last month, is featured in two concerts on August 12 and 13 at the Auckland Grammar's Centennial Theatre. The concerts are both a fundraiser and his farewell as he travels to England to commence his Masters in Music studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. The money from the concerts will help him cover his living expenses while living in London.

This concerts will include performances by James Doy and the National Youth Theatre Company, Rebekkah Schoonbeek-Berridge and the Fusion Dance Studio, soprano Emma Sloman and his accompanist Rosemary Barnes.

In August 2013, Laurenson was the only New Zealand finalist in the prestigious IFAC Australian Singing Competition in Sydney. Among the prizes he won for gaining second place was a scholarship for a year of study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, which begins in September.

Edward Laurenson

In March 2013 he received rave reviews for his role in sold-out performances of The Factory at Auckland’s Q Theatre as part of the Auckland Festival. At the end of 2013 Edward sang to over 200,000 people in the Auckland Domain at the Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park. This year Edward won the Becroft Grand Opera Aria at the North Shore Competitions and was named the recipient of the Circle 100 Scholarship and was a finalist in the 2014 Lexus Song Quest.

Tickets for both concerts are available online.

Tobias Greenhalgh latest Tirésias barihunk

Tobias Greenhalgh in Les mamelles de Tirésias (right)

Few operas seem to attract barihunk casting more than Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirésias and the latest production at the Wolf Trap Opera doesn't disappoint. They've cast barihunk and part-time super hero Tobias Greenhalgh in the role of Le mari, the husband of the title character.

Les Mamelles de Tirésias was Poulenc’s first opera and was composed during World War II. It is based on a surrealist play of the same name by Guillaume Apollinaire. The musical world of this opera is irresistible, referencing as it does not only music hall but also the composers of the time such as Chabrier and Satie.

Tobias Greenhalgh in Les Mamelles de Tirésias

Wolf Trap is performing the opera in a double-bill with Milhaud's Le pauvre matelot (The poor sailor). Although the lead role is sung by a tenor, two singers who have appeared on this site appear in the opera. Norman Garrett plays the sailor's friend and Ryan Speedo Greene plays his father-in-law.

The double-bill will be conducted by Timothy Myers with performances on August 8, 10 and 16. Tickets are available online.

Four more baritones compete in Mirjam Helin Competition

Four more baritones performed on the second day of the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition. Once again, all of the performances are available online.

Ukrainian baritone Dmytro Kalmuchyn sang with Tuula Hällström at the piano. He performed J.S. Bach's Geschwinde, ihr wirbelnden Winde, Schumann's Der Soldat, Rachmaninov's Notš petšalna and Mozart's Fin ch'han dal vino from Don Giovanni. You can watch his entire performance HERE.

Korean baritone Insu Hwang performed with Eunmyung Baek at the piano.  He sang Händel's Arm, arm ye brave from Judas Maccabaeus, Schumann's Ballade des Harfners, Saint-Saëns' Danse macabre and E sogno? o realtà from Verdi's Falstaff. You can watch his entire performance HERE.

British baritone Thomas Humphreys sang with Raya Kostova at the piano. He performed Händel's The trumpet shall sound from the Messiah, Schubert's Der Zwerg, Gounod's Avant de quitter ces lieux from Faust, and Rachmaninov's Ne poi, krasavitsa, pri mne. You can watch his entire performance HERE.

Russian baritone Kirill Goriunov sang with Ilmari Räikkönen at the piano. He performed Händel's Dignare, o Domine from the Dettingen Te Deum, Schubert's Frühlingsglaube, Rachmaninov's Ja opjat odinok and Verdi's O Carlo, ascolta from Don Carlo. You can watch his entire performance HERE.

The preliminary round continues through August 7th with 46 singers competing to get into the semi-finals on August 9-10. The finals will be held on August 13 with the prizewinners performing on August 15th. Tickets for all rounds are available online or at the Lippupiste ticket shop. 

Jonathan McGovern goes from Avatar Jake to King Ulysses

We somehow lost track of Jonathan McGovern after his critically-acclaimed performances as the avatar Jake in Nico Muhly's Two Boys at the English National Opera in 2011. At the time, he had just taken 2nd Prize at the 2011 Kathleen Ferrier Awards and was joining the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme.

He recently caught our attention again as Ulysses at the Iford Opera Festival production of Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses. Rian Evan said his "burnished baritone embraces both the heroism of Ulysses and the emotional torture of this culminating episode of his odyssey." It's amazing to think that this is the same guy who played the baby faced boy n Two Boys. He next takes on Sid in Puccini's La fanciulla del West at ENO in October and then sings the role of the captain in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at Grand Théâtre de Genève with fellow barihunk Michael Nagy as Onegin.

Behind the scenes with Jonathan McGovern and Louise Alder:

Other engagements this season have included Polynices in Julian Anderson’s world premiere The Thebans at ENO, the role of Adam in a staged version of Haydn’s The Creation for Vocal Futures at the Ambika P3 in London, the St John Passion with Winchester Music Club, and a recording of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Le Reniement de Saint Pierre where he sang the role of Jesus.

Four baritones in today's 1st round of Mirjam Helin Competition

There are four baritones performing in the preliminary round of the Mirjam Helin International singing competition, including one of our favorites, American John Brancy. He'll be joined by
Hansung Yoo of Korea, Shi Zong of China and Björn Bürger of Germany.

Brancy, who was joined by Ilmari Räikkönen at the piano sang J.S. Bach's Mache dich mein Herze rein from the St. Matthew Passion, Schubert's Nachtstück, Rachmaninov's V moltšani notši tainoi and Thomas' Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse from Hamlet. You can watch his performance HERE.

Korean Hansung Yoo, who was joined by Imari Räikkönen at the piano sang Duparc's Chanson triste, J.S. Bach's Großer Herr und starker König from the Christmas Oratorio, Schumann's Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden and Gounod's Oh sainte médaille... Avant de quitter ces lieux from Faust. You can watch his performance HERE.

Björn Bürger, of Germany was joined by Ilmo Ranta at the piano, and performed Mozart's Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen from the Magic Flute, Schubert's Auf der Bruck, Händel's Why do the nations from the Messiah and Schumann's Ich grolle nicht. You can watch his performance HERE.

Chinese bass Shi Zong was accompanied by Ilmari Räikkönen at the piano and sang J.S. Bach's Quia fecit mihi magna from the Magnificat, Verdi's Di due figli vivea padre beato from Il trovatore, Schubert's Erstarrung and Saint-Saëns' Danse macabre. You can watch his performance HERE.

The preliminary round continues through August 7th with 46 singers competing to get into the semi-finals on August 9-10. The finals will be held on August 13 with the prizewinners performing on August 15th. Tickets for all rounds are available online or at the Lippupiste ticket shop. 

Günther Groissböck virile and youthful Ochs in Salzburg Rosenkavalier

Günther Groissböck and Sophie Koch
(© Salzburger Festspiele / Monika Rittershaus)

The Salzburg Festival just opened Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier with an all-star cast that includes barihunk Günther Groissböck as Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau. A trio of superstar women join him in the opulent production, as Krassimira Stoyanova sings the Feldmarschallin, Sophie Koch plays Octavian and Mojca Erdmann sings Sophie. For the first time in the history of the Salzburg Festival, Der Rosenkavalier will be performed without any cuts with the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst.

The production, which is set in pre-1914 Vienna, was staged by the formidable team of director Harry Kupfer and his designers, Hans Schavernoch and Yan Tax.

Groissböck was singled out in early reviews for portraying a virile and more energetic Ochs than is traditionally seen. The character is often portrayed as a happy and somewhat buffoonish oaf. He's certainly the sexiest Baron Ochs that we've ever seen.

Günther Groissböck, Sophie Koch & Krassimira Stoyanova
(© Salzburger Festspiele / Monika Rittershaus)

Performances of Der Rosenkavalier continue from August 5th through the 23rd.

If you can't make it to Salzburg, the opera will be recorded by ORF in cooperation with UNITEL, NHK and Bayerischen Rundfunk and broadcast on August 18th at 10:20 PM on ORF2 and on Bayerischen Rundfunk on August 21st at 10:45 PM.