Evan Boyer to peform first Verdi Requiem in Florence

The Verdi Requiem, one of the greatest works of the Italian repertory will get its first ever performance in Florence on Sunday, May 17th.

Florence, South Carolina that is, not Florence, Italy. For the record, the Requiem, which premiered on May 22, 1874 at the San Marco Church in Milan, was performed in Florence, Italy the following year, as well as throughout most of Europe.

The Florence, South Carolina premiere will feature bass-barihunk Evan Boyer and the Masterworks Choir along with tenor Robert Watson, mezzo-soprano Katherine Pracht and soprano Huanhuan Ma.
The concert will take place at the Francis Marion University and is free to the public. The 80-voice choir is led by Dr. William Carswell, associate professor of music at Coker College.

Evan Boyer began the current season with Seattle Opera as Masetto in Don Giovanni. He sang Mozart’s Requiem with the Houston and Dallas Symphony Orchestras, followed by Händel’s Messiah with the Jacksonville Symphony. This summer he will sing Ramfis in Verdi's Aida and the Bonze in Puccini's Madama Butterfly at Wolf Trap Opera.

Support a singer and attend your local Handel's Messiah

 

Handel's Messiah has become a full-time employment act for opera singers around the world. It's often much needed work for singers during the holidays, so we encourage you to attend a Messiah near you. We asked singers and orchestras to notify us of upcoming performances of the holiday classic and we've compiled this handy list for you. 

 

Friday, DECEMBER 5:
Jacksonville Symphony with Evan Boyer, bass, Twyla Robinson, soprano, Elise Quagliata, mezzo-soprano, Jason Slayden, tenor and Michael Butterman, conductor. Click HERE for tickets. 

Friday, DECEMBER 5:
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Richard Eaton Singers with Cameron McPhail, baritone,
Mireille Asselin, soprano, Lauren Segal, mezzo-soprano, Lawrence Wiliford, tenor and
Ragnar Bohlin, conductor. Click HERE for tickets.

Friday, DECEMBER 5 and Sunday, DECEMBER 7:
Atlanta Symphony with Gerard Sundberg, Jeanine De Bique, Kelley O’Connor and Thomas Glenn 
Click HERE for tickets.

Sunday, DECEMBER 7:
Chicago Symphony and the Apollo Chorus with Jonathan Beyer baritone, Kiri Deonarine soprano, Tracy Watson mezzo-soprano, Samuel Levine tenor  and conductor Stephen Alltop
Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 10-14:
The Phoenix Symphony & Chorus with Rod Gilfy, baritone, Celena Shafer, soprano, Carin Gilfry, mezzo-soprano, Norman Shankle, tenor and Tito Muñoz, conductor.   Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 12 & 13: 
Boston Baroque with Dashon Burton, bass-baritone, Sherezade Panthaki, soprano, Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano  and William Burden, tenor Click HERE for tickets:

DECEMBER 13 & 14:
Colorado Symphony & Chorus in Denver with Kyle Ketelsen, bass, Kiera Duffy, soprano Jamie van Eyck, alto and Sean Panikkar, tenor. Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 13:
The Bach Choir and Mozart Festival Orchestra in full 18th century costumes with Charles Rice baritone, Keri Fuge, soprano, Catherine Hopper, mezzo, Nico Darmanin, tenor  and Oliver Gooch conductor. Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 14:
Detroit Symphony Orchestra & the Michigan State University Chorale at the Seligman Performing Arts Center with Josh Hopkins, baritone, Dominique Labelle, soprano, Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor and Jean-Marie Zeitouni, conductor. Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 15:
Orfeo 55 and the Chœur de Chambre de Namur at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with Andrew Foster-Williams, bass, Susan Gritton  soprano, Sara Mingardo, alto and Benjamin Bernheim  tenor, Under the direction of Nathalie Stutzmann. Click HERE for tickets.  

DECEMBER 16-20:
New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall with James Westman, Baritone, Camilla Tilling, Soprano, Iestyn Davies, Countertenor and Michael Slattery, Tenor. Click HERE for tickets.          ,

DECEMBER 16-19:
American Bach Soloists at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco with Jesse Blumberg, baritone, Mary Wilson, soprano, Eric Jurenas, countertenor, Wesley Rogers, tenor and Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 18-21:
Houston Symphony & Chorus with Derek Welton, bass-baritone, Anna Devin, soprano, Lawrence Zazzo, countertenor,  Barry Banks, tenor and Christopher Warren Green, conductor.  Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 18-21:
San Francisco Symphony & Chorus with Troy Cook, baritone, Yulia van Doren, soprano, Leah Wool, mezzo-soprano,  Nicholas Phan  tenor and Jane Glover, conductor. Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 19 & 20 SOLD OUT:
Belmont Ensemble of London and English Chamber Choir at St Martin in the Fields by candlelight with Philip Tebb, Bass, Elizabeth Weisberg, Soprano, Ciara Hendrick, Mezzo-Soprano, Peter Davoren Tenor and Peter G Dyson, Conductor.

DECEMBER 19-21:
Seattle Symphony & Chorale with Kevin Burdette, bass, Amanda Forsythe, soprano, Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano, Andrew Stenson, tenor  and Gary Thor Wedow, conductor. Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 20:
Valencia Orchestra and Coral Catedralicia with Josep Miquel Ramón, bass-baritone, Raquel Lojendio, soprano, Cristina Faus, mezzosoprano,  Agustín Prunell-Friend, tenor and  José María Moreno, conductor Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 21:
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Petruzzelli (Bari) with bass Christian Senn, Roberta Invernizzi, Romina Boscolo, Robin Tritschler and conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini. Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 21:
Cincinnati Symphony and the May Festival Chorus with Dashon Burton, bass-baritone, Abigail Santos, soprano, Abigail Levis, mezzo soprano, Rufus Müller, tenor and James Bagwell, conductor. Click HERE for tickets.   

DECEMBER 21:
Philharmonischer Chor and the Berlin Batzdorfer Hofkapelle under the baton of Jörg-Peter Weigle with Markus Butter, Baritone, Sibylla Rubens, Soprano, Kai Wessel, Countertenor and Andreas Weller, Tenor. Click HERE for tickets. 

Interview with Evan Boyer

Evan Boyer

What do you do if you’re a kid whose deep voice always sticks out? For Evan Boyer, the answer was: become an opera singer. “No matter how quiet I tried to talk in class, I was always that kid who the teacher could hear,” Boyer says. As a teenager, he discovered his true talent accidentally at camp: some cute girls who liked his bass sound asked him to sing for them. He impressed his audience, and surprised himself with what turned out to be a defining moment. It led him to pursue choir in high school, and later, he studied voice in college. Now, Boyer is a recent graduate of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s professional training program. He makes his Seattle Opera debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni, and has been called “excellent” by The Seattle Times.

Welcome to Seattle Opera! You’re making your debut with us.
Don Giovanni was actually the first opera I ever saw as a senior in high school. It was the Kentucky Opera in Louisville. [He says the name with a Southern accent: "Lou-ville."] I guess here in Seattle you’d say “Louie-ville” [laughs].

Based on some of the names Masetto calls his wife, as well as his quick temper, it might be easy to assume that he’s a bad guy. However, he’s more complex than that, isn’t he?
Masetto has a temper, and tends to see things in black and white--there's very little gray area for him. But he’s a really honest, good guy; he's just trapped in an impossibly difficult situation. He thinks his wife is abandoning him for someone else on his wedding day; in an instant, the happiest day of his life has become a nightmare. Masetto is of a lower class. There’s nothing he can do when this nobleman starts coming on to Zerlina. She’s definitely not resisting as much as she should be. Naturally, he’s pissed off.

[CLICK HERE CONTINUE READING ON SEATTLE OPERA BLOG]

There are remaining performances of Don Giovanni on Oct. 29, 31 and Nov. 1. For tickets and more information, go to seattleopera.org. 

 Make sure to order our new 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar featuring 19 of the hottest men in opera. Click on the LULU button below. 

Seattle Gay Scene bemoans missing Mariusz

If you don't think fans of barihunks (small "b") love their singers, then check out the latest issue of the Seattle Gay Scene, which dedicates a whole article to the fact that Mariusz Kwiecien, who appears in the Seattle Opera's marketing materials does not actually appear in the Seattle Opera's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni.

We have to admit that were impressed that writer Michael Strangeways actually knew that Mariusz Kwiecien was one of the inspirations for Barihunks (big "B').  In fact after two of us had seen the "Hot Pole" in separate productions of Don Giovanni (in Seattle and San Francisco), the seeds of this site were planted seven years ago. So, naturally, one would think that we'd be disappointed, too. But we're regulars at the Seattle Opera and have no doubt that they will deliver an amazing performance of Mozart's timeless classic.

Evan Boyer and Erik Anstine (in his BARIHUNK tee shirt)

In fact, they've cast two singers who have been featured on this site, Evan Boyer as Masetto and Erik Anstine as Leporello. Those two should adequately fill the requisite "minimum barihunk requirement" for Don Giovanni. French bass Nicolas Cavallier will sing the title role. Performances will run from October 18 through November 1 and tickets and additional cast information are available online.

Mariusz Kwiecien on the Lyric Opera of Chicago website

If Michael Strangeways, or anyone else, wants to see Mariusz Kwiecien as The Don, then should fly to the Windy City, where he's starring in their production alongside fellow barihunk Kyle Ketelsen's Leporello. The Lyric Opera of Chicago even has a feature online called "Rolling with the Don" where the singer talks about the role (and is referred to as a "barihunk"). Performances run through October 29th and tickets are available online. Oddly, Lyric's website does not list who is singing Masetto.

Evan Boyer featured in free outdoor concert in Chicago

Evan Boyer

Evan Boyer will be part of an all-star operatic cast at a free outdoor concert at Chicago's Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on Saturday, September 7, at 7:30 p.m. The concert is being presented by the Lyric Opera of Chicago. If you can't be there, the concert will be broadcast live on carried live on 98.7WFMT and wfmt.com, which is available online.  

Boyer will be joined by conductor Ward Stare, soprano Ana María Martínez, soprano Albina Shagimuratova, hunkentenor James Valenti, as well as members of the Ryan Opera Center.

Music will include selections from Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Wagner’s Lohengrin, Verdi’s Otello, Verdi’s Il trovatore and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.

Hear the Ryan Opera Center Singers Online

Barihunk Paul La Rosa

Fans of this site know that our dedication to supporting young singers runs deep. We encourage readers to donate to young artist programs and our annual charity calendar benefits young artists. One of the best programs in the country is the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and now you can hear their amazing singers even if you're not anywhere near the Windy City.

The Ryan Opera Center is performing a Rising Stars Concert that will be broadcast in the Chicago area on 98.7 WFMT and streamed online at www.wfmt.com on Sunday, April 1st 4 p.m. CST. If you're in the Chicago area, the concert is on Saturday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m CST at the Ardis Krainik Theatre of the Civic Opera House, but tickets are only available to Lyric Opera donors of $75 and above. You can (and should) donate at the Lyric Opera website.

Members of the 2012 Ryan Opera Center

One of this site's most popular young artists, Paul La Rosa, will be featured in the concert along with fellow baritones and basses Joseph Lim, Paul Scholten, David Govertsen and Evan Boyer. Other singers include sopranos Emily Birsan, Kiri Deonarine, and Jennifer Jakob (sopranos); mezzos Emily Fons and Cecelia Hall; and tenors René Barbera, Bernard Holcomb, and James Kryshak. The singers will be performing works by Adams, Bellini, Berlioz, Bernstein, Bizet, Delibes, Donizetti, Gounod, Mozart, Puccini, Rachmaninov, Rossini, Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Verdi.

Participants in the program have performed principal and supporting roles during Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 57th season. They also served as understudies for major and minor roles throughout the season.

Another member of the program is Will Liverman who we recently predicted would win the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Unfortunately, the judges disagreed, but he is destined for a major career.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com