Every GRAMMY nominee for "Best Opera Recording" featiures a barihunk

Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Günther Groissböck, Edward Parks & Aubrey Allicock

Every GRAMMY nominee for  "Best Opera Recording" featiures a barihunk this year.

The nominees, which were announced today, are as follow:

• John Adams, Doctor Atomic, featuring barihunk Aubrey Allicock, Gerald Finley, Julia Bullock and Brindley Sherratt. 
• Mason Bates, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, featuring barihunk Edward Parks, Sasha Cooke, Jessice E. Jones, Wei Wu and Garrett Sorenson. 
• Jean-Baptiste Lully, Alceste, featuring barihunks Edwin Crossley-Mercer and Douglas Williams, Emiliano Gonzalez, Toro and Judith Van Wanroij. 
• Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier, featuring Günther Groissböck, Elīna Garanča and Erin Morley. 
• Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto, featuring the late barihunk Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Nadine Sierra. 

Bate's The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs was also nominated for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition" along with Jake Heggie's Great Scott, which features the ageless barihunk Nathan Gunn.  Other nominees in the category are Du Yun's Air Glow, Kernis' Violin Concerto and Mazzoli's Vespers for Violin.

Günther Groissböck to make his role debut as Wotan at Bayreuth

Günther Groissböck

Günther Groissböck, who debuted at Bayreuth in 2011 as Landgrave Hermann in Wagner's Tannhäuser and sang Fasolt in their 2013 Das Rheingold, is coming back for three major roles in coming seasons.

Perhaps the biggest announcement is his role debut as Wotan in their 2020 season. Groissböck says that he has been approached by other houses to sing the epic role. He's been learning the role on long car trips and feels he's reached the right age to sing the fatherly role. He'll be just shy of his 44th birthday in the Summer of 2020. 

Günther Groissböck sings Lohengrin:

 

In 2017, he'll be at Bayreuth to sing Veit Pogner in Barry Kosky’s Die Meistersinger, followed by Gurnemanz in Parsifal in 2018, where he will replace Georg Zeppenfeld.
On September 18th, he wraps up a runs as Heinrich  Vogler in Wagner's Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera. He then heads to the Bavarian State Opera for Rocco in Beethoven's Fidelio in Calixto Bieito's production, which runs from October 1-6.  

We hear that Bayreuth has signed biceps baritone Günther Groissböck to sing Veit Pogner in Barry Kosky’s new Meistersinger next summer.
He will follow that with Gurnemanz in the 2018 Parsifal, building up to Wotan in the 2020 Ring.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2016/08/bayreuth-books-a-longterm-wotan/#sthash.xCPQgfjj.dpuf

We hear that Bayreuth has signed biceps baritone Günther Groissböck to sing Veit Pogner in Barry Kosky’s new Meistersinger next summer.
He will follow that with Gurnemanz in the 2018 Parsifal, building up to Wotan in the 2020 Ring.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2016/08/bayreuth-books-a-longterm-wotan/#sthash.BWoQVHIr.dpuf

We hear that Bayreuth has signed biceps baritone Günther Groissböck to sing Veit Pogner in Barry Kosky’s new Meistersinger next summer.
He will follow that with Gurnemanz in the 2018 Parsifal, building up to Wotan in the 2020 Ring.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2016/08/bayreuth-books-a-longterm-wotan/#sthash.BWoQVHIr.dpuf

We hear that Bayreuth has signed biceps baritone Günther Groissböck to sing Veit Pogner in Barry Kosky’s new Meistersinger next summer.
He will follow that with Gurnemanz in the 2018 Parsifal, building up to Wotan in the 2020 Ring.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2016/08/bayreuth-books-a-longterm-wotan/#sthash.BWoQVHIr.dpuf

Barihunk switcheroo at Boston Symphony Orchestra

Günther Groissböck (photo:Monika Rittershaus) & Wilhelm Schwinghammer (photo: Enrico Nawrath)

Bass-barihunk Wilhelm Schwinghammer will replace fellow bass-barihunk Günther Groissböck for the Sunday, August 28th performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under the baton of Andris Nelsons. The other singers are soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen, mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose and tenor Joseph Kaiser. Tickets are available online.

Groissböck had a bicycling accident and was unable to travel for the concert. Groissböck's upcoming performances include Heinrich der Vogler in Wagner's Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera, Rocco in Beethoven's Fidelio at the Bavarian State Opera and Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden.

This will be Schwinghammer's  Tanglewood and Boston Symphony debuts. Schwinghammer will return to  Germany to sing Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Hamburg State Opera before returning in October for his debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Fasolt in Wagner's Das Rheingold.

Günther Groissböck singing Heinrich in Amsterdam & Berlin

Günther Groissböck as Heinrich in Lohengrin

The role of Heinrich in Wagner's Lohengrin is beginning to fill Austrian bass-barihunk Günther Groissböck's schedule. Earlier this year, he had a successful run in the role at the Vienna State Opera in April and he previously performed it in Tokyo. On November 10th, he'll sing seven performances of the role at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, before reprising the role in Berlin in April 2015.

 Günther Groissböck as Heinrich in Berlin:

He'll be joined in Amsterdam by Nikolai Schukoff as Lohengrin and Yevgeny Nikitin as Telramund, both of whom are making their company debuts. Juliane Banse will sing Elsa and Michaela Schuster is taking on Ortrud. Performances run from November 10-29 and tickets are available online.

In Berlin, the all-star cast includes Klaus Florian Vogt as Lohengrin, Waltraud Meier as Ortrud and Anja Harteros as Elsa. Tickets are available online. Ring Cycle fanatics will be thrilled to know that Groissböck will sing Hunding and Fasolt in the Munich Ring in February and March.

If want to enjoy an entire year of nineteen of opera's sexiest men, order you 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar today by clicking on the LULU button below.

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.

Should Fellow Singers be Afraid of Günther Groissböck?

Scary? He looks so sweet

Our post about barihunks Thomas Hampson and Günther Groissböck generated a lot of traffic and interest. Much of it seemed focused on Austrian bass-barihunk Günther Groissböck. Our favorite was a comment from another barihunk, Kyle Ketelsen, who commented about performing Leporello opposite Groissböck's Commendatore on Facebook. Ketelsen said that  Groissböck always "scared the shit outta me" around the 3:35 mark of the following scene from he infamous Don Giovanni production by Calixto Bieito at the Liceu in Barcelona is 2008. We can see why!!!

The much discussed and debated production also featured barihunk Simon Keenlyside in the title role and we featured it in previous posts. Calixto Bieto is currently making his U.S. debut in a reimagination of Tennessee Williams' play Camino Real at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. Needless to say, he's generating just as much controversy on this side of the Pond.

Günther Groissböck in Die Zauberflote. Nice hair?

We've heard from other singers about Groissböck's dramatic intensity and imposing presence on stage. One soprano wrote us that she was always afraid that he was going to grab her by the hair and throw her down onto the stage. Regular readers and opera buffs may recall that Groissböck also starred in the controversial "Brokeback Onegin" in Munich that featured shirtless dancing cowboys and Groissböck in bed with Lensky.

The Comendatore's entrance and DonGiovanni's descent into hell:

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Two Barihunks Make Met Role Debuts This Week

Thomas Hampson & Nadja Michael in Chicago's Macbeth

Two barihunks are making their Met role debuts on March 15th. American Thomas Hampson will take on the title role in Verdi's Macbeth and Austrian Günther Groissböck will debut as the vengeful Banquo in the same opera. Also appearing in the revival will be the thrilling soprano Nadja Michael as the bloodthirsty Lady Macbeth.

Günther Groissböck

Macbeth will be Hampson’s fifth Verdi role at the Met, where he has also sung Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, Rodrigo in Don Carlo, the title role in Simon Boccanegra, and Don Carlo in Ernani. Next season, he will make his Met role debut as Iago in Verdi’s Otello.

Thomas Hampson sings Macbeth's "Pieta, Rispetto, Amore" from Zurich:

The March 15th opening performance of Macbeth will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on March 20, 24, and 29. The March 15 performance will also be streamed live on the Met’s website. The March 24 matinee will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. 

Günther Groissböck  sings "In diesen heil'gen Hallen" from Die Zauberflote:

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