Björn Bürger to sing title role in Owen Wingrave

Björn Bürger

German barihunk Björn Bürger, who we introduced to readers in August when he was competing in the Mirjam Helin Competition, will be singing the title role in Britten's Owen Wingrave at the Frankfurt Opera from January 10-30. The role was previously sung at the opera by fellow barihunk Michael Nagy. He's currently wrapping up two more performances as Harlequin in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos with the company.

Bürger has been a member of the Frankfurt Opera Ensemble since 2013, where he's also sung Bengtson in Reimann's Die Gespenstersonate, Astolfo in Vivaldi's Orlando Furioso, Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni. He'll be adding Marcello in Puccini's La boheme to the list in February. In 2015, he will debut as Don Giovanni at the Norwegian Opera in Oslo.

Michael Nagy as Owen Wingrave in Frankfurt

In 2012, Bürger took First Prize at the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang 2012 (National Singing Competition) in Berlin and a year later the top prizes at the 'Emmerich-Smola Competition' and the Anneliese-Rothenberger Competition.

Owen Wingrave, which premiered in 1970, tells the story of a committed pacifist born into a renowned military family.  Despite strong disapproval over his beliefs and desperate to maintain the love of his would-be bride, Owen Wingrave is determined to prove his inner strength – even if it leads to his own demise.

Britten was a deeply committed pacifist, which traces back to his early life, particularly during his years at Gresham’s, his public school in Holt, Norfolk. He was know as a sensitive young boy who abhorred violence and bullying. World War I had cast a huge shadow over Britten’s generation and it was felt nowhere more keenly than at Gresham’s.  Britten was born a year before the onset of WWI  where the U.K. and its colonies saw 887,711 killed in action between 1914 and 1918. 100 boys from Gresham’s alone lost their lives.  His school formed one of the first branches of the League of Nations Union, which was designed to foster peace and prevent future conflict. The school also banned corporal punishment.

Britten's most famous pacifist composition is his War Requiem.

There is still time to order your 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar before the New Year. Just click on the LULU button below.

Matija Meić takes two prizes at Mirjam Helin Competition

Matija Meić took the top prize for Finnish song interpretation and 2nd overall for men

Even though three of the four male finalists were baritones, the top prize for a male singer at the 7th Annual Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition was awarded to tenor Beomjin Kim, who we commend for his stellar performances. However, the €3 000 prize for the best performance by a non-Finnish singer of a Finnish song went to Croatian baritone Matija Meić. Meić placed second behind Kim, followed by fellow Croatian Leon Kosavic and Ukranian Dmytro Kalmuchyn.

First prize for a female singer went to the Ukranian soprano Kateryna Kasper, who was followed by Russian soprano Ekaterina Morozova, Korean soprano Sunyoung Seo and Russian soprano Elena Guseva. 

A total of €133 000 was awarded in prizes and the laureates receive invitations to perform in Finland and abroad. The members of the Jury voted independently and did not discuss the performances during the voting procedure. In adjudicating the Final performances from all three rounds were taken into account.

Forty-six singers from around the globe took part in the Competition this year, with the jury selecting 19 for the semi-finals and eight for the final round. The chairman of the 2014 Jury was the Artistic Director of the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Jorma Silvasti. Other jurists included Franz Grundheber, Maria Guleghina, Ben Heppner, Robert Holl, Andrea Rost, Nathalie Stutzmann and Deborah Voigt.

The prize winners will perform at a concert on August 15th at Tampere Hall accompanied by the Tampere Philharmonic under the baton of Hannu Lintu.

You can listen to Majita Meić's performance HERE,  Leon Kosavic's performance HERE, and Dmytro Kalmuchyn's performance HERE.

Waltteri Torikka's semi-finals performance at the Mirjam Helin Competition

Waltteri Torikka singing Look! Through the port

There is an amazing group of baritones competing in the semi-final round of the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition and Waltteri Torikka is among the best.

His set included Benjamin Britten's Look! Through the port from Billy Budd, Kuula's Sinipiika, a Sibelius lieder set (Serenade; Jägargossen; Den första kyssen; Im Feld ein Mädchen singt) and Adam Norden's Jag är ett träd. You can watch his entire 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. 

Introducing Croatian Barihunk Matija Meić

Matija Meić

28-year-old Croatian barihunk Matija Meić began his studies at the Music Academy in Zagreb before continuing on to the University of Performing Arts Vienna. He performed Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen while at the Music Academy.

At today's Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition he performed Pylkkänen's Pastorale, a set of Finzi songs (Come away, come away, death; Who is Silvia?; Fear no more the heat o' the sun; O mistress mine; It was a lover and his lass), and Donizetti's Cruda, funesta smania from Lucia di Lammermoor. You can listen to his entire performance HERE.

In the 2010/2011 season, Matija Meić made his debut at the Zagreb National Theatre as Levi in Zajc's Nikola Šubić Zrinjski, subsequently performing Schaunard in Puccini's La Boheme. The following season he performed Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore with the company.

Matija Meić sings Largo al factotum from the Barber of Seville:

In June 2013, Meić sang the role of Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. The following season he sang Belcore and Figaro at the Zagreb Opera House. This season, he was enlisted to sing the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Vienna Performing Arts University production at the Schlosstheater Scönbrunn.

Meić has take top prizes at a number of vocal competitions, including at the 2010 International Singing Competition in Montenegro in 2010, the Iuventus Canti Competition in Slovakia in 2013, as well as being named the “Young Singer of the Year ” at the Molto Cantabile Competition in Zagreb in 2013.

Introducing Croatian Barihunk Leon Košavić

Leon Košavić

Leon Košavić performed his semi-final set today at the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition. He performed Sibelius' Fågellek, a set of the Schubert Heine Lieder (Der Atlas, Ihr Bild, Das Fischermädchen, Die Stadt, Am Meer, and Der Doppelgänger, and Donizetti's Bella siccome un angelo from Don Pasquale. You can watch the entire performance HERE.

Leon Košavić began his vocal education at the age of twelve at the Academy of Music in Zagreb with Giorgio Surian. In 2011, he was awarded first prize at a Croatian national competition for students.

He made his stage debut as Moralés in Bizet's Carmen at the The Academy of Music and subsequently performed there as the Emperor in Stravinsky´s The Nightingale. He made his professional debut at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb as Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, where he subsequently performed Mr. McC in Introductions and Goodbyes by Lukas Foss and Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

In 2013, he was awarded the Audience Choice Award at a competition for young artists in Croatia.

Introducing Ukrainian barihunk Dmytro Kalmuchyn

Dmytro Kalmuchyn

We were blown away by Ukrainian barihunk Dmytro Kalmuchyn's performances in the first two rounds of the Mirjam Helim International Singing Competition in Helsinki, Finland. We were even more amazed to learn that he just recently turned twenty-one. His set of Richard Strauss songs would be a fantastic performance for a singer twice his age.

Kalmuchyn hails from Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine in the historic region of Podolia, where he began singing with the Children's Music School.  He eventually became the lead singer of the "Podilski Solovyi” (Podillya Nightingales) children's chorus.

In May 2010, at the age of 17, he made his solo recital debut with the Khmelnytskyi Regional Philharmonic Society. That same year, he became a first-year student of voice at the Lviv National Musical Academy. He won the Theodore Teren-Yuskiw Young Singers Competition and the Grand Prix of the competition "Art of the XXI century."

You can watch his semi-final performance at the Mirjam Helim International Singing Competition HERE. He sings Sibelius' Svarta rosor, a Richard Strauss set (Zueignung, Nichts, Die Nacht, Die Georgine, Geduld, Die Verschwiegenen, Die Zeitlose and Allerseelen), as well as Bellini's Or dove fuggo io mai...Ah, per sempre io ti perdei from I Puritani.

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. 

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. 

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.