Barihunk trio in Mohammed Fairouz's The New Prince

Joshua Hopkins in The New Prince

Last night, the Dutch National Opera premiered Mohammed Fairouz's The New Prince, which celebrates the 500th anniversary of the book in 2032. The piece is set in both the past and in the future and features the barihunk trio of Joshua Hopkins as Niccolò Machiavelli, Paulo Szot as Alexander Hamilton, Bill Clinton and Dick Cheney (three very different characters!), and Dominic Kraemer as Prince Saud al-Faisal.

Paulo Szot as Bill Clinton

Besides Machiavelli, it features well-known people of our day, including Henry Kissinger, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Osama bin Laden, as well as a fantasy world ruler Wu Virtu. Machiavelli’s lover is Fortuna, who is also his publisher. There is even a scene where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump fight over a blow-up globe of the world.

Niccoló Machiavelli’s famous book The Prince describes the means that can be used by a dictator in strengthening his position. He can even permit himself lies and deceit, providing he ensures that they do not come to light. The politician/diplomat/writer was way ahead of his time. 

Dominic Kraemer and a scene from The New Prince

The relevance of Machiavelli’s writing to today inspired composer Mohammed Fairouz to write his second opera. The opera's ultimate message of the piece is delivered by Wu Virtu, which is "the end of war is war" and that aggression met with aggression is a only zero-sum game.

There are three remaining performances on March 26, 28 and 29.

Joyce DiDonato and Paulo Szot in New Year's Eve celebration

Joyce DiDonato and Paulo Szot

Honorary barihunk Joyce DiDonato and barihunk Paulo Szot will ring in 2017 with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic in an “Enchanted Evening” of American classics. The duo will perfom selections from Old American Songs by Aaron Copland,  Rodgers & Hammerstein  "Soliloquy" from Carousel and selections from The Sound of Music, as well as music from Lerner & Loewe's My Fair Lady.

In 2008,  Szot won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Emile De Beque in the Broadway revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific at Lincoln Center Theater.  In the current season, the Brazilian baritone sings Don Alfonso in a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte at Paris Opéra and a solo recital in Madrid as a salute to Antônio Carlos Jobim. He also returns to Feinstein’s 54 Below in New York City for a series of solo performances, and creates the roles of Alexander Hamilton, Bill Clinton, and Dick Cheney in the World Premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s The New Prince at Dutch National Opera.

Less than 3 weeks left to order your 2017 Barihunks in Bed calendar.

 

Zachary Gordin to sing West Coast premiere of Fairouz works

Barihunks calendar model Zachary Gordin will join pianist Lara Downes and the amazing Del Sol String Quartet for a concert of works inspired by ancient Arabic texts set to music by composer Mohammed Fairouz. The concert will feature the West Coast premieres of several of Fairouz’s solo and chamber works inspired by literary and historical influences reaching back to ancient cultures of the Arabian Peninsula.

The performance will take place at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum on November 1st and tickets are available online. 

Regular readers will recall another Barihunks calendar model, Dan Kempson, premiered Mohammed Fairouz’s opera Sumeida’s Song in 2013.

You can enjoy Zachary Gordin all year in our new calendar, which features him in two months. Click on the LULU button below to order your copy today.

Dan Kempson to Premiere Staged Version of Mohammed Fairouz’s Sumeida’s Song

Dan Kempson

Dan Kempson, who was the shirtless smash hit of our calendar this year and who made our Top 25 list of 2012, will perform in the staged World Premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s opera Sumeida’s Song. The one-hour opera will run from January 9-15.

  

The opera will be the first Arab-American opera to be fully produced on an American stage and comes on the heals of the controversy over al-Jazeera buying Current Media.  

Based on the classic Tawfiq El-Hakim play, Song of Death, the opera follows the return of a young man, Alwan, from Cairo to his Upper Egyptian peasant village. He defies his family’s expectations to fulfill an age-old blood feud, instead revealing the true purpose of his return: to end the cycle of violence. For his attempts to bring light and modernity to his village, and for challenging the structure of his society, he pays the ultimate price.

Hear the mezzo aria "The Saddle Bag" and the baritone aria "I Shall Tell Them" from the concert version premiere at the New York Society for Ethical Culture:

Tawfiq El-Hakim's story is well known in the Arab World, and Fairouz’s operatic adaptation captures the underlying aspirations of young people, like Alwan, who stand up for their ideals and for aspirations of a better life. Alwan's resonant proclamation — "I won’t kill" — embodies the noble mission of justice and progress in this timeless, timely, and universal story.

This staged world-premiere production will feature a chamber orchestration with Arabic and western instruments.  The cast also features Rachel Calloway, Edwin Vega and Amelia Watkins. Tickets are available online.