Aaron Sørensen to perform first Stabat Mater with Oakland Symphony

Aaron Sørensen from past Barihunks calendars

Bass-barihunk Aaron Sørensen will be performing his first bass solo in Rossini's beautiful Stabat Mater with the Oakland Symphony. He'll be joined by tenor Thomas Glenn, mezzo-soprano Betany Coffland and soprano Shawnette Sulker under the baton of Michael Morgan.  There will be a single performance on Friday, November 17th and tickets are available online.

The program also includes Jonah M. Gallagher's Vocare and Mozart's Symphony #40. The program's theme is "love and loss," as the Stabat Mater recounts Mary's devastation over the death of Jesus, Vocare was written after the composer lost his mentor to cancer, and Mozart's Symphony #4o is one of only two of symphonies written in minor keys, reflecting his interest in the Sturm und Drang movement (Storm and Stress), in which darker and stronger emotions were showcased. 

After the production of William Tell in 1829, Rossini wrote no more operas. During a visit to Spain two years later, he reluctantly accepted a commission to write a Stabat Mater for the archdeacon of Madrid, Don Manuel Fernandez Varela. Rossini feared comparisons with Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, and stipulated that Varela retain sole possession of the score and never allow publication.

The Stabat Mater was premiered in Paris at the Théâtre-Italien's Salle Ventadour on January 7, 1842, with the Italian premiere occurring three months later in Bologna led by composer Gaetano Donizetti.

Samuel Ramey sings Pro peccatis...Eja, Mater from Rossini's Stabat Mater:

Rossini's extensive operatic career had divided the public into admirers and critics. The announcement of the premiere of Rossini's Stabat Mater provided an occasion for a wide-ranging attack by Richard Wagner, who was in Paris at the time, not only on Rossini but more generally on the current European fashion for religious music and the money to be made from it. A week before the scheduled concert Robert Schumann's Neue Zeitschrift für Musik carried the pseudonymous essay, penned by Wagner under the name of "H. Valentino", in which he claimed to find Rossini's popularity incomprehensible.

The first theme in the tenor solo "Cujus animam" was quoted note-for-note in the 1941 Woody Herman jazz number, "Blues on Parade." The bass has the solo Pro peccatis and Eja, Mater sung with chorus.

Zachary Gordin & Gianluca Margheri from the 2018 Barihunk Calendar/Book

Our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!
 

Richard Rittelmann in Golden Gate Opera's 20th Anniversary Concert

Richard Rittelmann, another hot barihunk in bed

The Golden Gate Opera, which is based just north of San Francisco in Marin County, will be celebrating the Diwali Festival of Light with a concert on Sunday, October 30. It will feature barihunk Richard Rittelmann, soprano Shawnette Sulker and mezzo-soprano Alexandra Jerinic. The concert celebrates the 20th anniversary of the company. The trio will sing music from Léo Delibes' Lakmé.

The reception begins at 3 PM and the concert an hour later. Tickets and information is available online. 

The company will also be presenting the West Coast Premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Boy Who Grew Too Fast, which was canceled last year due to a staff emergency. Keep an eye on our site for times and dates. Proceeds from  the opera will used to bring the anti-bullying message to the Marin County Schools. Rittelmann will perform the role of Dr. Schrink, who helps the boy. 

Our new 10th Anniversary Barihunks in Bed calendar is now on sale and it's our hottest one ever. Click on the Lulu button now to secure your copy.

Anders Froehlich is a sexy success in Bonjour M. Gouguin

Anders Froehlich in Bonjour M. Gouguin

One thing we love about the internet is that we can track which posts are of the most interest to our readers. Clearly, our readers like a little beefcake, as the posts with the most skin seem to consistently generate the most traffic. (Who said opera lovers were stuffy?). Our teaser post featuring Anders Froehlich in Fabrizio Carlone's Bonjour M. Gaugin at the West Edge Opera outside of San Francisco was no exception. It rivaled some of our top posts featuring Daniel Okulitch, Omar Ebrahim, Nathan Gunn, Michael Mayes, Gabriel Bermudez and our latest sensation snowboarder/barihunk Christiaan Smith Kotlarek.

Anders Froehlich and soprano Shawnette Sulker

We attended opening night, and the build up to the opera was worth the hype. West Edge Opera, which used to be Berkeley Opera, prides itself on "pushing the envelope" under General Director Mark Streshinsky, who also directed Gouguin. Their recent production of Monteverdi's L’incoronazione di Poppea with a fiendishly sexy Ryan Belongie in the countertenor role of Ottone was a huge critical success.

Anders Froehlich in Bonjour M. Gouguin

Streshinsky took a chance with Carlone's Bonjour M. Gaugin, in that the composer was virtually unknown and the story mixes French and English, dance and opera, and video projection with stage action. Froehlich was asked to perform extensive dance moves by choreographer Yannis Adoniou, which is usually a red flag in opera. But the 31-year-old baritone and amateur rock climber has extensive dance training and he moves as effortlessly as the other dancers. Even the music, which was scored for low instruments and no violins, had more hints of Debussy than modernism.

Anders Froehlich and soprano Shawnette Sulker

Next up for the company, is Benjamin Britten's Turn of the Screw, which runs from July 20-28. There are no baritones in the cast, so mark your calendars now. More information about West Edge Opera is available on their website.

We hope that you enjoyed the pictures!