Watch Quirijn de Lang as Sam in Trouble in Tahiti on OperaVision

Quirijn de Lang as Sam in Trouble in Tahiti (Image courtesy Opera North)

You can watch Dutch barihunk Quirijn de Lang in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti with Opera North on OperaVision from August 25-September 11. He will be joined by the Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta as the other half of the argumentative couple.

Bernstein wrote the libretto and music for Trouble in Tahiti and directed and conducted the premiere himself in June 1952 at the University of Brandeis, Massachusetts. Eager to make his one-act satirical opera seem as realistic as possible, Bernstein set it in the aftermath of World War II, a time when consumerism was spreading through society. His work had a number of autobiographical references and the male protagonist, Sam, shares his name with Bernstein’s father who left Russia to find the 'American Dream'.

The opera opens with a jingle performed by a musical trio who sing into the microphone of a recording studio. Bernstein wanted this trio to "never stop smiling". The jazz rhythms evoke the radio commercials of the time and the trio is reminiscent of an ancient Greek choir that satirically comments on the story.

Quirijn de Lang will be performing Danilo in Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow with Opera North beginning on September 29th and running through November 17th.

Quirijn de Lang featured in one-act operas with Opera North

Wallis Giunta and Quirijn de Lang in Trouble in Tahiti

The U.K.'s Opera North is presenting a new series dubbed "Little Greats," which are six operas that run about an hour each and are presented as a double-bill. To entice new opera attendees, tickets start for as little as £10. The series will include Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, Janáček's Osud, Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti and Gilbert & Sullivan's Trial by Jury and will run from September 16 to October 21.

Dutch barihunk Quirijn de Lang will be featured in both L'enfant et les sortilèges as the Grandather Clock and Tom Cat and in Trouble in Tahiti as Sam, one half of a bickering married couple.

Quirijn de Lang

The operas will be performed in Leeds starting on September 16, Kingston starting on October 26, Nottingham starting on November 1, Newcastle starting on November 8 and Salford Quays starting on November 15. Ticket information is available online.

Quirijn de Lang can currently be seen as Selim in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia at the Garsington Opera through July 15. On July 29, he'll be featured in "A Night at the Opera," a concert with full orchestra with Opera North featuring soprano Jeni Bern.

John Brancy takes Britain by storm

John Brancy (Photo on right: James Bellorini)

The British are finally getting the chance to enjoy American barihunk John Brancy, as he tours in Glyndebourne's production of Donizetti's Don Pasquale as Malatesta. They are at the tail end of the tour with final performances in Plymouth and Woking running through December 4th. During the tour he's taken time to appear on BBC3 in Norwich (at 1:43:00) and Classicfm for a demonstration of bel canto and legato. (Check them out, as they are quite entertaining).

He'll be returning to North America after the run for a Christmas concert with his wife mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta They will join the Edmonton Symphony, the Greenwood Singers and the dancers from Shelley’s Dance Company for a program that includes Jingle Bells, Carol of the Bells, O Holy Night, Silver Bells, Sleigh Ride, music from The Santa Clause films and a Christmas carol sing-along.

On January 16, he'll join pianist Peter Dugan in Aiken, South Carolina to reprise their critically acclaimed program of WWI songs. The duo then heads to Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital hall on February 5, 2016 for a program entitled Fantasy, which includes music by Schumann, Sibelius, Grieg, Britten and Bridge. 

Enjoy 18 more barihunks in our new Charity Calendar, which is on sale now. 

Malte Roesner

 

John Brancy takes WWI tribute to Carnegie Hall

John Brancy & Wallis Giunta (left): Brancy as Papageno (right)

On January 13th, John Brancy will be at Carnegie Hall to perform his recital honoring the centenary of World War I that he performed last month with Vocal Arts DC. The concert is titled "Silent Night: A World War I Centenary Tribute in Song" and features songs from England, Germany, Austria, France & America. He'll be joined by Ken Noda at the piano in Weill Recital hall. The program includes music by Butterworth, Gurney, Orff, Alma Mahler, Ravel, Poulenc, Debussy, Ives and renditions of "My Buddy" and "Danny Boy"

The gifted young singer, was the winner of both the Sullivan Foundation and Marilyn Horne Song Competitions before graduating from Juilliard. Brancy has also already made solo recital debuts at both Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, and has appeared in opera in Paris, Dresden, and Frankfurt.

Tickets are available online.

If you want to see him in opera, you'll have to head to Canada where he takes on Papageno in Mozart's Magic Flute with the Edmonton Opera opening on January 31 and then Figaro in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro with Lyra Opera Ottawa opening March 21.  The latter production includes his girlfriend Wallis Giunta as Cherubino.

Canadian Barihunks featured on CBC's "30 under 30"

The CBC recently ran a feature called "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30." They surveyed Canada's conservatories, music competitions and professional training programs to come up with their list. Although we at Barihunks take the word "HOT" to mean sexy, it appears that they are going for a double meaning, with "HOT" also meaning "musicians with talent to keep an eye on," since they range in age from 8 to 28.

Both male singers featured are baritones who have appeared on our site and Philippe Sly even gets mentioned for regularly appearing on our site. We've heard other singers joke that Gordon Bintner is incapable of taking a bad picture and we couldn't agree more. Both Bintner and Sly are not only easy on the eyes, but they are indeed two of the most gifted musicians coming out of Canada.

As an aside, the featured soprano Wallis Giunta, is the girlfriend of barihunk John Brancy, who we've featured extensively of late. Small world!
 

Gordon Bintner (photo: Emily Ding)

Gordon Bintner (baritone)

Age: 25
From: Regina, Sask.
Hot because: The last 12 months have been huge for Bintner: he won first prize and the People's Choice Award at the 2012 Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Competition, and in May he made his debut with L'Opéra de Montréal singing Lescaut in Massenet's Manon. We think he looks too sweet to portray womanizing Don Giovanni, but Bintner says it's his dream role.

Upcoming:
- February 2014, Toronto, Ont.: the role of Don Alfonso in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte with the COC's Ensemble Studio.

Philippe Sly (photo: Adam Scotti)

Philippe Sly (bass-baritone)

Age: 24
From: Ottawa, Ont.
Hot because: Sly has a way of impressing audiences and judges. He’s won both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (which come with a cool $15,000 prize) and the Montreal International Musical Competition (add another $55,000 in winnings). Oh, he also makes frequent appearances on the popular Barihunks blog.

Upcoming:
- Sept. 12,15,16, Montreal, Que.: Berlioz’s Damnation de Faust with l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
- Dec. 6,7, Winnipeg, Man.: Handel’s Messiah with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
- March 15, Philadelphia, Penn.: Fauré’s Requiem with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

You can see the entire list at the CBC website. 

Barihunks Tobias Greenhalgh and John Brancy featured on PBS NewsHour

Tobias Greenhalgh, Armand Ranjbaran & John Brancy

Barihunks John Brancy and Tobias Greenhalgh were recently featured on the PBS NewsHour episode "Artists Learn Art of Business to Brave Tough Economic Times." NewsHour correspondent Paul Solman took a look at how people in the classical arts are learning to fine tune their entrepreneurial skills in order to help them design their own careers in an unsure economy.

The two singers were featured for their mutual involvement with "Operation Superpower," which uses their love of classical music to teach young students about their own unique superpowers. The two singers joined by pianist Peter Dugan and composer Armand Ranjbaran focus on courage, hope, honesty, imagination, and friendship to deal with the topic of bullying and helping kids find their own inner strengths. The group is marketing their program as a school assembly program and they have performed in Peoria, Illinois, as well as schools throughout New York State. 

Watch Artists Learn Art of Business to Brave Tough Economic Times on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

John Brancy will be performing with his girlfriend Wallis Giunta in an performance of  arias, ensembles, and choral scenes with the Regina Symphony in September. He then will be part of the Pacific Opera's upcoming season performing in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Tobias Greenhalgh just wrapped up a successful run as Samuel in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.