Britten's 100th Birthday Continues in Vancouver; Introducing Aaron Durand

Aaron Durand

The 100th birthday celebration of Benjamin Britten continues with a production of one of his comic masterpieces in Canada. 

Aaron Durand, who last appeared on the Vancouver Opera stage as Sciarrone in Tosca, will be singing the role of Sid in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring with the company.  Durand enrolled at the Victoria Conservatory of Music at age 19 before transferring to the University of Brtish Columbia where he graduated from in April 2013. Durand was awarded the Yulanda M. Farris Young Artist award, which granted him a year's contract with the Vancouver Opera. He is also the winner of the Boxer Career Development Grant from Vancouver Opera and the Ben Hoeppner Scholarship from the University of Brtish Columbia.

The opera opens on November 30 with four performances running through December 8th. The Vancouver Opera had updated their production to the 1950s. Tickets are available online.

Albert Herring was composed between 1946 and 1947. The libretto, by Eric Crozier, was based on the Guy de Maupassant short story, Le Rosier de Madame Husson. It premiered at the Glyndebourne Festival in June 1947 and was intensely disliked by the owner and founder of the festival, who is reported to have greeted audiences with the words "this isn't our kind of thing, you know." Almost 40 years later, the festival's 1985 production of Albert Herring was one of the most successful the opera has ever had.

If Peter Grimes showed the tragic aspects of life, Albert Herring showed its comic side. In it, Britten parodies moral hypocrisy, village fêtes, mayors, vicars, schoolmarms and policemen. Its successful translation in several European countries has broadened the opera's appeal.

Marc Callahan in Albert Herring at Birgitta Festival

Marc Callahan as Sid in Albert Herring (Photo: John Bishop)

The worldwide centenary of Benjamin Britten's birth continues at the beautiful monastery at the Brigitta Festival in Estonia. American barihunk Marc Callahan will be performing the role of Sid in Albert Herring with Opera North on August 10th at 7 PM.

The production also featured the legendary soprano Dame Josephine Barstow in the role of Lady Billows.

Tickets are available online.

Sam Dundas wins coveted Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship

Sam Dundas (Photo: Craig Borrow, Herald Sun)

We're unapologetically huge fans of Aussie barihunk Sam Dundas. Not only is he one of the biggest talents "down under," but he's one of the greatest guys in the business. Dundas is the kind of singer that one pulls for to succeed in the mad world of opera. His personality is as infectious onstage as offstage and we predict a great future for the 30-year-old singer.

We were about to post about his upcoming performance as Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale when we learned that he had won the coveted $42,000 Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship. The prize allows Dundas to come to the United States for six weeks of work on the opera skills of his choice.

Dundas has indicated that he's going to use the prize to work on his Russian language skills. We're sure that there are some coaches in Брайтон-Бич (Brighton Beach) who would be happy to assist him in honing his Russian language skills. We can't wait to see him in two Tchaikovsky roles: the title role in Eugene Onegin and Prince Yeletsky in Pique Dame.

For those of you fortunate enough to be in Australia, you can catch his Dr. Malatesta from August 1-15 at Opera Australia with Conal Coad in the title role. Tickets are available online. From August 16-30 you can catch him as Sid in Britten's Albert Herring.

Sam Dundas and José Carbó nominated for Helpmann Awards in supporting roles

Sam Dundas in La boheme

A little over a week ago, we posted about barihunks Bryan Watson and Giorgio Caoduro being nominated for Helpmann Awards for their performances in a leading role in opera. Also nominated in the category of "Best Male Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera" were barihunks Sam Dundas for his portrayal of Marcello in La bohème at Opera Australia and José Carbó as Fritz in Die Tote Stadt at Opera Australia. Also nominated were, Wolf Matthias Friedrich for L'Orfeo at the Brisbane Festival and Douglas McNicol for Fidelio at the State Opera of South Australia. 

 

The Helpmann Awards are the Australian equivalent of Broadway's Tony Awards and London's Laurence Olivier Awards. They recognize distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in live performances in Australia, including musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, cabaret, opera, classical music, theatre, dance and physical theatre. 

 

 José Carbó discusses and sings his aria 'Tanzlied des Pierrots' from Die tote Stadt:

Dundas was a member of the Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist program at Opera Australia. In 2009, he made his role debut as Don Giovanni in Victorian Opera’s production of the Mozart classic. He is currently performing as the Jailer in Puccini's Tosca at Opera Australia. which runs through August 31st. He then is featured in a number of consecutive performances at Opera Australia. He opens next week as Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, which will run from July 18-August 15. The day after that run wraps up, he opens as Sid in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring.

 

Dundas is also featured on a new recording of Brahms' German Requiem with the ChorusOz® Choir & the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra. Click HERE to order your copy.  

 

José Carbó can be seen as Giorgio Germont in Verdi's La traviata at Opera Australia, which runs from July 30-August 31.

 

The Helpmann Awards will be on July 29 at the Sydney Opera House. 

Marc Callahan in 1950s Elixir of Love; Britten up next

Marc Callahan and his admirers

Sexy American barihunk Marc Callahan just opened a six week run as Belcore in an English language version of Donizetti's The Elixir of Love at the Kings Head Theatre in London. Director Valentina Ceschi set the opera at a glamorous 1950s garden party at the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age, with a new English libretto by Verity Bargate Award-winner Thomas Eccleshare.

The opera has two casts, so check online for cast information and tickets. 

The former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist continued his studies in France and has excelled in French repertoire ranging from the French baroque's André Cardinal Destouches to Jacques Offenbach's whimsical operettas. In recent years, his career has been centered in the U.K.

After the English language Elixir, he takes on some true English opera as Sid in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring at Opera North. Performances will run from May 15-25.

"Castleton West" A Critical Success

Michael Weyandt & Matthew Worth

Loren Maazel took his Castleton Festival west to California from Virginia, where it was met with the same critical acclaim that it received back East. Many of the same singers returned to reprise their roles, but we found a new addition to the barihunk family in Michael Weyandt, who was a sexy Junius. Cal Performance in Berkeley mounted both the "Rape of Lucretia" and "Albert Herring."

Joshua Kosman, the respected and brutally honest reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle, gave "The Rape of Lucretia" a great review, saying this about the trio of barihunks:

Tarquinius was embodied with sonorous menace by baritone Matthew Worth, and bass-baritone Michael Rice brought a gorgeous warmth of tone to the role of Collatinus, Lucretia's ostentatiously virtuous husband. Michael Weyandt did a muscular turn as the ambitious Junius...

We learned during the performance run that Michael Rice plans on making this his final performance on the opera stage. Luckily, we'll still be able to enjoy him on his wonderful OperaNow! podcast, one of the most enjoyable shows about classical music around. We wish him well in his future endeavors. He's one of our favorite people in opera!

Michael Rice Sailing Off Into the Operatic Sunset

"Albert Herring" featured barihunk Adrian Kramer, who stole the show in the critical role of Sid. You can listen to this talented young Canadian at InstantEncore performing songs by Rorem, Barber and Danielpour.

The opera world should be grateful to Loren Maazel, whose Castleton Festival has reintroduced important operas to the repertory as well as talented young singers.

Adrian Kramer

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Benjamin Britten's Barihunks In Berkeley

Opera fans on the West Coast learned this week that they are going to experience the amazing Britten operas that conductor Lorin Maazel has been performing at his ranch in Castleton. Maazel is bringing the barihunk laden "Rape of Lucretia" and "Albert Herring" to Cal Performances in Berkeley. Both operas will be fully staged. Maazel's Castelton Festival has become something of a cult among opera connoisseurs and this promises to be some of the most visually and vocally exciting Britten to hit California in recent memory. Also, make sure to check out classical music critic Anne Midgette's post on this road tour.

[Michael Rice]


Heading the cast of "Rape of Lucretia" will be two of our favorite young barihunks, Matthew Worth and Michael Rice (a.k.a. Steamy Rice). We once had a post called "Our Michael Rice Crush" where we spelled out a number of reasons why we love this young singer. Not only is he eye candy and a wonderful singer, but he is the host of the OperaNow! podcast, one of the most entertaining shows about opera to be found anywhere. You can subscribe to his podcast on iTunes.

[Matthew Worth]


Matthew Worth has become one of the most popular barihunks on this site, often receiving as many hits as established stars like Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Erwin Schrott and Nathan Gunn. He has rapidly developed a reputation in the opera world as a talented young singer, gifted actor and wonderful colleague. Opera fans in the Bay Area should race to buy tickets to see this young singer before he is gobbled up by the Metropolitan Opera and other large companies.

Fans of Matthew Worth in the Midwest can see him from May 8-16 at the Chicago Opera Theater performing the role of Charlie in Jake Heggie's "Three Decembers" opposite Federica von Stade.

[Adrian Kramer]


The second offering at Cal Performances will be "Albert Herring," which along with "Rape of Lucretia" is probably one of Britten's most unfairly neglected operas. It was also written as a companion piece to "Rape of Lucretia" and is another one of Britten's exploration of a societal outcast, a theme that is quite pronounced in his more famous operas "Billy Budd" and "Peter Grimes."

Adrian Kramer, a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, will be singing the role of Sid in "Albert Herring," as he did at the Castleton Festival.

Visit the Cal Performances website for ticket and performance information.

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Chris Herbert in Albert Herring

One of the best kept secrets in the opera world is Opera Vivente in Baltimore, which we've hailed as having some of the best marketing and hottest singers. They continue to hire the hottest barihunks and they've re-engaged Chris Herbert to play Sid in Britten's comic masterpiece Albert Herring.

Herbert's pictures from Opera Vivente's Orpheus in the Underworld remain some of the most popular on this site: http://barihunks.blogspot.com/search?q=herbert

But Herbert is as much brain as brawn (and that's doubly sexy). He writes insightful pieces about foreign affairs on the Huffington Post, the Foreign Policy Association, Ground Report and on his own blog. Check out: http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/author/christopherherbert/,
http://www.groundreport.com/ChrisHerbert, http://www.simpleintelligence.org/ and
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-herbert-and-victoria-kataoka-rebuffet. Herbert is not some crazy opera singer ranting about foreign policy, he earned B.A. in Music and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Yale University and an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University. [Too bad Miss California isn't this smart.]

The run of Albert Herring opens tonight and you can find out more at: http://www.operavivente.org/current.html

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