David Adam Moore makes KC debut in Dead Man Walking

David Adam Moore as Joseph de Rocher in Des Moines

Barihunk David Adam Moore will be making his Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut in the role of Joseph de Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Moore sang the role with the Den Moines Metro Opera in 2014, which was broadcast on public radio. He'll be joined by fellow barihunk Daniel Belcher, who will make his role debut as the grieving parent Owen Hart.

Dead Man Walking has become one of the most frequently performed contemporary operas in recent years. It is the story of a profound spiritual journey taken by a nun and a convicted killer about to face the ultimate sentence. Based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean, the opera delves into the conflict between the act of murder, society’s demand for retribution and redemption, and forgiveness. 

Performances are on March 4, 8, 10 and 12 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Moore will be making two major house debuts in 2017, one as Col. Alvaro Gomez in Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel at The Royal Opera in London, opening on April 24 April and a second at the Metropolitan Opera (which has not been officially announced).

Belcher will continue to sing contemporary American opera, as he takes on the role of Brian Castner in Jeremy Howard Beck's The Long Walk at Utah Opera from March 13-April 2.

West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's "Green Sneakers" creating media buzz

Cellist Kathyrn Bates Williams and Barihunk Jesse Blumberg (Photo by Michael Colbruno)

The West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's "Green Sneakers" has created quite a media buzz before its one-night only performance tonight at Fort Mason's Southside Theater in San Francisco. The Jewish Weekly, Bay Area Reporter and San Francisco Chronicle all named it as one of their top theater picks for the week.

The Advocate ran a lengthy interview with Ricky Ian Gordon today, who wrote the mini-opera as a way of dealing with the loss of his lover Jeffrey Grossi to AIDS in 1996. Gordon told the Advocate, "The world is so different now than it was when Jeffery died in 1996. Young people today missed seeing what it was really like at the height of the AIDS crisis so for them they think it’s OK because you just get to take a few pills all the time. Today, HIV is romanticized in a way because you get to be like that character in Rent, but young people need to know that there’s nothing romantic about it."

You can read the entire interview HERE.

Jesse Blumberg and the Del Sol Quartet (Photo by Michael Colbruno)

The San Francisco Examiner hailed Gordon as a natural successor to Stephen Sondheim along with Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel and John Michael LaChiusa. You can read the entire article HERE. San Francisco's KDFC radio also aired an interview with the composer.

Green Sneakers, which is broken into nineteen songs and runs about 80 minutes, is being directed by one of operas most exciting young talents John de los Santos. The theatrical song cycle was written for Baritone, String Quartet, and Empty Chair, with a libretto by the composer. It premiered on July 15, 2008 in Vail, Colorado and has had a number of subsequent performances since, mostly with Blumberg. Remarkably, it had never been performed in the two cities most impacted by AIDS - New York City and San Francisco. This performance and an upcoming show at Lincoln Center on April 6th finally bring this important piece to the audiences most touched by the epidemic. 

Jesse Blumberg in rehearsal for Green Sneakers in San Francisco (Photo by Michael Colbruno)

Tickets for the February 19th performance are available at the Fort Mason website. Tickets for the New York show are part of the American Songbook series at Lincoln Center and available HERE.

A complete photo album from the San Francisco rehearsals is available HERE. 

American Lyric Theater Announces Three New Opera Commissions; Sexy Don Giovanni in Portland

Daniel Okulitch as Willie Wonka

American Lyric Theater (ALT) has announced three newly commissioned operas and the release of the company's first recording with barihunk Daniel Okulitch.

Three new opera commissions are being developed under the auspices of ALT's Composer Librettist Development Program - with themes ranging from the war on drugs in Mexico, to the national disavowal of a scientific genius because of his sexuality, to the true story of the effects of war and homecoming on an American soldier who served as an officer in an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit.

Lawrence Edelson, ALT's Producing Artistic Director, said of the new commissions, "I am very proud to announce these three new operas. Many opera companies commission new works from established composers. Here at ALT, we are deeply committed to identifying gifted emerging operatic writers and providing them with both mentorship and financial support as they develop new works. The three operas being commissioned by ALT this season are also part of our initiative to develop works that expand the traditional audience base for opera while confronting critical contemporary issues."

The casts have not been announced, but we've been assured that at least one role is for a barihunk. Check out the video previews below and see if you can figure out which one. 

LA REINA
Composer: Jorge Sosa; Librettist: Laura Sosa Pedroza

La Reina draws its narrative from the drug trade in Mexico and the United States. The story of revenge and corruption on both sides of the border is inspired by some of the most vivid real life players in this increasingly violent war from the past and present, including Sandra Ávila Beltrán, El Guero Palma, El Pozolero, DEA agent Enrique Camarena, Mexican President Felipe Calderón, and US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. The opera is being written for classically trained singers and a chamber orchestra of acoustic and electronic forces. The libretto for La Reina is being written in both Spanish and English, reflecting the symbiotic relationship between Mexico and the United States, and the shared responsibility of the current drug conflicts.

THE LONG WALK
Based on the book, The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life that Follows, by Brian Castner
Composer: Jeremy Howard Beck; Librettist: Stephanie Fleischmann

A solider comes home from war and must adapt to a world that is forever changed. This is a timeless story, though the context continues to change. Based on the critically acclaimed 2012 memoir by Brian Castner, The Long Walk dives deep into the mind of a American soldier who has returned from Iraq after serving as an officer in an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit. Castner's battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which he calls "the Crazy with a capital C," is at the center of this moving personal story of a man struggling to reintegrate himself back into his family life upon his return from the war.

THE TURING PROJECT (title to be announced)
Composer: Justine F. Chen; Librettist: David Simpatico

Commissioned in honor of the Turing Centennial, The Turing Project is a historical fantasia based on the life of the English scientist Alan Turing. The opera explores Turing's extraordinary contributions to mankind, his county's disavowal of him because he was gay, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. The opera imagines the man inside the legend, the unique perspective he had on the universe, the public and unashamed view he had of his own homosexuality, and the impact he had upon the future of civilization.

Jason Hardy (left) and Daniel Okulitch in NYCO's Don Giovanni

ALT has also announced the release of its first CD on Albany Records "The Golden Ticket." The comic opera by Peter Ash and Donald Sturrock is based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and was commissioned by the American Lyric Theater and Felicity Dahl in 2006.

The Golden Ticket received its world premiere in partnership with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2010, and its European debut in partnership with the Wexford Festival in October 2010. A live recording, conducted by composer Peter Ash, was produced by ALT in partnership with The Atlanta Opera during performances in Atlanta in March 2012. The cast is lead by barihunk Daniel Okulitch and also includes fellow barihunk Jason Hardy as Grandpa George and Mr. Beauregard.

The CD will be available after December 1st on AlbanyRecords.com, Amazon.com, Arkivmusic.com, hbdirect.com, and at other classical music retailers. Digital downloads will be available from iTunes and other similar services shortly thereafter.

Daniel Okulitch's "New American Art Songs" is currently available at GPR Records. 

Nicholas Nelson

If you're on the West Coast, you'll be thrilled to know that the aforementioned Jason Hardy and Daniel Okulitch will be reprising their successful portrayals of Leporello and Don Giovanni from New York City Opera at the Portland Opera. They will be joined by another barihunk, Nicholas Nelson as Masetto. Performances will run from November 2-10. Tickets and additional performance information are available online.

Nathan Gunn to spearhead American opera project

Nathan Gunn in "An American Tragedy" (photo by Ken Howard)

The Opera Company of Philadelphia has announced that barihunk Nathan Gunn has been appointed as the director of its newly-formed American Repertoire Council. Gunn will work with Opera Company of Philadelphia General Director David B. Devan and a steering council in advancing the company's American Repertoire Program, which aims to produce a new American work in 10 consecutive seasons. The program launched in June 2012, with four announced co-commissioned operas as part of both the Aurora Series for Chamber Opera at the Perelman Theater and the Opera at the Academy Series. 

For the next three years, Gunn function as artistic advisor to the company's two composers in residence, Lembit Beecher and Missy Mazzoli, and will guide American repertoire choices and assemble both partnerships and creative teams for new works.

Patricia Racette and Nathan Gunn get hot and steamy in "An American Tragedy":

Gunn is already involved with the opera "Cold Mountain," a co-commission by the 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winner in music, Jennifer Higdon. Based on the bestselling novel by Charles Frazier, which won the National Book Award, it features a libretto by Gene Scheer, and will premiere at the Santa Fe Opera in 2015 before making its February 2016 East Coast Premiere at the Academy of Music. Nathan Gunn stars in both productions.

Gunn has premiered a number of new American operas, including Andre Previn's Brief Encounter at the Houston Grand Opera, Daron Hagen's Amelia at the Seattle Opera, Peter Eötvös' Love and Other Demons at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival and Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy at the Met.

Watch "Nixon in China" online from Théâtre du Châtelet

Franco Pomponi as Richard Nixon

Watch John Adams' masterpiece "Nixon in China" live from the Théâtre du Châtelet beginning at 1 PM EST/11 AM PST. It stars barihunk Franco Pomponi as Richard Nixon, Kyung Chun Kim as Chairman Mao, Sumi Jo as Madame Mao and June Anderson as Pat Nixon. The video is supposed to remain available for three months.