Aachen to revive Wuorinen's Brokeback Mountain

Christian Tschelebiew and Mark Omvlee

Charles Wuorinen's operatic adaptation of Brokeback Mountain, based on the 1997 Annie Proulx's story of a cowboy love affair that became an Oscar-winning film is set for a revival on December 7th at Theater Aachen in Germany. German bass-barihunk Christian Tschelebiew will play the role of Ennis Del Mar, which was portrayed by Heath Ledger in the 2005 movie adaptation and Dutch tenor Mark Omvlee will will play the Jake Gyllenhaal role of Jack Twist. In the smaller role of Bill Jones is Stefan Hagendorn, who we've featured on this site twice before.

Brokeback Mountain was originally commissioned for a 2013 premiere by Gerard Mortier while he was at the embattled New York City Opera. When he became the head of the Teatro Real, Mortier decided to revive the work and present it there in 2014. Annie Proulx wrote the libretto.

Christian Tschelebiew and Mark Omvlee

Christian Tschelebiew trained at Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik Stuttgart. He has been a resident artist in Mainz, Augsburg, Erfurt und Gießen and at the Komishce Oper Berlin. He has also been a regular at the Bayreuth Festival where he has performed in Parsifal and Lohengrin.

In the world premiere, Ennis Del Mar was performed by Daniel Okulitch and Jack Twist by Tom Randle.

Performances in Aachen will run through January 22 and tickets and additional cast information are available online.

You can order your 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar today by clicking on the LULU button below. Enjoy 19 of the hottest men in opera all year around.

 

"Brokeback Mountain" to be broadcast February 7th

Daniel Okulitch in Brokeback Mountain

In response to our most asked question of the last few week, we're are thrilled to announce that Charles Wuorinen’s Brokeback Mountain will be broadcast live from Madrid’s Teatro Real on Friday, February 7 at 2 PM EST/11 AM PST.

You can tune in to Medici.TV to watch the production.

First "Brokeback Mountain" video released; Daniel Okulitch's doppelgänger

The first preview of Charles Wuorinen's Brokeback Mountain with video has finally been released by the Teatro Real in Madrid. You read more about the opera in our last post.

While we were looking at the video, it dawned on us that barihunk Daniel Okulitch reminded us of someone else who has been in the news, Super Bowl-bound quarterback Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos.

Peyton Manning and Daniel Okulitch

First Rehearsal Pictures from Wuorinen's "Brokeback Mountain"

Tom Randle & Daniel Okulitch

Tom Randle & Daniel Okulitch

Tom Randle & Daniel Okulitch

One of the most anticipated opera premieres of 2014 is undoubtedly Charles Wuorinen's Brokeback Mountain, which premieres January 28 at Madrid's Teatro Real. We've certainly received numerous request about rehearsal photos or clips, which we're thrilled to announce have finally become available. Canadian bass-barihunk Daniel Okulitch stars as Ennis Del Mar and the American tenor Tom Randle portrays Jack Twist (played in the film version by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal).

The composer worked closely with Annie Proulx, the author of the original story. Wuorinen points out that the opera will be much different than the film, particularly making the Wyoming setting more ominous.

Listen to Charles Wuorinen discuss the opera:

The opera was originally commissioned by Gerard Mortier for the New York City Opera in 2008 and he brought it to Teatro Real before his recent departure.

The English language opera is in two acts and lasts just over two hours. It is scheduled to run at the until February 11.

Daniel Okulitch to star in operatic version of Brokeback Mountain

Daniel Okulitch in Dead Man Walking

Madrid's Teatro Real has confirmed that Canadian barihunk Daniel Okulitch will star in the world premiere of  Charles Wuorinen's operatic adaptation of Brokeback Mountain, based on the 1997 Annie Proulx's story of a cowboy love affair that became an Oscar-winning film. Okulitch will play the role of Ennis Del Mar, which was portrayed by Heath Ledger in the 2005 movie adaptation. American tenor will Tom Randle will play the Jake Gyllenhaal role of Jack Twist.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain

Although no exact date has been announced for the premiere, it is expected to open on January 28, 2014 and run through February 11th. We suspect that the music will be drastically different from the movie soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla, as Wuorinen writes in the 12-tone style. His previous opera was Haroun and the Sea of Stories, based on Salman Rushdie's novel. Santaolalla won the Academy Award for "Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score."

 Guitar transcription of Gustavo Santaolalla's "Brokeback Mountain" music:

David Fry sings Wuorinen's "Never again the same"

Brokeback Mountain was originally commissioned for a 2013 premiere by Gerard Mortier while he was at the embattled New York City Opera. When he became the head of the Teatro Real, Mortier decided to revive the work and present it there. Annie Proulx has written the libretto and it will be directed by Dutch director Ivo van Hove.

"Brokeback Onegin" returns to Munich with new cast

Simon Keenlyside (L), Ain Anger (C) and Pavol Breslik in Eugene Onegin

The famous "Brokeback Onegin" is back at the Bayerische Staatsoper with a new cast that includes barihunks Simon Keenlyside as Onegin and Ain Anger as Gremin. Regular readers might recall that the original production, which generated worldwide press attention, featured barihunks Mariusz Kwiecien as Onegin and Gunther Groissboeck as Gremin decked out in a muscle tee shirt. From the photo above, it looks like Anger looks pretty good in the muscle tee shirt, as well.

The "Brokeback Boys" backstage and onstage in Onegin

The production is directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski, who envisions the opera as a story of suppressed homosexuality and a desire to break free from society. The production was inspired by Tchaikovsky's life story, "Brokeback Mountain" and Warlikowski´s own childhood in a suburban working class ghetto in Poland. When it first premiered in 2008, it was greeted by a combination of critical praise and outrage. The production, which was broadcast in Germany today, has become a bit of a cult classic amongst opera aficionados. There is one performance remaining on Wednesday, March 28th.

Watch the trailer from the 2008 production:

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com