German barihunk Marco Vassalli is performing Count Mondego (Graf von Mercerf) in Frank Wildhorn's The Count of Monte Cristo at the Stadtheater Bremerhaven with Vikrant Subramanian taking on the title role. Performances run from September 29 through June 10 and some shows are already sold out, so get your tickets online.
Lyricist and librettist Jack Murphy took his influences from the Alexandre Dumas père book of the same name, as well as the popular movie starring Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris and Henry Cavill.
The musical was first work-shopped in New York City in 2008 with many of the cast members of Broadway's A Tale of Two Cities. The American professional premiere was produced by the Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City in May 2016. The German language version (Der Graf von Monte Christo) premiered at the Theater St. Gallen in Switzerland on March 14, 2009.
Vassalli will take advantage of a break in the schedule between his October 13 and 26 performances to make his only U.S. appearance. He will be reprising Clint Borzoni's Stufen with the Festival String Quartet, which was written for him and has proved to be immensely popular with audiences and on YouTube. He will also perform works by Leonard Bernstein and Franz Schubert along with the Piano Quintet in Eb major by Robert Schumann. Tickets are available online.
Thomas Hampson and David Leigh(costume sketch courtesy of Canadian Opera)
Rufus Wainwright's second opera, "Hadrian," will open on October 13th at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. The opera is about a gay relationship in ancient Rome between the Roman emperor Hadrian and his lover Antinous. Daniel MacIvor's libretto was inspired by Marguerite Yourcenar's novel "Memoirs of Hadrian," which Wainwright read twenty years ago.
"Antinous and Hadrian," an opera based on the same story, was recently completed by composer Clint Borzoni and librettist Edward Ficklin, and was presented in New York in 2017 in concert form. You can hear the beautiful love scene HERE.
This is pop singer Rufus Wainwright's second attempt at opera, after "Prima Donna," which premiered at the New York City Opera in 2009, featuring barihunk Randal Turner.
Wainwright's "Hadrian" comes with an adult warning and features a musical interlude where Hadrian and Antinous make love. The cast includes the ageless barihunk Thomas Hampson as Hadrian, tenor Isaiah Bell as his lover Antinous, Karita Mattila as Plotina, bass-barihunk David Leigh as Turbo, Ambur Braid as Sabina and Ben Heppner as Dinarchus. The piece is sung in English and Latin.
The story is about Emperor Hadrian, who is devastated after his lover Antinous drowns in the Nile River. While matters of state encroach on his grief and advisers clamor for war against a radical new threat to the Empire, Hadrian slips out of time to re-encounter the vision and reality of Antinous—and learn the truth about what happened on the Nile.
There are seven performances between October 13-27 and tickets are available online.
Marco Vassalli in Montreuil Bellay, France(Photo by Jack Michaels)
Barihunk Marco Vassalli will sing the German premiere of Clint Borzoni's Stufen and Magere Kost on September 9th in Überlingen. The two German language songs were written for the singer and debuted in San Francisco in 2016. The program will also include music by Robert Schumann, Samuel Barber and the Überlingen-based composer Justus Hermann Wetzel. He'll be accompanied by Florian Appel on the piano. The concert will be at the Stadtisches Museum Uberlingen and tickets are available online.
Marco Vassalli sings Clint Borzoni's "Stufen":
The first song is based on Hermann Hesse's Stufen and the second text Margere Kost
is by the contemporary poet Hilde Domin. These are the first German
language texts set by Borzoni. The singer hand selected the poems to be set by the American composer and performed at Vassalli's official U.S. debut.
The Borzoni songs were so popular when presented at Musica Marin that the chamber group is presenting the songs again at their upcoming festival, which runs from September 21-23. Tickets and additional information is available online.
German barihunk Marco Vassalli will be back in the United States to reprise his stunning U.S. debut with Musica Marin two years ago. In 2016, he premiered two works by composer-in-residence Clint Borzoni based on German poetry.
The first song is based on Hermann Hesse's Stufen and the second text Margere Kost is by the contemporary poet Hilde Domin. These are the first German language texts set by Borzoni. The premiere was so popular two years ago that a second performance had to be added. Demand has been so high that Vassalli has agreed to repeat the performance along with Samuel Barber's Dover Beach, which he also performed in his U.S. debut.
Marco Vassalli sings Clint Borzoni's "Stufen" with over 16k views on YouTube!
Marco Vassalli sings Clint Borzoni's "Magere Kost" with over 8k views on YouTube!
This year, Musica Marin is presenting their first festival setting and it will kick off on September 21st with Vassalli performing on a yacht on San Francisco Bay with food and wine prepared by “Best of the Bay” Chef Mark Furr. On the following day, Vassalli will repeat his performance of the Barber and Borzoni piece, all of which are set for string quartet and baritone, along with Johannes Brahms' String Sextet No. 2 in G Major Op. 36.
The Musica Marin International Chamber Music Festival performs masterpieces of the chamber music repertoire in various settings in the San Francisco Bay Area along with gourmet food and wines from Napa and Sonoma counties.
There are a number of composers who have had an amazing gift for writing
for the baritone voice. In an earlier era, Verdi, Wagner, Poulenc and
Carl Loewe all wrote timeless music for baritones. In contemporary
times, Jake Heggie, Ricky Ian Gordon and Clint Borzoni have kept the tradition alive, with all three writing baritone leads for almost every new opera.
Borzoni's latest opera, When Adonis Calls," which debuted on May 11, 2018 at the Asheville Lyric Opera is written for for bass-baritone and baritone, string quartet, percussion and two dancers. The opera already has second performance scheduled in
Chicago with the Thompson Street Opera Company this Fall and discussions are underway for
a West Coast premiere next year.
Marco Vassalli sings Clint Borzoni's "Stüfen" with Musica Marin:
Borzoni, who is the Composer-in-Residence at Musica Marin, has written highly acclaimed music low male voice. For those on the West Coast, you'll be able to enjoy his latest song cycle "The Hidden Singer," written for German bass Malte Roesner and string quartet. The cycle revolves around seven poems by Wendell Berry all
associated with birds,
which are normally correlated with high soprano voices. The piece will debut on June 3, 2018 with Musica Marin at the historic Ansel Adams home in San Francisco. Tickets are available online. The song cycle will be paired with
Mendelssohn's String Quartet in A minor.
Randal Turner sings Clint Borzoni's "I Dream'd in a Dream"
Borzoni has written another song
cycle for bass-baritone Tim
Hill, several songs for bass-baritone Randal Turner (based on Walt Whitman's poetry) and penned two pieces
for String Quartet and baritone for Marco Vassalli based on German settings. He also wrote the
two-act opera “Antinous and Hadrian,”
which features a baritone lead. His opera The Copper Queen, won Arizona Opera's Sparks Competition
for new works, and is based on a true story about the
alleged ghost of a prostitute haunting a historic hotel in Bisbee,
Arizona.
Joshua Jeremiah and Trevor Martin(photo: Frank Zipperer)
The Asheville Lyric Opera has a huge success on its hands and bragging rights for landing the highly anticipated world premiere
of composer Clint Borzoni and librettist John de los Santos' "When Adonis Calls," which debuted on May 11th. There are additional performances on May 12 and 13. Asheville is also the home of Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, whose poetry was refashioned into the libretto. Tickets are available online.
Joshua Jeremiah and Trevor Martin(photo: Frank Zipperer)
The opera, which was work-shopped at the Fort Worth Opera Festival's
Frontiers series of new works in 2015, chronicles the tale of a distant relationship between an accomplished, if aging and discouraged Poet an a young, inspired, and impetuous Muse. Two male dancers create the emotional subtext as the poets banter back and forth of their loves, their animosities, their jealousies, and their creative furies.
Trevor Martin(photo: Frank Zipperer)
The piece is scored for two baritones, string quartet, percussionist and two dancers (and comes with an adult content warning). When Adonis Calls features
a low and high baritone, and Asheville Lyric Opera featured two
amazing performers in Trevor Martin and Joshua Jeremiah, as well as two
local dancers.
Joshua Jeremiah and Trevor Martin and dancers(photo: Frank Zipperer)
"When Adonis Calls" already has a second performance scheduled in
Chicago with the Thompson Street Opera Company this Fall. Details are
forthcoming. Our site has also learned that discussions are underway for
a West Coast premiere.
Malte Roesner(Photo: Jack Michaels)
For those on the West Coast, you'll have an opportunity to experience another world premiere from Clint Borzoni, when German bass Malte Roesner premieres the song cycle "The Hidden Singer, " based on the poetry of Wendell Berry. The cycle revolves around seven poems all associated with birds,
which are normally correlated with high soprano voices. The song cycle is scored for string
quartet, but opens with an a cappella setting.
The concert will be held at Ansel Adams' former home in San Francisco
and tickets include a generous supply of wine and food, in keeping with
Musica Marin's tradition to present chamber music in the original
intimate, salon setting of a home. The song cycle will be paired with
Mendelssohn's String Quartet in A minor. Tickets for the June 3rd
concert are available online.
German bass Malte Roesner, who was born in the United States, will be premiering a quintessentially American song cycle by Clint Borzoni, based on the poetry of Wendell Berry. The cycle, which is entitled "The Hidden Singer" revolves around seven poems all associated with birds, which are normally correlated with high soprano voices. The low, male voice works well with Berry's settings, who has been dubbed the "conservationist poet," and Borzoni's music grounds these works solidly in nature and the Earth around us. The song cycle is scored for string quartet, but opens with an a cappella setting.
Randal Turner sings Borzoni's "That shadow, my likeness":
The concert will be held at Ansel Adams' former home in San Francisco and tickets include a generous supply of wine and food, in keeping with Musica Marin's tradition to present chamber music in the original intimate, salon setting of a home. The song cycle will be paired with Mendelssohn's String Quartet in A minor. Tickets for the June 3rd concert are available online.
The song cycle was commissioned specifically for Roesner, and Borzoni said that he learned a lot from working directly with the singer, who is also a musicologist and recently transitioned to a lower voice range.
We asked Malte Roesner to tell us about this song cycle and here's what he had to say:
"Artistic expression can speak to us on many different levels. It can be emotionally beguiling or intellectually stimulating or aesthetically pleasing. Only exceptional art has the ability to reach us on all of them simultaneously. The same way that multi-sensory learning is the most effective way of understanding or memorizing something, I think that this multi-level impact is what makes art captivating.
The poems by Wendell Berry do have this quality. They are modern poems, but they are also timeless through their imagery of nature and metaphor and in their deeply spiritual sense of connectedness.
We are very lucky that in this song cycle Clint was not only able to capture these qualities and feelings, but augment them by adding his own artistic depth. Either this is just a very lucky pairing or Clint has shown an exceptional sensibility when writing this music (probably both), because I feel that his composition possesses the same timelessness and captivating visceral quality as the poems.
There is an earthy and "woody" feeling to the music, yet it washes over you like water. At other times there are almost folkish elements that dance with an aerial lightness. And I am sure I could also describe a fiery quality in order to cover ALL the alchemistic elements...There is not a lot of art song literature written specifically for the bass voice, maybe because this voice type functions a little bit differently than high voices or because it feels as if it only lends itself for very specific topics. I feel that this song cycle is a truly special and important addition to the bass song repertory, because it just... works... and then gets you in the feels."
Borzoni, who is the Composer-in-Residence at Musica Marin, has become associated for writing for low male voice. He has written a song
cycle for bass-baritone Tim
Hill, several songs for bass-baritone Randal Turner (based on Walt Whitman's poetry) and penned two pieces
for String Quartet and baritone for Marco Vassalli based on German settings. His opera "When Adonis Calls," which is scored for baritone and bass-baritone, is receiving performances in both Asheville and Chicago this year. He also wrote the two-act opera “Antinous and Hadrian,”
which features a baritone lead. His opera The Copper Queen, won Arizona Opera's Sparks Competition
for new works, and is based on a true story about the
alleged ghost of a prostitute haunting a historic hotel in Bisbee,
Arizona.
Marco Vassalli sings Borzoni's "Stufen":
Roesner made his highly-acclaimed U.S. stage debut last year with West Edge Opera in Soler's The Chastity Tree, as well as his recital debut performing music by Soler and Süßmayr. He recently performed the Devil in Weinberger's Schwanda, der Dudelsackpfeifer (Schwanda, the Bagpiper) at the Stadttheater Gießen in Germany.
We've always maintained that the smaller houses and festivals are where the best new operas are being performed. So kudos to the Asheville Lyric Opera for landing the highly anticipated world premiere of composer Clint Borzoni and librettist John de los Santos' "When Adonis Calls" on May 11th. Asheville is also the home of Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, whose poetry was refashioned into the libretto.
The opera, which was work-shopped at the Fort Worth Opera Festival's Frontiers series of new works in 2015, chronicles the tumultuous correspondence between an established writer and an eager young admirer.
"Two Nooses" from the Fort Worth Opera Festival
The piece is scored for two baritones, string quartet, percussionist and two dancers (and comes with an adult content warning). When Adonis Calls features a low and high baritone, and Asheville Lyric Opera will feature two amazing performers in Trevor Martin and Joshua Jeremiah, as well as two local dancers. The opera will have additional performances on March 12 and 13 and is expected to sell out in the 110 seat Masonic Temple. Tickets are available online.
Composers and opera administrators will tell you that a second performance of a work is often more difficult than the premiere. Remarkably, Adonis already has a second performance scheduled in Chicago with the Thompson Street Opera Company this Fall. Details are forthcoming. Our site has also learned that discussions are underway for a West Coast premiere.
Marco Vassalli sings Clint Borzoni's beautiful "Stufen" with Musica Marin:
Borzoni, along with Jake Heggie, has become particularly associated for writing major roles and works for low male voices. He has written a song cycle for bass-baritone Tim
Hill, several songs for bass-baritone Randal Turner, penned two pieces for String Quartet and baritone for Marco Vassalli, and is currently working on a commission for bass Malte Roesner to be premiered at Musica Marin this year. Turner’s songs
appear on his CD, “Living American Composers” and were performed at the 9/11 tribute at the U.S. embassy in Switzerland. He also wrote a two act opera titled “Antinous and Hadrian,” which features a baritone lead. His opera The Copper Queen, also to a libretto by John de los Santos, won Arizona Opera's Sparks Competition for new works in a runaway. The opera is based on a true story about the alleged ghost of a prostitute haunting a historic hotel in Bisbee, Arizona.
American barihunk Mark Diamond will join Musica Marin for the world premiere of Clint Borzoni's new arrangement of the aria, "Two Nooses"
from his opera "When Adonis Calls” for baritone, viola, cello and piano. The New York-based Borzoni is the composer-in-residence for the California chamber music organization. Last year, they presented the world premiere of his two works for Baritone and String Quartet, Stufen and Magere Kost.
The program is a collaboration with San Francisco's Merola Opera Program, where Diamond was part a participant in 2011. He'll be joined by mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm, who was also in Merola in 2011 and accompanist Ronny Greenberg, who was in the program in 2014.
There will be additional song by Borzoni set to poets John
Grimmett, Sally M. Gall, Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, and Judith G Wolf.
Musica Marin presents concerts in beautiful private homes and tickets include wine, hors d'oeuvres and mingling with the
poets, composer and artists. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.
Diamond is a graduate of the Studio of Houston Grand Opera where he performed Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, Marcello in Puccini's La bohème and the Marchese d’Obigny in Verdi's La traviata. At the Houston Grand Opera he has sung Count Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music and Wilbur in the world premiere of David Hanlon’s opera After the Storm. He has also appeared throughout France, performing in Limoges, Caen, and Reims.
He is the 1st Prize Winner of the 2010 Eleanor McCollum Competition at the Houston Grand Opera and the 2011 Sun Valley Opera Competition in Seattle. Diamond was twice a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was awarded 2nd Prize in the Charles A. Lynam Competition in North Carolina.
Barihunks Régis Mengus and Edward Nelson will be making their role debuts as Hamlet on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean in 2017.
Mengus will perform the role with Opéra de Lausanne from February 5-12 with Lisette Oropesa as his Ophelia. Amazingly, this will be the first time that the masterpiece by the French composer Ambroise Thomas will be performed in Lausanne. The opera was co-produced with the Opéra de Marseille, who presented this production last Fall with Jean-François Lapointe in the title role.
Mengus, who came from a blue collar family with little exposure to the
arts, was drawn to music as a young boy. He started piano lesson at the
age of six, but joined the boys choir Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois two years later after realizing that
singing was his true passion. Shortly after joining the group, he rose
to the coveted role of soloist with the boys choir (and became an internet sensation).
In October 2013, he won both the First Prize and the Audience
Award at the International Competition of Singing in Vivonne. In March
2014, he won First Prize, the Audience Award, and a Special Award at the
International Competition of Bordeaux.
From December 24-31, one can hear Mengus at the Opéra de Tours as Gustave de Pottenstein in Franz Lehàr's Das Land des Lächelns (Le Pays du Sourire).
Géraldine Chauvet & Jean Francois Lapointe perform Hamlet
Mengus, who came from a blue collar family with little exposure to the
arts, was drawn to music as a young boy. He started piano lesson at the
age of six, but joined the boys choir Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois two years later after realizing that
singing was his true passion. Shortly after joining the group, he rose
to the coveted role of soloist with the boys choir (and became an internet sensation).
In October 2013, he won both the First Prize and the Audience
Award at the International Competition of Singing in Vivonne. In March
2014, he won First Prize, the Audience Award, and a Special Award at the
International Competition of Bordeaux.
From December 24-31, one can hear Mengus at the Opéra de Tours as Gustave de Pottenstein in Franz Lehàr's Das Land des Lächelns (Le Pays du Sourire).
Edward Nelson (left) and Régis Mengus(right)
Edward Nelson, who just finished his two-year stint at the prestigious
Adler Fellow Program under the auspices of the San Francisco Opera, will
perform the role of Hamlet with West Edge Opera across
the San Francisco Bay. His Ophelia will be Emma McNairy, who created a
sensation with her Lulu with the company. The opera will be performed at
the abandoned train station in West Oakland, which has become a popular
destination for opera goers. Parts of the movie RENT were filmed at the
site. Performances will be part of their August festival, which also
includes Vicente Martin y Soler's The Chastity Tree and Libby Larsen's Frankenstein. Rumor has it that a major U.S. debut by a barihunk will be part of the festival. Details coming!
Nelson received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He was a national semifinalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the 2014 Naumburg International Voice Competition, First Prize winner of the 2014 Corbett Opera Competition at CCM, and a winner in the 2013 Opera Columbus and 2014 Mildred Miller International Voice Competition.
Nelson sang a number of roles this season at the San Francisco Opera, including Fleville in Giordano's Andrea Chénier, Eunuch/Stone in Dream of the Red Chamber,
Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, and Yamadori in Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
On February 4th, Nelson will perform the world premiere of a new arrangement of Clint Borzoni's aria "Two Nooses" from his opera When Adonis Calls, arrangedfor baritone, viola, cello and piano. Tickets are now on sale. On April 21 and 23, he will perform the Steward in Jonathan Dove's Flight with Opera Omaha, and from June 15-24, Schaunard in Puccini's La boheme at the Cincinnati Opera.
ORDER YOUR 2017 BARIHUNKS IN BED CALENDAR TODAY TO ENSURE THAT IT ARRIVES BEFORE THE NEW YEAR!!!
Brent Michael Smith, Jerome Varnier and Brad Baron
For those of you who missed the live video feed of barihunk Mason Jarboe's senior
recital at the University of North Texas Recital Hall on Friday, you're in luck. We're posting some of the hightlights of the recital, where he was joined by accompanist Boeun Kim.
The program featured
works by Barber, Bach, Chausson, Mahler, Rossini and Massenet. In our tradition of promoting American music, we're sharing the performances by Samuel Barber, Clint Borzoni and Sam Sweet.
Composer S.K. Sweet's Sommerlieder
is a 21st century take on the romantic German song cycle. Its texts,
written by Jarboe in the Summer of 2014 at Seagle Music Colony in
Schroon Lake, NY, are part of a larger collection titled "Texts you
never got from me," a collection of actual text messages that he tried
to send that were mostly not delivered due to the poor cell service.
This site has been a huge proponent of the music of Clint Borzoni, who has written over seventy pieces, including two full-length operas, two
one-act operas, a piano concerto, percussion quartet, work for
orchestra, two string quartets, several works for chamber orchestra and
over forty art songs.
Much of his vocal writing prominently features baritones, including the two lead roles in his recent opera When Adonis Calls, a leading bass role and baritone role in Antinous and Hadrian, two recent works for String Quartet and Baritone (Stufen and Margere Kost) written for Marco Vassalli, a set of Walt Whitman songs for baritone, the song cycle Awake the Dawn written for baritone Seth Kershisnik, and the song cycle Live Oak Growing written for baritones Tim Hill and Randal Turner. He's also working on a new piece for barihunk Edward Nelson, which will be performed with Musica Marin this year, where he is composer in residence.
Here is what Mason Jarboe said about the Borzoni songs:
"The songs 'I Dreamed in a Dream' and 'That Shadow, my Likeness'
are right up there with my favorite English language songs ever
written. If I had time I would've thrown in 'Tired' from Vaughan
Williams' Last Four Songs, but some other time. For me, those
three songs in the final set of my recital paint such a poignant picture
of the realization, really the epiphany, I had towards classical vocal
music, and Clint's songs perfectly show the progress I have made within
my own life; the thankfulness of the first piece in which I can
recognize everyone who has so warmly embraced me on my journey towards
true artistry as well as the sense of community I have felt; truly a
'city of friends,' and the second, the acceptance of myself. The
understanding that every perfectly imperfect aspect of me comes together
in such a funny and beautiful way to create a human, a man, an artist,
that I am proud to present today, no matter how many high G's he has to
put out in a recital (11, and four F#s) and no matter what anyone around
him thinks. Thanks to such perfect settings of such perfect texts by
Mr. Borzoni, I know that my art matters, that I matter as an artist,
and, most importantly, that what I and my brilliant colleagues do as
musicians has such an important role in so many people's everyday lives
that I will never stop striving to show to them. I just adore his music,
and I really can't wait to get to work on my next Borzoni project."
Samuel Barber's music, masterfully crafted and built on romantic structures and sensibilities, is at once lyrical, rhythmically complex, and harmonically rich. His writing is lyrical with expressive and nuanced shadings and a keen
connection to the text. Songs like "Sure on this shining night" have
become standards on song recital programs. Barber wrote his first piece at age 7 and attempted his first opera at age 10. At the age of 14 he entered the Curtis Institute, where he studied voice, piano, and composition. Later, he studied conducting with Fritz Reiner.
St Ita’s vision is the third song of Hermit Songs op.29, which premiered on October 30, 1953 at the Library of Congress with soprano Leontyne Price and the composer at the piano. The cycle is based on anonymous Irish texts from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries written by monks and students, commenting about daily life, nature and God. The piano part, mainly in arpeggios, contributes also to the sense of motion and the sweetness and dreamy atmosphere.
Samuel Barber wrote numerous songs set to some of the world's greatest poets, including James Joyce, Matthew Arnold, Rainer Maria Rilke, A.E. Housman, James Agee and James Stephens. Some of Barber’s greatest music stemmed from these poetic inspirations, including the Hermit Songs, Knoxville: Summer of 1915, the three powerful James Joyce settings and Rilke's texts for Mélodies passagères.
At Curtis, Barber met Gian Carlo Menotti with whom he would form a lifelong personal and professional relationship. Menotti supplied libretti for Barber's operas Vanessa (for which Barber won the Pulitzer) and A Hand of Bridge. Make sure to order your 2017 Barihunks in Bed calendar, which is on sale now at LULU.
Barihunk Mason Jarboe will perform his senior recital at the University of North Texas Recital Hall at 5PM on Friday, December 2nd. Joined by accompanist Boeun Kim, the program features works by Barber, Bach, Chausson, Mahler, Rossini
(featuring mezzo-soprano Madelaine Martinez), Massenet (featuring soprano Megan Gryga), Barber, and Clint Borzoni. Jarboe will also perform the world premiere of Sam Sweet's
Sommerlieder, with texts by the baritone.
Avid readers of the site, might recall that Jarboe has appeared twice on this site, once in a group photo of barihunks doing the "baritone claw" and again with a group of barihunks at Seagle Music Colony sporting Barihunk T-shirts. He was a young artist at Seagle in 2014 and 2015. We've never properly introduced Jarboe, who is a senior vocal performance major at the University of North Texas. We first saw him when he was just 19 and making After making his professional debut at the Fort Worth Opera as the French Sentry in Kevin Puts’
Pulitzer-winning opera Silent Night. He recently sang the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Opera in the Ozarks, where he had previously performed Tonio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and Michele in Puccini's Il Tabarro. In the 2015-2016 season, he was an education outreach young artist at The Dallas Opera, where he sang the role of Colas in Mozart’s Bastien and Bastienne
We asked Jarboe about some of the music on the program and what it meant to him.
Of Samuel Barber's piece he commented, "The first song, Barber's St. Ita's Vision, was one of the few single pieces that I can trace back to really throwing me headlong into the vocal career track."
Randal Turner sings Clint Borzoni's "I Dream'd in a Dream":
This site has been a huge proponent of the American composer Clint Borzoni and helped fund a concert of American music featuring Randal Turner and the world premiere of two songs for String Quartet and Baritone performed by Marco Vassalli.
We were thrilled to see that Jarboe was performing two of our favorite songs and here's what he had to say about them:
"The songs 'I Dreamed in a Dream' and 'That Shadow, my Likeness' are right up there with my favorite English language songs ever written. If I had time I would've thrown in 'Tired' from Vaughan Williams' Last Four Songs, but some other time. For me, those three songs in the final set of my recital paint such a poignant picture of the realization, really the epiphany, I had towards classical vocal music, and Clint's songs perfectly show the progress I have made within my own life; the thankfulness of the first piece in which I can recognize everyone who has so warmly embraced me on my journey towards true artistry as well as the sense of community I have felt; truly a 'city of friends,' and the second, the acceptance of myself. The understanding that every perfectly imperfect aspect of me comes together in such a funny and beautiful way to create a human, a man, an artist, that I am proud to present today, no matter how many high G's he has to put out in a recital (11, and four F#s) and no matter what anyone around him thinks. Thanks to such perfect settings of such perfect texts by Mr. Borzoni, I know that my art matters, that I matter as an artist, and, most importantly, that what I and my brilliant colleagues do as musicians has such an important role in so many people's everyday lives that I will never stop striving to show to them. I just adore his music, and I really can't wait to get to work on my next Borzoni project."
Composer S.K. Sweet's Sommerlieder is a 21st century take on the romantic German song cycle. Its texts, written by Jarboe in the Summer of 2014 at Seagle Music Colony in Schroon Lake, NY, are part of a larger collection titled "Texts you never got from me," a collection of actual text messages that he tried to send that were mostly not delivered due to the poor cell service.
Make sure to order your 2017 Barihunks in Bed calendar, which is on sale now at LULU.
The Arizona Opera will be live streaming today's sold out performance of composer Clint Borzoni's The Copper Queen, which won the company's Arizona Sparks competition for new works in a runaway. The piece was also featured on the front page of the Arizona Republic's arts section last weekend.
The opera's libretto, written by director John de los Santos and based on a true story, revolves around the ghost of a prostitute haunting a historic hotel in Bisbee, Arizona.
The performance will feature barihunk Joseph Lattanzi as Peter Ackerman, who is fresh of a heralded performance as Hawkins Fuller in Gregory Spears’ gay themed opera Fellow Travelers at Cincinnati Opera. This season at Arizona Opera, Lattanzi will also perform the Gamekeeper
in Dvořák's Rusalka, Yamadori in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Dandini
in Rossini's La Cenerentola.
Clint Borzoni's "Stufen" with barihunk Marco Vassalli:
The opera also features Lacy Sauter as the prostitute Julia Lowell, Alyssa Martin as Addison Moore, barihunk turned hunkentenor Chris Carr as Teddy Billings, Loren Battieste as Sugar Dog and Zachary Owen as Mr Floyd and Daddy Lowell. You can hear Alyssa Martin sing "Waiting for a Whisper" from the opera on Soundcloud, as well as Sarah Tucker sing "Still Pretty."
British Bass-Barihunk is recently graduated from the Guildhall School of Music, where he has performed Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. He will join the Opera Studies course in September.
At Guildhall, he has performed Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Milton Court Concert Hall, as well as Marcello, Puck and Jupiter in Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers. He was the bass soloist in Handel's Messiah at the Christ Church in Radyr, Wales earlier this year.
On Tuesday, June 21st at 1:00 pm, he will be joined by pianist Dylan Perez in a program of songs based on Walt Whitman’s poetry. The recital includes composer Clint Borzoni's gorgeous song, "I dreamed in a dream," as well as selections by Rorem, Hoiby, Bernstein, Ruth Schönthal and James H. Rogers. The recital is in the Guildhall lecture hall and admission is free.
He is also a photographer, who specializes in head shots using natural light. One of his subjects was fellow barihunk James Quilligan. You can check out his work HERE.
There are a number of composers who have had an amazing gift for writing for the baritone voice. In an earlier era, Verdi, Wagner, Poulenc and Carl Loewe all wrote timeless music for baritones. In contemporary times, Jake Heggie and Clint Borzoni have kept the tradition alive, with Heggie writing baritone leads for almost every opera.
Randal Turner sings Clint Borzoni's "That Shadow, My Likeness":
Borzoni has written over seventy pieces, including two full-length operas, two
one-act operas, a piano concerto, percussion quartet, work for
orchestra, two string quartets, several works for chamber orchestra and
over forty art songs.
Much of his vocal writing prominently features baritones, including the two lead roles in his recent opera When Adonis Calls, a leading bass role and baritone role in Antinous and Hadrian, two recent works for String Quartet and Baritone (Stufen and Margere Kost) written for Marco Vassalli, a set of Walt Whitman songs for baritone, the song cycle Awake the Dawn written for baritone Seth Kershisnik, and the song cycle Live Oak Growing written for baritones Tim Hill and Randal Turner.
Marco Vassalli sings Clint Borzoni's "Stufen":
His opera Antinous and Hadrian tells the story of the second century Roman emperor Hadrian
and his love for the Greek youth Antinous. It examines the mystery
behind the tragic death of the young Antinous. Upon his death, the
distraught Emperor declared his beloved a god. Drawing on both
historical sources and dramatic imagination the work has been written in
the grand opera tradition.
Wes Mason sings "Two Nooses" from "When Adonis Calls":
Borzoni recently completed his fourth opera, When Adonis Calls,
based on the poetry of Gavin Dillard and arranged by John de los Santos. The opera was presented at
Fort Worth Opera’s 2015 Frontiers Showcase.
He fifth opera, The Copper Queen, also written with librettist John de los Santos, won Arizona Opera’s new opera competition, Arizona SPARK.
Marco Vassalli, is back in Germany after his stunning U.S. debut with Musica Marin where he premiered two works for string quartet and baritone by American composer Clint Borzoni, Stufen and Magere Kost. The program also included works by Richard Strauss, Tosti and Schubert.
Schubert continues to play a big part on his current schedule, as he will be singing Winterreise on March 19 in Königslutte Stadtkirsher and on March 20th in Braunschwieg in the Emmauskirche. Schubert's Romantic song cycle of longing and loneliness is the second of composer's two great song cycles based on Wilhelm Müller's poems, the earlier being Die schöne Müllerin.
He then returns to performances in Roman Cykowski's Comedian Harmonists at the Theater Osnabruck, which he's frequently performed over the past few years.
In May, he'll sing another world premiere as he performs in David Fennessey's Sweat of the Sun, which is based on Werner Herzog's Conquest of the Useless. The piece was commissioned by the City of Munich for the Munich Biennale and is being co-produced with the Theater Osnabruck and the Munich Kammerorchestra.
Fennessey has been writing a series of pieces inspired by Werner Herzog's 1982 film Fitzcarraldo and the metaphor of a full-size steamboat being dragged over a hill in the swampy jungle by a rubber baron who strives to build an opera house deep in the Peruvian jungle. The first composition was an orchestral prologue fusing chords from Verdi’s Rigoletto with a 10-minute guitar glissando. The second, Caruso (Gold is the sweat of the sun) deals with the initial image, or dream which inspired Herzog to make the film in the first place. Sweat of the Sun is a based on depictions from Herzog's diary, which was published under the name "Conquest of the Useless" and looks inside of the head of a man possessed.
Tickets and additional cast information is available online.
A shot from Marco Vassalli's recent California photo shoot
KDFC, San Francisco's premiere classical music station, did a great feature on Marco Vassalli's US debut this weekend with Musica Marin in San Francisco, which you can listen to HERE. They attended a rehearsal of the world premiere of the new Clint
Borzoni songs for String Quartet & Baritone that the German-Italian singer is performing in a salon-like in the former home of Ansel Adams near the Golden Gate Bridge. Vassalli chose Hermann Hesse's Stufen and Hilde Domin's Margere Kost,
making these the first German language texts set by the composer.
Vassalli will also be performing lieder by Schubert and Richard Strauss, Italian songs by Tosti and Samuel Barber's Dover Beach, which is also scored for string quartet and baritone. He'll be joined in the lieder/song sets by Ronny Michael Goldberg, an accompanist and coach with the San Francisco Opera's Adler Fellow Program.
Marco Vassalli rehearsing Clint Borzoni's Stufen with Musica Marin
Borzoni, one of the most talented of many gifted American composers on the scene, recently completed his fourth opera, When Adonis Calls,
based on the poetry of Gavin Dillard and arranged by John de los Santos. The opera was presented at
Fort Worth Opera’s 2015 Frontiers Showcase. He is currently working on his fifth opera, The Copper Queen, also with librettist John de los Santos for Arizona Opera’s program, Arizona Spark.
Vassalli just wrapped up a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Candide at the Staatsoper Hannover. He grew up on Lake Constance and
began his studies at the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, where he
studied with the famed soprano Edda Moser.
Marco Vassalli(left)and Ronny Michael Greenberg (far right)
Rehearsals kicked off for the upcoming U.S. debut of Marco Vassalli with Musica Marin, who is performing the world premiere of the new Clint
Borzoni songs for String Quartet & Baritone along with songs by Schubert, Richard Strauss and Tosti. He'll also be performing Samuel Barber's beautiful and moving Dover Beach, one of the few other pieces scored for String Quartet & Baritone.
Portions of this concert were funded by sales of the 2016 Barihunks calendar, so we would like to personally thank everyone who bought a calendar! Every year we donate proceeds to promote young artists and works written for baritone or bass. This year, we plan on funding a special baritone/bass prize at a major singing competition.
Vassalli's debut performances with Musica Marin are on Friday, January 22 and Sunday, January 24 in San
Francisco. The German-Italian baritone kicked off rehearsals with accompanist Ronny Michael Greenberg, a current Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera and former participant in the Merola Opera Program. The Sunday matinee is almost sold out, but there are still tickets for
the Friday night performance. Tickets for both shows are available on
the Musica Marin website.
Here is a sneak preview of them rehearsing Schubert's Nacht und Träume.
Rehearsals for the Borzoni songs with texts chosen by Vassalli begin on Monday with the composer and members of the Musica Marin quartet led by Ruth Kahn. Vassalli chose Hermann Hesse's Stufen and Hilde Domin's Margere Kost, making these the first German language texts set by the composer. Our first charity calendar helped fund a performance of Borzoni's beautiful setting of Walt Whitman's "I Dream’d in a Dream" sung by Randal Turner, which you can listen to HERE.
Borzoni, one of the most talented of many gifted American composers on the scene, recently completed his fourth opera, When Adonis Calls,
based on the poetry of Gavin Dillard and arranged by John de los Santos. The opera was presented at
Fort Worth Opera’s 2015 Frontiers Showcase. He is currently working on his fifth opera, The Copper Queen, also with librettist John de los Santos for Arizona Opera’s program, Arizona Spark.
Vassalli just wrapped up a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Candide at the Staatsoper Hannover. He grew up on Lake Constance and
began his studies at the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, where he
studied with the famed soprano Edda Moser.
Former baritone Ryan Taylor is taking over the Minnesota Opera, after he successfully revived the Arizona Opera. Taylor certainly would have been a candidate for barihunks during his singing days, but he was winding down his career as we were revving up the site. Taylor takes over on May 1 and you can read more on the Star Tribune website. We recently posted about another barihunk, Jason Hardy, who took over the reigns of OperaDelaware.
His current programming at Arizona Opera includes Bizet's Carmen in February with the barihunk trio of Ryan Kuster as Escamillo, Joseph Lattanzi as Morales and Calvin Griffin as Zuniga (and the sensational Daniella Mack as Carmen). That will be followed later in the month by Mozart's Don Giovanni with barihunks Morgan Smith and Joseph Lattanzi rotating the title role and Ryan Kuster singing Masetto.
Another of his great legacies will be Arizona Spark, which workshops new compositions. Our personal favorite is Clint Borzoni's Copper Queen, with a libretto by John De Los Santos. The opera tells the story of Julia Lowell, the ghost that haunts a famed hotel in
Bisbee, Arizona, once prominent as a mining town for both copper and
“Bisbee-blue” turquoise. You can hear sound clips HERE. The Minnesota Opera also has a long tradition of presenting new works, including composer Kevin Puts' Silent Night, which won the Pulitzer Prize.
Borzoni will be presenting two new works in San Francisco next week for String Quartet and Baritone with barihunk Marco Vassalli. Tickets are available online.
Composer Clint Borzoni (left) and Barihunk Marco Vassalli (right) and a peak at "Stufen"
The buzz has been building for the world premiere of the new Clint Borzoni songs for String Quartet & Baritone, which will be sung by Marco Vassalli in his official US debut on January 22 & 24 in San Francisco with Musica Marin. We've heard the music and seen the scores and can attest to their stunning beauty. We predict that these songs will become standard fare alongside Barber's Dover Beach, which is also on the program along with songs by Schubert and Richard Strauss.
The Sunday matinee is selling fast (https://goo.gl/hjyBSy) and the Friday night tickets are available here (https://goo.gl/ZzSQ4N). But if you're not in Northern California there are still many ways to enjoy this amazing operatic experience. On Wednesday, December 16th you can watch the first online rehearsal of the music on Periscope (so make sure to LIKE Musica Marin on both Facebook and Twitter. The link will be available there on the day of the rehearsal).
Italian-German barihunk Marco Vassalli is making his much anticipated
U.S. debut with Musica Marin in with
these songs, which were selected by and written for the singer. Vassalli chose Hermann Hesse's Stufen and Hilde Domin's Margere Kost. You can click HERE to the singer discuss why he chose these texts.
Borzoni recently completed his fourth opera, When Adonis Calls,
based on the poetry of Gavin Dillard and arranged by John de los Santos. The opera was presented at
Fort Worth Opera’s 2015 Frontiers Showcase. He is currently working on his fifth opera, The Copper Queen, also with librettist John de los Santos for Arizona Opera’s program, Arizona Spark.
Borzoni and Vassalli have never met in person and have worked on the songs
together over Facebook video and Skype. San Francisco's Bay Area
Reporter broke the news in a recent article, which you can read HERE.
Marco Vassalli posing for his calendar in the Loire Valley
The premiere is being funded with an Indiegogo campaign with perks that include having one of the songs
dedicated to you, a signed page from the composer's notebook, copies of
Vassalli's CD of Italian songs and access to numerous private events and
concerts. Additional funding is coming from a provocative new calendar which Vassalli posed for and is available for sale HERE.
Vassalli is currently performing in Leonard Bernstein's Candide at the Staatsoper Hannover.
A German singer born of Italian roots, he grew up on Lake Constance and
began his studies at the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, where he
studied with the famed soprano Edda Moser.
