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.

Barihunk duos in two Opera Philadelphia performances

Zachary James and John Moore in Mazzoli's Breaking Waves

Opera Philadelphia announced their 2016-17 season, which will include the barihunk duo of John Moore and Zachary James in the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s chamber opera Breaking the Waves, which features a libretto by Royce Vavrek. Mazzoli is a graduate of Opera Philadelphia’s Composer in Residence program.

The opera is based on the Oscar-nominated 1996 film by Lars von Trier. The libretto tells the story of Bess McNeill (sung by Kiera Duffy), a religious young woman with a deep love for her husband Jan (sung by John Moore), a handsome oil rig worker. When Jan becomes paralyzed in an off-shore accident, her marital vows are put to the test as he encourages her to seek other lovers and return to his bedside to tell him of her sexual activities. He insists that the stories will feel like they are making love together and keep him alive. Bess’s increasing selflessness leads to a finale of divine grace, but at great cost.

Performances will run from September 22 through October 1st. The cast also includes the rising tenor sensation David Portillo, Eve Gigliotti and Patricia Schuman.

Brandon Cedel and John Chest in The Marriage of Figaro

The company's new production of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro will feature the barihunk duo of Brandon Cedel as Figoro and John Chest as the Count. Performances will be at the Academy of Music and will also feature Ying Fang as Susanna, Layla Claire as the Countess, John Chest, Cecelia Hall as Cherubino and Patrick Carfizzi as Bartolo.

Other operas in the season include Puccini's Turandot with Christine Goerke in the title role and Daniel Belcher as Ping; a re-imaging of Verdi's Macbeth by South African director Brett Bailey set in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the title character as a Congolese warlord: and Stephanie Blythe making her role debut as the title character in Rossini’s Tancredi along with Daniel Mobbs as Orbazzano.

You can find more information on the Opera Philadelphia website.

Pictures from Agrippina featuring "the hottest cast in opera"

Hadleigh Adams

Our recent post about entitles "Hottest Cast in Opera Assembled in Omaha for Handel's Agrippina" drew a disproportionate amount of traffic to our site. It proves once again that with great programming and singers who interest the public, opera can flourish anywhere.  After all, Omaha is better known for Warren Buffet than Leonard Warren.

They also hired the 29-year-old director James Darrah, who didn't shy away from the more sexual aspects of the story, keeping it current and fresh. Fidelity to the music was preserved under the direction of early opera specialist Stephen Stubbs. [By the way Darrah is some pretty serious eye candy, as well].

Hadleigh Adams

The performance received a rave review from the Omaha Tribune Herald.  They said of Hadleigh Adams, who played Claudio, "...Hadleigh Adams had a delivery that was impressively full-bodied and bold. He has a gorgeous voice and performed with a confidence befitting an emperor. Moreover, he had a physical presence that was commanding and powerful and conveyed that, like Agrippina, Claudius is used to getting what he wants."

Doug Williams

Of Doug Williams they wrote, "Bass-baritone Doug Williams and tenor Zachary Wilder perfectly complemented each other as Pallante and Narciso, and their standout scene featured each being pseudo-seduced by Agrippina in her bedchamber. While the action produced many laughs, it was the delivery that demonstrated their abilities to smoothly control their voices, even amid semi-steamy action."

Of course, even the music critic Kim Carpenter couldn't help but notice the attractiveness of this talented cast, giving us our favorite lines of the review: "As a side note, I feel compelled to mention that the entire ensemble is impossibly pretty. While it's the voices and acting that matter, of course, having a gorgeous line-up of performers makes the over three hour production all the more enjoyable."

Doug Williams

Opera Omaha, which began in 1958 as the Omaha Civic Opera Society, is the only professional opera company in Nebraska, It became a fully professional opera company by 1970 and is known for highlighting gifted young singers from the area as well as nationwide. The company is known for both its innovation and educational outreach programs. They had produced eight world premieres and four American premieres.

Although Agrippina ends today, they have performances of Rossini's La Cenerentola coming up in April with two singers familiar to readers of this site, Daniel Belcher and Levi Hernandez. Belcher will be singing Dandini and Hernandez is taking on Don Magnifico. The talented young tenor Andrew Bidlack will be Ramiro, joining soprano Lauren McNeese who is singing Angelina. Performances are April 25 and 27. Tickets are available online.

Listen to American Lyric Theater's three new operas live

Jonathan Estabrooks and Christopher Burchett

We've been posting about the American Lyric Theater's project to commission three new operas under the auspices of their Composer Librettist Development Program. They include plenty of barihunks and now you'll be able to enjoy them online at OperaMusicBroadcast.com.

On May 30th at 7 PM EST, you can listen to The Turing Project by composer Justine F. Chen and librettist David Simpatico featuring barihunks Jonathan Estabrooks, Justin Hopkins and Joseph Beutel.

Sunday, June 2 at 7 PM EST, you can listen to The Long Walk by composer Jeremy Howard Beck and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann featuring barihunks Daniel Belcher and Justin Hopkins, as well as one of our honorary hunkentenors Glenn Seven Allen.

On Monday, June 3rd at 7 PM EST, you can hear La Reina by composer Jorge Sosa and librettist Laura Sosa Pedroza featuring barihunk Christopher Burchett.

Lots of Beefcake in Cheesecake Country

Cheesecake and Beefcake in Wisconsin

For those of you outside of the United States, the state of Wisconsin is known for its cheese. The natives are sometimes disparagingly called "cheeseheads," although if you're a Green Bay Packers fan being a cheesehead is an honor. One thing is certain, you can get anything made with cheese in Wisconsin, we've even seen sausages stuffed with cheese and donuts topped with melted cheese.

But over the next few weeks the state may become known for its beef, more specifically its beefcake, than its cheesecake. Five barihunks who have appeared on this site will be singing Mozart at the state's two major opera companies.

Matt Boehler at NYCO in Powder Her Face

First up is Don Giovanni with Kelly Markgraf in the title role, Matt Boehler as Leporello and John Arnold as Masetto. Performances are on April 26 and 28 and tickets are available online. The production also includes two spectacular young sopranos, Elizabeth Caballero as Donna Anna and Caitlyn Lynch as Donna Elvira.

Readers of this site will recall that Markgraf sang Masetto in the sexy Don Giovanni at New York City Opera in 2009 that put the company back on the road to recovery after a severe financial crisis. Markgraf next heads to the Aspen Music Festival in July 2013 to sing Swallow in a semi-staged performance of Britten's Peter Grimes.

Matt Boehler also made headlines at the New York City Opera in Thomas Ades' Powder Her Face where he shared the stage with 22 naked men [Google it!]. On May 10th, Boehler creates the role of the celebrated French author, Voltaire, in a workshop of composer Scott Wheeler’s The Sorrows of Frederick.. The workshop is run under the auspices of the Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Theater Center's Opera/Theater Commissions program. Tickets are available at the Met website.

John Arnold in Dead Man Walking

In January 2013, John Arnold made his debut with Madison Opera in Philip Glass’s Galileo Galilei, singing the role of the younger Galileo. He recently performed Joseph de Roucher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking in Boston, part of three simultaneous productions of the modern masterpiece in North America. He'll be joining the prestigious Merola Opera Program in San Francisco this summer.


On May 10 and 12, cheeseheads can drive 80 minutes to the west where Florentine Opera will be performing Le nozze di Figaro with barihunks Craig Verm as Count Almaviva an Daniel Belcher as Figaro. Tickets are available online. If you're in the area, you can meet the artists on April 23 at the company's annual luncheon. Call 414-421-3005 for more information.

After Milwaukee, Daniel Belcher will head to the Central City Opera House to sing the other Figaro in Rossini's Barber of Seville. The run begins on June 29th and tickets are available online. You also won't want to miss the Almaviva of tenor Javier Abreu.

Craig Verm in Venus and Adonis at Florentine Opera (Photos by Kathy Wittman)

Readers may remember that Craig Verm created a vocal and visual sensation with his performance in John Blow's Venus and Adonis at Florentine Opera in 2011. We loved the photos so much that we used them in our 2012 Barihunks calendar. Of course, Verm was our coverboy for our 2013 calendar and remains one of the most popular singers on the site. On June 22, Verm heads to the Des Moines Metro Opera to perform Ned Keene in Britten's Peter Grimes.

Jonathan Estabrooks to perform "Les Mamelles de Tirésias"

Jonathan Estabrooks

"Les Mamelles de Tirésias" is one of the most viewed operas on Barihunks mainly because of the Full Monty performance of Gabriel Bermudez. The opera has become increasingly popular in recent years, including recent performances at the Central City Opera with Daniel Belcher and Long Beach Opera with Robin Buck. 

The famous Emilio Sagi production with Gabriel Bermudez;

The latest barihunk to take on the opera is Jonathan Estabrooks, who will be performing the role of Le Mari with the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute in Montreal. The performance will be at the Salle Claude-Champagne of l’Université de Montréal on August 15th. The performance will be staged with two pianos.

Les Mamelles de Tirésias (The Breasts of Tiresias) is a surrealist two-act opéra bouffe by Francis Poulenc, based on the play of the same title by Guillaume Apollinaire, which was written in 1903 but first performed in 1917. The opera closes with the stern command, "Ô Français, faites des enfants!" ("O Frenchmen, make babies!"), and the success of this propaganda is perhaps seen in the fact that the first two sopranos cast in the role of Tiresias had to give it up before the premiere on account of pregnancy.

Happy Birthday, John Adams!

Composer John Adams

 John Adams is one of the best known and most often performed of America's composers. Adams was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on February 15, 1947. During his youth, growing up in Vermont and New Hampshire, he was strongly influenced by the intellectual and cultural institutions of New England. He received both his BA and MA degrees from Harvard University, where he was active as a conductor, clarinetist, and composer. His principal teachers included Leon Kirchner, David Del Tredici and Roger Sessions.

Gerald Finley sings the aria "Batter, my heart"from Doctor Atomic:

In 1971, Adams began an active career in the San Francisco area, teaching at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (1972-83) and serving as new music adviser and composer-in-residence for the San Francisco Symphony (1978-85). 

A number of his pieces have leading roles for baritones, including J. Robert Oppenheimer in Dr. Atomic, Nixon in Nixon in China and the critical roles of the captain, terrorist (Rambo) and Klinghoffer in The Death of Klinghoffer. He also wrote the Walt Whitman-inspiredpiece The Wound-Dresser, which is scored for baritone voice, 2 flutes (or 2 piccolos), 2 oboes, clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, trumpet (or piccolo tpt), timpani, synthesizer, and strings.

Thomas Hampson sings John Adams's The Wound-Dresser:

His creative output spans a wide range of media: works for orchestra, opera, video, film, and dance, as well as electronic and instrumental music. Such pieces as Harmonium, Harmonielehre, Shaker Loops, and The Chairman Dances are among the best known and most frequently performed of contemporary American music. In these works he has taken minimalism into a new and fresh terrain characterized by luminous sonorities and a powerful and dramatic approach to form. He was the winner of the 2003 Pulitzer prize.

Joseph Maddalena sings "News, news, news..." from Nixon in China:

Ad for "Nixon in China" at the Eugene Opera

Upcoming performance of operas by John Adams include Nixon in China at the Eugene Opera on March 16 and 18. The role of Nixon will be played by barihunk Lee Gregory.

From March 10-18, the opera will be performed at Lyric Opera of Kansas City with James Maddalena reprising his definitive performance as Nixon, and barihunk Daniel Belcher playing Chou En-Lai. 

Nixon travels to France in April as the Théâtre du Châtelet  produces the opera with barihunks Franco Pomponi in the title role and Kyung Chun Kim as Chou En-Lai.

Sidney Outlaw and Franco Pomponi singing John Adams

The Death of Klinghoffer opens at the English National Opera on February 25th with Alan Opie as Klinghoffer, Christopher Magiera as the Captain and rising young talent Sidney Outlaw as Rambo. If you haven't heard Outlaw perform yet, he is not to be missed.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Daniel Belcher wins Grammy Award

(Photo by Christian Steiner)

Barihunks would like to congratulate Daniel Belcher, who was part of the team that won a Grammy Award last night for Best Opera Recording.

Belcher appears on the recording of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s  L’amour de loin, produced by Martin Sauer.
    
The album features the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin led by conductor Kent Nagano, the former music director of the Los Angeles Opera. Joining Belcher in the cast is Jekaterina Lehina, and Marie-AngeTodorovitch.
 
L'amour de loin, Saariaho's first opera, composed to a libretto by Amin Maalouf, was premiered at the Salzburg Festival in August 2000. Peter Sellars directed the original production, as well as several later versions.

Belcher is currently in the middle of a run portraying Masetto opposite the Don Giovanni of fellow barihunk Kelly Markgraf at Opera Omaha.  There are two remaining performance on February 25 and 27. 


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Corn Fed Giovanni in Omaha

Kelly Markgraf shows why the Catalog Aria is believable

We love Don Giovanni because it seems to draw a trio of barihunks no matter where it's performed. Even in the breadbasket of America one can find a sexy Don followed around by an equally alluring sidekick Leporello. Omaha is bringing back fan favorite Kelly Markgraf to sing the lead role with a former Giovanni, Matthew Burns as his sidekick Leporello.

Veteran performer Daniel Belcher takes on the role of Masetto.

 

Matthew Burns (L) & Daniel Belcher (R)

Performances are on  Friday, February 25th at 7:30 pm and Sunday, February 27th at 2:00 pm. For additional information visit the Opera Omaha website.

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