Spontini's rarely performed opera Fernand Cortez is being performed at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with barihunks Gianluca Margheri as Moralez and André Courville as the Mexican High Priest.
Following on from the triumph of Gaspare Spontini's opera Vestale, he was asked to compose a new opera for the Paris Opèra. The request came from Napoleon, whose favorite composer was Spontini.
André Courville as the Mexican High Priest in Fernand Cortez
The choice was for the story of Fernand Cortez, a legendary 16th-century Spanish captain involved in the conquering of Mexico. Well aware of the power of art as a vehicle for propaganda, Napoleon aimed to obtain public support for his military campaign in Spain. The protagonist of the opera, a wise and magnanimous man, whose only desire was to free the Mexican people from the slavery imposed by the superstitious indigenous religion, in fact represented the perfect match for Napoleon, who - like Cortez - wanted to appear as a representative of civil and liberal values.
Fernand Cortez made its debut at the Opèra on November 28, 1809. The sumptuous staging, grandiloquent orchestra, spectacular special effects - such as the charging of real horses on the stage - war-like choirs, barbarous dances and even a sentimental touch provided by the love between Cortez and the young indigenous Amazingly, guaranteed the opera its hoped-for success.
Gianluca Margheri rehearsing Moralez in Fernand Cortez
The glory of Napoleon was greatly exalted, and Fernand Cortez became the symbolic opera of his empire. The popularity of the piece declined with the waning of the French army's fortunes in Spain and Portugal.
The opera was last performed at the Theater Erfurt in 2006. It had its premiere in the United States during the 1887-88 season at the Metropolitan opera with the Wagnerian tenor Albert Niemann and Swedish bass Johannes Elmblad. Remaining performances at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino are on October 16, 20 and 23. Tickets are available online.
A new production of the opera will be performed at the Theater Dortmund from May 21 through June 12, 2020.
Gianluca Margheri as The Minotaur(Image courtesy of Rai5)
You can now watch the complete performance of Italian barihunk Gianluca Margheri as the title character in composer Silvia
Colasanti's Il Minotauro (The Minotaur) recorded at the Spoleto Festival.
The
libretto was inspired by the story from Friedrich Dürrenmatt, in which
the Minotaur cannot at once appreciate both his world’s coherence and
its richness, either oversimplifying what he perceives or being baffled
by it.
Il Minotauro
is a lyric opera in 10 scenes where the myth is centered on the
terrifying monster transforming into a "human" drama reflected in the
mirrors of the labyrinth. In
addition to the three leading voices – Minotaur, Arianna and Teseo –
the Chorus of the Birds provides a modern version of the Greek chorus who comment on the action.
Upcoming performances for Margheri include Garibaldo in Handel's Rodelinda at the Gran Teatre Del Liceu from March 2-15 and The Stranger in Purcell's They Fairy Queen at the Hungarian State Opera from April 12-28.
Gianluca Margheri in The Fairy Queen(Photos: Attila Nagy)
Italian barihunk Gianluca Margheri will add the role of Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute (Il Flauto Magico) to his repertory in January 2019.
He will be appearing as the lovelorn birdcatcher at the Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania from January 20-27. The cast also includes Karl Huml as Sarastro, Christina Poulitsi as the Quuen of the Night, Elena Galitskaja as Pamina and Giovanni Sala as Tamino. Tickets are available online.
Gianluca Margheri in the finale to Don Giovanni with Peter Fried:
This will be Margheri's sixth Mozart role, as he's already taken on Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, Publio in La Clemenza di Tito, the title role in Don Giovanni and Figaro and the Count in Le nozze di Figaro.
Other roles next season include Garibaldo in Handel's Rodelinda at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and a return to the Hungarian State Opera in Purcell's The Fairy Queen.
Gianluca Margheri as Minotaur (photo: Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds)
Italian barihunk Gianluca Margheri will open the Spoleto Festival in Italy today as the title character in composer Silvia
Colasanti's Il Minotauro (The Minotaur). The libretto was inspired by the story from Friedrich Dürrenmatt, in which the Minotaur cannot at once appreciate both his world’s coherence and its richness, either oversimplifying what he perceives or being baffled by it.
Gianluca Margheri(photo Roberto Viccaro)
Il Minotauro is a lyric opera in 10 scenes where the myth is centered on the terrifying monster transforming into a "human" drama reflected in the
mirrors of the labyrinth. In
addition to the three leading voices – Minotaur, Arianna and Teseo –
the Chorus of the Birds provides a modern version of the Greek chorus who comment on the action.
Performances are on June 29 and July 1. Tickets and cast information is available online. Margheri will next appear as Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore at the Ente Luglio Musicale Trapanese on July 30 and 31.
Italian barihunk Gianluca Margheri just opened in the dual roles of the High Priest of Apollo and Apollo at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Gluck's Alceste. He has three remaining performances, which run through March 30th. Tickets and additional information is available online.
Christoph Willibald Gluck, who was largely self-taught as a composer, became known as one of opera's most historically signifigant reformers. His three "reform operas" were Orfeo ed Euridice, Alceste and Paride ed Elena, which eliminated many of the standard practices of the day, which Gluck felt impeded the drama.
''When I undertook to write the music for Alceste,'' Gluck wrote, ''I resolved to divest it entirely of all those abuses,
introduced into it either by the mistaken vanity of singers or by the
too great complaisance of composers, which have so long disfigured
Italian opera and made of the most splendid and most beautiful of
spectacles the most ridiculous and wearisome. I have striven to restrict
music to its true office of serving poetry by means of expression and
by following the situations of the story, without interrupting the
action or stifling it with useless superfluity of ornaments
...Simplicity, truth and naturalness are the great principles of beauty
in all artistic manifestations.''
Gianluca Margheri as Apollo
Alceste exists in two principal versions: the Italian original written for Vienna in 1767 and the French revision prepared for the Paris performances of 1776. The Teatro del Maggio Musicale is using the Italian version. In Greek legend Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, was the wife of Athnetus, King of Pherae in Thessaly. She was the only person willing to die in place of her husband, but was brought back from the Underworld by Hercules. Gluck's opera is based on the play by Euripides, with Alcestis saved by the god Apollo.
Gianluca Margheri backstage as Apollo
The story appears in varied forms, from Chaucer to Rilke and T. S. Eliot. Among the operatic versions of the legend are the tragedie en musique by Lully and Quinault, Alceste, ou Le triomphe d'Alcide (Alcestis, or The Triumph of Hercules) and the treatment of the myth by Wieland with the composer Anton Schweitzer, staged in Weimar in 1773. Alcestis herself is generally taken as the type of female virtue and conjugal love.
Margheri can next be heard as Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari in June and July.
Barihunks has released its 2018 calendar, which includes nineteen of opera's hottest singers, hailing from seven countries. Baritones and basses include Alexander Elliot, Brad Baron, Marco Vassalli, Malte Roesner, Cody Quattlebaum, Gianluca Margheri, Jason Duika, Joa Helgesson, Ken Mattice, Règis Mengus, Robert Brouwer, Sam Roberts-Smith, Thomas Weinhappel, Zacharias Niedzwiecki, Zachary James and Zachary Gordin. Most of our calendar ahave included one honorary hunkentenor, but we added three this year, including Derek Chester, Daniel Lopez and John Tibbetts. The calendar is available HERE.
Zacharias Niedzwiecki
Due to requests from our readers, we've added a Barihunks Photo Book, which includes numerous additional photos not included in the calendar. The 20-page photo book is available HERE.
All proceeds will go to promote baritones and musical commissions for low voice.
The barihunk duo Gianluca Margheri, Paolo Bordogna and Davide Luciano will appear in a live stream of La pietra del paragone (The Touchstone) from the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro on August 11th. Gianluca Margheri sings the Conte Asdrubale, Paolo Bordogna sings Pacuvio and Davide Luciano sings Macrobio. The cast also includes La pietra del paragone as the Marchesa Clarice, Maxim Mironov as Cavalier Giocondo, Aurora Faggioli as Baronessa Aspasia, Marina Monzó as Donna Fulvia and William Corrò as Fabrizio.
Much of the action taken place in and around a swimming pool, so you'll get to see some barihunk skin in this popular production.
La pietra del paragone, which was Rossini's first major commission, was first performed at La Scala in Milan on September 26, 1812 and was an instant success. Despite its early success in Europe, the work did not receive its North American premiere until 1955 and not until 1963 in Britain, when it was performed at he St Pancras Town Hall.
In Rossini's comedy, a wealthy man devises a test to separate his true friends from those who love him only for his money. Although “touchstone” is no longer regularly used in the English language, it is still alive in an Italian proverb that forms the basis of this comic opera. They say “Men have a touchstone to test gold, but gold is really the touchstone to test men.” (“L’uomo ha la pietra di paragone per saggiare l’oro, ma l’oro è la pietra di paragone per saggiare gli uomini.”)
You can also watch the same Pier Luigi Pizzi production on Medici.TV with barihunk Marco Vinco as Il Conte Asdrubale, Paolo Bordogna as Pacuvio and Pietro Spagnoli and Macrobio.
Über-barihunk Gianluca Margheri will be making his role debut as the title character in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in St. Gallen. He opens on September 17, with additional performances on October 2, 5, 29 and November 1, 6, 8 and 25. Regular readers may recall that he created an internet sensation with his shirtless portrayal as Mozart's Don Giovanni, which we've covered extensively at Barihunks. You can listen to Margheri sing "Deh vieni alla finestra" here.
Director Nicole Claudia Weber has set the action in the mid-19th century with a society that still wears corsest, and where the erotic remains a means to an end. The opening night cast will include Nikolay Borchev as Count Almaviva, Cristina Pasaroiu as the Countess, Christina Landshamer as Susanna, Theresa Holzhauser as Cherubino and Kismara Pessatti as Marcellina. The alternate cast will feature Tomislav Lucic as Figaro. Tickets are available online.
Hunkentenor Enea Scala (we couldn't resist!)
In between his October performances, Margheri will head to the Teatro Lirico from October 14-23 to perform Count Asdrubale in Rossini's La Pietra del Paragone. He'll be joined in the cast by hunkentenor Enea Scala as the cavalier Giocondo. You can hear Enea Scala singing Rossini here.
Gianluca Margheri as The Stranger in The Fairy Queen
Italian über-barihunk Gianluca Margheri plays The Stranger in the Erkel Theaters' updated and revised version of Purcell's The Fairy Queen. He spends much of the opera in various states of undress, including a sexy scene in his tighty whities.
The composiiton was was originally a “semi-opera,” a series of musical passages created for a production of Shakespeare'sA Midsummer Night's Dream which did not relate an independent story, but only took on true meaning in conjunction with the prose work.
Purcell wrote The Fairy-Queen for the 15th wedding anniversary of England's King William III and Queen Mary II, with its initial performance taking place in grand fashion at London's Queen's Theatre in 1692. The composer died three years later at the age of 36. The score to The Fairy-Queen was lost for centuries, until it was rediscovered in the early part of the 20th century.
Gianluca Margheri as The Stranger in The Fairy Queen
Director András Almási-Tóth conceives the work as an opera and incorporates the music into a new story. This version of A Midsummer Night's Dream
takes place in an urban woodland, with lonely characters, crime, murder
and love. The figure of the Fairy Queen here is a kind of femme fatale:
a woman in search of herself and her own happiness and finding neither
as she flees from one relationship to the next.
Gianluca Margheri will be singing Alidoro in Rossini's "La Cenerentola" (Cinderella) at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo on April 19, 22 and 24. He'll be joined by the amazing tenor René Barbera as Don Ramiro, Chiara Amarù as Angelina, Paolo Bordogna as Don Magnificio, Riccardo Novaro as Dandini, Marina Bucciarelli as Clorinda, and Annunziata Vestri as Tisbe. The role of Alidoro replaces the Fairy Godmother from the original story of Cinderella. Tickets are available online.
In Act 1, Alidoro sings "Là del ciel nell'arcano profondo" in disguise as one of the King's officials. He is with Cenerentola who cannot attend the Prince's ball at her father's insistence. Alidoro realizes the goodness in Cenerentola and tells her that he will
bring her to the ball himself. She believes that he is making fun of
her. To show her that he means what he says, he throws off his cloak to
reveal his noble clothes beneath and sings to her that God himself has
looked down upon her and shows favor upon her and thus, she should not
be afraid of going to the ball. He then goes on to say that his carriage
is coming and, although she must be confused and upset, she will soon
be in happier days.
Ildebrando D'Arcangelo sings "Là del ciel nell'arcano profondo":
Rossini composed La Cenerentola when he was 25 years old, following the success of The Barber of Seville the year before. Throughout most of the 19th century, its popularity rivaled that of the Barber of Seville, but as the coloratura contralto, for which the title role was originally written, became rare it fell slowly out of the repertoire.
The opera contains some of his finest writing for solo voice and ensembles. Perhaps the most popular aria from the piece today is Cenerentola's "Nacqui all'affanno ... Non piu mesta," which is often used be singers to end recital programs or as an encore. Other popular pieces include Don Magnifico's "Miei rampolli femminini, Dandini's "Come un'ape ne' giorni d'aprile" (a popular audition piece for young baritones), Prince Ramiro's "Si, ritrovarla io giuro" and the ensemble "Questo è un nodo avviluppato."
After Rossini's La Cenerentola, Margheri will head to the Hungarian State Opera from June 17-23 to perform Purcell's The Fairy Queen and then he's off to St. Gallen to sing the title role in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro running from September 17 through November 25.
Gianluca Margheri as a very believable Don Giovanni
Barihunk Gianluca Margheri just finished performing the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Théâtre de la Colonne in Miramas, France, where these photos were taken. We can certainly understand how thousands of women would fall under the seductive spell of someone who looked like this!
He now takes the red-themed production by Pierre Thirion-Vallet to Théâtre des Sablons in Neuilly sur Seine, France for performances on March 19 and 20.
Other upcoming shows for the Italian singer include Rossini's Petite Messe Solennele in Palermo on April 11, Rossini's La Cenerentola in Palermo on April 21 and 26, Purcell's The Fairy Queen at the Hungarian State Opera from June 17-23 and Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in St. Gallen beginning on September 17 and running through November 25.
Gianluca Margheri in Luglio Musicale Trapanese's "Don Giovanni" and giving and interview
Italian barihunk Gianluca Margheri has quickly established himself as one of the most seductive and sexy Don Giovanni's on the operatic stage today. Readers may recall his searingly hot Don at Zomeropera, which we covered, as well as his performances with the Hungarian State Opera. He just wrapped up two more performances with the Ente Luglio Musicale Trapanese that were met with great critical acclaim and audience enthusiasm. Once again, he was asked by the director to show off his amazing chest, which certainly makes one believe that he had 640 conquests in Italy, 231 in Germany, a 100 in France, 91 in Turkey, and 1,003 in Spain.
Gianluca Margheri sings "Deh vieni alla finestra" with Zomeropera:
He now returns to Giulianova, Italy to perform with La Rocca Barocca, where he sang Handel's Aci, Galatea e Polifemo in 2014, Vivaldi's La Senna festeggiante in 2013 and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas in 2012. This season he'll perform in Handel's Apollo e Dafne on August 13th.
Italian barihunk and calendar model Gianluca Margheri finally has a website, where you can follow his career. It's loaded with great pictures and video. The first that caught our eye is that he'll be taking on Don Giovanni at the Hungarian State Opera from March 20-26. It's a traditional performance of the opera, so expect another shirtless, sexy, testosterone fueled performance like the one from Zomeropera last year.
You can enjoy some excerpts from that performance below or on his YouTube site.
Next up is Rossini's Stabat Mater at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino on May 14th. He'll be joined by tenor Edgardo Rocha and mezzo-soprano Marina Comparato.
We're still baffled why no-one in the United States has engaged this amazing talent. Make sure to check out his website and follow him on Twitter @GianlucaMargher.
Christopher Maltman and Fernando Radó as Don Giovanni
If you can't catch Margheri there are plenty of other barihunk performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Christopher Maltman will take on the role Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City from March 17-29. Opéra de Monte-Carlo will feature Erwin Schrott as the Don and Fernando Javier Radó as Masetto with the amazing Sonya Yoncheva as Donna Elvira. The Metropolitan Opera has two remaining performances left with Peter Mattei, Luca Pisaroni and Adam Plachetka as the male leads.
Italian barihunk Gianluca Margheri was featured in Forum Opera's plug for today's broadcast of Bellini's I Puritani from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Firenze today. The broadcast was on Italian radio Rai 3 and available worldwide. Margheri was singing the role of Lord Walton (apparently with his shirt on!). Performances run through February 15th.
He next heads to Budapest, where he will sing the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni from March 20-26. The last time he performed the role he was shirtless and you can find a clip HERE.
We recently posted about the upcoming production at the Zomeropera in Belgium where barihunks Borja Quiza and Gianluca Margheri are alternating the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni. We've just gotten pictures of both casts and lovers of a sexy Don won't be disappointed.
The worst thing about this production would be deciding which cast to see. Fans of Margheri can catch him on May 27, 29, 31 and June 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21. Fans of Quiza can see him on May 25, 28, 30 and June 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 18 and 20. Tickets are available online.
Borja Quiza as Don Giovanni
The Zomeropera, which is in its 17th
season, was created to bring professional orchestra musicians together
with students to perform work for a broader audience. The professionals
occupy the concert master’s chair and the lead player positions for
viola, cello, double bass, wood instruments and brass instruments. These
masters coach the different instrumental groups and offer their
assistance in recruiting talented students.
Thomas Rainer Schütz
On June 23 and 24, there will also be a gala concert featuring some of Europe's top opera studio opera artists. Included in the concert will be baritones Thomas Rainer Schütz and Owain Browne, tenors Denzil Delaere and João Terleira, sopranos Sarah Mc Court, Julia Rodriguez and Siân Winstanley, as well as mezzo-soprano Helene Bracke.
Gianluca Margheri, who is the featured model this month in the Barihunks calendar, is rotating the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni with fellow barihunk Borja Quiza at the Zomeropera in Belgium.
The Zomeropera, which is in its 17th season, was creaed to bring professional orchestra musicians together with students to perform work for a broader audience. The professionals occupy the
concert master’s chair and the lead player positions for viola, cello,
double bass, wood instruments and brass instruments. These masters coach
the different instrumental groups and offer their assistance in
recruiting talented students.
Borja Quiza
Each production offers the students who are involved a vast
amount of detailed information about the
interpretation of opera repertoire.
Performances will run from May 24-June 21, so there is plenty of time to check out both casts.
Before he heads to Zomeropera, Margheri will be part of an opera gala on May 10th under the baton of Zubin Mehta at the Teatro Communale in Florence, Italy. He'll be performing Act 4 of Verdi's Otello with tenor Gregory Kunde.
Final Scene of Don Giovanni with Borja Quiza:
Borja Quiza in "I, Don Giovanni"
Quiza has been closely identified with the title role in Mozart's masterpiece, having starred as the famed seducer in Carlos Saura's stunningly beautiful film of "I, Don Giovanni."
Gianluca Margheri, who will be featured in our 2014 Barihunks calendar, can be seen on August 24th in Handel's Aci, Galatea e Polifemo. The dramatic cantata, with an Italian libretto by Nicola Giuvo, has a plot almost identical to Handel's later English-language pastoral
opera Acis and Galatea.
The performances will be with La Rocca Barocca in the coastal town of Giulianova in Italy.
We haven't featured the stunningly sexy Gianluca Margheri in awhile and we figured a few new photos of the photogenic singer was a great way to kick off the weekend. He just wrapped up a critically acclaimed run in Verdi's Macbeth at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, Italy under the baton of James Conlon and featuring the exciting soprano Tatiana Serjan.
Gianluca Margheri
Gianluca Margheri was born in Florence, where he also studied at the
Coservatorio Cherubini. He made his professional debut in 2004 at the
Teatro Verdi in Pisa in Traviata, followed by Demetrius in Briten's
"Midsummer Night's Dream." In 2009 he won the first prize with at the
international Opera Competition Toti dal Monte in Treviso.
Gianluca Margheri
He has
performed in Don Giovanni, L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Ernani, Macbeth, Le nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan
tutte and Joseph Haydn's La vera costanza. He can also be found on the recording of Handel's "Deidamia" and
on the DVD of Respighi's "La bella dormente nel bosco."
First, we appreciated all of the nice emails about John Cage's . Unfortunately, it is not better known, but it is a beautiful piece of music and it was our pleasure to introduce it to many of you. Today we'd like to switch gears from dead composers back to hunky baritones and introduce you to Italian Gianluca Margheri.
Gianluca Margheri was born in Florence, where he also studied at the Coservatorio Cherubini. He made his professional debut in 2004 at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa in Traviata, followed by Demetrius in Briten's "Midsummer Night's Dream." In 2009 he won the first prize with at the international Opera Competition Toti dal Monte in Treviso. He has performed in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro and Cosi fan tutte. He can also be found on the recording of Handel's "Deidamia" and on the DVD of Respighi's "La bella dormente nel bosco."
Here is Gianluca Marrgheri singing Franz Schubert's "Traditor deluso" in 2008:
For the next two weeks we will be accepting submissions for our first Barihunks charity calendar, which will benefit young artist programs. Send High Res photos and a brief bio to Barihunks@gmail.com
