Reader Submission: Şzymon Komasa

Polish Barihunk Şzymon Komasa

Our latest reader submission is Şzymon Komasa, who took part in a master class at Julliard on October 4th with Joyce DiDonato. He caught the attention of our reader during the live online webstream of the master class. Renee Fleming and Eric Owens will be featured in upcoming master classes, so check the school's online schedule.

Şzymon Komasa was born in Poznań and studied at the Academy of Music in Łódź, from which he
graduated with honors in 2009 in both cello and vocal studies. Komasa comes from a very artistic family. His mother Gina was a singer, his father Wieslaw is a famous Polish actor, his brother Jan is a director, his sister Mary is a lead singer of a band and his youngest sister Sophie is a stylist. Jan Komasa directed him in Sala samobójców (Suicide Room), which was also written by his brother. 

He studied opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London before becoming a student of Edith Wiens at Juilliard’s Artist Diploma program in Opera Studies.. In 2011, he represented Poland in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, but fell ill and had to withdraw before the finals. 

Şzymon Komasa

He has won awards in international singing competitions, including the Best Wagner Singer at the 7th Annual Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in Dublin in January of this year. He previously took third prize at the Ada Sari Vocal Art Competition in Nowy Sącz in Poland, first prize at the Puccini International Singing Competition in Verona and first prize at the Halina Halska-Fijałkowska Vocal Competition in Wrocław. 

Şzymon's opera performances include Slook in Rossini's La cambiale di matrimonio, Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, all at Teatr Wielki in Łódź, and Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème at Teatro Filharmonico in Verona. His repertoire also includes Mityukha Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.  This summer, he sang Albert in Halevy's La Juive in Dresden.

You can watch him HERE during an appearance on a Polish morning TV show. 

A Plethora of Barihunks in High Definition from The Met

Mariusz Kwiecien

The Met: Live in HD series kicks off on October 13 with Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, starring barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien, Anna Netrebko and Matthew Polenzani in a new production by Bartlett Sher. If you haven't seen Kwiecien in this role, jump on line NOW and buy your tickets. He practically owns this role in the world of opera right now.

 The Met's Live in HD features a plethora of barihunks this season in addition to Kwiecien including, Simon Keenlyside, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Joshua Hopkins, Rene Pape, Peter Mattei and Guido Loconsolo:

• The Met premiere of Thomas Adès’s The Tempest  on November 10, starring Simon Keenlyside, conducted by the composer and directed by Robert Lepage. 
• A new production of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera on December 8, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Sondra Radvanovsky, Marcelo Álvarez and Stephanie Blythe. The opera will be directed by David Alden and conducted by Fabio Luisi.
• The Met premiere of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda on January 19, starring Joshua Hopkins as Cecil and honorary barihunk diva Joyce DiDonato in the title role.
• A new production of Wagner’s Parsifal on March 2, starring barihunks Peter Mattei, and René Pape, who will be joined by tenor heartthrob Jonas Kaufmann and soprano Katarina Dalayman. The opera will be directed by François Girard and conducted by Daniele Gatti.
• A new production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare on April 27, starring Guido Loconsolo as Achilla, David Daniels Giulio Cesare and Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra. 

Guido Loconsolo sings "Verrà purtroppo il giorno" from Verdi's Un giorno di regno:

 Other offerings include:

• Verdi’s Otello on October 27, starring Johan Botha and Renée Fleming
• Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito on December 1, with Elīna Garanča, Giuseppe Filianoti, and Barbara Frittol
• Verdi’s Aida on December 15, starring Liudmyla Monastyrska, Olga Borodina, and Roberto Alagna
• Berlioz’s majestic Les Troyens on January 5, starring Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, and Marcello Giordani
• Verdi’s Rigoletto on February 16, starring Željko Lučić, Diana Damrau, and Piotr Beczala
• Zandonai’s rarely heard Francesca da Rimini on March 16, with Eva-Maria Westbroek and Giordani.

Chris Carr is Opera's Latest Spartacus Transformation

Chris Carr (far left) in Oklahoma and a "Before and After" photo

The last time we featured Chris Carr, he was doing a free masterclass with mezzo Joyce Di Donato in Kansas City. The emerging singer has been working hard on perfecting his voice, but it appears he's also working hard on his physique. 

The amazing transformation of Michael Mayes

Carr is the latest opera singer to take up the Spartacus workout routine and it appears to paying off. Barihunk Michael Mayes is perhaps the biggest proponent of the workout and his transformation prompted us to feature him in our "BariChunk to BariHunk" post. Mayes has even created a Facebook site called Operaticus for singers who doing the workout. Mayes has become one of our ten most popular singers on Barihunks since his transformation. Mayes is well-known in opera circles for rounding up singers and marching them to the gym like an over-caffeinated Marine drill sergeant. 

Michael Mayes and tenor Gabriel Nochlin-Gargari after a Spartacus workout

The Spartacus workout is a series of ten exercises that work every part of your body, including your heart, lungs and muscles. The high-intensity circuit is designed to burn away fat, while defining your chest, abs, and arms.

Our favorite fitness guru Scott Herman explains the Spartacus workout:

Since we mentioned Joyce Di Donato earlier in the post, we should let you know that her homecoming concert in Kansas City will be broadcast on PBS beginning on Friday, July 20 and rebroadcast all week. Check your local listings. 

Opera "Elmer Gantry" wins two Grammy Awards

Keith Phares & Jenny Rivera in Elmer Gantry

The recording of the Milwaukee-based Florentine Opera Company's production of Robert Aldridge's "Elmer Gantry" won two of the three Grammy Awards for which it was nominated.

Composer Robert Aldridge won for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition" for the opera, while the Naxos recording won for classical music's "Best Engineered Album." The recording also was also nominated for "Classical Producer of the Year." The recording features barihunk Keith Phares, who has virtually owned the role. He has performed the work at Montclair State University, Nashville Opera and Florentine Opera.

Keith Phares & Jenny Rivera sing the love duet from Elmer Gantry:

Here is the complete list of classical music Grammy Award winners:

Choral Performance: “Light & Gold,” Eric Whitacre
Classical Contemporary Composition: “Elmer Gantry,” Robert Aldridge & Herschel Garfein
Producer of the Year, Classical: Judith Sherman
Orchestral Performance: “Brahms: Symphony No. 4,” Gustavo Dudamel
Opera Recording: “Adams: Doctor Atomic,” Alan Gilbert, conductor
Best Small Ensemble Performance: Mackey: Lonely Motel - Music From Slide
Best Classical Instrumental Solo: Schwantner: Concerto For Percussion & Orchestra Nashville Symphony.
Best Classical Vocal Solo: Diva Divo - Joyce DiDonato

Luca Pisaroni Gets Ugly at the Met

Luca Pisaroni: From Hot to Not

The Metropolitan Opera is premiering the baroque pastiche "The Enchanted Island" tonight and it will run for a month. The music is taken from a number of 18th century masters, including Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, and others. The original libretto which is drawn from Shakespeare was written by the British writer/director Jeremy Sams. Additional performance information and tickets are available HERE.

As much as we're intrigued by the opera and impressed by the amazing cast that they've assembled led my Joyce di Donato and David Daniels, we were fascinated by the transformation of barihunk Luca Pisaroni into the less-than-attractive character Caliban.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Peter Mattei's Barber of Seville

Mattei, DiDonato and Florez

Perhaps the only downside of a site dedicated to baritones is that we sometimes need to find an excuse to showcase other great singers. We love Peter Mattei and we've featured him often on this site. He is certainly a great Onegin and Billy Budd, but we usually don't think of him as a Rossini specialist. So when we rewatched these 2006 clips of him with two of the greatest Rossini singers of our time, Joyce di Donato and Juan Diego Florez, we had to post them. From his solo Largo to his work duets and ensemble work, Mattei shows why he remains one of the most sought after baritones in the world while revealing his penchant for comedy. Met fans will recognize some of these clips from the Live from the Met telecasts. Beginning March 11, Mattei will be performing in Tchaikovksy's "Queen of Spades" at the Metropolitan Opera. Visit their website for additional cast and performance information.

It's a great way to start a 3-day weekend. When you're done with these clips, we suggest that you check out Joyce DiDonato's Yankee Diva blog, which is one of the best in all of opera.







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