Watch Quirijn de Lang as Sam in Trouble in Tahiti on OperaVision

Quirijn de Lang as Sam in Trouble in Tahiti (Image courtesy Opera North)

You can watch Dutch barihunk Quirijn de Lang in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti with Opera North on OperaVision from August 25-September 11. He will be joined by the Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta as the other half of the argumentative couple.

Bernstein wrote the libretto and music for Trouble in Tahiti and directed and conducted the premiere himself in June 1952 at the University of Brandeis, Massachusetts. Eager to make his one-act satirical opera seem as realistic as possible, Bernstein set it in the aftermath of World War II, a time when consumerism was spreading through society. His work had a number of autobiographical references and the male protagonist, Sam, shares his name with Bernstein’s father who left Russia to find the 'American Dream'.

The opera opens with a jingle performed by a musical trio who sing into the microphone of a recording studio. Bernstein wanted this trio to "never stop smiling". The jazz rhythms evoke the radio commercials of the time and the trio is reminiscent of an ancient Greek choir that satirically comments on the story.

Quirijn de Lang will be performing Danilo in Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow with Opera North beginning on September 29th and running through November 17th.

Quirijn de Lang featured in one-act operas with Opera North

Wallis Giunta and Quirijn de Lang in Trouble in Tahiti

The U.K.'s Opera North is presenting a new series dubbed "Little Greats," which are six operas that run about an hour each and are presented as a double-bill. To entice new opera attendees, tickets start for as little as £10. The series will include Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, Janáček's Osud, Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti and Gilbert & Sullivan's Trial by Jury and will run from September 16 to October 21.

Dutch barihunk Quirijn de Lang will be featured in both L'enfant et les sortilèges as the Grandather Clock and Tom Cat and in Trouble in Tahiti as Sam, one half of a bickering married couple.

Quirijn de Lang

The operas will be performed in Leeds starting on September 16, Kingston starting on October 26, Nottingham starting on November 1, Newcastle starting on November 8 and Salford Quays starting on November 15. Ticket information is available online.

Quirijn de Lang can currently be seen as Selim in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia at the Garsington Opera through July 15. On July 29, he'll be featured in "A Night at the Opera," a concert with full orchestra with Opera North featuring soprano Jeni Bern.

Mariano Gladic's sexy Sam in Trouble in Tahiti

Mariano Gladic in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti

The Taller de Integración Operística in Argentina just wrapped up two performances of Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, using the top singers from their workshop. Singing the male lead role of Sam was Argentinian barihunk Mariano Gladic and we had to share this very bari-hunky picture of him from the production. You can watch video on his Facebook page.

Less known that his famed musical West Side Story or even On the Town, the one-act, seven scene opera contains some of the composer's most beautiful music. The story is a candid portrait of the troubled marriage of a young suburban couple.

Gladic was born in Mar del Plata on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, where he started his musical studies at the conservatory. He continued his studies in Buenos Aires, where he got immersed in acting, working with Héctor Bidonde, Helena Tritek, and Rubén Szuchmacher. He was a member of the company Futuro Anterior directed by Silvio Lang. Gladic has extensive experience as an actor and performed in the International Acting Festival in Havana, receiving a nomination for the A.C.E. awards and the Teatro del Mundo awards.  

Gladic was a member of Periferia Vocal and Orfeon de Buenos Aires. His opera roles include Handel’s Ariodante, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, Così fan tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto, and La bohème. He was one of the winners of the 8th Concurso Alejandro Cordero at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón. 

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Malte Roesner on the cover of the 2017 Barihunks calendar

Hadleigh Adams Takes on Three 20th Century Masters

Hadleigh Adams

Barihunk Hadleigh Adams is returning to Australia, where he was a Gertrude Johnson Scholar at The Opera Studio in 2009. He'll be singing Sam in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti alongside Sophie Yelland, another Opera Studio graduate. The musical, which follows the day in the life of a desperately unhappy married couple, will be performed in a chamber version for seven players. Tickets are available online.

He then returns to his home base in the San Francisco Bay area for two performances. On October 9th, he'll join conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London for their U.S. tour for Stravinsky's Oedipus rex with Michelle deYoung. Also on the program will be the composer's Symphony of Psalms. Performances will be at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley. Tickets are available online.

He then heads down the road to join conductor Michael Morgan and the Oakland Symphony for their season opening performance of Gustav Mahler’s Rückert Lieder on October 14th. Also on the program will be the Delphi Trio performing Paul Juon’s Episodes Concertantes, Op. 45, Clark Suprynowicz’s Red States, Blue States and Edward Elgar’s In the South. Tickets are available online.

Matt Worth sings Bernstein in a castle

Matt Worth and the Castello di Amorosa

Barihunk Matt Worth will be singing Sam in Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti with the Festival del Sole in California's Napa Valley on Thursday, July 17th.

This is the Festival's first full-length production of an opera and it will be performed at the majestic Castello di Amorosa, an authentically-styled 13th century Tuscan castle and winery. The castle sits on over thirty acres of estate vineyards and was built over the course of fourteen years by Dario Sattui, a fourth-generation winemaker.  The 121,000 sq ft castle boasts 8 levels, 5 towers, and 107 rooms, 95 of which are used for making or storing wine.

Samuel de Beck Spitzer sings "There are laws about men" from Trouble in Tahiti:

Leonard Bernstein was on his honeymoon in 1951 when he began composing his one-act opera, Trouble in Tahiti, a candid portrait of the troubled marriage of a young suburban couple. Written between his biggest Broadway successes— On the Town in 1944 and Candide and West Side Story in 1956 and 1957, respectively— Trouble in Tahiti draws upon popular songs styles to deliver an uncompromising critique of post-war American materialism. Beneath the couple's marital discord is a profound longing for love and intimacy. Their spiritual emptiness, in contrast to a veneer of happy consumerism, creates the heart of the drama and is emphasized by sudden stylistic shifts in the music.

The opera focuses in on the domestic conflict of Sam and Dinah, a young couple who, in contrast to the perfect picture of suburban life painted by the Trio, are desperately unhappy. Starting with an argument over breakfast, the piece explores a day in their life—Sam's as a successful businessman, and Dinah's as a frustrated housewife.

Bernstein dedicated the piece to his close friend Marc Blitzstein, who had led him toward music theater. Tickets for Trouble in Tahiti are available online.

Matthew Morris the latest hot Le Mari in Les Mamelles de Tiresias

Matthew Morris (center) with members of the Britten-Pears Young Artists Program

Once again, Poulenc's one-act opera-bouffe Les Mamelles de Tiresias is providing us great material for the site. This time it's 2012 Barihunks calendar model Matthew Morris in the pivotal role of Le Mari. He's performing the opera at the Aldeburgh Festival in a piano arrangement by Benjamin Britten and performed by the Britten-Pears Young Artists. Two of the greatest living accompanists, Malcolm Martineau and Roger Vignoles, are featured at the piano.

There is one remaining performance on Sunday, October 21 remaining and tickets are available HERE. 

Morris can next be seen at Le théâtre de Caen in France this November where he will be performing in a double bill of Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti and Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges. Visit their website for additional cast and performance information.

Click HERE to listen to Morris sing "My Melancholy Baby."

Philip Cutlip to Star in Bernstein Cabaret

Philip Cutlip

Barihunk Philip Cutlip is starring in "We are Women: A Bernstein Cabaret," a tribute to the music of Leonard Bernstein devised by the composer's daughter Jamie Bernstein.  The show was built around many of Bernstein’s songs for or about women and is the story of a mother and daughter who navigate the tricky terrain of their love lives, and, along the way, learn to accept themselves and delight in the love of others.

The show includes tunes from his hits On the Town, Candide and West Side Story, with music direction by Michael Barrett of Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. Featured songs include “We Are Women” from Candide, “Tonight” from West Side Story, “Who Am I” from Peter Pan, “Conversation Piece” from Wonderful Town, “The Winner” from Trouble in Tahiti and “I Can Cook Too” from On the Town.

Joining Philip Cutlip will be tenor Jeffrey Picon, soprano Elizabeth Shammash and soprano Lauren Worsham. Jamie Bernstein will narrate.

The show will run from August 9-12 at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 413-997-4444.