John Brancy recitals look at Freud, WWI

John Brancy flexing his vocal chops and his barihunk guns

American barihunk John Brancy has two fascinating recitals coming up before the end of the year.

On November 11, he'll join the gifted young soprano Janai Brugger at the New York Festival of Song for "Art Song on the Couch: Lieder in Freud's Vienna"  at the Merkin Concert Hall. NYFOS, Tuesday November 11th,  2014, 8pm  Merkin Concert Hall. The concert features music by Hugo Wolf, Gustav Mahler, Arnold Schoenberg, Richard Strauss, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Franz Schreker, and others.

The program will explore German lieder in the early years of the 20th century as it took on a new psychological and musical complexity. The duo will be joined at the piano by Michael Barrett and the always entertaining Steven Blier.

Visit the NYFOS website for ticket information.

On December 10th, Brancy will return to Vocal Arts DC for a recital honoring the centenary of World War I. The concert is titled "Silent Night: A World War I Centenary Tribute in Song" and features songs from England, Germany, Austria, France & America. He'll be joined by Peter Dugan at the piano. The program includes music by Butterworth, Gurney, Orff, Alma Mahler, Ravel, Poulenc, Debussy, Ives and renditions of "My Buddy" and "Danny Boy"

The gifted young singer, was the winner of both the Sullivan Foundation and Marilyn Horne Song Competitions before graduating from Juilliard. Brancy has also already made solo recital debuts at both Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, and has appeared in opera in Paris, Dresden, and Frankfurt.

Tickets are available online.

Don't forget to order your 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar today. You'll enjoy 19 of opera's hottest singers. Click below to order now.

Luca Pisaroni on BBC before Covent Garden debut; Upcoming US dates

Luca Pisaroni on BBC's "In Tune" singing Schubert

Luca Pisaroni appeared on BBC's "In Tune" to talk about his Covent Garden debut as Figaro in David McVicar's "Marriage of Figaro." You can listen to the interview and hear him sing Schubert's "An die Musik" on BBC Radio 3 until September 19th.

Performances of the opera will run from September 16-October 7 and include fellow barihunk Christopher Maltman as the Count. The opera will be conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. The opera will be revived in May 2014 with barihunk Alex Esposito as Figaro and the sensational Gerald Finley as the Count. Tickets for all performacnces are available online.

Pisaroni actually made his opera debut in 2001 as Figaro in Klagenfurt, Austria after completing his studies at the Verdi Conservatory in Milan, and later in Buenos Aires and New York. He'll be reprising the role again at the Wiener Staatsoper in January 2014 opposite the Count of fellow barihunk Simon Keenlyside.

San Francisco's restored Nourse Theater, site of April 1, 2014 Luca Pisaroni recital

His fans in the United States will have to wait until 2014 to hear him live. He'll be performing recitals on opposite coasts, beginning in Washington D.C. on January 31 with the Vocal Arts DC series and then at the beautifully restored Nourse Theater in San Francisco on April 1. In between those recital, he will return to the Met as Caliban in The Enchanted Island from February 26-March 20.