Randal Turner Sings Glen Roven

(L-R) Randal Turner with Allen Perriello at his West Coast recital debut in San Francisco; Performing an aria from Ricky Ian Gordon's "The Grapes of Wrath" at the Festival Opera gala in Berkeley

Randal Turner took San Francisco by storm during his West Coast recital debut on December 6th. The Swiss-based American baritone sang and entire program of music by living American composers. In addition to Roven, the evening included works by Jake Heggie, Ricky Ian Gordon, Clint Borzoni, Julia Schwartz and a very special encore (more on that in a future post). 

The performance has been recorded and will be released in January 2011. Here is a teaser of him singing Glen Roven's beautiful song "When You Are Old."


Americans will get one last chance to hear the singer this year before he returns to Europe. He will be performing Handel's Messiah with the Indianapolis Symphony on Saturday, December 18th. 


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Mariusz Kwiecien in Krakow

Mariusz Kwiecien in Krakow

These shots of barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien are from Krakow where he is performing in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin." There are three performances left on December 19 and January 14 & 16. If you're anywhere near Poland make sure to check out his amazing portrayal.

In 2011, he's scheduled to reprise his portrayal of Malatesta in Don Pasquale at The Met, play the Count in "Le Nozze di Figaro" in Japan, repeat his definitive performance of King Roger in Madrid and return to The Met for Marcello in La Boheme. Oddly, his calendar shows no performances in Chicago, Seattle or anywhere in California.

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Tim McDevitt: Latest "Les mamelles de Tirésias" Sensation

Tim McDevitt backstage during "Les mamelles de Tirésias." What's the young lady looking at so intently?

If you were to look at which opera is most popular on Barihunks based on page views by readers it might surprise some to learn that Poulenc's "Les mamelles de Tirésias" edges out Mozart's "Don Giovanni." A good reason might be that barihunks tend to bare more in this opera than in Don Giovanni, Rape of Lucretia or Pearl Fishers. Gabriel Bermudez's nude scene remains the runaway leader in terms of page views on this site.

Perhaps only "The Fly," which we presume has seen its last performance, guarantees more skin. If "The Fly" didn't provide a good night of theater, it did provide us with the term "the Full Okulitch"for a baritone who bares all. Barihunk Michael Mayes, who is one of the most entertaining people in all of opera, says that barihunk Michael Todd Simpson coined the phrase on Maye's TexapolitanOpera.com podcast. In a subsequent episode, barihunk David Adam Moore used the term and we're pretty sure it's going to stick. Hopefully, we'll have plenty of more opportunities to use the phrase.

Tim McDevitt

Tim McDevitt didn't go the Full Okulitch in his recent performance of "Les mamelles de Tirésias"  with the Julliard Opera, but his appearance in his scivvies was enough to activate our inbox. One reader told us that the performances were free, making the four night run the "hottest" ticket in town. and the best bargain. McDevitt, who was recently featured on this site, played Le Mari, the same role that made Gabriel Bermudez an internet sensation. 

We look forward to seeing more of this talented young singer in the future.

For more information about performances at Julliard, please visit their website.

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Nathan Gunn Talks About His Legs (and other things)

Nathan Gunn: Insecure about his legs?

Albert Imperato's classical music blog "The Ecstatic Living Room" has 20 questions (actually 21) for barihunk Nathan Gunn. You'll learn about his favorite music, his devotion to his kids and what makes him insecure about his legs. Of course, from looking at this picture we can't find much to be insecure about it. Check out his answers HERE.

Gunn has consistently remained one of the most viewed singers on this site since its inception and for good reason.

As we've reported, Gunn will be reprising his definitive Papageno at the Metropolitan Opera from December 21-January 3. Click HERE for ticket and performance information.

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Paulo Szot returning to Café Carlyle

Paulo Szot returns to Café Carlyle

Popular barihunk Paulo Szot is returning to the Café Carlyle after his hugely successful and highly acclaimed run last Fall. The Tony Award-winning singer has been booked for a two-week engagement from February 1-12, which includes a Valentine’s Day show on Sunday, February 13. He will be performing with the Bob Albanese Trio.


Visit the Café Carlyle website for times and pricing. The program has not been listed yet.

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Schrott & Netrebko in Russia

Schrott & Netrebko in Russia

© Neumayr

 

Barihunk Erwin Schrott joined his equally beautiful wife Anna Netrebko for a concert in her native Russia. The performance was at the Rimsky-Korsakov Theater in St. Petersburg and featured arias and duets, including Schrott singing the Catalogue Aria from "Don Giovanni."

The couple sang duets from Donizetti's L’Elisir d’Amore, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and Lehar's Die lustige Witwe.

 

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Edwin Crossley-Mercer in Ariadne at Opéra De Paris

We've been following the career of Edwin Crossley-Mercer for a few years now. We've been particularly impressed by his wonderful lieder singing, which he honed in master classes with Thomas Quastoff and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The 28-year-old was trained as a clarinetist and sings with the beauty of line and tone of a wind player.

Although we admire him for his song recitals, we were thrilled to see him on the roster at the Opéra De Paris singing Harlequin in Richard Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos." (By the way, you don't want to miss Jane Archibald singing Zerbinetta). Performances begin tonight and run through the end of the month. You can watch a highlight video on their website.

Although opera is creeping onto his schedule, Crossley-Mercer still has plenty of lieder on his schedule. He has performed critically acclaimed renditions of Schubert's Winterreise at Bayreuth and at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, prompting one reviewer to call it the definitive portrayal of our time.

You can hear him perform "Auf dem Flusse" from Winterreise by clicking HERE and Frühlingstraum by clicking HERE.  There are also a number of clips on YouTube, including this rendition of Taüschung.

Schubert singing doesn't get much better than this.

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