Who is your favorite opera couple?

We love seeing our reader responses to our poll questions. Not only is it fun, but it helps inform us what is of interest to you. It's been fun watching the current race to see who your favorite opera couple is in the world. As of today, three couples are leading the pack, so make sure to vote.

Dan Kempson & Zach Altman

 

Anna Netrebko & Erwin Schrott

Jordan Shanhan & Audrey Luna

Jordan Shanahan showers while singing some Mozart:

Nathan Gunn Debuts Onegin in Cincinnati

Cincinnati Opera's Barihunk worthy banner

About a year ago we announced that Nathan Gunn was going to make his debut as the title character in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" at the Cincinnati Opera.  That debut is upon us, as opening night is on Thursday, July 14, with an additional performance on July 16. Gunn will be joined on stage by fellow barihunk Denis Sedov who is singing Prince Gremin. We have a feeling that these are going to be two special performances. If you haven't seen an opera in Cincinnati's Music Hall, this is a great excuse for a road trip. The opera house, which was built in 1878, is both an acoustic and architectural gem.

We also need to commend the Cincinnati Opera for their excellent website banner for the opera [see above].

After leaving Cincinnati, Gunn then takes the role of Onegin to the Opera Music Festival in Sigulda, Latvia on July 30 and August 2.

Nathan Gunn poster from Latvia

Here is the great bass Nicolai Ghiaurov singing Gremin's aria "Lyubvi fse vozrastï pokornï" (The gift of love is rightly treasured).




Here is Nathan Gunn singing "If Ever I Would Leave You" from Camelot:



Here is Sedov singing some bassa nova the Shablul Jazz Club in Tel Aviv, Israel. 

Reader Submission: Dawid Kimberg

Dawid Kimberg (L - Cendrillon)

South African baritone Dawid Kimberg was born in Johannesburg and attended the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School. He moved to the United Kingdon in 2001 and trained at the Royal College of Music with Ryland Davies and the National Opera Studio. He attended the Aix-en-Provence Festival Academy in 2008.


He is currently performing in Massenet's "Cendrillon" at the Royal Opera House in London, which runs through July 16th. On July 17th, he will participate in the Jette Parker Young Artists programs. Click HERE for performance and ticket information for either show.

His operatic roles includes Count (Le nozze di Figaro) and Ottone (L’incoronazione di Poppea) for RCM, Duke (Roméo et Juliette) for British Youth Opera, Bruno (Parthenogenesis) at Canterbury Cathedral, Masetto (Don Giovanni) at the Purcell Room and Morales (Carmen) for Glyndebourne on Tour. 

He represented South Africa in the 2009 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.









He joined the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme in September 2009 and made his Royal Opera debut as Flemish Deputy (Don Carlo), followed by Steersman (Tristan und Isolde), Potapytch (The Gambler), Morales (Carmen) and Second Nazarene (Salome).
Upcoming performances include Jokanaan (Salome) in Singapore and Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus) at the Bolshoi.

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Celebrating Lithuanian Statehood Day

Vytautas Juozapaitis & Kostas Smoriginas

We have celebrated national holidays for both Canada and the United States on this site. After all, the two countries have provided us with an endless stream of talented and sexy barihunks. One of our readers asked why we don't celebrate Lithuanian Statehood Day. Frankly, we didn't know about it, but we're happy to remind readers about the two Lithuanian singers who have appeared on this site, Kostas Smoriginas and Vytautas Juozapaitis.

For others who are unfamiliar with the holiday, Statehood Day is an annual public holiday in Lithuania celebrated on July 6th to commemorate the coronation of Mindaugas as the first and only King of Lithuania in 1253. The exact day of this event is disputable and was chosen according to the hypothesis of Edvardas Gudavičius, formulated in 1989. The day has officially been celebrated since 1991.

Vytautas Juozapaitis is popular on both television and the opera house in Lithuania. He is a former winner of the Lithuanian National Prize and performs regularly at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and Kaunas State Musical Theatre. He is also a professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Here is Vytautas Juozapaitis singing Rodrigo's death scene "Son Io, mio Carlo...Io morro, ma lieto in core" from Giuseppe Verdi's "Don Carlo.":



Kostas Smoriginas studied at the Lithuanian Music and Theater Academy from an early age. After moving to London in 2005 and representing his country in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, he spent two years at the Royal College of Music before joining the Jette Parker young artist programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, at the beginning of the 2007/08 Season. He is currently appearing in La Traviata at Aix-en-Provence. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information.

Here is Kostas Smoriginas singing "Denn Wir Haben Hie Keine Bleibende Statt" from Brahms' "Ein Deutsches Requiem":



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Celebrating American Independence Day!

Marcus DeLoach & Philip Cutlip: Dead Man Walking

We thought for American Independence Day it would be fun to feature singers who have starred in the lead of a great American opera. In this case, Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking." So here are Marchus DeLoach and Philip Cutlip singing the "Star Spangled Banner." We've also thrown in the great barbershop quartet Acoustix, since today it's a true form of American music. It is believed that the art form originated in black barbershops in the Midwest. And we threw in some Marvin Gaye to really mix it up.

Marcus DeLoach:



An amazing highlight from Philip Cutlip:



And just for fun, here is Acoustix:



And the great Teddy Pendergrass from the 1983 NBA All-Star game:



Enjoy your celebration today!

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Wes Mason at Glimmerglass

Wes Mason: Morales at Glimmerglass

We recently ran a feature on former football player Keith Miller who is the Escamillo in the Glimmerglass production of Bizet's "Carmen." Fans of this site will be thrilled to know that Wes Mason, who was named one or our "Hottest Future Superstars of 2010" (along with Matt Worth), is portraying Morales. There are fifteen performances between tonight's opening and August 23. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information.


Mason is also performing Mac and is the cover for fellow barihunk Rod Gilfry in "Annie Get Your Gun," who is portraying Frank Butler opposite the Annie of Deborah Voight. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information.

Wes Mason in Before Night Falls (L) and hanging out (R)

Regular readers will remember that Mason became an overnight sensation at the Ft. Worth Opera Festival in 2010 when he took on the lead role in "Before Night Falls."

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NY Times Praises "Two Boys"

Jonathan McGovern

Zachary Woolfe has written a review for the New York Times about "Two Boys," which we recently featured. It's nice to see a reviewer not write a "Broadway review" and actually talk about the music and not just the production values and direction. Woolfe's review is important, as the opera is slated to be performed at the Metropolitan Opera in the 2013-14 season. Here is a highlight:

Without using electronic instruments, Mr. Muhly has created a world immersed in technology; his sound palette is Britten, not “Tron.” There are softly chiming gongs and ethereal winds, lyrical and sinuous strings and sympathetic, Romantic orchestral surges. The second act starts with an eerie, suspended calm punctured by string flourishes that develop into something almost folksy. There are foreboding minor-key arpeggios throughout, but Mr. Muhly ventures far beyond stock Minimalism. He even creates a new setting for part of the Anglican service; the sound of church music, dense yet floating, permeates the opera.

Indeed, the choral writing is the work’s most successful element.

You can read Zachary Woolfe's entire review in the NY Times HERE.

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