Ben Connor in skivvies for updated La boheme

Andrew Owens (left) and Ben Connor (right)

Australian baritone Ben Connor stripped down to his skivvies for the Kammeroper of Vienna's production of La boheme. This isn't the usual La boheme, as it's the chamber version of the opera by composer Jonathan Dove, with electronic interludes by Sinem Altan. Dove's version reduces the the big Puccini orchestra to just fourteen musicians.

The characters are a cast of bored pseudo-artists set in a penthouse, department store and hospital death chamber. Purists may be shocked by Mimi dying bald behind the glass wall of a hospital. Critics have praised the work for its originality and humor.

Remaining performances are on January 23, 26. and 30, as well as February 1, 10, 15, 17, 21. and 24.

The Australian baritone Ben Connor graduated with a Masters of Music in voice from the Australian National University where he was the recipient of the Harmony Endowment scholarship. After furthering his studies at the Universität für Musik und darstellende kunst in Vienna, he is now a member of the inaugural “Junges Ensemble” at the Theater an der Wien. Ben won the 2010 Aria Competition at the “National Eisteddfod”(Canberra, Australia) and in 2011 was the recipient of the Richard Wagner Stipendium Bayreuth prize from “Klassik Mania”(Vienna).

Rhys Lloyd Talbot advances in Met Auditions

Rhys Lloyd Talbot

We suspect that barihunk Rhys Lloyd Talbot is at the top of the world after advancing from the Iowa District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions to the Upper Midwest Regional competition in St. Paul on Saturday, February 2nd. Talbot was joined by soprano Aviva Fortunata in advancing to the next round.

Talbot, a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa received $1,250 for winning the Joan Bunke Memorial Award. He is a student of John Hines at the University of Northern Iowa.

CLOSEOUT SALE ON 2013 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR: 15% off until January 31

Luis Alejandro Orozco in Piazzolla's "Maria de Buenos Aires" in Lexington and Miami

Luis Alejandro Orozco

Barihunk Luis Alejandro Orozco will be performing Astor Piazzolla's tango opera Maria de Buenos Aires in both Lexington and Miami. We introduced him to readers last summer after a reader tip.

His first performances will be February 1-3 at the Black Box Theater in Lexington, Kentucky. The performance features the Lexington Philharmonic with mezzo-soprano Solange Merdinian and narrator Enrique Andrade. We're particularly excited because John De Los Santos, our "Best Director" from our "Best of Barihunks 2011" list will be directing. De Los Santos will also be directing the West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's "Green Sneakers," which we recently posted about.

Luis Alejandro Orozco sings "Deh, vieni alla finestra" from Don Giovanni:

Piazzolla’s style, now known as nuevo tango, was initially rebuffed, but later caused a resurgence of popularity in Argentinean tango and Piazzolla’s music. Using two singers and a narrator, the audience is lead through the story, as characters shift and Maria dies and her spirit confronts her life in the streets of Buenos Aires. It is an allegorical tale of Maria and her life, which is the spirit of tango, death and resurrection.

Tickets can be purchased by calling the Lexington Philharmonic box office at 859-233-4226 or visiting their website.

Hot directorial talents: John De Los Santos and José Maria Condemi

Orozco will reprise his performance from March 21-24 at the Florida Grand Opera. Maria will be performed by Catalina Cuervo and the piece will be directed by José Maria Condemi, another director whose work has been impressing us. He's currently directing Catan's Florencia en el Amazonas at the Utah Opera with barihunk Nmon Ford.

Tickets for Maria de Buenos Aires are available online.

Luis Alejandro Orozco was born in El Paso Texas, but raised in Juarez, Mexico for most of his life. Orozco is currently an artist diploma candidate at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He has performed with such companies as Lake George Opera (Saratoga Opera), Des Moines Metro Opera, El Paso Opera and Cincinnati Opera.

Teatro di Capua's trailer of Maria de Buenos Aires:

Introducing Verdi Baritone Alberto Gazale

Alberto Gazale

Italian barihunk Alberto Gazale is new to us and we spotted him in the cast of Verdi's Il Corsaro at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste. Since we're celebrating the 200th anniversary of Verdi's death, we were hoping to discover some new Verdi baritones this year. The final performance of Il Corsaro is on Saturday, January 19th.

Gazale graduated at the Conservatory of Verona and the Accademia Lirica in Mantua, where he specialized in singing Verdi. In 1998, he made his operatic debut in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera in Parma. He has performed at most of the major opera houses in Italy, as well as the Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Teatro Real in Madrid and the Opernhaus in Zürich. His Verdi repertory includes Attila, La traviata, Il trovatore, Don Carlo, I masnadieri, Luisa Miller, Un ballo in maschera, Aida, Rigoletto, Il Corsaro, Macbeth and Otello.

Alberto Gazale sings Rigoletto's "Cortigiani vil razza dannata":  

  Alberto Gazale sings "Per me giunto è il dì supremo" from Don Carlo:

Alberto Gazale sings Iago:

BREAKING NEWS: Brandon Cedel wins Middle Atlantic Met Regional Auditions

Brandon Cedel

Eleven months after winning the 2012 George London Foundation Competition, Brandon Cedel has won the Middle Atlantic Metropolitan Opera Regional Council Auditions at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.. Cedel sang Henry Purcell's "Arise ye subterranean winds" from the Tempest and Aleko's Cavatina by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Also competing in tonight's competition was barihunk Matthew Morris. Both Morris and Cedel appeared in our 2012 calendar. 

Brandon Cedel can next be seen performing the role of William Dale in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's production of Kevin Puts' "Silent Night." Performances run from February 8-17 and the cast includes barihunks Liam Bonner, Craig Irvin, Gabriel Preisser and Troy Cook. Tickets are available online.

Cast Change: Michael Kelly steps into Winterreise

Michael Kelly

One of our favorite young baritones (and former tenor) Michael Kelly will replace Sanford Sylvan in "Winterreise" for Schubert & Co. next weekend. Kelly will be accompanied by Jonathan Ware at the piano.  The performance will be on Saturday, January 26 at the Central Presbyterian Church in New York City. We'd pay anything to hear Michael Kelly in this music, so the best thing about this concert is that it's free. 

If you can't wait until next weekend, Kelly will join fellow barihunk Jesse Blumberg this Sunday, January 20 in Schubert songs by Goethe. The duo will be joined by soprano Simone Easthope, soprano Raquel Gonzalez, mezzo Jazmina MacNeil and tenor Spencer Lang. The concert is also at the Central Presbyterian Church in New York City. Pianists Jonathan Ware and Malcolm Martineau will perform.

Schubert & Co. is a group of artists committed to furthering the art of song. Theyare  presenting the complete solo lieder of Franz Schubert in New York City in a series of recitals spanning from September 2012 to May 2013.

Jesse Blumberg

Fans of Jesse Blumberg on the opposite coast can see him on Tuesday, February 19th in San Francisco, where he'll perform in the West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's "Green Sneakers." Tickets are available online.

Peter Brathwaite's "Amore" named Ambassadors for Kids

Peter Brathwaite

Peter Brathwaithe, a featured artist in our 2012 calendar and a member of the vocal quartet Amore, recently received some big news. His group was just named as one of the Ambassadors for ‘The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts.’ The Foundation works with over a hundred organizations across the United Kingdon and has introduced over 100,000 children to the arts.

In an interview Peter said, “The arts for me are about possibilities and provide the space to unlock the imagination, something which every child is entitled to experience. I passionately believe that engaging with the arts at an early age sows the seeds for independent thought and ultimately provides the key to seeing the ‘bigger picture.”

Visit Amore's website HERE.