Happy Birthday, Lee Hoiby!!!

Composer Lee Hoiby and Barihunk Benjamin Curtis

Lee Hoiby was born in Madison, Wisconsin on February 17, 1926 and died on March 28, 2011. He was one of America's most prominent composers of works for the lyric stage. He was introduced to opera by his teacher at the Curtis Institute of Music, Gian Carlo Menotti, who involved him closely in the famed Broadway productions of The Consul and The Saint of Bleecker Street. 

Hoiby's first opera, The Scarf, a chamber opera in one-act, was recognized by Time Magazine and the Italian press as the hit of the first Spoleto (Italy) Festival. His next opera, Natalia Petrovna (New York City Opera), now known in its revised version as A Month in the Country.

Two excerpts from Lee Hoiby's Summer and Smoke:

Among Hoiby’s operatic works are the one-act opera buffa Something New for the Zoo (1979), the musical monologue The Italian Lesson (1981, text by Ruth Draper) which was produced off-Broadway in 1989 with Jean Stapleton, and a one-act chamber opera, This Is the Rill Speaking (1992, text by Lanford Wilson, adapted by Shulgasser). Hoiby was a long-time collaborator with Brooklyn's American Opera Projects, having held a chair as Mentor Composer on AOP’s Composer and the Voice program for two seasons. 

Listen to Benjamin Curtis perform Lee Hoiby's Private First Class Jesse Givens Lee Hoiby and
Five poems of Walt Whitman at 22:35:

Hoiby's contribution to the art song repertoire includes over 100 songs, which are performed by many of the greatest singers worldwide. The great American soprano Leontyne Price introduced many of his best known songs and arias to the public. His musical idiom displayed a grateful acceptance of the rich legacy of melodic homophony, embracing references from Monteverdi to American blues without sounding eclectic or piecemeal.  

His best known works for baritone are "I Was There, 5 songs for Baritone and Orchestra, after Whitman (1995)" and "Last Letter Home," for men's chorus. The Whitman songs are set to  Beginning My Studies, I Was There,  A Clear Midnight,  O Captain! My Captain!  and Joy, Shipmate, Joy!. The latter is Hoiby's 2007 musical setting of Pfc. Jesse Givens' note home to his family before perishing in Iraq. It has become one of the most performed contemporary works for baritone.

The next performance of one of his operas will be Summer and Smoke at Florida State University on May 23 and 24.

Pictures from Agrippina featuring "the hottest cast in opera"

Hadleigh Adams

Our recent post about entitles "Hottest Cast in Opera Assembled in Omaha for Handel's Agrippina" drew a disproportionate amount of traffic to our site. It proves once again that with great programming and singers who interest the public, opera can flourish anywhere.  After all, Omaha is better known for Warren Buffet than Leonard Warren.

They also hired the 29-year-old director James Darrah, who didn't shy away from the more sexual aspects of the story, keeping it current and fresh. Fidelity to the music was preserved under the direction of early opera specialist Stephen Stubbs. [By the way Darrah is some pretty serious eye candy, as well].

Hadleigh Adams

The performance received a rave review from the Omaha Tribune Herald.  They said of Hadleigh Adams, who played Claudio, "...Hadleigh Adams had a delivery that was impressively full-bodied and bold. He has a gorgeous voice and performed with a confidence befitting an emperor. Moreover, he had a physical presence that was commanding and powerful and conveyed that, like Agrippina, Claudius is used to getting what he wants."

Doug Williams

Of Doug Williams they wrote, "Bass-baritone Doug Williams and tenor Zachary Wilder perfectly complemented each other as Pallante and Narciso, and their standout scene featured each being pseudo-seduced by Agrippina in her bedchamber. While the action produced many laughs, it was the delivery that demonstrated their abilities to smoothly control their voices, even amid semi-steamy action."

Of course, even the music critic Kim Carpenter couldn't help but notice the attractiveness of this talented cast, giving us our favorite lines of the review: "As a side note, I feel compelled to mention that the entire ensemble is impossibly pretty. While it's the voices and acting that matter, of course, having a gorgeous line-up of performers makes the over three hour production all the more enjoyable."

Doug Williams

Opera Omaha, which began in 1958 as the Omaha Civic Opera Society, is the only professional opera company in Nebraska, It became a fully professional opera company by 1970 and is known for highlighting gifted young singers from the area as well as nationwide. The company is known for both its innovation and educational outreach programs. They had produced eight world premieres and four American premieres.

Although Agrippina ends today, they have performances of Rossini's La Cenerentola coming up in April with two singers familiar to readers of this site, Daniel Belcher and Levi Hernandez. Belcher will be singing Dandini and Hernandez is taking on Don Magnifico. The talented young tenor Andrew Bidlack will be Ramiro, joining soprano Lauren McNeese who is singing Angelina. Performances are April 25 and 27. Tickets are available online.

Barihunk foursome in Seattle Opera's The Consul

Michael Todd Simpson & Colin Ramsey

Joseph Lattanzi & Steven LaBrie

Michael Todd Simpson will be joining three of the hottest barihunks on the scene in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul at the Seattle Opera, which runs from February 22nd to March 7. Michael Todd Simpson takes on the major role of John Sorel, Steven LaBrie makes his company debut as the Police Agent, Joseph Lattanzi performs Assan and Colin Ramsey also makes his company debut as Mr. Kofner. We can't remember many instances when there's been this much pulchritude on the stage at one time.

Michael Todd Simpson is also the featured singer on the Seattle Opera blog where you can read an extensive interview with the Seattle based performer. 

Colin Ramsey will reprise the role of Mr. Kofner in a different production of The Consul with Opera Santa Barbara on March 25 and 27.  That production will feature barihunk Joshua Jeremiah as John Sorel.

Keith Phares reprises Elmer Gantry with Tulsa Opera

Keith Phares in Tulsa Opera's promotional material for Elmer Gantry

Keith Phares in going to reprise his role as Elmer Gantry in Robert Aldridge's opera about the womanizing, hypocritical religious figure who attains great heights before being exposed and disgraced. The opera will play for two nights at the Tulsa Opera on February 28 and March 2. Tickets are available online.

Also in the show is Casey Yeargin as the Revival Worker. We recently featured him for his dramatic BariChunk to BariHunk transformation, which has been extremely popular and inspirational with readers.

Keith Phares sings, "When you hear the truth do you know it?"

Keith Phares sings,"Of course, I mean nothing to her"/"She is the sign to me"

Keith Phares in Elmer Gantry

Phares performed the role with the Nashville Opera in 2008 and in his debut with the Florentine Opera in 2010. The latter performance was recorded live and released on Naxos records and named Opera News' top opera recording of 2011.

Phares recently scored a huge critical success in Gregory Spears' chamber opera Paul's Case with the PROTOTYPE festival in New York City.

Barihunks dominate 2014 International Opera Awards

Stéphane Degout and Duncan Rock

The nominations for the 2014 International Opera Awards have been announced and barihunks are dominated many of the categories. The awards ceremony features nineteen categories, including Best New Production, Best Chorus, Best Conductor, Best CD, Best DVD, Best Rediscovered Work and even Best Philanthropist. The awards are the work of British opera patron Harry Hyman and the the British magazine Opera.

The Best Male Singer category is dominated by barihunks Stéphane Degout, Peter Mattei, Luca Pisaroni and Ludovic Tézier, pitting some of the sexiest and most vocally gifted performers against each other.

Barihunks calendar model Duncan Rock has been nominated as Best Young Singer for the second consecutive year.

Christopher Maltman in ENO's 2001 production of Rape of Lucretia

In the Best DVD Category Jake Heggie's Moby-Dick conducted by Patrick Summers and featuring Morgan Smith leads the pack. The DVD was featured in our Best of 2013 feature in December as the best performance on disc. Also nominated was Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande with conductor Stefan and featuring Jacques Imbrailo and Britten's The Rape of Lucretia conducted by Paul Daniel and featuring the barihunk duo of Christopher Maltman and Leigh Melrose.

The Opera Awards will take place on Monday 7th April at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, London. You can check out the entire list of nominees and categories at the Opera Awards website.

Interview with Sidney Outlaw; Appearing in People's Opera Gala

Sidney Outlaw

We have been following Sidney Outlaw since his young artist days and have always been impressed with his singing, his intelligence and his passion for life. He'll be performing at the "70 Years of the People's Opera" on February 21 at New York City Center. The event is a benefit for the New York City Musicians' Emergency Relief Fund, which was created by Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians. Tickets are available HERE.

The concert will feature fellow singers Lauren Flanigan, Joélle Harvey, Jennifer Rivera, Ryan MacPherson, Mark Delavan with the New York City Opera Orchestra, conducted by music director George Manahan. The concert will feature selections from "The Ballad of Baby Doe," "Candide," "Carmen," "L'etoile," "Giulio Cesare," "Malcolm X," "Martha" and "Die tote Stadt."

We spoke with Sidney Outlaw about being part of this historic concert.

1.    What does City Opera mean to you personally and what did it mean to the greater opera community.

The New York City Opera gave me a platform to launch my career. In fact, it was the first company that hired me to work outside of the realm of the types of gigs other young artists secure. Performing in a NYCO production was a huge deal for me, and I immensely enjoyed my time working with great people, such as Cori Ellison, Cory Lippiello and Brad Moore and many others in the NYCO administration. In addition, they were supportive of me, my career and helped nurture my talent.

I think performing in the NYCO helped the greater opera community see that talent comes in many variations. I'm just a guy from Brevard, North Carolina who has a great vocal gift. The beauty is that I've been able to share that gift with some of the greatest opera houses in country - NYCO being one of them.

Sidney Outlaw and Marsha Thompson from the 'X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X'

2. Talk about playing Malcolm in “Malcolm X” at New York City Opera?

It was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. While I am not an orator or an activist, it was a humbling and exciting experience for me to portray such a great civil rights leader.

The production gave me the opportunity take my God-given gifts and weave them with one of the pieces of fabric that make up the patchwork of our country's history. 

I would be honored to perform the entire opera in the future.

3. Have you performed before with any of your other colleagues from the gala?

I have not yet had the occasion to perform with any of my colleagues, but I more than welcome the opportunity to do so.

Jennifer Rivera & Michael Rice

4. Jennifer Rivera is married to barihunk Michael Rice. You and Michael have both been featured on the Barihunks site. Do you think appearance matters more in opera today and should it for certain roles and for attracting audiences?

I absolutely believe appearance matters in every facet of the entertainment business - not just the opera and classical genres. However, I believe that every one is different. Those differences are important because it gives each artist an opportunity to cultivate their own brand.

Like most other entertainers, I am striving to be healthy and look appropriate for each setting. But I am also aiming to create a brand that is unique to me. I do not wish to look like Eric Owens or Larry Brownlee or Mark Delevan or Russell Braun. My wish is create a brand that is authentic and true to me.

It is also important to me that I stay true to the art form and true to the music - no matter what I sing. If I cannot do that, then any concerns or thoughts about appearance or the brand become irrelevant.

5. If City Opera had stayed around, what would have been your dream roles to perform with them?

That's a tough question. My dream role would have been to sing “il Barbiere di Siviglia” there with Lawrence Brownlee as Count Almaviva. Now, THAT would have been fun!

6. What do you think will fill the vacuum left by City Opera?

It is really disconcerting to me that New York City - one of the largest cultural centers in the world - cannot support two great opera houses. It saddens me because it means that much of the art that was showcased by the NYCO will be inaccessible. It means that there are fewer opportunities for my colleagues and I to do what we love.

The vacuum left by the City Opera is a void that cannot be filled by anything but NYCO. Hopefully the stars will align and the Company will be brought back to life so the community and opera world can enjoy it once again.



7. Can you give us some insight to what you'll be singing?

I will be singing two selections. Pierrot's "Tanzlied from Die tote Stadt," which is one of my favorite arias. I will also sing Malcolm’s aria from Anthony Davis’s opera, “X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X.” Singing Malcolm's aria is special to me because it is the first gig I ever sang at NYCO.

That performance was produced for the VOX Series at the Schomburg Library in Harlem. It was an amazing experience and one that provided me with a chance to gain a wealth of knowledge. I learned so much during that process. 

8. Anything else that you'd like to share?

I have some amazing roles coming up this season. I'll be performing the role of Moses in "Moses" with the American Symphony Orchestra.

I'll also make my debut with the Atlanta Opera in the role of Figaro in "The Barber of Seville."

I'm also excited to work with the Metropolitan Opera for "The Death of Klinghoffer."

You can follow Sidney Outlaw at:
Facebook.com/BaritoneSidneyOutlaw
Twitter: @sidneyoutlaw
YouTube/mrsidneyo

Chris Carr awarded Igor Gorin Memorial Award

Chris Carr & Ryan Kuster

The coveted Igor Gorin Memorial Award is being awarded to a barihunk for the second consecutive year, as Chris Carr will be the 2014 recipient. Last year's winner was Ryan Kuster. Mary Gorin created the Igor Gorin Memorial Award to honor her husband, the late Russian baritone Igor Gorin, by financially assisting talented young vocalists at the beginning of their careers.

Chris Carr is the baritone studio artist at Arizona Opera for the 2013-2014 season.  Chris attended Simpson College and the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he studied with and continues to study with renowned tenor Vinson Cole.  He was a district winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in both 2011 and 2012 and is a 2013 alumnus of the San Francisco Opera Center Merola Program. He will be using the award to support his next audition season as he attempts to move from young artist work to professional work.

Chris Carr will be performing Baron Douphol in Verdi's La traviata from February 28-March 9 and Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale with the Arizona Opera from April 12-27.

Ryan Kuster will perform Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen at the Virginia Opera from March 21 to April 13 and again with Opera Colorado from May 3-11.