LaMarcus Miller to reprise role in "Fallujah" at New York City Opera

LaMarcus Miller

LaMarcus Miller, who back in March sang the the leading baritone role in Tobin Stokes and Heather Raffo's Fallujah at the Long Beach Opera, will now reprise the role with the revamped New York City Opera. Performances run daily between November 17-20 at the Duke Theater in New York City. The opera was a co-commission between the two companies.

Miller also sang in the workshop at the Kennedy Center, which was one of a series over the last four years including at Arena Stage, the Noor Theater in New York City and The Culture Project in New York City.

LaMarcus Miller in Fallujah at Long Beach Opera

The opera's characters were inspired by people United States Marine Christian Ellis encountered, including fallen comrades. In 2004, Christian Ellis was a young US Marine fighting in the Iraq War. He suffered a broken back when his platoon was ambushed, and was one of the few survivors. When eventually he returned home he found himself battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ellis has attempted suicide four times since returning from Iraq and used developing the opera as a vehicle to deal with the stress. Ellis' mother was a singer who pushed him to play the trumpet and start singing lessons when he was nine years old.

Tickets and additional cast information is available online. 

Jarrett Ott takes on Dandini in Syracuse before making European debut in Edward II

Jarrett Ott giving us some puppy eyes

Barihunk Jarrett Ott will be singing Dandini in Syracuse Opera's upcoming production of Rossini's La Cenerentola (Cinderella) on October 28 and 30. He first performed the role with the Curtis Opera Theatre while a student. He'll be joined in the cast by hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock as Don Ramiro, Corrie Stallings as Angelina, Peter Strummer as Don Magnifico and Adelaide Boedecker as Clorinda. Tickets are available online.

Last October, Opera News named him one of the 25 rising stars of opera, calling his voice "polished and immaculately produced."

On November 7, Ott will perform excerpts from Jake Heggie's new opera It's a Wonderful Life at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum  in New York City.

In 2017, he will make his major European opera debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin singing the role of the Angel in the world premiere of Andrea Scartazzini's Edward II, directed by Christoph Loy. The title role will be sung by fellow barihunk Michael Nagy and will also feature hunkentenor Ladislav Elgr singing the role of his alleged lover Piers de Gaveston.

The libretto by Thomas Jonigk focuses entirely on the role of the outsider Edward II and looks at society’s attitude towards homosexuals both then and now. Whether the close bond between Edward and Gaveston in the early 14th century was sexual in nature remains a contested issue, but among art circles Edward II has long been an icon of the gay movement. Gaveston was decapitated for being gay and King Edward II was executed in 1327 by having a red hot roasting spit shoved into his anus.

The subject matter inspired Christopher Marlowe’s bloody 1593 play about the self-assertive strivings of the hapless English king, the 1923 version by Bertolt Brecht of the same name and Derek Jarman’s 1992 famous film adaptation “Edward II.” 
 
Performances run from February 19-March 9 and tickets are available online.

Barihunk trio in Michigan Opera's Carmen, including calendar model Brent Michael Smith

Harry Greenleaf and Luis Alejandro Orozco

The Michigan Opera has assembled a stunning barihunk trio for their upcoming Carmen, that includes Luis Alejandro Orozco making his role debut as Escamillo, Barihunks calendar model Brent Michael Smith as Zuniga and Harry Greenleaf as Morales. The cast also includes Ginger Costa-Jackson and Sandrea Eddy as Carmen, Marcelo Puente and Alok Kumar as Don Josè and Cecilia Violetta Lopez as Micaela.

The opera will be performed on October 15, 19, 22 and 23. Tickets are available online.

Other engagements for baritone Luis Alejandro Orozco this season include the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni at Bar Harbor Music Festival, Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia in his house début with Florentine Opera in May 2017, and a reprisal of his signature role, El Payador, in María de Buenos Aires with the Atlanta Opera.

Brent Michael Smith, Jérôme Varnier & Brad Baron

Bass-barihunk Brent Smith is featured in the month of April in our "2017 Barihunks in Bed" calendar which is on sale now. As a Young Artist at the Michigan Opera, he has sung Colline in Puccini's La bohème, the Second S.S. Officer in Weinberg's The Passenger, the Doctor in Verdi's Macbeth and The Speaker in Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Last year he was an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, where his performance as Billy Jackrabbit in Puccini's La fanciulla del West received critical acclaim by Opera News as a “standout.”

Baritone Harry Greenleaf was a Studio Aritist with the Wolf Trap Opera Company in 2012 and 2013, where he sang the role of Baron Douphol in Verdi's La traviata and Monsieur Barbu in Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirésias. He made his debut with Michigan Opera Theatre in 2016, singing the role of Top in Copland's The Tender Land, as well as Jake Wallace in La fanciulla del West, and Le Bret in Dr. David DiChiera’s Cyrano.

 

How a plant-based diet transformed Lucas Meachem

Lucas Meachem (Photo: Natasha Sadikin, 2016)

We recently had the opportunity to see Lucas Meachem as Doctor Malatesta in the San Francisco Opera's hilarious production of Donizetti's Don Pasquale directed by Laurent Pelly. We instantly noticed that Meachem not only sounded the best that we'd heard him in years, but he looked imposing and statuesque with his new physique.  We later learned that he'd lost 45 pounds (20.4 kilos).

Meachem has two more performances of the opera on October 12 and 15 (tonight's performance will be sung by fellow barihunk Edward Nelson). The cast also includes the brilliant Maurizio Muraro in the title role, Lawrence Brownlee as Ernesto, Heidi Stober as his lover Norina and Bojan Knežvić as the Notary. Tickets are available online. 

We decided to ask him about his new physique and here is what he had to say.

Maurizio Muraro and Lucas Meachem in Don Pasquale (Photo: SF Opera)

1. What prompted the weight loss?

This past January, my doctor discovered that I had high cholesterol and he advised me to do something about it. Searching for solutions, my wife introduced me to some documentaries on health and the environment that had a lasting impact on me. It opened my eyes. Alternatively, with the advent of the Met HD and various opera publications, I had to accept that opera has become more visually intensive than in the past. I felt like I was missing out on roles, even losing some roles because of my looks or size. For whatever the reason, I was left out of casting decisions because I didn't look the part. I wanted to make a change and eliminate that factor for any casting director or company. I felt like I deserved more for the voice I had and the body I didn't.

"The fact is it's easier to change yourself than the system. So instead of resisting, I decided to change myself." 

- Lucas Meachem

I don't like any of the discrimination shown towards larger singers, men and women alike. It is a conversation I've had with opera singers around the world and I sympathize with them. I know this can be a disheartening thought but in this competitive industry, body image ends up being a deciding factor sometimes rather than one's true talent. I've been a Barihunk and I've been a Barichunk but the thing that's always been there is my voice.

I used to rail against the system for it's unfairness that weight is even an issue when it came to my voice. For me vocal prowess should be the main determining factor of an opera singer but I realized that I couldn't play by those rules anymore. The fact is it's easier to change yourself than the system. So instead of resisting, I decided to change myself.

2. How did you do it.I became a vegan.

As a vegan, I eat a plant-based diet. I center my meals around vegetables and go from there. I cut out dairy, meat, eggs, sugar, and alcohol. I also cut out carbs after 4pm and try to eat an early dinner. That's tough with a performing schedule where I'm done with a show at 11pm. With how strict I normally eat, it's ok to cheat once in a while when I go out. I know that everything I eat is a choice, not a confinement.

I've tried so many diets through the years. My weight has been up and down like a roller coaster.  Finally, I've found a moral implication in my diet. Living a life of compassion motivates me and inspires me to be a better person for myself and the world.

Lucas Meachem as Dr. Malatesta (Photo: SF Opera)

  
3. Tell us about singing Dr. Malatesta

Malatesta is more difficult than your average opera role because you have to have many different faces--it's a real "faccia doppia". Those faces seem to change with each production. The acting is a challenge, but vocally it's straightforward bel canto. This role is suited to a lyric baritone with solid coloratura. Although it's not an overwhelmingly gratifying role, I enjoy singing it because it's a real team effort. It's an ensemble piece and you end up becoming very close with your colleagues, out of art and necessity.

4. What does the San Francisco Opera mean to you, having come through the Merola young artist program and the Adler Fellowship Program at the San Francisco Opera?

The San Francisco Opera is my home. I walk in that house and shake hands with 20 people before I hit the rehearsal room. I feel well-respected and well-loved, and it's a two-way street. I couldn't be happier that Matthew Shilvock and Greg Hinkel are working there, since they're both dear friends of mine. One of my most cherished accomplishments in San Francisco was singing "Barber of Seville" as a Merolini in 2003 and then returning ten years later to sing it on the main stage.

The SF Opera is one of those gold standard opera house. It's the kind of opera house you wish other opera houses could be. It's when all of the elements come together to make a truly fulfilling artistic experience. From the general director to the stage management team, from the security guards to the orchestra members, each factor is world-class. Artists leave knowing that they have participated in something truly outstanding.

Our 10th Anniversary "Barihunks in Bed" calendar is now on sale and available by clicking on the Lulu button below. 

Malte Roesner discusses his fach change and fitness routine

Malte Roesner from his recent Barihunks photo shoot

When we first met Malte Roesner in France last year, he was singing as a baritone and wrapping up a decade long run at the Staatstheater Braunschweig (State Theater of Brunswick). Since that time, he has gone through a fach change to bass and recently came to California for a series of coachings and auditions, hoping to make his U.S. debut in the near future.

He is featured prominently in this year's calendar, "Barihunks in Bed," and it's his gorgeous face that graces the cover. We asked him a few questions about this newest stage of his career.

Malte Roesner from his recent Barihunks photo shoot

1. What prompted the fach change?

I have always had an extension in the bottom of my range that is unusual for a baritone, and I remember that when I was studying, I had to be mindful not to  cover and transition into the passaggio "too early“. But, then again, at  20-something years old my timbre seemed too bright for a lower fach, and, after  all, I had the top notes.  So I started my career as a baritone at the Brunswick National Theater and sang  55 roles there over the course of ten and a half years. 

The older I got, the  harder it became to maintain the high baritone tessitura. Regardless, if you are hired for a certain repertoire in the fest-system you, of course, have to sing  it. After I left Brunswick, I  took some time to refocus on technique and come back to my natural voice. Because a singer's identity is often  tied to his or  her voice-type, it didn't even occur to me to try out bass repertoire at first.  It took my voice teacher telling me to just bring absolutely anything I wanted  and felt comfortable with to my lesson for me to start experimenting with lower  repertoire.  I started with bass-baritone arias, but as my voice started to relax into the  new range, I also added in real bass repertoire.

One of the first low bass arias I worked on was Sarastro, because I remembered a rehearsal for a Magic Flute revival – I was singing Papageno – where I jokingly sang a few of Sarastro's  lines down to the low F in the first finale. Afterwards the Monostatos came up  to me and told me that it sounded as if I was actually more at home down there.

Malte Roesner from his recent Barihunks photo shoot

2. What are you working on for rep?

Six months is not a long time for a fach change and my voice is still settling and my timbre  still darkening. So I am trying to stay open minded about what to sing and just take the cues from my voice, but basso cantante seems to describe  it best at the moment. 

For my first auditions I combined some bass-baritone repertoire, like Figaro and Pizarro, with real bass repertoire, like Don Basilio and Sarastro. This seems  appropriate since even some of the greatest basses of the past, e.g. Ezio Pinza  or Cesare Siepi, (I am honestly just looking at rep and not comparing myself), used to straddle the fence in their youth – youth of course being a very  relative term for a bass. 

Recently a friend of mine and two great coaches that I had the chance to work  with in California gave me a few recommendations.  Some of my next projects are  going to be Kaspar from Weber's Freischütz, Boito's Mephistophele and Floyd's Susanna. 

I am really looking forward to continuing this journey

Malte Roesner from his recent Barihunks photo shoot

3. You recently came to California. Tell us about your visit.

Except for the the top-tier, the European and the North American opera-worlds  are quite separated. I am in the rare situation that, because I was born in New  York to German parents, I have dual citizenship which allows me to work in both  areas without a visa. This is why ever since I started singing professionally, I  had the plan to one day also sing in the US. 

When a patron and Barihunks invited me to California for an audition tour, I of  course jumped at the chance.  In September, I had the opportunity to prepare my very first auditions in San Francisco and Los  Angeles as a bass. with some of the best coaches I have ever worked with, and then audition for a couple of great companies in the Bay Area. 

Leaving the practice room for the first time after such a transition can be daunting, so I am really happy about the very positive feedback that supports my  decision for the fach change. 

But of course my month in California was not just all work. I fell in love with the Bay Area; exploring San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley, and spent more time wine-tasting with a former sommelier as my guide in the wine country than I would like to admit (note to self: it's good to be a bass). I tasted  amazing food from all over the world. Most notably, I had the chance to eat at  one of the restaurants of Dominique Crenn, the highest rated female chef in the  world. I got to hear great opera and a concert that merged Jazz with classical  and northern African influences. I spend time in museums, thrift stores and spas, in nature, on a ferry and on a roller-coaster. I went to a baseball game and a drag show with Latrice Royale. I even got to have lunch with Jake Heggie and talk to him about my translation of one of his operas (For a Look or a Touch) and he turned out to be an extremely nice guy. 

But most importantly I met kind, generous and wonderful people and made new friends.  As one can tell I just had the worst time ...

Malte Roesner from his recent Barihunks photo shoot

4. What is your workout routine?

After an injury a few years ago, I unfortunately had to stop training martial arts for a while. I  started doing a work out method called EMS (Electro Myo Stimulation) instead  that is unfortunately not FDA approved in the States yet. I used the fitness-level I got there to start testing my limits and tried all kinds of things. I built some muscle-mass with squats and barbell complexes and then I  got really lean with HIIT (high intensity interval training). 

At the moment I am more interested in functional fitness.  I do heavy multi-joint barbell lifts for strength, kettlebell and bodyweight  HIIT workouts for conditioning, and some yoga; because yoga is just good for you.  For me, the combination of these methods covers all aspects of fitness I need  for my well-being.  The dynamic full body workout with kettlebells and the  gentle strength and flexibility gained through yoga seem to me especially ideal  for singers, seeing as both work with the breath.

Malte Roesner demonstrating the "baritone claw" in San Francisco

5. Is it really "All about the bass"?

Is there any question about that?

Well, I guess in opera it often seems as if it were all about the soprano and the tenor, but that is OK.  I love the roles that might be coming my way and I love how the new fach feels  in my body. Maybe it has to do with the fact that while I was singing as a  baritone, the tessitura was  high relative to my passaggio and my range. I had  this whole lower part of my voice that I never got to use. Now I am just  discovering the relaxation and opening needed for the extreme low notes. Most  other voice-types have their money-notes in the top. Only a bass is truly  measured by his low notes.  Especially as a recovering baritone, the top is not an issue for me.

So in this  sense, being a bass really is “all about the bass.”

You can enjoy more pictures of Malte Roesner in our new "Barihunks in Bed 2017" calendar, which is available now. Simply click on the LULU button below.

Daniel Schmutzhard creates sensation in The Sandman

Daniel Schmutzhard

Austrian barihunk Daniel Schmutzhard has been creating a sensation as Nathanael in composer Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini's Der Sandmann at Opera Frankfurt, which has additional performances on October 3, 8, 13 and 23. The psychologically troubled character is a difficult vocal feat, accompanied by virtuoso orchestration and powerful choruses. He also has to sing much of the role clad in his scivvies

Based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's well known story The Sandman (1815), Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini and the librettist Thomas Jonigk combined essential elements from the story with creepy, romantic motifs for their opera. Nathanael's state of being, a psychotic trip in the homelessness of one's own self, is depicted in ten scenes. To him the sinister seems, in a Freudian sense, a chimera which shines light upon the known and surpressed. Jonigk's figures are our contemporaries: they speak our language, know the feelings of self doubt.

Daniel Schmutzhard

The story of E.T.A. Hoffmann and his conflict between artistic dreams and reality is not new to opera goers, with Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann and Hindemith's Cardillac being the best known. Other adaptations include Busoni's Die Brautwahl, Alfred Thompson's The Girl with the Glass Eyes, Adolphe Adam's La poupée de Nuremberg, Walter Braunfels' Prinzessin Brambilla and Jacques Offenbach's Le roi Carotte.

The cast also includes barihunk Daniel Miroslaw, who appears as Lothar. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Our 10th Anniversary "Barihunks in Bed 2017" calendar is now on sale. It's available by clicking the Lulu button below.

10th Anniversary "Barihunks in Bed" calendar now on sale!

Malte Roesner on the cover of "Barihunks in Bed" (photo by Jack Michaels)

Our 10th Anniversary calendar is now on sale, which features "Barihunks in Bed." It features 26 of opera's sexiest men (25 barihunks and one hunkentenor) from Germany, the United States, France, Belgium, Turkey, Catalonia, the Netherlands, Italy and Israel. 

You can click HERE to order your copy today. 

2017 will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of Barihunks. Our mission has been to attract people to opera and, most importantly, to raise money to support young artists and to commission new music for low voices. We have also advocated positivity in online discussions about singers and this magical art form that we all love.