Reader Submission: French bass-barihunk Julien Ségol

Julien Ségol

French bass-barihunk Julien Ségol is our latest reader submission, coming from a reader who saw him in recital last month. 

He started his musical studies at the age of 10 by studying violin with Chantal Crennes, a former member of the Orchestre National de France. In 2006 he began his vocal studies with at the Conservatoire Hector Berlioz in Paris. He graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in 2011. His interest for German repertoire brought him to Germany in 2013, where he studied at the Musikhochschule Felix Mendelssohn (Leipzig).

He was the winner of the 2015 Bach Cantata Prize at the Internationale Sächsische Sängerakademie Torgau in Germany.

While studiying voice he  also received a Master degrees from the Institut de Sciences Politiques de Paris and from the EHESS. He then received a doctoral scholarship from the Marc Bloch Zentrum in Berlin to do a PhD in cultural anthropology, which he completed on the subject : “The Malleable Body: A Symbolic Revolution. Aesthetic and Social Transformations of the Body in France and Germany, 1900-1933."

Julien Ségol sings Duparc's "Le Manoir de Rosemonde":

Ségol has performed at the Berlin Philharmonic, Rundfunk Berlin, Academy of the Arts Berlin, Delphi Theater, Kultur Büro Elisabeth, Hartenfels Castle in Saxony and Rheinsberg Castle. 

In 2017, he was mentioned on Barihunks as part of 24 singers who performed Schubert's Winterreise at Puccini's Toaster in Berlin, performing "Gefrorene Tränen." Other recent engagements include a Poulenc recital at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin and a Goethe-Lieder recital at the Château de Cerisy in Normandy. The role of the Wolf in Su-eun Lee's children opera “Rotkäppchen” at the Young Artists Studio of the Deutsche Oper was created for him..

Celebrating the anniversary of Aida's world premiere

Ain Anger as Ramfis at Houston Grand Opera

Verdi's masterpiece Aida premiered on December 24, 1871. The opera was commissioned for the grand opening of Cairo's Khedivial Opera House. Verdi did not attend the premiere in Cairo, as he was upset that opening night was not open to the general public. He considered the Italian premiere at La Scala in Milan on February 8, 1872 to be its real premiere. 

The U.S. premiere was on November 26, 1873 at the Academy of Music in New York City. The opera has been adapted for motion pictures on several occasions, most notably in a 1953 production which starred Sophia Loren.

Aida at the Teatro Carlo Felice

The opera includes three roles for low voice: Amonasro (king of Ethiopia), Ramfis (the high priest) and the King of Egypt.

A number of noted barihunks have sung each of the roles. The bass role of Ramfis has been performed by Ezio Pinza, Erwin Schrott, Nicolas Courjal, Andrea Mastroni, Kevin Thompson, Ain Anger, Raymond Aceto and Adrian Sâmpetrean.

The Kings: Soloman Howard at The Met and Anthony Reed at San Francisco Opera

The bass role of The King has been sung my Matt Treviño, Ben Wager, Jud Arthur, Kenneth Kellogg, Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Florian Spiess and Anthony Reed.

The baritone role of Amonasaro has been sung by Marco Vratogna, Sherrill Milnes and Michael Honeyman. 

Ezio Pinza and Giovanni Martinelli sings "Mortal diletto ai Numi":

Some of the most famous numbers for low voices in Aida include the Act 3 duet between Aida and Amonasro "Ciel, mio padre...Rivedrai le foreste imbalsamate" and Ramfis' "Mortal, diletto ai Numi, a te fidate."
 

Barihunk Matthew Worth featured on Great Performances broadcast of Doubt

Matthew Worth in Doubt (Photo: © Michal Daniel)

The Minnesota Opera's production of Douglas J. Cuomo’s opera Doubt will be broadcast on Great Performances on PBS on January 25th (check local listings for time).

The story, which has been seen on Broadway and made into a movie with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, revolves around scandalous allegations and tensions at a Catholic elementary school.

The libretto was written by playwright John Patrick Shanley, who based it on his Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play. The opera was commissioned by Minnesota Opera in collaboration with the Cincinnati Opera and the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. The opera was part of the opera company’s New Works Initiative, a landmark program designed to invigorate the operatic repertoire with an infusion of contemporary works. It premiered on January 26, 2013 at the Minnesota Opera.

Matthew Worths sings "A sermon about doubt":

The opera features barihunk Matthew Worth as Father Flynn, who is accused of inappropriate behavior with a young African-American student. Soprano Christine Brewer will sing the role of the school principal Sister Aloysius, who makes the accusations and sets the drama in motion at the Bronx-based Roman Catholic in 1964. The young, idealistic Sister James will be played by Adriana Zabala and the boy's mother by mezzo Denyce Graves. Other than a chorus and a children's chorus, these are the only vocal roles.

Other operas on Great Performances this year include Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice on January 18, Verdi's Aida and Nico Muhly's Marnie on February 1.

Gianluca Margheri to add Papageno to repertory in 2019

Gianluca Margheri in The Fairy Queen (Photos: Attila Nagy)

Italian barihunk Gianluca Margheri will add the role of Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute (Il Flauto Magico) to his repertory in January 2019.

He will be appearing as the lovelorn birdcatcher at the Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania from January 20-27. The cast also includes Karl Huml as Sarastro, Christina Poulitsi as the Quuen of the Night, Elena Galitskaja as Pamina and Giovanni Sala as Tamino. Tickets are available online.

Gianluca Margheri in the finale to Don Giovanni with Peter Fried:

This will be Margheri's sixth Mozart role, as he's already taken on Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, Publio in La Clemenza di Tito, the title role in Don Giovanni and Figaro and the Count in Le nozze di Figaro.

Other roles next season include Garibaldo in Handel's Rodelinda at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and a return to the Hungarian State Opera in Purcell's The Fairy Queen.

Benjamin Appl announces first U.S. recital tour

German barihunk Benjamin Appl, who has become one of the leading lieder recitalists in the world, has announced his first U.S. tour.

He will begin his tour in New York City for three nights at the Park Avenue Armory. On January 6th he will perform Schubert's Die schöne Mülllerin, followed by Schubert's Schwanengesang on January 8th and the composer's Winterreise on January 10th. 

He then heads to Portland, Oregon on January 13th, New Orleans on January 15 and 16, Cleveland on January 18 and finally Washington D.C. on January 20th. Those recitals will variously feature music by Schubert, Schreker, Schumann, Duparc, Grieg and Nico Muhly's "The Last Letter," a collection of five songs based on letters sent by soldiers during World War I. The piece was commissioned by the Barbican for Appl in 2015. 

He will be joined on the tour by his frequent accompanist James Baillieu. 

John Viscardi headlines popular Philly Christmas concert

John Viscardi (photo: Arielle Donneson)

The Philadelphia Orchestra will present its popular "Glorious Sound of Christmas®" from December 20-23 this year. It will feature American barihunk John Viscardi as the soloist, backed by the orchestra and the chorus of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia. This will be Viscardi's debut with the famed orchestra.

Some of Viscardi's selections include “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,” “Good King Wenceslas,” "Silent Night" and “I'll Be Home For Christmas."

Tickets are available online. 

John Viscardi sings Tosti's Ideale:

Performances in the upcoming year for Viscardi include Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Chou en Lai in John Adams' Nixon in China at the Princeton Festival 

Reader Submission: Finnish Barihunk Markus Suihkonen

Markus Suihkonen (photos: Vilja Tamminen)

Our latest reader submission is 25-year-old Finnish bass Markus Suihkonen, who someone spotted as The Herald in Bayerische Staatsoper production of Verdi's Otello. The production also features hunkentenor Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, so you know he had to stand out.

There is one more performance on December 21, before it returns in the Summer for additional performances on July 12 and 15, also featuring Suihkonen.

Watch Markus Suihkonen at the 11:50 mark:

Before taking up singing at the Sibelius Academy, Suihkonen studied the cello for 15 years. In 2015, he won the Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition and was awarded a scholarship from the Martti Talvela Foundation.    

He made his professional debut at the Finnish National Opera in 2015 in Shostakovich's The Nose. He has performed at the Mariinsky Theater, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Vlaamse Opera and at the Royal Opéra de Wallonie.

He is part of the Young Artist Ensemble at the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, Belgium.

He returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper in April as King René in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta and then takes on Publio in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège.