Liam Bonner to star in neglected Chabrier opera

Liam Bonner

The last time we posted about Liam Bonner, he was part of what we called the "barihunk laden" cast of Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera "Silent Night" at the Minnesota Opera. Bonner scored a critical success as Lieutenant Audebert in that world premiere performance. Prior to that, we featured him singing the beautiful song "Lost in the Stars" in our tribute to Kurt Weill. If you missed Silent Night, you're in luck, as Bonner will reprise his role with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in February 2013.

Bonner has broken out of the barihunk pack of Silent Nightand will be singing the lead role of Henri de Valois in Emmanuel Chabrier’s neglected opera The King in Spite of Himself (Le roi malgré lui) at Bard SummerScape in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. Bonner returns to SummerScape after his successful 2010 performance in the American premiere of Kurt Weill’s Royal Palace.

Nicolas Rivenq sings "Cher pays" from Le Roi malgré lui from Lyons:

SummerScape is performing the first staged revival of the original 1887 version of the opera. The production will receive a contemporary treatment from director Thaddeus Strassberger. The opera will be performed on July 27 and 29, and August 1, 3 and 5 with the American Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leon Botstein. The company will also perform Saint-Saëns’s grand opera Henry VIII. Visit their website for additional performance information.

The King in Spite of Himself  is a comedy about the hapless 16th-century French noble who has been chosen by the Poles to be their king, despite various factions who are plotting against him. Henri is repelled by the weather, the food, and the fashion, and pines for his milieu in Anjou. Farce ensues when he tries to eschew the crown, but fate is sometimes easier to reluctantly accept than to escape.

The opera contains vocal fireworks, an exuberant chorus, lively dances and a clever orchestral score. For those of you who have seen Aida, La Boheme or Carmen once too often, this is a great chance to see an opera that was greatly admired by Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky, but has fallen from the standard repertory. 

Liam Bonner & Quirijn de Lang

For those readers on the other side of the Pond, you can see Bonner as Henri de Valois in October at the Wexford Festival Opera. That performance also features popular barihunk Quirijn de Lang in the role of Laski. Visit their website for additional information.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Watch Kelly Markgraf LIVE or ONLINE

Kelly Markgraf

One of our favorite emerging barihunk stars is Kelly Markgraf, who was just part of the sold out two-night performance of Philharmonic 360 at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. He was joined by barihunks Keith Miller and Ryan McKinny in one of the most talked about classical music performances in years.

If you missed the performance, you're in luck, as it will be webcast for free by medici.tv beginning July 6 at 2:00 PM EDT/11 AM PST for 90 days. You might recall the medici.tv also provided the same benefit to opera lovers by broadcasting the Operalia competition online. In addition to the three barihunks, who are performing the closing scene from Act 1 of Mozart's Don Giovanni, the webcast features the New York Philharmonic's Music Director Alan Gilbert conducting Karlheinz Stockhausen’s epic composition Gruppen.

Our favorite picture of Kelly Markgraf

We're visual people and will be watching on medici.tv, but if you can suffice with just the audio, the concert will be streamed on Q2 Music, WQXR’s online music station, on Tuesday, July 10 at 3:00 PM EST, Wednesday, July 11 at 7:00 PM EST, and Saturday, July 14 at 10:00 AM EDT and archived for 30 days.

Kelly Markgraf and Sasha Cooke

For those who prefer to see Markgraf live, he'll be performing with his wife Sasha Cooke at the internationally acclaimed Music@Menlo series this month. The attractive couple is going to give Erwin Schrott and Anna Netrebko a run for their money with their "made-for-Marie Claire" looks and great singing. 

The couple will be part of the July 27 concert entitled "TRANSPORTED: Sonic Journeys."  “Transported” will explore music’s ability to enrapture listeners through vivid depictions of places near and far. Markgraf will perform Samuel Barber’s classic Dover Beach which are set to poet Matthew Arnold’s picturesque paean to the English shore. The program also features, Chen Yi’s "Romance of Hsiao and Ch’in, " Debussy’s "Images," Albéniz’s "Iberia Suite," Sibelius’s "Voces Intimae" and Gustav Mahler’s "Das himmlische Leben" from his 4th Symphony.

If you plan on going, order now, as tickets are already limited. Click HERE for tickets.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

NY Phil's "Don Giovanni" Hottest Ticket Around

Keith Miller

Good luck trying to get a ticket for the New York Philharmonic's concert next weekend at the Park Avenue Armory. It's sold out and today's article in the New York Times is only going to increase the demand. The concert is entitled "Philharmonic 360 – Spatial Music from Mozart’s Don Giovanni to Stockhausen’s Gruppen."

Most of the buzz is around German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Gruppen," which is played by three orchestras in a spatially separated configuration. However, we're excited about the scene from Don Giovanni, which includes three of the hottest barihunks around. Ryan McKinny will sing the title role with Keith Miller as Leporello and Kelly Markgraf as Masetto in the final scene of Act 1.

The concert will also include Boulez's "Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna" and Ives' "The Unanswered Question."

Kelly Markgraf

Ryan McKinny will be focusing on Wagner's Tristan und Isolde after wrapping up this project. He'll debut as Melot in Toronto and then debut Kurwenal in Houston. The Isolde in Houston will be the amazing Wagnerian soprano Nina Stemme. On April 26 and 28 of 2013, Kelly Markgraf will graduate to the title role in Don Giovanni at the Madison Opera. We couldn't find Keith Miller's up-to-date schedule, but you can follow him on Twitter @KeithMillerBass.

Watch Michael Weyandt in Almira with operamission

Michael Weyandt in Almira

Every so often we regret having missed telling our readers about a barihunk appearance. Michael Weyandt's appearance as Fernando in Handel's Almira with operamission at the Gershwin Hotel was a prime example. New York Times classical music critic Anthony Tommaini wrote glowingly about the performance and wrote that the role of Fernando was "...movingly performed here by the virile, ardent baritone Michael Weyandt." You can read the entire review on the NY Times website. 


We wanted to share a bit of the performance for those of you who missed this wonderful talent. 

Händel's ALMIRA - Act III, "Edele Sinnen," "Was ist des Hofes Gunst?" from operamission on Vimeo.


In the first part of the video you'll hear Weyandt sing "Edele Sinnen schaffen von hinnen" followed by the arioso "Was ist des Hofes Gunst? ein Dunst." The rough translations are:

"Noble thoughts soothe away whatever causes annoyance and harm. And on the contrary strive by all means to become on earth delighted in sweetest repose."

--and--

"What is the favor of the court? A mist, that swiftly disperses; a labyrinth of the times, that invariably takes us from crown and throne to prison."


We've featured numerous operamission concerts on our website and they are a must for anyone in the New York area. You can follow them on Facebook or Twitter at @operamission.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Randal Turner performs "Don Juan at 40"

American composer Julia Schwartz wrote the 10-minute scene "Don Juan at 40" for barihunk Randal Turner, who debuted the piece at his West Coast recital debut in December 2010. Until now, the piece was only viewable on the commercial DVD, but it's now available on the composer's YouTube site. The text is by Ron Butlin, the great Scottish poet, novelist, short-story writer, librettist, playwright, and journalist.

The concert also includes a set of Walt Whitman songs by Clint Borzoni, which were written for Turner, as well.

We should also mention that Randal Turner is featured in the promotional video for Lucy Liu's new TV show on CBS, "Elementary." He appears around the 3:26 mark. 

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Young Barihunk featured on HBO with Renee Fleming

Set you DVRs for 6 PM on May 28th for "Renee Fleming: A YoungArts MasterClass" on HBO. The legendary soprano will work with four aspiring opera-singers on developing their voices and their careers. 

The students in this program are awardees of the Miami-based arts organization, YoungArts. Each year, YoungArts selects 150 high school students from an applicant pool of over 7,000.  The highly-popular first season of the Master Class Series featured tenor Placido Domingo, Julian Schnabel, Jacques d'Amboise, Frank Gehry, Olafur Eliasson, Edward Albee, Bill T. Jones, Liv Ullmann, and Michael Tilson Thomas.

The four singers who were selected to work with Fleming are Aaron Casey, Crystal Vanrell, Samantha Hankey and an emerging barihunk, Sean Michael Plumb. The 20-year-old Los Angeles native studies at the Curtis Institute of Music with Marlena Malas and Mikael Eliasen. He also holds a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and School, where he has studied for the last two summers. 

He has performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Broad Stage, the Baryshnikov Arts Center, and as a United States Presidential Scholar, the Kennedy Center. Additionally, Sean performed at the 2010 Grammy Week Salute to Placido Domingo with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. He has won many competitions including the Classical Singer Magazine 2009 High School Competition, the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards, and the top prize (Gold) at the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts’ YoungArts Week. At Curtis Sean has appeared in Apollo and Daphne (Apollo), Faust (Wagner), La Tragedie de Carmen (Lilas Pastilla), Il Signor Brushchino (Il Comissario), and The Cunning Little Vixen (Grasshopper). 

A 2010 graduate of Loyola High School of Los Angeles, Sean also plays piano and enjoys swimming and watching college basketball. Check out his website for more information.

You can follow the YoungArts Master Class program on Facebook.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Live Webcast of Barihunks Luca Pisaroni & Thomas Hampson Together

On Sunday, April 29, the father-in-law/son-in-law barihunk duo of Luca Pisaroni and Thomas Hampson will appear in a Gala Concert at the Heidelberger Frühling Festival. The West German Radio Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by Massimo Zanetti for an evening of arias and duets by Giuseppe Verdi, Gioacchino Rossini and Wolfgang Mozart.  

Since not everyone can be there, we're pleased to announce that there will be a live webcast beginning at 6 PM CEST (Noon EST, 9 AM PST), which you can access HERE.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Happy Birthday, Leonard Warren (April 21, 1911-March 4, 1960)

Today we celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest American baritones ever, Leonard Warren (born Warenoff). The family Americanized the name when his Russian father settled in the United States.

Warren's first job was working in his father's fur business in New York In 1935.  He studied voice with Sidney Dietch and the great Giuseppe De Luca and joined the chorus of Radio City Music Hall. In 1938 he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air and was granted a stipend to study in Italy.

Leonard Warren & Astrid Varnay sing "Favella il Doge" from Simon Boccanegra:

Warren made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in excerpts from Verdi's La Traviata and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in November 1938. His formal operatic debut took place in New York in January 1939, when he sang Paolo in Simon Boccanegra. He quickly became one of the most popular baritones of his time. He also sang in San Francisco, Chicago, Canada, and South America. He appeared at La Scala in Milan in 1953. In 1958, he made a highly successful tour of the Soviet Union. His last complete performance at the Metropolitan Opera was as Simon Boccanegra on March 1, 1960. Three days later he collapsed while singing the aria "Urna fatale dal mio destino;" as Don Carlo during a performance of Verdi's La forza del destino. He had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died backstage.

Leonard Warren  sings "Urna fatale...È salvo, o gioia":

Leonard Warren was particularly acclaimed as one of the foremost interpreters of the great Verdi baritone roles; he also sang the parts of Tonio in Pagliacci, Escamillo in Carmen, and Scarpia in Tosca. He was reputed to be a person of an intractable character, who always tried to impose his will on stage designers, managers, and even conductors, in matters of production, direction, and tempi. He caused pain, a colleague said, but he had a great voice.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

CCM Student Mark Wesley Brax Dies in Car Crash

Mark Wesley Brax

We hate to deliver sad news, but we just learned that University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) student Mark Wesley Brax, age 23, was killed in a two-vehicle crash in southeastern Indiana over the weekend.

Brax had spent the summer at the Tanglewood Festival before coming to CCM to receive his master's degree. Since arriving at the College-Conservatory of Music, Brax had performed as soloist in J.S. Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” participated in the undergraduate production of Handel’s “Serse” and sang with the CCM Chamber Choir and the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati.

Robin Guarino, chair of the opera department at CCM, said the aspiring opera singer was “an exceptional artist and an inspiration to all. We are heartbroken at this loss, and send our love to his family and all those who knew him.”


The school held an informal memorial on Monday for students, faculty and staff.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Move Over Tony Romo, Papageno Is In The House

Patrick Carfizzi as Papageno

The Dallas Cowboys were a pretty mediocre 8-8 last year, causing many fans to grumble that a better team needed to be assembled at Cowboys Stadium. That has happened, as the Dallas Opera has put together a winning team for the April 28 live simulcast of Mozart's The Magic Flute starring the always entertaining Patrick Carfizzi as Papageno. Devotees of low voices will also be treated to the resonant low notes of Raymond Aceto as Sarastro.

The opera will be simulcast on the massive high-definition video-screens at Cowboys Stadium beginning at 7:30 PM with doors opening at 6 PM. Over 30,000 tickets have been requested, leaving about 1,500 for the performance. You can reserve your tickets by clicking HERE.

The show will be seen on four viewing screens (the largest is 72 feet tall and 160 feet wide) above the stadium's playing field. The opera also stars soprano Ava Pine as Pamina, L'ubica Vargicova as the Queen of the Night, Angela Mannino as Papageno and tenor Shawn Mathey as Tamino. Listen to Raymond Aceto below (don't miss this voice!).

If you'd rather see the opera at the Winspear Opera House, it opens on Friday, April 20 and runs through May 6. Visit the Dallas Opera website for tickets and additional information. 

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Watch "Nixon in China" online from Théâtre du Châtelet

Franco Pomponi as Richard Nixon

Watch John Adams' masterpiece "Nixon in China" live from the Théâtre du Châtelet beginning at 1 PM EST/11 AM PST. It stars barihunk Franco Pomponi as Richard Nixon, Kyung Chun Kim as Chairman Mao, Sumi Jo as Madame Mao and June Anderson as Pat Nixon. The video is supposed to remain available for three months.

Free Barihunk Concerts in Iowa & New York

Cedar Rapids, Iowa is probably best known for corn, Quaker Oats and for being the home of actor Ashton Kutcher and NFL quarterback Kurt Warner. It's also a surprisingly cultural city, with a thriving arts scene deeply rooted in Eastern European immigration. So we weren't surprised when we learned that two Iowa natives were coming to Mount Mercy University for a free concert.

On Sunday, April 29, at 3:30 p.m. soprano Katharine Goeldner will join emerging barihunk Chris Carr for the program "A Path to the Future: Music of Discovery" in the University Center Commons. The performance is free and open to the public. The duo will perform Gustav Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer and Rückert Lieder, and arias by Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Korngold, Barber, and more. The concert is the first musical performance held in Mount Mercy's new University Center.

Carr will be appearing next season with Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Yamadori in Butterfly and Pish-Tush in Mikado!

In October, he will take on the daunting baritone role in the Carmina Burana with the Kansas City Ballet.

Matthew Morris

We adore the multi-talented Matthew Morris, who seems destined for an amazing career. If you're near the bucolic Hudson River valley, don't miss the chance to see Morris in his graduate vocal recital on Saturday, April 21, 2012, 3:00 pm at the Bard College Conservatory of Music. Tickets are free and can be obtained by calling (845) 758-7196.

Morris will be accompanied on the piano by Milena Gligic in a program that includes Charles Ives'
Down East, Charlie Rutlage and General William Booth Enters into Heaven; Franz Schubert's Fischerweise and Des Fischers Liebesglück; Peter Warlock's My Own Country; Claude Debussy's
Troi Ballades de François Villon; Tom Cipullo's "A Death in the Family" (from The Land of Nod); Irving Gifford Fine's "Lenny the Leopard" (from Childhood Fables for Grownups); and, Gabriel Fauré's En Sourdine.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Upcoming FREE Barihunk Concerts of Interest

Southern Heat: Tennessee native John Brandon

Barihunk John Brandon will be part of a free afternoon of opera at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga on Sunday, April 15, at 3 p.m. in the Roland Hayes Hall.

An Afternoon of Opera sponsored by the Connor Society will be held on , UTC Fine Arts Center, located at the intersection of Vine and Palmetto Streets.  He will be joined by soprano Cherry Brendel, tenor Ron Brendel and mezzo Rosella Ewing in selections from Carmen, Rigoletto, La traviata, Lakme, The Pearl Fishers, Samson & Delilah, The Elixir of Love, and The Magic Flute.
 
For more information, call 425-4627 or email verbie-prevost@utc.edu.

Apple of our eye: Christopher Dylan Herbert

Christopher Dylan Herbert is breaking away from his role as the baritone/bass member of New York Polyphony to perform a free concert on Monday, April 16 at 1pm at St. Paul's Chapel near Ground Zero. Herbert will be performing Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata 56, "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen," one of only two solo cantatas for baritone written by the German baroque master.

Also on the program is mezzo Luthen Brackett performing Bach's Cantata 54, and organist Renée Louprette performing Bach's Fugue in Eb Major (BWV 551b). Click HERE for additional information. The concert will be broadcast live on WWFM.

Seattle's Best: Joseph Lattanzi & David Krohn

Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" is generally not a barihunk opera, but the Seattle Opera is featuring two of its hottest young artists in a free simulcast on Saturday, May 5th. David Krohn will sing Prince Yamadori and Joseph Lattanzi will sing the Registrar in the opening night performance that includes the Cio-Cio-San of Patricia Racette.

The live HD simulcast from McCaw Hall will be broadcast onto a 50' x 80' screen at KeyArena. Tickets are free, but are expected to go fast, so reserve your tickets by clicking HERE.  Door will open at 6:00 PM and the broadcast will begin at 7:30 PM.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Philip Cutlip Returns to Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

Philip Cutlip

San Francisco Bay area residents are in for a treat as the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra is once again teaming up barihunk Philip Cutlip with early music conductor extraordinaire Nicholas McGegan.  The two have performed together in highly acclaimed performances of Haydn's The Creation, Handel's Messiah, Handel's Atalanta and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. Anyone who has heard these two perform together knows it's always a special evening of music making. Cutlip and McGegan are now teaming up for Handel's Alexander Feast with a cast that includes soprano Dominique Labelle and tenor Dann Coakwell. Visit the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra website for additional information.

William Berger sings "Revenge, Timotheus cries" from Alexander's Feast:

Cutlip has been a regular on this site  in repertoire ranging from the Handel, Mozart and Donizetti to Britten, Heggie and Philip Glass. We're eagerly looking forward to his Eugene Onegin with the Edmonton Opera in May 2013. His recording of Joseph De Rocher in Heggie's Dead Man Walking will be released on Virgin Classics on April 24th.

Philip Cutlip as Joseph De Rocher

Frequently heard in performances with New York Festival of Song, Cutlip gave the world premiere of American Love Songs - a set of 10 commissioned pieces for vocal quartet - at the Tisch Center for the Arts and at the 92nd Street Y; appeared in a program of commissioned works at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; and also toured with NYFOS to Louisville for Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Christopher Job Makes Role Debut as Escamillo

Christopher Job

Somehow Southern California barihunk Christopher Job has fallen off our radar for four years. Since our last post in January 2008, he's performed at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, where he performed in Janacek's From the House of the Dead, Shostakovich's The Nose and The Enchanted Island with fellow barihunk Luca Pisaroni.

He's about to make his role debut at Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen at the Lyric Opera Virginia. The opera opens on May 4th in Newport News and then moves on to Charlottesville, Richmond and Virginia Beach. Visit the Lyric Opera website for additional information.

Last summer, he was seen as Caronte in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo ed Euridice as well as the Poet in Philip Glass' Orphee at Glimmerglass Opera,. This summer he returns to Glimmerglass to sing Capellio in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Ryan McKinny as Jochanaan in New Orleans

Ryan McKinny as Jochanaan (Photo: New Orleans Opera)

Check out the photo of barihunk Ryan McKinny as Jochanaan in Richard Strauss' Salome at the New Orleans Opera, which had its final performance today. We're not sure how we missed this performance!

McKinny's career has taken off since he was a Grand Finalist in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was featured in the film tenor-laden film The Audition. He has performed regularly with the Houston Grand Opera and Los Angeles Opera and has begun establishing a reputation in Europe, singing in Berlin and Leipzig. In fact, his next performance will be with Oper Leipzig as Hercules in Gluck's Alceste (Alkestis). He returns to the United States on May 4th when he sings Lt. Ratcliffe opposite Nathan Gunn in Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd at the Metropolitan Opera.

 Ryan KcKinny as Jochanaan and Mlada Khudoley as Salome in the 

New Orleans Opera's production of Salome:

 Theodore P. Mahne of the New Orleans Times-Picayune wrote:

As Jokanaan, baritone Ryan McKinny was simply amazing. Even from the depth of the cistern in which he is imprisoned, his rich voice soared. When he is brought to the surface, his prophetic warnings resonate with increased power and command. 

There is a savage beauty to McKinny’s acting, depicting a man of God who had removed himself from the ways of the world to live in the desert. Now chained in the palace of the Tetrarch, McKinny’s Jokanaan moves like a caged animal, carefully aware of his surroundings, easy to spook, yet knowing that he has a strength and power to overcome his captors.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Hey Ya'll, Tennessee Ain't Just For Country Singers Anymore: Seth Mease Carico & John Brandon

Tennessee natives and barihunks Seth Mease Carico and John Brandon

We recently featured John Brandon, who is performing Morales with Opera Brimingham. We subsequently learned that he's from the same Tennessee town as one of our favorite barihunks, Seth Mease Carico. In fact, the two singers were recently profiled in Chattanooga's CityScope magazine in a piece about four Tennessee natives who have gone to have careers in opera.

Chattanooga natives emerge as Illustrious Performers
By Christy L. Luellen

Mention Tennessee music and the mind easily races to any one of Nashville’s many famous country artists. But Chattanooga has produced several internationally recognized opera singers, who credit, among others, teachers from Harrison Elementary, Ooltewah Elementary School, Baylor School and McCallie School for their start in musical careers. What follows are profiles of four opera professionals who are proud to call the Scenic City home.

John Brandon from www.johnbrandonbaritone.com

John Brandon
McCallie School, 2004

Twenty-six-year-old John Brandon, a McCallie School graduate, has been emerging as an opera professional in the United States for the past two years, with engagements at North Carolina Opera, Nashville Opera, Opera Columbus, Opera Naples and Opera Birmingham. While Brandon’s baritone voice is most often noted by critics for its lyrical quality, others have praised it for its “fine abandon and style” and “abundant heft and color.”

At the age of nine, Brandon started his singing career as a member of the Chattanooga Boys Choir before going on to receive training in music and voice by teachers at the McCallie School. His education continued at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J., where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance in 2008. Shortly after, Brandon toured eight different European countries, performing with some of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, including the Kammerchor Stuttgart in Germany and English Voices in London.

Even with his extensive vocal training and experience, Brandon believes that his acting is just as important as his singing.

“It is important for me to not only give a performance that is beautifully sung, but one that is convincing. So I’m internally motivated by what my character wants and needs, and externally motivated by what the audience wants and needs,” he says.

One of Brandon’s all-time favorite roles has been Gaylord Ravenal in Showboat, performed with Opera Naples in November of last year. “I loved the fact that we were both from Tennessee,” he says. “Plus, it was a romantic lead, which does not always happen for baritones.” When his voice matures into Verdi repertoire, Brandon said he would also love to play the title role in Macbeth or Rodrigo in Don Carlo.

Brandon just finished a role in Carmen in Opera Birmingham. This summer, he will perform a private concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as audition for several European opera companies.

Seth Mease Carico as seen in the Barihunks charity calendar

Seath Mease Carico
Baylor School 2000

Described by Opera News as “powerful in voice and bearing,” 30-year-old bass-baritone Seth Carico—a 2000 Baylor grad—is quickly distinguishing himself as an accomplished singer both nationally and abroad. Last year, Carico made his European debut as a young artist at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin and the Teatro Regio Torino in Turin, playing roles in Tosca, Carmen, Le nozze di Figaro and La Traviata among other operas.

However, Carico’s first performance venue was a little closer to home. At nine years old, Carico appeared on stage for the first time in Signal Mountain Playhouse’s 1991 production of The King and I. Gifted in both acting and singing, he would continue performing at Baylor School in both musical and non-musical productions, a combination that he believes still continues to give him a competitive edge.

Claiming his voice is not suited for light romantic roles, Seth now prefers to play “complicated, not always happy, characters.” One of his favorite memories is helping to create the role of Victor in the world premiere of Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín’s Before Night Falls at the Fort Worth Opera in 2010. Victor was the oppressor of the central character, and according to Carico, a particularly nasty villain. Continuing in this vein, one of Carico’s goals is to play Sweeney Todd in Stephen Sondheim’s dark, semi-operatic musical. “I do love playing the tortured souls!” he says.
But while Carico knows how to enjoy himself on stage, he also takes his art very seriously. Although only 30, Carico aspires to be part of an operatic production team when he retires from singing.

“Opera is a unique art form,” the bass- baritone says. “The stories—while often ridiculous—tend to say great things about life and the human experience. The emotions exhibited in opera are so grand that there is really no way to express them sufficiently other than through the use of music and the spectacle of epic productions.”

The summer of 2012 will find this graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Michigan as a young artist at the Merola Opera program at the San Francisco Opera Center.

To read about Janel Frazee and Richard Cox, the other singers featured in the article, click HERE.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Celebrating the birthday of Gioachino Antonio Rossini with Barihunks Thomas Hampson, Nathan Gunn, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo and Randal Turner

Thomas Hampson sings "Sois immobile" from Guillaume Tell:


 Nathan Gunn & John Osborn sing "All'idea di quel metallo"

 Ildebrando D'Arcangelo sing Assur's aria "Quei Numi furenti" from Semiramide

Randal Turner performing Mosè in Egitto:

Rock Climbing Barihunk Anders Froehlich

Anders Froehlich as Don Giovanni at the Cinnabar Theater 
Photo by Eric Chazankin

We first spotted barihunk Anders Froehlich playing Fiorello in a production of the Barber of Seville at the San Jose Opera last year. He's now singing the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma, California. He's been seen in other roles in the San Francisco Bay Area, including as the Grandfather Clock in Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges at Berkeley Opera, Silvio in Pagliacci at Project Opera and Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosí fan tutte at Cinnabar Theater.
 
The sexy singer in known for more than his work on the stage. He's also an accomplished rock climber who reached a goal of completing his first "free solo" climb last summer. Check out the view from his helmet cam as he climbs Matthes Crest in Yosemite National Park.

Matthes Crest_7 from Anders Froehlich on Vimeo.



"Rock climbing, especially free soloing, and performing in the classical arts share an interesting parallel," said Froehlich. "There's no room for error. Both provide an exercise in being present. Both demand that you must be in the moment - mentally."

Froehlich trained at the Connecticut Conservatory of Performing Arts and graduated from Indiana University. After working on his career in Los Angeles and New York City, Froehlich eventually settled in San Francisco.

For tickets or more information about the Cinnabar Theater production of "Don Giovanni," call 707-763-8920 or visit www.cinnabartheater.org.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

"Three Barihunks in Three Acts" at BAM

Timothy McDevitt (L), Michael Kelly (C) and Douglas Williams (R)

The barihunk hotness continues at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where they just wrapped up "Prima Donna" with Randal Turner. The latest production is Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts with three barihunks!!! The Mark Morris Dance Group production of Four Saints in Three Acts will feature barihunks Michael Kelly as St. Ignatius, Tim McDevitt as St. Plan, and Doug Williams as Compere. The opera will be paired with the world premiere of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy.

There are only three performances between March 1-3 and there is limited ticket availability. Visit the BAM website for tickets. 

Video from the 2006 production of Four Saints in Three Acts:

 CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com