Say Cheese! Three Barihunks to Perform Together in Brookfield, Wisconsin

Anthony Reed, Michael Roemer & Tim Rebers (L-R)

There are a number of shows being put together that feature barihunks, including "Barihunks on Tour." This site has nothing (directly) to do with any of them, but we have been surprised that no one has copied the overused "Three Tenors," "Three Sopranos," "Three Countertenors" format to produce a "Three Barihunks" show. If you're in Wisconsin on Sunday, April 15th, you can get a brief preview of what that might look like.

Barihunks Anthony Reed, Michael Roemer and Tim Rebers will be part of a concert that features singers from the Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Joining the "Three Barihunks" will be guest tenor Scott Ramsay and sopranos Lindsay Sessing and Meagan Seubert. The performance will begin at 2 PM at the Dawes Studio Theatre at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, Wisconsin. For tickets call the Wilson Center Box office at (262) 781-9520.

The singers worked with coach Jamie Johns over the last six months to refine their performance techniques. The monthly coaching sessions focused on operatic repertoire and culminated in this joint recital.

Michael Roemer and Adam Shelton in the duet from the Elixir of Love:

The Vocal Coaching Program was founded by Patricia Crump, a former member of the CMA Board of Directors and president of Supporters of Opera Singers, an organization established to administer funds donated to assist young Milwaukee area singers. She is also Director Emerita of the Wisconsin District Auditions of the Metropolitan Opera National Council.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com 

Met Audition Winner Update: Anthony Reed in Recital; Ricardo Rivera Advances

Aaron Rogers & Anthony Reed

With the Green Packers out of the playoffs and not heading back to the Super Bowl, the good folks of Wisconsin are looking for things to do other than shovel snow. We'd suggest trading one A.R. for another, meaning QB Aaron Rogers for bass-barihunk Anthony Reed.

On Wednesday, January 25th at 7:30 PM, Reed will be performing in a concert sponsored by the Florentine Opera. Reed will be joined by soprano Lindsay Sessing and tenor Kevin Newell. All three singers were winners in the 2011 Metropolitan Opera/Wisconsin District Auditions.  The concert will be at St. John's on the Lake, 1840 N. Prospect Avenue in Milwaukee. Call (414) 291-5700 for additional information.

Unlike a football game, we can pretty much guarantee that this will be a winner. The young bass has been impressing judges and honed his skills at the Seagle Music Colony.

Anthony Reed sings Mozart's "O Isis und Osiris" from the Magic Flute:

Anthony Reed and four other singers will now advance to the Midwest Regional Auditions to be held Feb. 4, 2012, at the Ordway Center Main Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ricardo Rivera

A reader who attended the Metropolitan Opera National Council/Eastern Region Auditions alerted us to barihunk Ricardo Rivera who won 1st Place that day and will now advance to the National Semi-Finals on the Metropolitan Opera Stage in March.

Rivera has been cleaning up in competitions, having previously won 1st Place and the Audience Prize in the 2011 NY Lyric Opera Competition, 4th Place in the 2011 Connecticut Opera Guild Competition, Encouragement Awards from the 2011 Gerda Lissner, 2011 Licia Albanese-Puccini, 2011 MONC, 2010 Opera Index, and 2010 Career Bridges Competitions, and was a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant in 2009.

On January 29th, he'll perform Orsini in Wagner's "Rienzi" with the Opera Orchestra of NY at Avery Fisher Hall. Click HERE for tickets and additional cast information. On February 15th, he'll be the baritone Soloist in Sophia Gubaidulina's "Perception" with the Pacifica Quartet and eighth blackbird in Chicago." Click HERE for additional information.

Barihunks would like to wish both singers the best of luck!

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Announcing our Second Beneficiary for our 2012 Barihunks Charity Calendar: Seagle Music Colony

Seagle Barihunks: Christopher Temporelli, Seth Mease Carico and Wes Mason.

 

We’re pleased to announce our second recipient of a donation from the 2012 Barihunks calendar, the Seagle Music Colony at Schroon Lake in beautiful upstate New York. There are many reasons to support this great training program, but the fact that it was founded in 1915 by baritone Oscar Seagle, an early 20^th century singer, certainly helped us in our decision. It’s also run by Darren Woods, who runs one of the best opera festivals in the world, the Ft. Worth Opera Festival. If your summer festival schedule includes Ravinia, Tanglewood and/or Spoleto and you haven’t checked out Ft. Worth, then you haven’t experienced the best of American opera.

A number of barihunks have trained at Seagle, including Ned Hanlon, John Cabrali,  Joe Hagar, Anthony Reed, Nicholas Wardcan and FOUR of our calendar models, Wes Mason, Seth Carico, Christopher Temporelli and Dan Kempson.  Since it’s founding in 1915, numerous singers have gone on to have amazing careers in opera and on Broadway. Their mission statement is “To identify, train and develop gifted singers and to present quality opera and musical theatre performances to the public.” They’ve obviously been successful, as Seagle alumni have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera and, of course, the Ft. Worth Opera.

Oscar Seagle made several concert tours in the United States and Europe, and recorded albums for Columbia, including the popular World War I hit "Dear Old Pal of Mine." He served from 1903-1914 as teaching associate in Europe with his teacher, the great Polish tenor Jean de Reszke. De Reszke was a star of the Metropolitan Opera as well as Queen Victoria's favorite singer.

Darren Woods has served as General Director at the Seagle Music Colony since 1996. In 2000, it was named "Best Summer Vocal Training Program in the United States" by Classical Singer Magazine. Seagle receives over 500 applicants each year and it has expanded from two productions and eight performances per summer to six full productions and over thirty-five performances. Our favorite young director, John de los Santos (whose video you can see at the right) is also a regular at Seagle. 

We’re delighted to have them join the Portland Opera studio as one of our beneficiaries this year. We encourage you to purchase a calendar and help support his amazing organization. If you’re feeling extra generous this holiday season, please visit them online to make a donation HERE or mail a check to Seagle Music Colony, 999 Charley Hill Road, PO Box 366 – Schroon Lake, NY 12870.

Randal Turner (top), Seagle participant Dan Kempson (bottom left) & David Adam Moore (bottom right)

  BUY YOUR 2012 BARIHUNKS CHARITY CALENDAR TODAY BY CLICKING HERE!

Three Barihunks Advance at Metropolitan Opera Auditions in Wisconsin

Darik Knutsen (Top), Joseph Beutel (r), Anthony Reed (l)

 
Three barihunks were among the five singers selected by judges to advance to the next round at Saturday's Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Bass-baritone Joseph Beutel,  bass Anthony Reed and baritone Darik Knutsen will join mezzo-soprano Kathryn Leemhuis and soprano Alisa Jordheim in the next round of competition. Anthony Reed was also chosen to perform a Florentine Opera recital.

The five will next compete at the Upper Midwest Regional in St. Paul, Minnesota on February 4, 2012.

Joseph Beutel

Joseph Beutel is an emerging bass-baritone originally from Indiana.  For the Minnesota Opera this season, he will appear as the British Major in Silent Night, Le Bailli in Werther, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and the Bonze in Madame Butterfly, and covering the role of Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte.  He has joined the Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist program after spending the summer as a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist, where he covered the role of Méphistophélès in Faust and the Catholic Priest in The Last Savage. Previous roles have also included the Impresario/Direttore in the young artist production of Viva La Mamma! at Seattle Opera; Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Mustafà in L’italiana in Algeri, Simone in Gianni Schicchi, and Herr Reich in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor for IU Opera Theatre and the Sergeant in Pirates of Penzance

Darik Knutsen

Darik Knutsen, baritone from McLean, VA is excited to make his Kennedy Center debut with Evelyn Lear's Wagner Society, as well as his Madison Opera debut in Phillip Glass's Galileo Galilei this season. He also looks forward to recitals with the American Opera Society of Chicago and with the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Wilmette Chapter. The past two summers Knutsen was an Apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera where he sang the role of Wagner in Faust (2011) and Schlemil in The Tales of Hoffmann (2010).       

Here is Darik Knutsen rehearsing with Mark S. Doss, who was Mephistopheles in the Santa Fe Opera's production of Faust last season:

Knutsen has also worked with the Chicago Opera Theater for the past two seasons where he sang the role of Arcas in Charpentier's Médée (2011), and understudied the role of Charlie in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers (2010). Other operatic experience includes the title role of Eugene Onegin at the Chautauqua Institute of Music, as well as Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte and Peachum in The Threepenny Opera at Northwestern University. Knutsen is the recipient of numerous awards including 2nd Place Winner in the Central Region Finals of the Metropolitan Council Auditions (2010), Winner of the American Opera Society Scholarship (2011), and 1st Place in the Bel Canto Foundation of Chicago (2011). Mr. Knutsen is a current voice student of Marlena Malas.

Anthony Reed

Bass Anthony Reed hails from Alexandria, Minnesota, attended the University of Wisconsin at Eau-Claire and was part of the 2011 Seagle Music Colony.

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