As a follow up to our post on Sunday about the Concours vocal competition in Montreal, we'd like to let readers know that the performances by the three barihunks who advanced to the finals are now available online. In fact, Sidney Outlaw, Philippe Sly and John Brancy perform one after another, providing an amazing opportunity to compare these three amazing artists.
We admit to being biased towards lower voices, but these three men are truly some of the best opera singers emerging on the scene today. The depth of their artistry and the quality of their voices is remarkable, especially considering that the youngest, Phillippe Sly and John Brancy, are just 23!
The winners will be officially revealed on Friday, but we've heard that Sly took away the top prize, shortly after having won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The three top singers will appear in the Winners’ Gala Concert this Friday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Maison symphonique de Montréal. Under the direction of Alain Trudel, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal will accompany the winners. Tickets are available at 514 842-2112. The winners are:
FIRST PRIZE – $30,000
PHILIPPE SLY, BASS-BARITONE, CANADA
Added to the First Prize is the Career development programme, valued at $20,000.
SECOND PRIZE – $15,000
OLGA KINDLER, SOPRANO, SWITZERLAND
THIRD PRIZE – $10,000
JOHN BRANCY, BARITONE, UNITED STATES
For the finals, John Brancy kicked it off with Wagner's "O su mein holder Abendstern" from Tannhäuser, Tchaikovsky's "Postoite na odno mgnovenye!" from Pique Dame, Mendelssohn's "Es ist genug" from Elijah and Rossini's "Largo al factotum" from the Barber of Seville. Phillipe Sly then follows with Stravinsky's "Come, master" from the Rake's Progress, Handel's "Invida sorte avara" from Ariodante, Mozart's "Hai già vinta la causa!" from Marriage of Figaro and Bach's "Mache dich, mein Herze, rein" fo from the St. Matthew Passion. Sidney Outlaw finishes up this amazing run of baritone music with Mendelssohn's "Draw near ye people....Lord God of Abraham" from Eljah, Handel's "Sibilar gli angui d'Aletto" from Rinaldo, Korngold's Tanzlied from Die tote stadt and Verdi's "Death of Rodrigo" from Don Carlo.
Click here to listen to the performance. The barihunk run starts at about the 27 minute mark and is worth the listen.
Our latest reader submission is the Finnish baritone Tom Krause, who was a leading baritones for four decades across the globe. He originally planned on becoming a psychiatrist, and received his medical degree from Helsinki University. However, he opted for a career in opera, beginning his studies in Helsinki, and later at the Vienna Music Academy and in Berlin.
Since his debut in Berlin in 1957, Tom Krause has established himself as a leading baritone with a vast repertoire, ranging from Bach to Messiaen. He was with the Deutsche Oper Berlin for three years and was a member of the Hamburg State Opera for decades beginning in 1962, where he performed in a number of world premieres. He went on to perform in most of the major houses in Europe, including La Scala, Vienna, London, Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam and Rome. He performed leading roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, La Concrentola, Parisfal, Elektra, Cosi fan Tutte, The Queen of Spades, Katya Kabanova, and Saint Francois d’Assise.
In 1963, he made his American debut in America at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1967 as Count Almaviva.
Tom Krause appears on numerous recordings of both opera and lieder, including works by Brahms, Schumann, Moussorgksy, Schubert and Sibelius).
He is currently teaching in Hamburg and is member of numerous Voice Competitions through the world.
If you're in the Kansas City area on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, you can hear emerging barihunk Chris Carr for free. He'll be performing a masterclass with world-renowned mezzo Joyce DiDonato and the Kansas City Symphony at 7 p.m.
DiDonato recently won a Grammy for best classical vocal solo for her album “Diva Divo.” She will give her first Kauffman Center performance at 8 p.m. March 23-24 and at 2 p.m. March 25 with the Kansas City Symphony.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/17/3493204/songs-link-womens-passion.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/17/3493204/songs-link-womens-passion.html#storylink=cpy
The masterclass features three Kansas City-area vocal students, including University of Missouri/Kansas City student Chris Carr, who studies with famed tenor Vinson Cole. Carr was a Lyric Opera of Kansas City Artist Apprentice in the 2011–12 season. Carr will perform "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Barber of Seville.
Listen to Chris Carr performing the Tanzlied from Korngold's
Die Tote Stadt at a Des Moines Opera masterclass:
Here's a more recent recording of Chris Carr singing Largo al factotum:
The event is free, but register HERE to ensure seating.
Today we celebrate Charles Gounod's Faust, which premiered on March 19, 1859. We love the opera because it is one of a select group of operas that can feature three barihunks in a single evening. The roles of Méphistophélès, Valentin and Wagner are all cast with baritones. Méphistophélès is often cast with devilishly sexy baritones like John Relyea, Rene Pape or James Morris.
The opera got off to a rough start, initially being rejected by the Paris Opera and then not quite catching on with the public. It was revived in 1862 with a ballet added for the Parisians and became an instant hit. It has gone on to become one of the most popular operas in the standard repertory, opened the original Metropolitan Opera in 1883 and has been translated into 25 languages. It is currently the 35th most performed opera in the world.
Rene Pape sings Méphistophélès' aria "Le Veau d'Or":
The opera is loosely inspired by Goethe’s legendary story and timeless tale of the devil (Méphistophélès) who appears to the old scholar Faust, promising him the elixir of youth in exchange for his soul. Faust is transformed into a young, handsome man and sets out with his devious companion to experience the pleasures of the world. Faust seduces the beautiful and innocent Marguerite, only to abandon her before she gives birth to his child. Her reputation destroyed, but not beyond redemption, Marguerite calls upon the angels for salvation. Faust receives no such escape and is condemned to his devilish fate in this spiritual conflict between heaven and hell.
Gino Quilico sings Valentin's aria "Avant de quiter ces lieux":
Some of the greatest singers ever have taken on the role of Méphistophélès, including George London, Rene Pape, Sam Ramey, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Jerome Hines, John Relyea, Bryn Terfel, Boris Christoff, Jose Van Dam and Feodor Chaliapin.
Other famous operas based on the same story include Boito's "Mefistofele," Berlioz's "La Damnation de Faust," and Busoni's "Doktor Faust." Boito's opera is probably closest to Goethe's original story.
There was some concern when the opera first premiered, as French censors were worried that church officials would be highly offended by the appearance of the devil in a church. Gounod invited a concerned clergyman to attend a rehearsal of the scene. The clergyman declared that he found the scene not at all offensive and, in fact, was quite complimentary of it. The censors were mollified and the scene was allowed. Gounod never told them that the clergyman was blind and could not tell that the scene took place inside a church. The "Church scene" from Gounod's opera, in which Méphistophélès torments the already distraught and guilty Marguerite by telling her that she is eternally damned for giving herself to Faust, is the dramatic crux of Gounod's opera.
The final trio from Faust with Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann and Erwin Schrott:
Although this site is dedicated to baritones, we'd be remiss to not show you this clip of tenor Alfredo Kraus singing Faust, which is one of the great moments in recorded operatic history.
Detroit has fallen on some hard times in recent years. It was once one of the great American industrial cities with a thriving musical scene. In recent years, neighborhoods have emptied out and Detrioit is no longer one of the 10 largest cities in America. But things appear on the rebound as President Obama's auto bailout has brought new hope to the region. The Michigan Opera Theatre survived the economic downtown and the Detroit Symphony is back after a brief hiatus. Cars and music defined the city for years, so it only makes sense that the Michigan Opera Theatre is presenting the hottest new Ford in years.
It's not a Mustang or a Crown Victoria, but barihunk Nmon Ford. The singer will be performing Zurga in fashion designer Zandra Rhodes' visually stunning production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers at theDetroit Opera House. Singing opposite Ford will be the hot, young tenor Noah Stewart, a recent graduate of San Francisco's Merola Opera program who has become a fan favorite in Detroit. We have a feeling that when these two guys appear on stage together, Detroit will have its hottest Spring ever.
Motown is back!
Ford and Stewart will alternate with tenor Jesus Garcia and baritone Edward Parks. Performances run from April 14-22 at the Detroit Opera House. Ford and Stewart perform together on April 14, 18 and 21. Visit the Michigan Opera Theatre website for more information.
You can watch Nmon Ford in a complete performance of Verdi's Attila in
The Three Barihunks? Luca Pisaroni, Mariusz Kwiecien & Thomas Hampson
If you were going to copy the famous Three Tenors format and use superstar barihunks, you couldn't do much better than Luca Pisaroni, Mariusz Kwiecien and Thomas Hampson. The three singers were recently photographed at a party for the Santa Fe Opera in New York City. All three baritones will be performing with the opera company this summer.
Is it just us, our do Pisaroni and Hampson appear to be wearing shirts with matching patterns? Perhaps the family did some shopping in Santa Fe's famous downtown.
Pisaroni will be performing the title role in Rossini's underperformed masterpiece Maometto II, which also features soprano Leah Crocetto, a voice you won't want to miss! Pisaroni's father-in-law Thomas Hampson will be displaying his sinister side as Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca. International sensation Mariusz Kwiecien will be taking on one his favorite roles, King Roger, in the opera of the same name by fellow Pole Karol Szymanowski. The three men are some of the most popular singers on this site and we're thrilled that all be together at one of the greatest music festivals in the world. If you haven't been, book your travel plans today.
The season opens with Tosca and June 29th. Visit the Santa Fe Opera website for additional information.
The Metropolitan Opera announced the names of nine finalists who will sing in the 2012 National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert on March 18 at 3:00 p.m. with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra conducted by Andrew Davis.
The finalists are: Janai Brugger, soprano from Darien, IL;Anthony Clark Evans, baritone from Owensboro, KY; Matthew Grills, tenor from Newton, CT; Will Liverman, baritone from Virginia Beach, VA; Margaret Mezzacappa, mezzo-soprano from Euclid, OH; Andrey Nemzer, countertenor from Moscow, Russia; Kevin Ray, baritone from Cornwall, NY; Lauren Snouffer, soprano from Austin, TX; and Michael Sumuel, bass-baritone from Odessa, TX.
As is the case from past seasons, we've heard a number of these singers live. Just as we predicted the success of barihunk Philippe Sly, who won the competition last year, we feel that Virginia Beach native Will Liverman is the latest baritone who has to be favored to win the competition. Of course, we wish ALL of the singers the best of luck in the competition and with their careers.
Will Liverman's photo is by Rebecca Fay. Check out her website for more information.
When we last featured Aussie barihunk Damien Pass in 2007, he had recently graduated from Oberlin, had won and Encouragement Award from the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition and was starting to get small roles in places like Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera North and the Music Academy of the West. Somehow we lost track of him until we received an email recently asking why he wasn't included in our poll of sexiest Aussie barihunks.
We're pleased to announce that we found him in France, where he's been singing smaller roles at the Paris Opera. He's performed Don Inigo (L’heure Espagnole, Ravel), Frank Maurrant (Street Scene, Weill), Lucas (Les Troqueurs, Dauvergne), and the Marquese (Mirandolina, Martinů) with the Atelier Lyrique at the Paris Opera.
Damien Pass sings Aaron Copland's "At the River":
In September 2001, Pass made his Parisian recital debut with the Fesival les journées romantiques with a program that included Aaron Copland, Franz Liszt, Cole Porter, Franz Schubert and Henri Duparc.
He's also made his mark outside of France, singing the title role in Handel’s Saul with the Britten-Pears Orchestra conducted by Richard Egarr in Aldeburgh.
Damien Pass sings Aaron Copland's "Long Time Ago":
Pass will next be seen March 15th at the Palais Garnier in a program of Massenet with the Paris Opera Orchestra. A week later he'll be part of a concert of music by Franz Schubert, Hugo Wolf et Richard Wagner at the Goethe Institute in Paris. We'll try to keep better tabs on this promising young talent in the future.
The son of a cantor, Kurt Weill was born in Dessau into a family that took in operatic performances as a main form of entertainment. When Weill was in his teens the director of the Dessau Hoftheater, Albert Bing, encouraged him in the study of music. Weill briefly studied composition with Engelbert Humperdinck and was already working professionally as a conductor when he attended composer Ferruccio Busoni's master classes in Berlin. Delighted to see the positive responses of an audience to his first collaboration with playwright Georg Kaiser, Der Protagonist (1926), he thereafter resolved to work toward accessibility in his music. In 1926 Weill married actress Lotte Lenya, whose reedy, quavering singing voice he called "the one I hear in my head when I am writing my songs."
Kevin Burdette sings 'Let Things Be Like They Always Was' from Street Scene:
In 1927 Weill began his collaboration with leftist playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht; their first joint venture, Mahagonny-Songspiel (1927), launched the number "Alabama Song," which, to their surprise, became a minor pop hit in Europe. The next show, Die Dreigroschenoper (The Three-Penny Opera, 1928), was a monstrous success, in particular the song "Moritat" ("Mack the Knife").
Louis Armstrong plays and sings Mack the Knife:
Nonetheless, strain in their association was already being felt, and after the completion of their magnificent "school opera" Der Jasager (1930), the two parted company. Brecht and Weill were brought together once more in Paris to create Die Sieben Todsünden (The Seven Deadly Sins) in 1934. In the meantime, Weill collaborated with Caspar Neher on the opera Die Bürgschaft (1931) and Georg Kaiser again on Der Silbersee (1933), works that garnered the hostile attention of the then-emerging Nazi party.
Liam Bonner sings "Lost in the Stars"
With the rise to power of Hitler, Weill and Lenya were forced to dissolve their union and flee Continental Europe. Weill found his way to New York in 1935; rejoining Lenya, Weill became a citizen and devoted himself to American democracy with a vengeance, preferring his name pronounced like "wile" rather than "vile." After a series of frustrating flops, Weill hit his stride with playwright Maxwell Anderson, producing his first hit, Knickerbocker Holiday (1938).
Frank Sinatra sings "September Song"
In the dozen years left to him, Weill's stature on Broadway grew with a series of hit shows, including Lady in the Dark (1941), One Touch of Venus (1943), Love Life (1948), and Lost in the Stars (1949). Weill had ambitions to create what he regarded as "the first American folk opera"; the closest of his American works to reach that goal is Street Scene (1946), a sort of "urban folk opera" based on a play by Elmer Rice with lyrics by Langston Hughes.
Jorell Williams sings 'I Got a Marble and a Star' from Street Scene
On April 3, 1950, Weill unexpectedly suffered a massive coronary and died in Lenya's arms. Weill's estate was valued at less than 1,000 dollars, and Lenya realized that his contribution to musical theater was likewise undervalued. She commissioned composer Marc Blitzstein to adapt an English-language version of Die Dreigroschenoper; it opened off-Broadway in 1954 and ran for three years, touching off a Weill revival that continues to this day.
A number of his works were scored for baritone including (partial): - 1923 : Stundenbuch, Lieder cycle for baritone and orchestra, text: Rainer Maria Rilke - 1928 : Das Berliner Requiem, cantata for tenor, baritone, male chorus (or three male voices) and wind orchestra (text: Bertolt Brecht) -1928 : The Threepenny Opera (German: Die Dreigroschenoper), Macheath (tenor or baritone), Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, Tiger Brown and numerous smaller roles. - 1929 : Der Lindberghflug, cantata for tenor, baritone and bass soloists, chorus and orchestra (text: Bertolt Brecht, first version with music by Paul Hindemith and Weill, second version, also 1929, with music exclusively by Weill) - 1930 : Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Dreieinigkeitsmoses (Trinity Moses), Sparbüchsen Billy (Bank Account Billy) and Alaska Wolf Joe. - 1947 : Street Scene, Frank Maurrant, George Jones and numerous smaller roles.
David Bowie sings "Moon of Alabama"
Ian Greenlaw sings 'Oh Captain! My Captain!' from Walt Whitman Songs
Songs frequently performed by baritones include (partial): - Lost In The Stars, F Major, composed by Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill, from 'Lost In The Stars'. - Mack The Knife, C Major, composed by Marc Blitzstein, Kurt Weill, from 'The Threepenny Opera'. - September Song, C Major, composed by Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill, from 'Knickerbocker Holiday'. - This Is The Life, Eb Major, composed by Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill, from 'Love Life'. - Thousands Of Miles, C Major, composed by Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill, from 'Lost In The Stars'.
CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com
Ramin Karimloo
Theater producer Cameron Mackintosh announced today that popular singer Ramin Karimloo will extend his run playing ‘Jean Valjean’ in the legendary musical “LES MISÉRABLES” at the Queen’s Theatre in London until 31 March 2012.
Although we generally only feature operatic baritones, when we posted Karimloo in March of last year, dressed only in his birthday suit, it created a lot of chatter about whether he was a baritone or if he should even be included on the site. For the record, Karimloo considers himself a "high baritone" and reviewers have commented that he's a lyric baritone with an easy reach into the tenor range.
One thing we know for sure, he's popular with our readers. Since we posted him last year, he has regularly been one of our ten most visited posts.
Karimloo is touring his concert in the U.K. from May 1 through May 26. You can visit his website for additional details.
The biggest barihunk news story of the season comes to a head tonight when Polish barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien steps on stage at the Metropolitan Opera. The sexy singer suffered a herniated disk about two weeks ago and missed opening night of 'Don Giovanni,' devastating New York fans who had yet to see him in his most famous role.
There are still a limited number of seats available. Visit the Met website for ticket availability. Also in the cast are fellow barihunks Luca Pisaroni and Joshua Bloom.
Here is a video of him preparing for tonight's performance:
The Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia featured a wonderful mock version of Vanity Fair's photo of sexy opera singers that included barihunks Mariusz Kwiecien, Nathan Gunn and Erwin Schrott. AVA low voices include Scott Conner and Wes Mason, who has been a regular on this site.
From left to right: Mariusz Kwiecien, Polish baritone; Maija Kovalevska, Latvian soprano; Rolando Villazón, Mexican tenor; Nathan Gunn, American baritone; Danielle de Niese, Australian-born soprano; Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan bass; Anna Netrebko, Russian soprano. Photograph by Wayne Maser; styled by Sarajane Hoare.
Just a few of the exciting artists AVA audiences can look forward to hearing this year. (l-r) Alexandra Maximova, Scott Conner, Maria Aleida, Nelson Ebo, Wes Mason, John Viscardi, and Chrystal Williams(Photo by Paul Sirochman)
The Bartlett Sher-directed production of Broadway's "South Pacific," which won seven Tony Awards in 2008 and played to sold-out housed for two years is heading to the South Pacific. The successful show, which catapulted barihunk Paulo Szot to international prominence, will feature New Zealand barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Emile de Becque in the "down under" run.
The production will open in Sydney for a four week run on August 11, 2012 and then head on a nationwide tour of Australia.
Paulo Szot sings the classic "Some Enchanted Evening":
Also, don't forget that for the next two weeks we'll be taking submissions for our first-ever charity Barihunks calendar. Send High Res photos and bio to Barihunks@gmail.com.
Two great baritones in history have a lot in common, although one is sadly less known. The life and career of Hermann Uhde has much in common with the great baritone Leonard Warren. The two men were born just three years apart and both died tragically young during performances of opera just five years apart. Both men also had huge successes singing Verdi and Wagner.
Warren's death in 1960 is well-known in opera lore, having died shortly after singing the line "Urna fatale del mio destino." In 1965, Uhde died onstage of a heart attack during a performance of Niels Viggo Bentzon’s Faust III in Copenhagen.
Born in Bremen to a German father and an American mother, Hermann Uhde's training and career was primarily in Germany. He made his debut as a baritone at the “Deutsches Theater im Haag” in 1942. In 1945 he was taken as a prisoner-of-war and did not return to the stage until 1947. He subsequently appeared at the opera houses of Hamburg, Vienna and Munich where he became a member of the ensemble.
He gained great success in roles such as Mandryka, Gunther and Telramund, in which he was particularly admired. The artist was regularly invited to the Bayreuth Festival from 1951 to 1960 where he became one of its most important members, appearing as Holländer, Klingsor, Gunther, Donner, Wotan in Rheingold, Telramund and Melot. He was also a guest at the Salzburg Festival and performed a superb Wozzeck at the Met in English opposite Eleanor Steber.
He created several roles, including Creon in Orff’s Antigonae, the baritone roles in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia and Wagner-Régeny’s Das Bergwerk zu Falun.
Cornell MacNeil, one of the great postwar American baritones, best known for his roles in Verdi operas, died on Friday in Charlottesville, Va. He was 88.
His death was announced by his wife, Tania. Mr. MacNeil had been living in an assisted-living facility in Charlottesville.
A pure baritone with power from low to high notes, he was considered the equal of Leonard Warren and Robert Merrill, the other stellar American Verdi baritones during the second half of the 20th century.
From 1959 to 1987, he sang 26 roles in more than 600 appearances at the Metropolitan Opera alone. But he reached his peak in his Verdi performances.
“The larger and more complex the part, the better he was,” James Levine, the Met’s longtime conductor, said of Mr. MacNeil’s Verdi roles in a 2007 interview with Opera News. “Boccanegra, Rigoletto, Macbeth, Nabucco, Falstaff, Iago — a lot of these parts could be said to be the most challenging and varied.” Referring to characters in “Aida” and “Tosca,” Mr. Levine continued, “He sang lots of Amonasros and Scarpias marvelously well, but those more complex ones were where he was at his best.”
Though not known as a temperamental artist, Mr. MacNeil was remembered for a spectacular public outburst when he stormed off the Parma Opera stage in Italy on Dec. 26, 1964. It happened during “Un Ballo in Maschera,” when the Parma audience, notorious for rude displays of disapproval, hissed at the soprano Luisa Maragliano just as Mr. MacNeil was about to sing the aria “Eri tu.”
“I was getting more and more angry as the rumbling and noise got worse,” he told The New York Times the following day. “I couldn’t stand it any longer. ‘Basta, cretini!’ I shouted and walked off the stage.” (His words meant “That’s enough, you idiots!”)
The situation grew worse in his dressing room, where the stage director warned him to return to the performance because he had his family’s safety to consider. Refusing to go back onstage, Mr. MacNeil sent his wife and children to their hotel. But when he made his way to the back entrance, he was assaulted by theater employees. “During the scuffle, I got socked on the jaw,” Mr. MacNeil said, displaying a bruised chin during his Times interview. The following day the MacNeils fled Parma. Cornell MacNeil was born on Sept. 24, 1922, in Minneapolis, where his father was a dentist and his mother a singer who had studied with the celebrated contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink. Though interested in an operatic career from an early age, Mr. MacNeil suffered from asthma until he was 20. It was severe enough to get him rejected by the military draft during World War II. He took a wartime job as a lathe operator, and then, on his mother’s advice, studied with the retired baritone Friedrich Schorr at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford.
Before the war ended, Mr. MacNeil joined the Radio City Music Hall Glee Club and also did backstage announcements. It was his sonorous baritone that announced the news to Radio City audiences of both the German and Japanese surrenders.
Mr. MacNeil made his opera debut when, after a brief vocal audition, the composer and director Gian Carlo Menotti immediately decided to cast him as the male lead in “The Consul,” which opened on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theater in Philadelphia. “The Consul,” the first full-length opera composed by Menotti, won the Pulitzer Prize in music that year. Still a raw talent, Mr. MacNeil took voice lessons over the next two years while working nights at the Bulova Watch factory in Queens. In 1953 Mr. MacNeil made his New York City Opera debut, as Germont in “La Traviata.” Though acclaimed for his sumptuous singing in that performance, he also committed a memorable faux pas that began the occasional carping by critics about his acting abilities.
In a 2007 interview with Rudolph Rauch for Opera News, Mr. MacNeil recalled making hand gestures in the aria “Di Provenza” that didn’t agree with the music, and he acknowledged he had been unaware of the meaning of the words he was singing. “It seemed like the hand was out there for about half an hour, and it began to shake,” he said. “I finally got it back in, and I decided then I was not going to sing any more Italian operas until I really knew the language.”
His Italian improved, though his acting continued to draw sporadic barbs from critics. Commenting on his performance as the villain Scarpia, the villain in a 1985 performance of Puccini’s “Tosca” at the Metropolitan Opera, Donal Henahan of The Times wrote, “Cornell MacNeil, the Scarpia, sang mellifluously, but his wooden acting could fool nobody into believing him a sadistic tyrant.” In 1959 Mr. MacNeil moved to Rome with his first wife, Margaret Gavan, and their five children. That March 5 he made his debut at La Scala in Milan as Carlo in Verdi’s “Ernani.” “His rich, flexible baritone soared and swelled with enormous power,” Time magazine wrote. He impressed La Scala’s manager, Antonio Ghiringhelli, enough that he offered him a contract.
But Mr. MacNeil signed instead with the Met after making his debut there on March 21, 1959 — barely two weeks after his La Scala debut — as the lead in Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” He would go on to sing that role at the Met more than 100 times.
Mr. MacNeil scored numerous successes in other roles as well. Commenting on his first Met appearance as Renato in Verdi’s “Ballo in Maschera” on March 7, 1962, Alan Rich wrote in The Times, “This superb American baritone may very possibly have had his finest hour.”
He sang Scarpia more than 90 times at the Metropolitan following his debut in the role on Nov. 2, 1959. His final performance at the Met was in that role, on Dec. 5, 1987. He retired from the opera a year later after medical tests showed he had a possible blockage of the carotid artery.
Mr. MacNeil occasionally sang in Wagnerian operas, including the roles of the Dutchman in “Der Fliegende Holländer” and the Herald in “Lohengrin.” But the consensus was that his talents were best on display in Italian operas.
His marriage to Ms. Gavan ended in divorce. He is survived by his second wife, the former Tania Rudensky, and five children from his first marriage: Walter, of New York; Mary Ellen MacNeil of Greenwood, Va.; Dennis, of Sag Harbor, N.Y.; Susan Keuter of Florence, Ore.; and Katherine Mary Dariani of Eau Gallie, Fla.; as well as two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A few years before leaving the stage, Mr. MacNeil gave a straightforward assessment of the opera world to his friend and Met colleague Jerome Hines, the well-known bass, who interviewed him for a 1982 book “Great Singers on Great Singing.”
“Opera is an excessive art form populated by excessive people,” Mr. MacNeil said. “We make it more excessive than necessary. Singing is really a very simple thing.”
Baritone Gustavo Feulien made his operatic debut as Don Giovanni in his native Argentina, where he also performed Germont in “La Traviata” and Figaro in “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” Haly in “L’Italiana in Algieri,” and Il Marito in “Amelia al ball.” He performed leading roles in “Traviata” and “Rigoletto” in concerts throughout Argentina as part of the Teatro Colón, making his debut in “Carmina Burana.” Montserrat Caballé chose him to perform at her Voices Concert in Spain. He has also sung Di Luna in “Il Trovatore” and Marullo in “Rigoletto.”
A first-prize winner at the Il Trovatore International Competition in Argentina, he was also a semifinalist in the Hans Gabor Belvedere International and the Francisco Viñas competitions, and a finalist in Caballé's International Vocal Competition. Feulien completed music courses at the Julian Aguirre Conservatory and continued his studies at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in his hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
We were hoping to post a video, but the YouTube site featuring Feulien has video sharing disabled. You can click HERE to watch him sing "Eri tu" from Verdi's "Un Ball in maschera."
The world of opera is always looking for the next great piece that will squeeze its way into the standard repertory. The Met premiered John Corigliano's masterpiece twenty years ago and perhaps only a few operas have enjoyed such instant acclaim in the last two decades. Some that come to mind are Henze's "L'Upupa," Brett Dean's "Bliss," Mark Adamo's "Little Women," Birdwhistle's "The Minotaur," Saariaho's "L'amour de Loin," Ricky Ian Gordon's "The Grapes of Wrath," Heggie's "Dead Man Walking" and "Moby Dick," Philip Glass' "Hydrogen Jukebox" and "Appomattox" and John Adam's "Doctor Atomic."
Those have been outnumbered by some memorable flops led by Howard Shore's "The Fly" and Michael Daugherty's "Jackie O." So we were overjoyed with the critical acclaim that has greated American composer Nico Multy's "Two Boys" at the English National Opera. There is nothing that we could possibly add to Norman Lebrecht's spot-on review in The Telegraph, which you can read in its entirety HERE. Lebrecht's article is a "must read" for a number of reasons, including his views about what opera needs to do to succeed and, in particular, appeal to young people.
Jonathan McGovern: Jake in Two Boys
The story of "Two Boys" begins when a teenage boy is stabbed. An older boy is caught on CCTV leaving the scene. An open-and-shut case, it would seem. But, as Detective Inspector Anne Strawson investigates the older boy's story, she uncovers a bizarre nexus of chatroom meetings, mysterious internet identities, supposed spy rings and disturbing cybersex, leading to a stunning conclusion.
Critic William Robin said the opera deserves its place on the Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 schedule. He perfectly described the music in her review:
Muhly composed several tender, brief, solo arias for the principal characters, and engaging dialogues both online and off. Though his music suggests the throbbing postminimalism of John Adams, his most clear influences come from this side of the pond — the English choral tradition of Herbert Howells (evoked in a somewhat out-of-place church scene) and the operas of Britten. “Two Boys” teems with references to Britten, from the pealing gamelan-style gongs of “Death in Venice” to the finale, an ornate passacaglia straight out of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
The baritone role in the opera is sung by Jonthan McGovern who is new to this site. He was the winner of the 2nd Prize at the 2011 Kathleen Ferrier Awards and graduated with a first-class honours degree in Music from King’s College London. He completed a PGD in Vocal Studies at the Royal Academy of Music and continued his studies with Royal Academy Opera. He was winner of the gold medal and 1st Prize at the Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition 2010.
Recent operatic roles include Wu Tianshi and Pokayne in the première of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ opera Kommilitonen!; Shane Postcards from Dumbworld at Belfast Grand Opera Hosue; Delfa in Cavalli’s Il Giasone; Sid with Royal Academy Opera in John Copley’s first Albert Herring; Fiorello and Figaro cover Barber of Seville on tour with Armonico Consort Opera and Don Parmenione L’Occasione fa il ladro for RAO.
In September McGovern will join the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme to reprise the role of Sid for the Britten Festival in a new production conducted by Steuart Bedford and directed by Oliver Mears.
Click HERE for ticket and performance information.
We recently featured a post about all of the Mozart on Alex Esposito's schedule. We've posted often about his definitive Leporello, but we've never featured a video of his Papageno. Fortunately, it was recorded by RAI 5 from La Scala during its recent run in April 2011. Esposito's Papagena is Ailish Tynan.
Günther Groissböck
The cast also included barihunk Günther Groissböck as Sarastro. Here he is singing "In diesen heil'gen Hallen." You won't want to miss hearing his beautiful rolling bass. The Austrian bass is currently singing the role at the Vienna State Opera with the Papageno of fellow barihunk Markus Werba.
Erwin Schrott has become one of the most popular singers in opera along with his wife soprano Anna Netrebko. He is currently singing Figaro at the Opera National de Paris' production of "Le Nozze di Figaro" where he took time out to talk about his new CD Rojotango, future roles (many devilish), his vocal chords, burning out on Don Giovanni (for awhile) and juggling a career and a relationship. In July, Schrott and Netrebko will be back on stage together for a concert with the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra.
We continue to delight in the "Golden Age of Baritones" which Schrott is a major part of with his sold out performances, benefit concerts and best selling CDs. He joins a long list of baritones who are releasing critically acclaimed recordings, including Daniel Okulitch's performance of American composers, Rene Pape's upcoming release of Wagner, Peter Mattei's performance of the greatest baritone arias, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Sandra Radvanovsky's thrilling Verdi duets recording, and Randal Turner's concert of American composers, which includes two baritone world premieres.
Publicity shot for Rojotango
Schrott has become almost the unofficial leader of the baritone renaissance, with his savvy public relations skills, high profile benefits, movie star good looks and scintillating stage performances. It has probably been 50 years since baritones have dominated the world stage as they do today, when Ezio Pinza, Ettore Bastianini, Tito Gobbi, Robert Merrill and Cesare Siepi were considered major audience draws and were prominently marketed by opera companies. Schrott has excelled in the territory that was previously left for sopranos, using sex appeal as a marketing tool. It appears that even the "3 Tenors" phenomenon is giving way to baritones, as recordings like Paulo Szot's "South Pacific" seem to be dominating the "crossover" charts.
If you're looking for some great music you might want want to check out two new releases that we're enjoying. The first is Erwin Schrott's new CD "Rojotango," which is enjoyable from beginning to end. You can watch the sexy Uruguayan barihunk talk about this new recording in a video produced by MTV by clicking below. You can download the music at iTunes.
Our other indulgence is American barihunk Randal Turner's new CD and DVD from his recent West Coast recital debut in San Francisco. Turner sings the music of "Living American Composers," including Glen Roven, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie, Clint Borzoni and Julia Schwartz, who like Turner has settled in Switzerland. A little teaser: you won't want to miss the encore, which was arranged by his gifted accompanist Allen Perriello.
The CD is available at CD Baby and will be available on iTunes and Rhapsody shortly, so put it in your favorite searches or click the button below to purchase the CD now.
