Edwin Crossley-Mercer gets an internet presence

Edwin Crossley-Mercer

We've been huge fans of Edwin Crossley-Mercer ever since he first came to our attention in 2008 after a fan of the site heard him in recital. Once we heard him (and saw him), we were hooked. However, he has been mysteriously absent on the internet, despite the development of an increasingly loyal fan base.

We were thrilled to learn that the gifted French barihunk now has an artist page on IMG Artists, as well as a personal site with his schedule. You can follow him on Twitter @EdwinXleyMercer. We also love his new head shot, which could be right out of GQ magazine.

Edwin Crossley-Mercer sings excerpts from Othmar Schoeck's cantata:

Upcoming performances include:

* June 3, 2012 : Recital of songs by Franz Schubert with pianist David Fray at Festival de Saint Denis, France
* June 14, 17, 20, 24, 27, 30, July 4, 7, 10, 2012 : Graf Dominik in Arabella by Richard Strauss, Opéra Bastille, Paris
* June 15, 2012 : Die Winterreise by Franz Schubert with Laurent Martin, piano, Festival de piano à Riom, France
* July 13, 2012 : Thésée in Hippolyte et Aricie by J.P. Rameau, festival de Beaune, France
* July 22, 2012 : Opera Gala, Orchestra of Scala Accademia, Bad Kissingen, Germany
* September 2012 : Jean Jacques Rousseau in the world premiere of "Jean Jacques Rousseau, citoyen de Genève" by Philippe Fénelon. Opéra de Genève, Switzerland

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Celebrating Heinrich Heine - (December 13, 1797 – February 17, 1856)

Philippe Sly & Heinrich Heine

Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert. Heine's later verse and prose is distinguished by its satirical wit and irony. His radical political views led to many of his works being banned by German authorities. Heine spent the last 25 years of his life as an expatriate in Paris. [Excerpted from Wikipedia]

The first seven lieder from Robert Schumann's "Dichterliebe," set to poetry by Heinrich Heine Performed by Sanaz Sotoudeh and Philippe Sly in Pollack Hall at McGill University in 2009.



Schubert's haunting "Der Doppelgänger" from Schwanengesang sung by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau:



Der Doppelgänger by Heinrich Heine

Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen,
In diesem Hause wohnte mein Schatz;
Sie hat schon längst die Stadt verlassen,
Doch steht noch das Haus auf dem selben Platz.

Da steht auch ein Mensch und starrt in die Höhe,
Und ringt die Hände, vor Schmerzensgewalt;
Mir graust es, wenn ich sein Antlitz sehe -
Der Mond zeigt mir meine eigne Gestalt.

Du Doppelgänger! du bleicher Geselle!
Was äffst du nach mein Liebesleid,
Das mich gequält auf dieser Stelle,
So manche Nacht, in alter Zeit?

English Translation

The night is quiet, the streets are calm,
In this house my beloved once lived:
She has long since left the town,
But the house still stands, here in the same place.

A man stands there also and looks to the sky,
And wrings his hands overwhelmed by pain:
Upon seeing his face, I am terrified--
The moon shows me my own form!

O you Doppelgänger! you pale comrade!
Why do you ape the pain of my love
Which tormented me upon this spot
So many a night, so long ago?

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Only two weeks left to purchase our 2012 Barihunks Charity Calendar. Get in the holiday spirit and buy your copy today. All proceeds go to young artist programs. We named our first recipient yesterday, which is the Portland Opera Studio. Scroll down and read about this amazing program.

Franz Schubert (Died Nov 19, 1828)

Andrew Ashwin sings Franz Schubert's "Du bist die Ruh" 



Matthias Goerne sings Schubet's "Nachtstück"



Simon Keenlyside sings Schubert's "Die Sterne"



Thomas Hampson singing Schubert's Ständchen:



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Mark your calendars: Christopher Herbert, Riley McMitchell & Joshua Bloom

Chris Herbert

October 17, 2011 at 1:00 PM, American barihunk Chris Herbert will perform in St. Paul's Chapel at the Trinity Wall Street Church in New York (talk about another great way to occupy Wall Street!). He will be a soloist in Bach's Cantata BWV 76, "Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes" with the Trinity Choir and Baroque Orchestra.

Here's a performance of the piece from Vienna in 1951:





Christopher Herbert performs concerts and opera throughout the United States and Europe, principally with his ensemble, New York Polyphony.  He played a prominent part of "Sing for Hope's" 2010 and 2011 Pop-Up Pianos throughout New York.  Check out the New York Polyphony website for upcoming concerts in your area. They are not to be missed!

Riley McMitchell

On November 11th, which is Canadian "Remembrance Day," barihunk Riley McMitchell will be performing the "Mass No. 2 in G major, D.167" by Franz Schubert. The performance will begin at 8 PM at the Canadian Memorial United Church at 15th and Burrard in Vancouver, B.C.

Coming soon to Barihunks: Havard Stensvold

Here is a highlight of Schubert's Mass in G major, which includes the bass Havard Stensvold, who we can assure you will be seen on Barihunks soon!




If you can't get enough of Joshua Bloom in the Met's "Don Giovanni," you're in luck. On Monday, November 28th at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York City, the Aussie barihunk will perform Schwanengesang by Franz Schubert, as well as songs by Tom Lehrer and Poulen'c "Le Bestiaire."

Mojca Erdmann (Zerlina), Joshua Bloom (Masetto) (Marty Sohl / Metropolitan Opera)

Joshua Bloom was a member of the Merola Program and an Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera. In 2005 he sang Garibaldo in "Rodelinda" for the San Francisco Opera, in 2006 he made his role debut as Nick Shadow in "The Rake’s Progress" for Opera Australia under Richard Hickox and appeared in "Die Zauberflöte" and "Salome" for Santa Fe Opera. For Opera Australia he has sung Dandini, Escamillo and Mozart's Figaro and Leporello. He made his Chicago Opera Theater debut in "Béatrice et Bénédict". Engagements include Masetto ("Don Giovanni") and Truffaldino ("Ariadne auf Naxos") for the Metropolitan Opera, Alidoro and Leporello for Garsington Opera Festival, and Rodolfo ("La Sonnambula") and Figaro for Opera Australia.

Here is the great Thomas Allen singing "Le Bestiaire":



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Introducing Gianluca Margheri

Gianluca Margheri

First, we appreciated all of the nice emails about John Cage's . Unfortunately, it is not better known, but it is a beautiful piece of music and it was our pleasure to introduce it to many of you. Today we'd like to switch gears from dead composers back to hunky baritones and introduce you to Italian Gianluca Margheri.

Gianluca Margheri was born in Florence, where he also studied at the Coservatorio Cherubini. He made his professional debut in 2004 at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa in Traviata, followed by Demetrius in Briten's "Midsummer Night's Dream."  In 2009 he won the first prize with at the international Opera Competition Toti dal Monte in Treviso. He has performed in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro and Cosi fan tutte. He can also be found on the recording of Handel's "Deidamia" and on the DVD of Respighi's "La bella dormente nel bosco."

Here is Gianluca Marrgheri singing Franz Schubert's "Traditor deluso" in 2008:

For the next two weeks we will be accepting submissions for our first  Barihunks charity calendar, which will benefit young artist programs.  Send High Res photos and a brief bio to Barihunks@gmail.com

    

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Teddy Tahu Rhodes Talks About His New CD (with vocal highlights)

We haven't featured one of our most popular singers in awhile, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, so we thought the release of his new CD would be a great excuse. Here are two features, one is an audio interview with Brooke Green from ABC Classic FM. Click HERE to listen. 

Teddy Bare

The other is a video about the the CD, "Serious Songs." The recording features Johannes Brahms' "Serious Songs" with an updated orchestration by Detlev Glanert, Schubert's "Erlkonig," excerpts from the Brahms Requiem, Samuel Barber's "Dover Beach" and four Schubert songs. 

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Chris Herbert's Winterreise with Luminario Ballet

The multi-talented Chris Herbert

Our love affair with Chris Herbert is no secret and we've made it clear that we admire him for both his singing and his commitment to the community. He is one of the most multi-faceted and interesting people in the world of opera. He is on tour with New York Polyphony singing music that is centuries old while also performing contemporary works like Barber's "Dover Beach," Dallapiccola's  "Il Prigioniero," Sid in Britten's "Albert Herring" and Connie in Gordon's  "The Grapes of Wrath." He holds a degrees in both music and Middle Eastern Studies and has written extensively on foreign affairs and has worked closely with "Sing for Hope," which we've covered extensively. To top it all of, he recently married his partner at his aunt's country estate, who happens to be Martha Stewart. 

New York Polyphony

We can't figure out if he's a true renaissance man or just giving the guy in the Dos Equis beer ads a run for the title of the "Most Interesting Man in the World."

Of course, we were intrigued in January when we heard that Herbert would be singing Schubert's "Winterreise" with the Luminario Ballet. Although we tried to get someone to attend the event, we missed the performance. Fortunately, the complete performance has shown up on YouTube and we're posting it for your enjoyment. Once again he delivers a performance of incredible depth and beauty of tone. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.











Not all of the songs of Winterreise were included in the performance, but here is the synopsis of those that Herbert performs.

1. Gute Nacht (Good Night)

By moonlight, in winter, the poet leaves the house as he came to it, a stranger. The daughter has allowed their love to grow, and the mother has encouraged the pair to think of marriage: but the daughter's love has wandered to some new sweetheart. So he quietly and secretly steals away while they are sleeping, writing 'Good night' on her door, and leaving the path of his footsteps in the snow.

3. Gefror'ne Tränen (Frozen Tears)

Frozen tears fall from his cheeks as he walks away, but the breast from which they arise is so burning hot with feelings that they should melt the winter ice completely.

4. Erstarrung (Numbness)

He looks in vain for her footprints in the snow, where they formerly walked together arm in arm among the flowers and green grass. He wants to kiss the ground and weep on it, until he can dissolve the ice and see where they trod. But the flowers are all dead, and he can take no remembrance of her away from there. His heart is lifeless with her image frozen within; but if it thaws, her beautiful image fades.

5. Der Lindenbaum (The Linden Tree)

He comes to the linden tree, with its pale flowers and heart-shaped leaves. that stands at the gate. In the shade of this tree he has dreamt many beautiful dreams, and in the bark he has carved words of love. It was his favourite place. Now he passes it with his eyes shut, even though it is deepest night, but the branches rustle to him, 'Come here old comrade, find your rest here'. A gust of wind blows his hat off, and many hours afterwards he remembers the tree, and it seems to say 'You should have found your rest here.' It is a tacit invitation to suicide. (In Die Schone Mullerin by the same author the rejected lover actually drowns himself and finds rest in the friendly brook where he dies.)

6. Wasserflut (Torrent)

He weeps copiously and his tears fall in the snow. When the Spring comes the snow will melt and flow into the river, and will carry his tears to the house of his beloved.

7. Auf dem Flusse (On the Stream)

The river, usually busy and bubbling, is locked in frozen darkness and lies drearily spread out under the ice. He will write her name, and the date of their first meeting, in the ice with a sharp stone. The river is a likeness of his heart: it beats and swells under the hard frozen surface.

10. Rast (Rest)

He reaches a charcoal-burner's hut and, worn out by his long trek through the snowstorm with a heavy backpack, he lies down to rest. In the quiet his cuts and bruises sting sorely.

11. Frühlingstraum (Dream of Springtime)

He dreams he is wandering through meadows full of flowers and bird-song in May: he heard the cock's crow and opened his eyes, but it was a raven calling in the cheerless darkness. Who could draw the flowers of ice he can see on the windows? He dreams again, of love, and a maiden's kiss, and the joy and bliss of love, but again the crowing wakes him and he sits up alone. He tries to sleep again: when will the leaves at the window be green - when will she hold him in her arms again?

12. Einsamkeit (Loneliness/Solitude)

He wanders along the busy road ungreeted. Why is the sky so calm and the world so bright? Even in the tempest he was not so lonely as this.

13. Die Post (The Post)

His heart leaps up as the post-horn sounds: they are not bringing him a letter, but it has come from the town, and he will ask if there is news of the beloved.

14. Der greise Kopf (The Grey Head)

The frost in his hair made him think he was going grey, but now it has thawed and his hair is still black. He has heard that some people go grey overnight with sorrow, but though he has felt that sorrow, it has not happened to him.

15. Die Krähe (The Crow)

A crow has followed him all along the way from the town. Is it waiting for him to die, so that it can eat him? It won't be long, let it keep him company to the end.

16. Letzte Hoffnung (Last Hope)

He wanders among the trees and fixes his gaze on one leaf, which seems to hold his fate. It is a token: if it should fall from the branch, his hope will fall. His heart sinks, and his soul weeps the loss of everything.

17. Im Dorfe (In the Village)

People are asleep in the village and the dogs are barking. They dream of many things and have their rest. Let the dogs drive him away so that he does not rest with them - he is finished with all dreaming.

19. Täuschung (Deception)

A light on the dark and icy road at night, might be a warm place to stay, or the deception of a beautiful face.

20. Der Wegweiser (The Signpost)

Straying restlessly away from the roads, he still seeks rest. There is always a signpost in front of him, pointing to the road from which no wanderer returns. Death?

21. Das Wirtshaus (The Inn)

The 'wayside inn' is a lonely graveyard where he hopes to find rest at last. The wreaths are the tavern sign, inviting him in. But no - all the rooms are taken, and he must carry on, as he tells his faithful walking staff.

22. Mut (Courage)

As the wind blows snow in his face, he sings loudly to silence his thoughts of sorrow, so that he cannot hear or feel them. With his trusty staff and cheerful song he'll just keep going on.

23. Die Nebensonnen (The Phantom Suns)

He used to see three suns, but two of them have turned away to shine upon another, and now he sees only one, and he wishes that would pass away and leave him to the darkness.

24. Der Leiermann (The Hurdy Gurdy Man)

At the end of the village he finds the old barefoot hurdy-gurdy man, winding away his tunes, but no one has given him a penny, or listens, and even the dogs growl at him. But he just carries on playing, and the poet thinks he will cast in his lot with him.

 

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Philippe Sly sings Der Erlkönig

We were convinced from early on that Philippe Sly would win the Metropolitan Opera Council Audition. This video of him singing Schubert's amazing song "Der Erlkönig" shows why. He has interpretive abilities far beyond his years and an amazing voice to boot.

Sit back and ENJOY!

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Lee Poulis in Wuthering Heights; Blumberg on a Barge

Lee Poulis as Heathcliff, carrying the bones of his beloved Catherine (Photo Tom Wallace Star-Tribune)

The Minnesota Opera is presenting Academy Award-winning composer Bernard Herrmann's opera Wuthering Heights, which is based on Emily Brontë's gothic romance novel. The opera opens on Saturday, April 16 and runs through April 23. The production stars Lee Poulis, who we last saw in this cute little outfit from Bonn, where he was starring in The Elixir of Love.

Lee Poulis in a happier role

This production of Wuthering Heights celebrates the centennial of the composer's birth and is the first major revival of this forgotten masterpiece since it was written in Minneapolis in 1951. Click HERE to read Graydon Royce's article about the opera from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Poulis & Blumberg in Wuthering Heights

The production also happens to be a barihunk lovers delight, as it features two other regulars from this site. Ben Wager, who has been honing his skills in Germany, returns to sing the role of Hindley Earnshaw. Jesse Blumberg, a longtime favorite on this site, plays the neighbor Mr. Lockwood.

New York-based Jesse Blumberg

Fans of Blumberg who can't make the Minnesota performance can see him in New York as part of Bargemusic, a floating concert hall in Brooklyn. Blumberg will be performing Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin on Thursday, April 28 followed by Winterreise on Saturday, April 30. Call (718) 624-2083 for reservations. He will be accompanied by the great Martin Katz. If you're in the New York area this is a performance that you won't want to miss!


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