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.

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Listen to the "Three Barihunks" from Montreal; Barihunks Sly and Brancy take 1st & 3rd

Sidney Outlaw, Philippe Sly and John Brancy

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.

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

Barihunk Baroque: Pisaroni's Rinaldo from the BBC Proms

Luca Pisaroni after a recent performance of Rinaldo

We have three clips of Luca Pisaroni singing selections from Handel's "Rinaldo," which was broadcast live on the BBC on August 25, 2011.

Luca Pisaroni sings the thrilling Act 1 aria "Sibillar gli angui d'Aletto"from Handel's Rinaldo:

 

Luca Pisaroni sings the Act 2 aria "Basta che sol tu chieda" from Handel's Rinaldo:



Luca Pisaroni and Brenda Rae sing the Act 3 duet "Al trionfo del nostro furore" 

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.

New Yorkers are gearing up for Pisaroni's return as Leporello in the Met's "Don Giovanni" with fellow barihunks Mariusz Kwiecien as the Don and Joshua Bloom as Masetto. Here is Kwiecien singing the Champagne Aria at the Met in 2009. Click HERE for tickets and additional cast and performance information.

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Reader Submission: Lisandro Abadie

Lisandro Abadie

When we received an email touting a barihunk who excels at early music, it immediately caught our attention. We had not heard of Argentinian born barihunk Lisandro Abadie, but we were instantly impressed with his singing. Abadie was a finalist in the 2008 Handel Singing Competition and won the Edwin Fischer Genedkpreis two years earlier.

 

After studying in Luzerne, he has forged a successful career singing music primarily by Bach, Handel, Rameau, Mozart, Pergolesi, Purcell, but also by a handful of contemporary composers. 

Here is an amazing performance of Lucifero's rousing aria "Caddi, e ver" from Handel's "Le Resurrezione":

 

You can also hear him sing Henry Purcell's "Let Each Gallant Heart" by clicking HERE. 

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Barihunks in Boston

David McFerrin (Far Left) and Christian van Horn (R) (Photos by Jeffrey Dunn for Boston Lyric Opera © 2011)

The Boston Lyric Opera's performance of Handel's "Agrippina" is opening on Friday, March 11 with barihunks Christian Van Horn and David McFerrin (and lots of countertenors). For additional cast and performance information visit the BLO website. 

David McFerrin: Rising Star

McFerrin has been featured on this site before as one of the alternating leads in the Seattle Opera's premiere of Daron Hagen's "Amelia" (the other lead was Nathan Gunn). He was also a standout in Steven Blier's "New York Festival of Song" singing some of the more provocative songs on the program. McFerrin was also a Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions finalist and we encourage anyone in the Boston area to check out this rising star.

Here is a clip of Christian Van Horn performing in Lucretia Borgia at the Bavarian State Opera.

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