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.

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Things of Interest This Week: Boys in NY, Carbo's new CD, Barihunks Competing in Montreal

Jesse Blumberg (L) and Tim McDevitt (R)

Three things that we love are all back and under the same roof on June 4th: the great Steven Blier returns with his latest "Sing for your Supper" show with barihunks Jesse Blumberg and Tim McDevitt. Blier always creates interesting themes for his shows and his latest offering will center on summertime.

Blumberg and McDevitt will be joined by Alex Mansoori, Adrian Rosas and Gennard Lombardozzi in selections by Cole Porter, Frank Loesser, Jason Robert Brown, Eubie Blake, Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Kern.

The show is at Henry's at Broadway and 105th in New York City and reservations are required.

Jose Carbo's "My Latin Heart"

Jose Carbo has released his first solo recital, My Latin Heart, which includes selections by Granada, Piazzolla and other Latin favorites.

The CD is available at ABC Records. You can also preview the CD and purchase it on iTunes.

Sidney Outlaw (L), Philippe Sly (C) and John Brancy (R)

Regular readers will know that we love to follow all the vocal competitions, especially as barihunks keep sweeping away all the tenors, sopranos and mezzos. We'll be closely monitoring the Montreal International Musical Competition this Tuesday and Wednesday as three of the eight finalist are not only barihunks, but some of our favorite singers around.

Sly was named our "Best Newcomer" along with Dominik Köninger in our "Best of 2011" feature. We still play his rendition of Schubert's Der Erlkönig to anyone who will listen. Sly was the winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and left the Merola Opera program a year early to join the Canadian Opera Company. 


Brancy has won or come in second in a number of competitions and has already worked with the aforementioned Steven Blier. A recent graduate of Julliard, Brancy recently studied at the International Meistersinger Akademie with sopranos Edith Wiens and Ann Murray, as well as pianist Malcolm Martineau.


Like Sly, Sidney Outlaw is another product of the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco. While in San Francisco he gave a recital that included Schubert's rarely heard Il traditor deluso, which still has lieder aficionados buzzing. On stage he stole the show with his performance of Dr. Dulcamara  in L’elisir d’amore.


Brancy and Outlaw will be representing the United States, while Sly is representing Canada in the competition. Both performances will be broadcast at 7:30 PM on Radio Canada. Click here to listen to the broadcasts. You can listen to the preliminaries here. 

John Brancy seductive as Guglielmo

John Brancy and Wallis Giunta

Check out barihunk John Brancy and mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta performing Dorabella and Guglielmo's seduction duet from Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte in Neumarkt, Germany. The two singers are participating in the International Meistersinger Akademie with coaches like sopranos Edith Wiens and Ann Murray,  as well as pianist Malcolm Martineau. Also in the program is barihunk Tobias Greenhalgh. 


If the two seem particularly cozy in this video it's because they are dating off-stage, so John's seduction skills as Guglielmo must be pretty convincing.

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Here is Brancy performing Largo al factotum from Rossini's Barber of Seville, filmed at a final dress performance for a concert that was broadcast throughout Germany.

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The International Meistersinger Akademie is a great opportunity for young singers to work with amazing coaches, but it is also a destination for European agents, promoters, opera directors and festival managers. These networking opportunities often provide a launching pad for young singers embarking on a European career.

John Brancy in Neumarkt

We wish all the singers the best of luck. 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

A Goyishe Christmas with Stephanie Blythe, Steven Blier & Two Barihunks

Joshua Jeremiah & John Brancy

We mentioned the New York Festival of Song's A Goyishe Christmas to You! Yuletide Classics by Jewish Songwriters back in July, but figured it was time for a reminder. There will be two performances at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center on Tuesday, November 29 and Thursday, December 1. The program includes not one, but two barihunks who have been featured on this site,  John Brancy and Joshua Jeremiah. They will joined by international opera star Stephanie Blythe, Lauren Worsham, Mary Testa, Josh Breitzer and the inimitable Steven Blier.

The evening will be filled by Yuletide songs from Jewish songwriters including Frank Loesser, Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn, Johnny Marks, Irving Berlin, Jay Livingston and many others. Rumor has it that the holiday classic "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" will be sung in Yiddish, Klezmer-style. And you wonder why we love New York? 

There will also be a complimentary wine reception after the show and we'd love for our readers to send us your iPhone pictures with the singers. Send them to Barihunks@gmail.com. Call 212.501.3330 for tickets or visit the NY Festival of Song website.

Blythe and Blier together already guarantee an evening of fun of non-stop entertainment, so the two barihunks are icing on the Yule log.  Here's a little teaser for the show. 



If you want to enjoy barihunks everyday for an entire year, order our charity calendar today. Click HERE and help support the young artists who make our musical experiences so enjoyable.

John Brancy Back from Germany; Appearing at Poquatuck Hall in N.Y.

John Brancy

American barihunk John Brancy just wrapped up a six week intensive training program at the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie in Neumarkt run by soprano Edith Wiens. The program offers emerging artists an opportunity to work with leading coaches and singers in developing their skills in opera, oratorio and Lied/Mélodie. European agents, promoters, opera directors and festival managers are invited to give seminars and to take part in roundtable discussions with the young artists, providing the networking and professional contacts important to the profession.

Brancy has appeared twice on this site, once upon his graduation from Julliard and more recently for a feature on the upcoming New York Festival of Song. We're big fans of this emerging talent and are eager to follow his career, which undoubtedly will be successful.

Brancy can next be seen on August 27th at Poquatuck Hall in Orient, New York with Steven Blier accompanying him in a program of classical art songs, duets, arias and American popular song. They will be joined by soprano Corinne Winters, mezzo-soprano Kara Sainz and Perlman Music Program Fellow Peter Dugan. Contact Jane Smith for reservations: 631-323-1378 or jansmith@optonline.net.

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New York Festival of Song's Barihunk-filled New Season

Steven Blier's always entertaining and interesting New York Festival of Song has announced its 2011-12 five-program series at Merkin Concert Hall. As always, the Festival of Song will be programmed with some of the best young talent in opera and once again there will be plenty of barihunks to enjoy.

Andrew Garland

The season opens on Oct. 25 and 27 with In the Memory Palace: Games of Love featuring barihunk Andrew Garland, who will be joined by Michelle Areyzaga, Rebecca Jo Loeb and Paul Appleby. The program centers around the premiere of Gabriel Kahane’s song cycle, The Memory Palace, which evokes scenes of East Coast solitude with his haunting music and mordant lyrics.

Jesse Blumberg & Timothy McDevitt

On Novemeber 17th, the festival will reprise Manning the Canon: Songs of Gay Life with barihunks Jesse Blumberg and Timothy McDevitt, joined by Scott Murphee and Matt Boehler.  The program is a "touching celebration of the lives and art of gay men in works that reflect the heritage of gay composers in art song, as well as contemporary songs about the gay experience."

Joahua Jeremiah & John Brancy

On November 29 and December 1 the Festival will feature barihunks John Brancy and Joshua Jeremiah joined by Lauren Worsham, Mary Testa, Josh Breitzer for  A Goyishe Christmas to You! Yuletide Classics by Jewish Songwriters.

Jesse Blumberg

On February 14 and 16th, Jesse Blumberg returns for A Modern Person's Guide to Hooking Up and Breaking Up along with Anne-Carolyn Bird, Liza Forrester, Alex Mansoori and Jesse Blumberg.  The show is described as a “quirky survey of the awkwardness, pain, lust and perversity of contemporary relationships."

The season concludes on March 11th with New York to Paris, Paris to Paradise featuring members of Caramoor’s 2012 Vocal Rising Stars program.

You can click HERE for tickets and additional program information.

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Reader Submission and Graduating Today! John Brancy

John Brancy

John Brancy was suggested to us by two readers and this seems like an appropriate day to introduce him to readers, as he's graduating from Julliard today. Brancy has had the privelege of working with the great teacher and accompanist Steven Blier at Julliard. He's already appeared in concert with Blier and at the Caramoor Festival.

The word on Brancy is that he's destined for a successful career and he's a particularly gifted recitalist. He's appeared in a few operas already, including Theseus in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Marco in Gianni Schicchi. This past summer, he made his debut as Sid in Albert Herring at Newfoundland's Opera on the Avalon Festival.

Brancy won first place in the 2007 Classical Singer Competition, The Gold Award from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, Encouragement Awards from both Opera Index and the Kurt Weill Foundation's 2008 Lotte Lenya Competition, as well as second place in the 2010 Liederkranz competition. Mr. Brancy is in his fourth year of the bachelor of music degree program at Juilliard under the tutelage of Cynthia Hoffman.

Barihunks would like to congratulate this gifted young singer on the day of his graduation and looks forward to watching him on his path to success!

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