HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THOMAS HAMPSON

Birthday boy, Thomas Hampson

Today we're honoring one of the most heralded singers in all of opera. He also happens to be one of the most popular and enduring barihunks in the world. He has kept both his voice and his matinee idol good looks in tact at the age of 57. In fact, he's survived long enough to perform with his fellow barihunk and son-in-law Luca Pisaroni.

Hampson has performed a broad range of music, from Handel and Gluck to contemporary operas. In between, he's managed to sing all of the major leading Mozart roles, while also establishing himself as a Verdi and Wagner singer of the highest order. Last season, he created the role of Rick Rescorla in the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’s Heart of a Soldier at the San Francisco Opera. He's currently performing Hindemith's "Mathis der Maler" at the Zurich Opera.

Beyond maintaining his status as one of the most sought after singers in the world, he is equally in demand as a lieder singer. His commitment to the artform prompted him to create Hampsong in 2003, which is dedicated to the worldwide understanding of the art of song. Last year he hosted and co-produced "Song of America," a 13-part radio series that explores the history of American culture through song. Below you can listen to Hampson talk about the art of song on WNYC.

We asked fellow barihunk and vlogger Jonathan Estabrooks to submit a video tribute to Hampson, since the young Canadian embodies much of what Hampson has brought to opera and lieder.

We also received a message from Krassen Karagiozov, who said:

"I wish you a continuos success on the operatic and concert stages worldwide for many  more years to come. I wish you a lot of health and a lot of happiness in your personal life.  I'm big admirer of your talent and career and I hope I have the privilege to meet you one day in person."  

Have a fantastic celebration among family and friends!  

Krassen Karagiozov

"I would like to wish you a happy birthday in Bulgarian since I'm Bulgarian: 

Chestit Rojden Den i za mnogo godini! Nazdrave!!!  

The entire Barihunks family would like to wish Thomas Hampson a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and thank him for bringing us decades of great music (and looking great doing it!).

Fans in the United States can next see him as Scarpia in Tosca at the Santa Fe Opera.

Barihunk Stuff You Don't Want to Miss

Jonathan Estabrooks

Our favorite vlogger Jonathan Estabrooks keeps a busy schedule. This Thursday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. he'll be part of a concert that includes Gian Carlo Menotti's The Telephone and a collection of opera arias and duets with soprano Emily Duncan-Brown. The concert is at the SWCC King Community Center in Richlands, Virginia and includes selections from Verdi, Puccini and Rossini.

Christopher Dylan Herbert in Central City

Just a reminder that you can hear Christopher Dylan Herbert live on WWFM singing Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata 56 "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen." The concert is free, so if you're in New York go check out this talented member of New York Polyphony. The concert will performed on Monday, April 16 at 1pm EST at St. Paul's Chapel near Ground Zero. Broadcast time is 10 AM for those on the West Coast.

Herbert's ensemble New York Polyphony is currently performing on the East Coast as part of the Five Boroughs Music Festival's Gabrieli @ 400 and these concerts are not to be missed. On April 27 they perform at St. Ann's and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn, on April 28 they are at St. Ignatius of Antioch in New York City and then on April 29 they perform at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Quirijn de Lang sings Hugo Wolf

One of the most popular singers on this site is Dutch barihunk Quirijn de Lang, who appears to have quite an international fan club. He's just released a CD of songs by Hugo Wolf based on work by Ibsen & other poets. He is joined by soprano Mary Bevan and accompanist Sholto Kynoch. For lovers of Wolf lieder, the recording includes twelve previously unrecorded songs.  You can purchase the CD at Stone Records. 

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Barihunks Luncheon in New York City

Barihunks Luncheon in New York City

Barihunks hosted a luncheon for eight of the hottest singers in New York at Candle 79 today. From left to right are Michael Rice, Jonathan Estabrooks, Randal Turner, Christopher Temporelli, Michael Kelly, Malcolm Merriweather, Ricardo Rivera and Donovan Singletary.

Randal Turner had closed a successful run in Rufus Wainwright's the night before. His "mad scene" in Act 1 was a tour de force performance that will be long-remembered by opera aficionados. The Zurich-based singer will return to the U.S. in May to perform Mendelsohn's "Elijah" with the Spring Choral Festival in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Barihunks hamming it up before the group photo

Michael Rice has given up singing to work at an executive recruiting firm, support his wife Jennifer Rivera's skyrocketing career and devote time to his OperaNow! podcast. He taped some audio at the Barihunks luncheon for his next podcast, so make sure to tune in.

Jonathan Estabrooks is currently filming Schaunard in Puccini's La boheme. We'll have more details closer to the release date. Make sure to check out his vlog, "A Singer's Life." He also taped some footage at the luncheon so check him out on YouTube.

Christopher Temporelli & Donovan Singletary

Christopher Temporelli, who just wrapped up a run as the Judge in Philip Glass's Orphée with Virginia Opera, now heads to Korea for a recording project. Keep an eye out for additional release news on this site.

Michael Kelly just wrapped up another recital at Trinity Wall Street. We'll provide you with the stream as soon as it's available. You can watch his December 2010 recital HERE.

Malcolm Merriweather keeps a busy schedule around New York as a baritone, choirmaster, teacher and conductor with the New York Choral Society.

In March, Ricardo Rivera will perform in the Semi-Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In May, he will perform the title role in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" with the Mannes Opera and Orchestra.

From May 19-June 1, Donovan Singletary will perform Figaro in Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" at the Ft. Worth Opera Festival. In March and April, he can be seen as the Murderer in Verdi's "Macbeth" opposite barihunks Thomas Hampson and Gunther Groissböck.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Jonathan Estabrooks Previews New Opera Tonight - Enjoy Online

Jonathan Estabrooks

Now that the NY Giants celebrations are winding down, it's time to get back to enjoying the arts. Whether you're in New York, or not, you can enjoy Canadian barihunk Jonathan Estabrooks tonight. Along with the Warsaw Village Band, he's presenting excerpts from Andy Teirstein's new opera "A Blessing on the Moon" at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City at 158 Bleecker Street at 7:30pm EST. If  you're not in New York, you can watch a live stream of the performance by clicking HERE.

The show will also be performed on February 11 and 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia at the Norman Rothstein Theatre. Click HERE for information and tickets. 

Also, don't forget to check out his YouTube site and make sure to follow him on Twitter at @estarp.

You can enjoy this amazing young talent instantly by clicking below:

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

I can see Russian Barihunks from Canada; "Scream & Kill" features low voices in "Basses Loaded"

Alexander Vinogradov

Residents of Canada are in luck, as the live performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, “Symphony of a Thousand,” will be broadcast live from Caracas,Venezuela and shown in Canadian movie theaters on Saturday, February 18, at 2 p.m. PST/5 p.m. EST.

The performance under conductor Gustavo Dudamel will feature Russian barihunk Alexander Vinogradov as one of the soloists. Alexander Vinogradov made his debut at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow at the age of 21 and he is a regular guest at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin

Alexander Vinogradov sings "Confutatis maledictis" from Verdi' s Requiem 

This presentation is part of the Los Angeles Philharmoic’s Mahler Project, which features the composer’s complete symphonic cycle presented in both Los Angeles and Caracas.

Samuel Ramey & Justino Diaz

We love our opera podcasts at Barihunks and regularly feature the Texapolitan Opera Roadshow run by barihunk Michael Mayes and OperaNow! run by barihunk Michael Rice. You can catch Rice and Mayes together on the podcast by clicking HERE. Don't miss this laugh-a-minute operafest. 

 

We're also big fans of vlogger and barihunk Jonathan Estabrooks' "A Singer's Life." Not only are these sites great for opera lovers, but they're a great introduction to opera for a younger, more tech savvy generation of future opera goers. 

This month, we've been enjoying the "Scream & Kill" podcast, which is not run by a barihunk, but by the inimitable Stella Maria Krazelberg von und zu Brabant. We're particularly loving her current feature, which is cleverly entitled "Basses Loaded." Stella takes a look at some of the greatest low voices of the modern era, including barihunks Samuel Ramey and Justino Diaz. Other singers featured are Bonaldo Giaiotti, Raymend Aceto, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Adam Plachetka, Gottlieb Frick, Adrien Legros, Boris Christoff and Paul Plishka.

The podcast requires a subscription, but it's entertaining and features great topics from "Shakespearean Screamers" to "Bitchin' Bel Canto Bridezillas." You can check out the podcast at www.ScreamAndKill.com.

We regularly get asked if we feature basses on our site, despite the fact that our home page says that we do.

 

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Zachary Gordin: Sexiest Silvio; Check out the Barihunks on-the-air

Zachary Gordin showing off his guns in a Barihunk tee

Zachary Gordin, who is featured in our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar, is taking on Silvio in "Pagliacci" with the revived Sacramento Opera. We've seen a lot of Silvio's in our day, including old historical footage and we've never seen a Silvio this buff before. We can certainly understand why Nedda would want to wrap those big arms around herself. Maybe in this production, conducted by the amazing Michael Morgan, Canio dies from a choke hold by Silvio. Then again, maybe not, this is Sacramento, not Germany.

Performances are this Saturday and Sunday. Visit the Sacramento Opera website for additional performance information or to purchase tickets.

Here is another one of our calendar models, Michael Mayes, singing the duet between Nedda and Silvio. This was recorded last year at the Kentucky Opera. Mayes went out of his way to create a very special photo for the Barihunks calendar, which you won't want to miss. He's our February feature along with fellow singers with web shows, Michael Rice of OperaNow! (who appears in shorts floating in a pool) and Jonathan Estabrooks of the YouTube feature "A Singer's Life" (who shows a little extra skin than one usually sees from a Canadian). Don't forget to subscribe to Mayes' entertaining show, the Texapolitan Opera Roadshow. His guest this week is Maestro Jerome Shannon. If you tune in to the OperaNow! podcast this week, you can double your barihunk fun, as Michael Rice's guest star is Michael Mayes. We guarantee you that there are few things in opera more entertaining than the "Two Michaels."



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"Must See" Recitals: Gabriel Preisser, Michael Kelly, Jonathan Estabrooks and Lucio Gallo

Gabriel Preisser

If you're anywhere near the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, Parliament Hill or the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," then there are recitals near you that you won't want to miss.

We first learned about Gabriel Preisser about a year ago when we received an email from a respected figure in opera who touted him as the next great baritone voice. At the time, Preisser was performing small roles at the Kentucky Opera and heading off to the Pensacola Opera. He has since wowed the judges at the Lirico Concorso Competition and landed at the Minnesota Opera (with what seems like a planeload of barihunks. More on that in a future post). Preisser can be seen Thursday night as part of the Schubert Club's "The Magic of Mozart" series. He will be performing with soprano Angela Mortellaro and accompanist Aaron Breid. Click HERE for additional information.

Michael Kelly

Another singer who has been wowing judges in Michael Kelly, who recently showed off his vocal skills at the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition and was the winner of the 2011 "Joy in Singing Award." We also recently featured an entire recital from Michael Kelly on this site, which you can still watch.

If you'd like to see him live, he will be part of the New York Debut Artist Recital series on Monday, October 24th at 8pm in Merkin Hall. Visit their website for additional information. His recital will feature music by Schubert, Poulenc, Vaughan Williams, and William Bolcom, and introduce a new cycle written for him by Ben Moore. Jonathan Ware will be at the piano.

On Thursday, November 3rd, Kelly will appear at the Hungarian Consulate General with soprano Julia Küsswetter to perform music by Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt and Bartok. Additional information can be found at the German Forum website.

Jonathan Estabrooks

On Saturday, October 15 at 7:30 pm  Jonathan Estabrooks and his brother Bryan Estabrooks will present a musical journey ranging from opera houses to night clubs. Hosted by Jian Ghomeshi from CBC Radio's Q, this promises to be an entertaining evening. Trust us that anything involving the Estatbrooks Brothers promises to be fun. The performance is at the Shenkman Arts Center in Ottawa. Click HERE for additional information.

Of course, you can always catch Jonathan Estabrooks at "A Singer's Life" on YouTube.

For those of you in London, the great Italian baritone Lucio Gallo is the next performer in the Rosenblatt Recital series on Wednesday, October 12 at 7:30 PM. He'll be bringing sunny Italy to England with an evening of songs and arias by Tosti. Visit the Rosenblatt Recital website for additional information.

Here is Gallo singing Mozart's "Hai gia vinta la causa" from "Le nozze di Figaro":



 Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Ottawa Citizen: "A Barihunk comes home"

Jonathan Estabrooksand pianist Judy Ginsburg. (Photo Jean Levac, Ottawa Citizen)

We love that the term "barihunks" has entered into everyday usage. It's nice to see that people don't just think of opera as a fat lady with horns standing at the front of the stage singing Jo-ho-to-ho. We've seen the term creep into opera reviews and articles about singers, so imagine our elation when we saw the headline "A 'barihunk' comes home."

Jonathan Estabrooks was recently featured in his hometown newspaper the Ottawa Citizen with that blaring headine. Estabrooks is one of the newer singers on the site and one of the growing number of artists who are using social media to enhance their visibility. Unlike two of our favorites, Michael Mayes of the Texapolitan Opera Podcast and Michael Rice of OperaNow!, Estabrooks is a vlogger (video blogger). His videos are lighthearted and feature other artists who he is working with. You can subscribe to his videos HERE. He even has a vlog with his brother and fellow singer Bryan Estabrooks, which you can view HERE.

Estabrooks will be performing his first Silvio in Pagliacci at OperaLyra in Ottawa from September 10-17 with tenor Richard Leech and soprano Yannick-Muriel Noah. 

Click HERE to read the entire feature on Jonathan Estabrooks from the Ottawa Citizen.

For the next week 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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Jonathan Estabrooks' "A Singer's Life 201: Barihunks in Blacksburg"

Philip Kalmanovitch & Jonathan Estabrooks

Barihunk Jonathan Estabrooks is back with his second season of his vlog "A Singer's Life." We love the new season already since the first episode is called "Barihunks in Blacksburg." We love how fellow barihunk Philip Kalmanovitch corrects the vlogger when he gives the wrong url for Barihunks. Make sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube so you never miss an episode.

Estabrooks can next be seen as Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera Lyra in Ottawa opposite tenor Richard Leech and soprano Yannick-Muriel Noah. Performances run from September 10th through the 17th. Click HERE for tickets.

Kalmanovitch can next be seen as Antonio in Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro" at the Opéra de Montréal from September 17-24 with fellow barihunk Phillip Addis as Count Almaviva. Click HERE for additional performance information and tickets.



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Reader Submission: Jonathan Estabrooks

Jonathan Estabrooks

We continue to receive reader submissions and are grateful for your continued enthusiasm in exposing us to new talent. We received two submissions from other singers in the last few weeks and here is the first, Canadian Jonathan Estabrooks. This submission came with the note, "I have a feeling that Jonathan would be flattered to be on the site." Well, we're more than happy to oblige.

Estabrooks is a Juilliard graduate and the winner of the prestigious 35th Oratorio Society of New York Vocal Competition. He appeared with the accompanist Steven Blier in his Festival of Song Spring Gala along with soprano Kelli O'Hara and tenor Joseph Kaiser. In late 2010, he was heard in the role of Belcore on a 20-city tour with the Jeunesses Musicale du Canada. He is also another in our long list of singers who have sung Tarquinius in Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia."



He has also performed for the Governor General, The Prime Minister of Canada, the US Ambassador to Canada, The Italian Ambassador to Canada and President Bill Clinton.

You can follow Estabrooks on YouTube with his feature "Jonathan Daily." Here is a sample episode:



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