While he is noted for his vocal prowess and acting, Gunn has received almost as much fame for his physique, a peculiar feat for an opera singer. He has been dubbed a "barihunk"[4] although as a play on baritone and hunk, he has said he prefers the term "hunkitone."[5] In 2008, he was featured in People magazine's list of "The Sexiest Men Alive."[6]
Gunn was appointed a tenured professor of voice in 2007 at the University of Illinois School of Music, and in 2013 he was named general director of the Lyric Theater @ Illinois.[7] In 2012 the Opera Company of Philadelphia appointed him director of its American Repertoire Council promoting new American works.[8] His wife, Julie Jordan Gunn, who holds a doctorate (A. Mus. D.) in vocal coaching and accompanying from University of Illinois, was also appointed associate professor in collaborative piano at the University.
Natalie Dessay is a French soprano, best known as an opera singer before her retirement from opera stage in 2013. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann in 1992, and then performing at leading stages, such as the Paris Opera, Vienna State Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera.
Reri Grist is an American coloratura soprano, one of the pioneer African-American singers to enjoy a major international career in opera.
Karl Gustaf Ingvar Wixell was a Swedish baritone who had an active international career in operas and concerts from 1955 to 2003. He mostly sang roles from the Italian repertory, and, according to The New York Times, "was best known for his steady-toned, riveting portrayals of the major baritone roles of Giuseppe Verdi — among them Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Amonasro in Aida, and Germont in La traviata".
Joyce DiDonato is an American lyric-coloratura mezzo-soprano. She is notable for her interpretations of operas and concert works in the 19th-century romantic era in addition to works by Handel and Mozart.
Celena Shafer is an American soprano, born c. 1975 in Centerville, Utah.
Mark Lundberg was an American opera singer who had an active international career from the 1980s up until his sudden death in 2008. He began his career as a bass, then progressed to portraying baritone parts, and finally settled as a dramatic tenor, winning acclaim portraying Wagnerian heroes like Siegfried, Tristan and other standards of the dramatic repertoire. Samson from Saint-Saëns's Samson and Delilah and the title role in Giuseppe Verdi's Otello became "calling cards" for him. Standing at six and a half feet and possessing a big frame and a dark beard, Lundberg made a striking figure on stage. His shoulders measured 6 and a half feet around and the Denver Post once Described as "a big blonde bear of a man", a fitting description for such a large man
Stephen Dickson was an American baritone who had an active career in operas and concerts from 1972 through 1990. He was active with the United States's most important opera companies during the 1980s, sharing the stage with many notable singers like Luciano Pavarotti, Jessye Norman, and Renata Scotto. He was particularly admired for his portrayal of Papageno in The Magic Flute, a role he sang throughout Europe and the United States. At the time of his premature death, Dickson had just reached the pinnacle of his career, having only recently gained a more substantial role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and with major European opera houses like the Royal Opera, London and the Bavarian State Opera among others.
Susanne Mentzer is an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She is best known for singing trouser roles, such as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo, Octavian in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier and the composer in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, as well as other music of Mozart, Strauss, Rossini, Berlioz and Mahler.
Kevin Short is an American operatic bass-baritone. A graduate of Morgan State University, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Juilliard School, he won the bass-baritone award for the Middle Atlantic region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1989. From 1991 to 1998 he appeared annually at the Metropolitan Opera, singing in a total of 129 performances. He notably created the role of Joseph in the world premiere of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles in 1991. Some of the other roles he has performed at the Met are Colline in La Bohème, the Friar in Don Carlos, Happy in La fanciulla del West, the Jailer in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Lackey in Ariadne auf Naxos, Mandarin in Turandot, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Sciarrone in Tosca, Pirro in I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin. He also sang several roles with the New York City Opera during the 1980s and 1990s, including Nourabad in The Pearl Fishers and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor.
James Maddalena is an American baritone who is chiefly associated with contemporary American opera. He gained international recognition in 1987 when he originated the role of Richard Nixon at the premiere of John Adams's opera Nixon in China at Houston. He has since reprised the role on many occasions, and recorded it for the Nonesuch Records release of the opera in 1987. In addition to Maddelena's role as Nixon, he has originated two other Adams characters: the Captain in The Death of Klinghoffer and Jack Hubbard in Doctor Atomic. He has also performed roles in the premieres of operas by Paul Moravec and Stewart Wallace among other American composers.
dell'Arte Opera Ensemble is an opera company in New York City devoted to nurturing emerging singers through rehearsal and performance opportunities, coaching, seminars, and master classes. It was founded in 2000 by opera coach and conductor Christopher Fecteau with the goal of training young opera artists and presenting them in professional productions. Through its Repertoire Development Program, the company features the work of emerging performers, designers, directors and conductors in both standard and rarely-heard masterworks. Several New York premieres have been presented, such as Salieris' "Falstaff," Titus' "Rosina" and Salieri's "La Cifra." In December 2010, the company presented the first performance in New York City of Engelbert Humperdinck's Königskinder since its premiere one hundred years earlier at the Metropolitan Opera.
Brandon Jovanovich is an American operatic tenor whose repertoire encompasses Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Britten, and from early Baroque to world premiere operas. He is most known for his passionate portrayals of Slavic, French and German operas. His signature roles include Don José in Bizet's Carmen, B. F. Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca, and the title role in Wagner's Lohengrin.
Jamie Barton is an American mezzo-soprano. She won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in June 2013. She is also the winner of the 2015 Richard Tucker Award.
Brian Jagde is an American operatic tenor. He has performed roles at leading opera houses throughout the world, including the San Francisco Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Massimo, and the Teatro di San Carlo.
Brenda Rae is an American operatic soprano who has performed leading roles in opera houses internationally. She was a resident artist at the Frankfurt Opera from 2008 through 2017. She is a featured performer on the Naxos Records 2015 recording of Milhaud's L'Orestie d'Eschyle, which was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
Amanda Majeski is an American operatic soprano.
Elliot Madore is a Canadian lyric baritone with an international operatic career.
Patrick Carfizzi is an American operatic bass-baritone.
Anthony Robin Schneider is an operatic bass from Austria and New Zealand, based in Germany at the Oper Frankfurt. He has appeared in leading roles internationally, such as Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Santa Fe Opera, Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Houston Grand Opera, and Fafner in Wagner's Das Rheingold at the Tiroler Festspiele in Erl.
Cecelia Hall is an American operatic mezzo-soprano. A native of North Carolina, Hall trained as a singer at Depaul University and the Juilliard School before becoming a member of the young artist programs at the Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She made her European debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2014 and in 2016 she became a resident artist at Oper Frankfurt; a position she remains in as of 2024. She continues to perform as a guest artist in operas and concerts with other organizations internationally. She has performed leading roles in the mezzo-soprano repertoire including title roles, both women such as Purcell's Dido, Rossini's La Cenerentola, and Piazzolla's María de Buenos Aires, and men including Cavalli's Eliogabalo, Handel's Ariodante, Serse and Teseo, Mozart's Ascanio in Alba and Humperdinck's Hänsel.
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