By request: American barihunk Rod Gilfry

[Photo from Rod Gilfry's website]

I've received three emails asking me how I could forget Rod Gilfry in a tribute to American barihunks. Although I stated my list wasn't comprehensive, he certainly is worth looking at on a long holiday weekend. He also seems to be having a lot of fun in this video of The Barber of Seville.

You can see him earn his barihunk credentials on two wonderful DVDs, Iphigenie en Tauride and in Streetcar Named Desire.

You can contact this site at barihunks@gmail.com

Giving Thanks to American Barihunks

[Top to Bottom: Randall Turner (photo from artist website), Franco Pomponi (photo from artist website), Michael Todd Simpson (photo from artist website), Nathan Gunn (ScreenCap) and David Adam Moore (ScreenCap)]

During this uniquely American holiday weekend, I thought that it would be appropriate to give thanks to the abundance of American barihunks in our midst. From top to bottom you'll find Indiana native Randal Turner, one of the cutest and most charming singers in the world today; Franco Pomponi, whose sultry looks and animal magnetism can steal the show regardless of who else is on the stage; North Carolina native Michael Todd Simpson, whose tall, striking presence and warm, rich baritone are a sheer delight; Illinois resident Nathan Gunn who many claim was the inspiration for the term Barihunk and who certainly has personified the term; and, the deeply profound Texas native David Adam Moore, who has made modern opera sexy.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of American Barihunks, but it certainly represents the hottest and most popular barihunks on this site. I can always tell when Nathan Gunn is on TV, because the site visits go through the roof.

I also want to take time to thank all of the Barihunks fans who send me pictures and suggestions. I am planning some upgrades to the site in the near future, due to some great suggestions from readers. I try to respond to everyone and am committed to posting as many hot singers as possible. My apologies to those who don't make the cut.

For today's listening pleasure here is Michael Todd Simpson singing one of the most beautiful versions of the Nedda-Silvio duet from Pagliacci that I've heard:
http://www.michaeltoddsimpson.com/audio.html

You can reach this site at barihunks@gmail.com

Kyle Ketelsen Drops His Pants

[Top photo - ScreenCap from Royal Opera House in London; Bottom photo with Erwin Schrott at L.A. Opera, photo by Robert Millard]

American Bass-Baritone Kyle Ketelsen has deserved a place on Barihunks for some time. But dropping your pants in a production is a sure fire way to get posted. Here he is in Barcelona this year singing the Catalogue Aria from Don Giovanni.

He studied at the prestigious vocal school at Indiana University and later won First Prize in several international vocal competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council.

Ketelsen's only other Barihunk role is Escamillo.

Simon Keenlyside Nude

These are two ScreenCaps from the Royal Opera House production of Don Giovanni. Fellow barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien took over later in the run and Barihunks is wondering, "Where are those pictures?"

In the meantime, we'll enjoy being teased by Simon's Keenly Kovered Kobblers.

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Rock Me Amadeus!

[Top two photos are screencaps from the Dallas Morning News video; The large photo of Daniel Okulitch is courtesy of Karen Almond, the official photographer for the Dallas Opera]

Do you remember the song "Rock Me Amadeus" with the lyrics?:

He was Superstar
He was popular
He was so exalted
Because he had flair
He was a virtuose
Was a rock idol
And everyone shouted:
Come on and rock me Amadeus

Well, the Dallas Opera is rockin' some serious Amadeus with their production of Le Nozze di Figaro. We've already posted about the production, but now we have photos of Daniel Okulitch shirtless and not "almost shirtless." Also, there's a nice screencap of cutie Michael Todd Simpson.

It's nice to see two barihunks burning up the stage together.

There are performances through November 22. Visit the website at www.dallasopera.org. If you're in the area, don't miss this performance.

Bass Alexander Tsymbalyuk - "Come Dal Ciel Precipita" from Macbeth

This isn't a role one usually finds a barihunk, but Alexander Tsymbaluk looks absolutely hot as Banco. His gorgeous, rolling bass voice is pretty wonderful, too.

Hadleigh Adams gets Hotter and Hotter

Hadleigh Adams just keeps getting hotter and hotter every day. He's quit his modeling career, but still seems to be taking some beautiful pictures. The short hair is the "new look."

Hottie Hadleigh has moved to Melbourne, Australia where he was accepted into the prestigious Opera School after receiving a full scholarship.

In 2009, he'll be singing Papageno, three Messiahs and two performances of the St. John Passion.

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Listen to Philip Cutlip Live

It's not the same as watching him live, but you can listen to barihunk Philip Cutlip on Saturday, November 15th at 8:15 AM EST/5:15 PST at http://www.radio4.nl/page/home

For more information, click here: http://download.omroep.nl/portal/radio4/ZaterdagMatinee/2008-11-15-MusA-3-Bach-web.pdf

If you can't listen to the broadcast, I would recommend buying his recording of Handel's Atalanta with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. You can listen to it for free here:

Handel - Atalanta CD1 by Philharmonia Baroque

Daniel Okulitch (almost) shirtless as Figaro

Daniel Okulitch is the next Nathan Gunn/Teddy Tahu Rhodes, which is a good thing. Directors are realizing that they have great voices and great bodies and are taking advantage of it.

It's not often that you see a Figaro with his shirt wide open. It adds an element to the opera that one doesn't get in most productions. Kudos to Dallas Opera for this production, which also features barihunk Michael Todd Simpson as Count Almaviva. Now that's a double beef whopper.

Okulitch is staking out firm ground as one of the leading barihunks of our generation, performing nude in The Fly, stripped down to his scivvies in Dead Man Walking and now performing with his shirt wide open in Le Nozze di Figaro. In addition to his pulchitrudinous form, he also is a very gifted singer as one can see from the video (courtesy of www.dallasopera.org).

Okulitch will be singing two more barihunk roles in the near future. He returns to his native Canada to sing Escamillo in Carmen with the Vancouver Opera in January 2009 (http://www.vancouveropera.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=184&Itemid=15). Then in May 2009, he appears in Dead Man Walking with the Ft. Worth Opera (http://www.fwopera.org).

You can search this site for plenty more pictures of Okulitch.

You can contact this site at barihunks@gmail.com

Christopher Herbert sings Barber's "Dover Beach"

The adorable Christopher Herbert sings one of Samuel Barber's masterpieces. I think Samuel Barber would have enjoyed this performance. To see the previous post of Herbert "half-naked" click on http://barihunks.blogspot.com/search?q=herbert.

Herbert grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Yale with a B.A. in Music and Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. He has performed at Tanglewood, Central City Opera and with the Mark Morris Dance Company. Needless to say he has appeared in numerous Barihunk operas including Pearl Fishers, Don Giovanni (Masetto) and the Magic Flute.

You can contact this site at barihunks@gmail.com

The Barihunk Bench is Deep

Barihunk fans don't need to worry about a shortage of pulchritudinous low voices when Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Nathan Gunn and Rod Gilfry have to exit the stage. Ben Wager is one more example of the deep bench of hunkiness that is out there in our training centers.

Blogger extraordinaire and grande diva La Cieca first defined the phrase "barihunk" and referenced the Santa Fe Apprentice Program as fertile ground for new talent. Other programs around the country like San Francisco's Merola program and Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts have also produced their fair share. Ben Wager went through both programs and he has the potential to be an instant site favorite.

Wager is a fourth year Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts and spent the summer of 2008 as a member of the prestigious Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera. During the 2008-2009 season, he will sing Enrico in Anna Bolena, Il Vescovo in La fiamma, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Academy of Vocal Arts, and will join Minnesota Opera to sing the bass roles in the North American premiere of Jonathan Dove's Adventures of Pinocchio.

Future engagements include company debuts with Opera Company of Philadelphia (Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia), Baltimore Opera (Der Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte) and Dallas Opera (Masetto in Don Giovanni). These are three of the top operas at Barihunks. We can't wait for him to advance to the roles of Tarquinius, Papageno and Don Giovanni.

You can contact this site at barihunks@gmail.com

Markus Werba as Rossini's Figaro

He sounds every bit as good as he looks. His Los Angeles Opera Papageno is going to be a "must see" for any true barihunk connoisseur.

You can contact this site at barihunks@gmail.com

Speaking of "Marketing Men"

Please excuse the momentary diversion from the subject of Barihunks, but the latest ad campaign for the L.A. Opera's Carmen is a nice follow-up to this sites two post on marketing men. This photo is being used in the banner ad for their upcoming production of the opera. I doubt that this is Escamillo, but if any directors are reading this, that concept might explain why the gypsy was so willing to dump Don Jose.

A Cute Magic Flute

[Photos of Nathan Gunn]

Mozart's the Magic Flute is a Barihunks favorite because it frequently features in the role of Papageno a young, attractive, lyric barihunk who can wear a pair of tights or some other adorably revealing outfit. One rarely finds the role of Sarastro cast with a barihunk, but the Los Angeles Opera has cast Günther Groissböck in the role. The Los Angeles Opera will alternate two Papageno's, one a Barihunks legend and the other one rapidly becoming a site favorite: Nathan Gunn and Markus Werba.

To top it off, they have cast two of the most gifted young tenors in the world today in the role of Tamino: Matthew Polenzani and Joseph Kaiser. The latter appears in Kenneth Branagh's new film version of the Magic Flute.

But if that's not enough, the role of the Speaker is played by the brilliant lieder singer Matthias Goerne, who some people feel should be featured on this site.

This is definitely a production worth seeing. For more information visit the Los Angeles Opera at www.losangelesopera.com.

This site can be reached at barihunks@gmail.com

Teddy's Tattoo

Teddy Tahu Rhodes recently showed off his tattoo to a TV reporter in his native New Zealand. The female reporter was very funny and seemed genuinely disappointed to learn that he was marrying mezzo Isabel Leonard in December. But she perked up as he began to disrobe to show off the tattoo.

After all, who doesn't want to see Teddy Bare?

Contact the site at barihunks@gmail.com

Marketing Men

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[Pictures of Paolo Pecchioli from www.pecchiolipaolo.com]

As a follow up to our June post about the Dallas Opera using barihunk Michael Todd Simpson to promote their Marriage of Figaro, it is encouraging to see that they are using divos to promote their entire season. Keep in mind that uber-barihunk Daniel Okulitch didn't even make the promo cut! He's playing opposite Simpson in the Marriage of Figaro. Maybe they think that we saw too much of him in The Fly.

Their campaign features hunkentenors as well as barihunks, primarily William Burden and the adorable and talented Stephen Costello. (I still think that Dallas Opera's Roberto Devereux is one of the hottest opera tickets in the country this year. He's singing opposite the amazing Hasmik Papian). If you're traveling to see some great "O" this year, I'd recommend this performance. Check out their entire season at www.dallasopera.org. They are also featuring hunkentenor James Valenti in La Boheme.

Underappreciated barihunk Wolfgang Holzmair is singing in Fledermaus and Paolo Pecchioli is featured in L'Italiana in Algieri. Let's face it, lieder singers get no respect on this site. Pecchioli has been featured on this site before. His signature role is Colline in La Boheme and he doesn't have any barihunk roles in his repertoire, although he's about to star in Giulio Cesare and we're praying for a sassy German director like Willy Decker.

I'm not sure what's going on in Texas, but both the Dallas and Ft. Worth operas seem to be marketing male singers better than almost any other opera company. It's a great trend that I believe can be traced back the Three Tenors. Before that media onslaught, one rarely saw divos as part of ad campaigns. The Dallas Opera needs to be commended for one of the best and most original ad campaigns of the year. By the way, they've dubbed it "Lovers and Scoundrels." I guess someone in their marketing department really understands men.

You can contact this site at barihunks@gmail.com

Bald is Beautiful

For a guy with such gorgeous hair, Palle Knudsen sure looks hot with a bald dome. Here he is singing "Dal fulgor" from Handel's Giulio Cesare.

Knudsen graduated from the Royal Opera Academy in 1998 and in 1999 he became a company principal at the Royal Opera, Copenhagen. He has sung the barihunk roles of Papageno and Don Giovanni, looking quite cute in both of them. As soon as their are higher resolution photos available, they will be posted on this site.

You can contact this site at barihunks@gmail.com

Mariusz Kwiecien - Onegin's aria - Eugene Onegin 2008

Here is the Hot Pole Mariusz Kwiecien singing "Kogda bï zhizn domashnim krugom" from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Tatiana has poured out her heart to Onegin in a letter. He in turn tells her that he only loves her as a brother and she is heart broken.

Poor Tatiana!

You can contact this site at barihunks@gmail.com