Happy New Year with Paul Armin Edelmann

Johann Strauss' "Die Fledemaus" is traditionally performed on New Years Eve, so we leave 2009 with this delightful performance by Paul Armin Edelmann of "Bruderlein und Schwesterlein."




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Reader's Choice: Doug Carpenter

Douglas Carpenter is a cum laude graduate of University of Nevada at Las Vegas who completedd his Masters of Music in Vocal Performance at UCLA in June 2009. He honed his skills while in Las Vegas, where he became a natural entertainer, performing with Opera Las Vegas and even as a gondolier at the Venetian resort.

In 2007, while still a student, Carpenter was cast as the handsome Prince in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” at Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities. He was immediately singled out for his good looks and beautiful voice.

After a 2008 performance as Tony in West Side Story, Steven Stanley wrote on the StageSceneLA.com site, “Douglas Carpenter is as handsome a Tony as one could wish, and possessing a voice few of our most popular leading men can rival, this newcomer is poised for a lengthy and successful musical theater career.”

In 2008/2009, Carpenter was named “Best Aspiring Newcomer” by OperaOnline.us. They wrote, “He has looks, a voice, talent and charisma. If he follows the guidance of his very capable mentors at UCLA, he should go far.”

He is currently performing at the Hudson Theater in Hollywood in the Roger Bean musical “Life Could Be A Dream” where he created the role of Skip (see photo).



He is currently working on a new take on Camelot at the Pasadena Playhouse directed by David Lee of “Frasier” fame. Carpenter will be playing Lancelot and word has it that there will be brief, but tasteful, nudity. Performances will run from January 15 through February 15.

Carpenter hasn’t completely abandoned opera for musical theater, as he will be performing Belcore with the Orange County Opera.

In the unlikely event that the singing gig doesn’t work out, Carpenter is also represented by the Best Model and Talent Agency in Las Vegas. We think he would succeed as a model or a singer. Of course, a barihunk is a little of both, so maybe we’ll see him in a shirtless duet singing the Pearl Fishers before long. During the contest we also received an email from a Broadway producer, so we have the feeling that we'll be seeing bigger and greater things from this 25-year-old hunk.

Since Norman Garrett ran a good race, we'll be running some new pictures of him, as well.

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Who Would YOU Like To See On Barihunks

Barihunks receives a lot of mail suggesting new "talent" for the site. Here are some of the hottest barihunks who arrived in our In Box. We want to know who you'd like to see more of. Use the handy poll to the right and feel free to vote for anyone who you find hot.

DOUG CARPENTER


NORMAN GARRETT


MORGAN MOODY


KAY STIEFERMANN


JOCHEN KUPFER

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Former Buff Keith Miller's Buff Photos

Barihunk Keith Miller, who used to play football for the Colorado Buffaloes (aka Buffs), is starting to become a regular on the Metropolitan Opera's roster. To read about his road from the football field to the opera stage, read this NY Times article.

Hopefully, Miller will be cast in some barihunk roles, as he may have the hottest chest in opera.

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Schrott & Kaufmann in La Scala's Carmen

Barihunks receives a lot of mail asking why we don't post more tenors or why we aren't adding more content to the Hunkentenors site. This video is a good opportunity to remind people that this site is dedicated to baritone hunks, hence "bari" hunks. Also, we have nothing to do with Hunkentenors and we've been equally disappointed that the site is never updated.

So for all of you tenor fans, here is the stunningly sexy hunkentenor Jonas Kaufman with one of our three most popular barihunks, Erwin Schrott. This video is from the December 7, 2009 performance of Carmen at La Scala, which included three barihunks.

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Daniel Okulitch Heads Home

After a highly-acclaimed performance in New York City Opera's "Don Giovanni," Daniel Okulitch returns to his native Canada to perform Friedrich in Mark Adamo's "Little Women." The production at the Calgary Opera opens on January 30th. The only downside is that he will be wearing a lot more clothing than in Don Giovanni. However, as this new photo will attest, he's still pretty damn sexy, even dressed for the Canadian tundra.

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Happy Birthday Chris Herbert!

[Chris on the left, with an unusually grumpy looking Jesse Blumberg]

A great excuse to post some pictures of one of our most adorable barihunks.

If you want to see Chris live, he'll be performing a recital of Wolf and Poulenc with Thomas Bagwell. at Mannes Goldmark Hall, Mannes Building, 150 West 85th Street in New York City on January 24th at 1:30 PM.

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Erwin Schrott sings "Votre toast" at La Scala

This video is from the December 7, 2009 performance of Carmen at La Scala, which we've previously posted on this site because of the trio of barihunks in the production.

The aria starts around the 2:00 mark.

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David Krohn Performs Schubert's "Schwanengesang"

The layout of this blog cuts off part of the video. You can see the complete picture at Trinity Wall Street's website.



The songs of Schwanengesang, in the composer's original order, are:

* By Ludwig Rellstab:
o Liebesbotschaft ("Message of love"; the singer invites a stream to convey a message to his beloved)
o Kriegers Ahnung ("Warrior's foreboding"; a soldier encamped with his comrades sings of how he misses his beloved)
o Frühlingssehnsucht ("Longing in spring": the singer is surrounded by natural beauty but feels melancholy and unsatisfied until his beloved can "free the spring in my breast")
o Ständchen (Serenade)
o Aufenthalt ("Dwelling place": the singer is consumed by anguish for reasons we aren't told, and likens his feelings to the river, forest and mountain around him)
o In der Ferne ("In the distance": the singer has fled his home, broken-hearted, and complains of having no friends and no home; he asks the breezes and sunbeams to convey his greetings to the one who broke his heart)
o Abschied ("Farewell": the singer bids a cheery but determined farewell to a town where he has been happy but which he must now leave)
* By Heinrich Heine:
o Der Atlas ("Atlas": the singer, having wished for eternal happiness or eternal wretchedness, has the latter, and blames himself for the weight of sorrow, as heavy as the world, that he now bears)
o Ihr Bild ("Her image": the singer tells his beloved of how he dreamed (daydreamed?) that a portrait of her favoured him with a smile and a tear; but alas, he has lost her)
o Das Fischermädchen ("The fisher-maiden": the singer tries to sweet-talk a fishing girl into a romantic encounter, drawing parallels between his heart and the sea)
o Die Stadt ("The city": the singer is in a boat rowing towards the city where he lost the one he loved; it comes foggily into view)
o Am Meer ("By the sea": the singer tells of how he and his beloved met in silence beside the sea, and she wept; since then he has been consumed with longing — she has poisoned him with her tears)
o Der Doppelgänger ("The double": the singer looks at the house where his beloved once lived, and is horrified to see someone standing outside it in torment — it is, or appears to be, none other than himself, aping his misery of long ago)
* The last song based on a poem written by Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804 - 1875).
o Taubenpost ("Pigeon post"; the song that is often considered as a last lied that Schubert ever wrote. The song is included into a cycle by the first editor and is almost always included in modern performances)

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Hot Schrott Featured in Italian Vanity Fair

[Click on photos to enlarge]



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Jesse Blumberg's New CD and More Messiah

It's been a year since we first featured barihunk Jesse Blumberg after he delivered a rousing performance of Handel's Messiah with the American Bach Soloists in San Francisco. Blumberg is back with the group to reprise his performance this month.

Blumberg is also the featured soloist on the world-premiere recording of Ricky Ian Gordon’s "Green Sneakers," a song cycle for baritone, string quartet and empty chair. The cycle was written by Gordon after his partner died of AIDS and it is an extremely personal and heartfelt composition. Blumberg whose singing is as stunning as his looks, delivers a poignant and memorable performance. You can buy the CD by clicking HERE.



Composer Ricky Ian Gordon knew from the beginning of working on this piece that he wanted Blumberg as his soloist. This is what he told Opera Today:

“Because of the honesty and intimacy of these poems I knew that a performer who was false in any way would kill Sneakers. It had to be a singer who was essentially an open vessel. Jesse is like that with his unusual combination of strapping casual masculinity and comfort in his own body. He’s unsaddled by any kind of ego that gets between him, the music he is singing and the words he is conveying.”



For readers on the East Coast, you should check out his website for his schedule. In March, he will also be performing Harlekin in Richard Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos" with the Boston Lyric Opera.



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WSJ: A Singer Keeps Fit for Roles

[Michal Czerwonka for The Wall Street Journal]


[Larry Merkle/San Francisco Opera]

The Wall Street Journal ran this feature on barihunk Nathan Gunn's workout routine. Nathan Gunn and the new age of singers who look as goos as they sound have given new meaning to the term, "You look like an opera singer." That comment once meant that you looked like a singing pachyderm with a set of horns, belting out a few ho-jo-to-ho's. Barihunks can't imagine Kirsten Flagstad or Luciano Pavarotti being featured in the Health section of the Wall Street Journal. This is an encouraging trend. Read on to find out how you can look like Nathan Gunn when you whip off your shirt.


As an Operatic Hero, Nathan Gunn Needs to Look the Part; Pull-Ups Help

By JAMES WAGNER

Nathan Gunn is an opera buff—quite literally. When the baritone is singing a passionate aria, he's often shirtless, showing off his sculpted chest.

As an opera singer, recording artist, father of five and voice instructor, Mr. Gunn, 39 years old, has little time to be a gym rat. To make sure he looks the part of the strapping hero he often plays, he relies on whatever he can squeeze in, from 45 minutes of riding a stationary bicycle to a few dozen push-ups and pull-ups.
Nathan Gunn's Workout

Cick on the graphic to see more about Gunn's workout
[WORKOUT1] Michal Czerwonka for The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Gunn's physique sparked attention in 1997, when he played mythical Greek hero Orestes in Christoph Gluck's "Iphigenia in Tauris" at the Glimmerglass Opera near Cooperstown, N.Y. As part of the performance, he was on stage soaking wet and stripped to a loincloth, garnering interest from audience members and critics alike, he says. Mr. Gunn has been singing since he was eight years old, and has performed at such houses as the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Paris Opera.

"The great thing about opera, and most people don't realize it, is that it is all about sex and violence most of the time," says Mr. Gunn, who is 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds.

In addition to performing, Mr. Gunn is a professor of voice at his alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also performs recitals across the country with his pianist wife, Julie Jordan, who teaches music at the same college.

The Workout

During the 10-month opera season, Mr. Gunn is mostly away from his Champaign, Ill., home. This month, Mr. Gunn performs as Figaro in Gioachino Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" at the L.A. Opera. In February he will be in "Don Pasquale" at the Dallas Opera and in April he stars in "The Magic Flute" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

As a result, his workout is a blend of whatever he feels like doing and is dependent on available equipment. But Mr. Gunn will always try to perform a series of strength exercises for about 20 minutes, five times a week. He says he doesn't want to get bulky on free weights, so he uses them only occasionally.

Mr. Gunn will do a series of push-ups, incline push-ups, handstand push-ups, handstand holds and pull-ups. He does his push-ups and pull-ups until failure, which is usually about 50 of them. He normally does three sets of handstand push-ups—15 repetitions for the first set, 10 for the second and eight for the last. For the handstand holds, an exercise he learned from his young gymnast daughter, he holds a handstand against a wall as long as possible to work his shoulders and arms. His top time: 90 seconds.

Mr. Gunn's knees have weakened over the years, so he will do short sprints instead of long-distance running about twice a week. He will sprint in short intervals for 30 minutes at a time. If he doesn't run, he will do a 45-minute stint on a stationary bicycle. It helps him sweat out the toxins he accumulates from constant traveling, he says. He tries to either run or bike five times a week.

Mr. Gunn has tried boxing, hiking, various martial arts to supplement his workout over the years. His current favorite is the Japanese martial art Aikido, a low-impact grappling sport. When he is home, Mr. Gunn attends a 6 a.m. eight-person class three times a week. "It suits singing well because you breathe in the same way," he says.

The Diet

During his performance season, Mr. Gunn generally eats only one big meal a day, usually dinner. His favorite dish is grilled steak with onions and zucchini accompanied by a glass of red wine. He rarely eats breakfast but if he does, it's usually a cup of yogurt or piece of bread. "I only eat when I'm hungry," he says.

At home, Mr. Gunn's eating habits are generally the same, but his wife cooks dinner, and they will sometimes have chicken-noodle soup, a bag of potato chips and a cup of black coffee for lunch. Mr. Gunn says he will eat fries and potato chips once in a while. "If I'm too strict, then I'll want it too much," he says.

Cost and Gear

When he's home, Mr. Gunn goes to a university gym to work out and run. Membership costs about $25 a month, he says. Otherwise, he relies on whatever equipment is available at his rented apartment complex or hotel. During a recent stay in Los Angeles, his housing compound had a pool, so Mr. Gunn swam some laps.

For his daily strength routine, which often occurs in his apartment or hotel room, Mr. Gunn works out only in a pair of athletic shorts because he sweats "like crazy," he says. On runs and bike rides, he wears shorts and a T-shirt. He says a good pair of running shoes is important (Asics is one of his favorite brands), but he relies on the shoe store for help choosing them. "I just go to the shoe store and say I have bad knees," he says.

Fitness Tip

Mr. Gunn's best advice to staying in shape is to listen to your body. He knows he has weak knees and his body wasn't built for long runs, so he resigns himself to shorter bursts of running. "Stay within the limits of your ability, and don't push too hard," he says. "If you come to terms with that, you'll be healthy."

Quick Fix

Mr. Gunn does a short round of favorite exercises: push-ups, handstand push-ups and sit-ups. To release pent-up adrenaline before a performance, he'll do a set of incline push-ups in his dressing room "I do just enough to tire my muscles out," he says.

The Playlist

Mr. Gunn is around music so much that when he works out, he prefers reading. On the stationary bike, he opts for historical fiction by Steven Pressfield or Bernard Cornwell. But when Mr. Gunn needs an intense workout, he'll tune his iPod to hard rock, such as Rammstein or System of a Down. "It gets your blood pumping," he says.

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Gabriel Bermudez And His Amazing Chest

We've been eagerly awaiting more pictures or video of Gabriel Bermudez since we first discovered him almost two years ago. He now has a YouTube site and although he doesn't allow the embedding of videos, the links work.

You can watch this stunning barihunk and view his manly chest in a performance of Iphigénie en Tauride HERE or HERE.

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Jason Hardy Photos From Sexy NYCO Don Giovanni

Recently we posted some pictures from the very sexy and favorably reviewed production of Don Giovanni at New York City Opera. The cast included a veritable feast of barihunks, which included Daniel Okulitch, Kelly Markgraf and Jason Hardy. Daniel Okultich has been a regular on this site in various states of undress, and to a lesser extent so has Kelly Markgraf.

Jason Hardy is fairly new to this site and from the look of these pictures, he's been unfairly neglected. We also took the time to listen to his wonderful CD, which shows that his voice is as gorgeous as his body. We've created a handy link to Amazon if you'd like to enjoy it, as well.


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Rod Gilfry Continues Move From Opera To Broadway Musicals

Barihunk Rod Gilfry, who is currently starring in the national tour of South Pacific, will play Captain Georg von Trapp in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France from December 6 to January 3.

The cast also includes fellow barihunk Laurent Alvaro as Mad Detweiler. Alvaro appeared nude on this site in December 2008 when he was in the second cast of The Fly at Théâtre du Châtelet.

For more information, click here: Théâtre du Châtelet.

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Nathan Gunn's 15 Seconds of Fame on "Family Guy"

Barihunk Nathan Gunn got his 15 seconds of fame on Fox's "Family Guy." The episode contained a lot of cartoon cruelty to animals and this was the disclaimer. He also happens to be singing the Barber of Seville at the Los Angeles Opera through December 19th for those who want to catch his complete performance.



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Watch Out City Opera, It's Hot Across The Plaza At The Met

The Metropolitan Opera is about to roll out the sexiest Carmen cast ever, regardless of what night you show up. For Hunkentenor fans Don José will rotate between the ruggedly handsome Brandon Jovanovich, Germany's greatest export Jonas Kaufmann and the recently divorced Roberto Alagna. But check out the low voices:

Escamillo will rotate between Mariusz "The Hot Pole" Kwiecien and "Teddy Bare" Tahu Rhodes. [Top photo of Teddy Tahu Rhodes; Bottom photo of Mariusz Kwiecien]



But the eagle eye in charge of casting at the Met cast barihunks in the smaller roles, as well.

Liam Bonner will be one of the two baritones singing Moralès. Make sure to read the wonderful Opera News feature on him.


But the Met even cast barihunks as Zuniga, rotating ex-jock Keith Miller and Los Angeles Opera's house hunk Richard Bernstein.



Just to make sure that the boys don't get ALL of the attention, one of the Carmen's is the stunningly beautiful Elina Garanca.

On an unrelated note:

Since Matthew Worth's agent doesn't seem to think it's important to post his schedule online, we found his next performance courtesy of a reader. He will be performing the "Glorious Sounds of Christmas" with the Philadelphia Orchestra on December 17, 18 & 19.

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NYCO Behind the Scenes at Don Giovanni

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Los Angeles Times: "Opera Barihunks Hit A Muscular Tone"

[Nathan Gunn in Billy Budd]

[Matthew Worth]

[Tom Forde]




Kudos to the Los Angeles Times for Irene Lacher's wonderful article on Nathan Gunn and the rising popularity of barihunks. Two of our favorite young singers, Matthew Worth and Tom Forde, were featured, as well.

Forde will be performing the title role in Mozart's the Marriage of Figaro at the Tacoma Opera on March 5 & 7.

Matthew Worth has been receiving acclaim for both his voice and his good looks. Here are two recent reviews.

Ted Mahne wrote in the New Orleans Times-Picayune: "Matthew Worth offered a particular highlight as Mercutio. He gave an agile and pleasing rendering of the tricky 'Queen Mab' aria. A striking performer, watch for his star to rise."

Jerry Floyd wrote in Opera about Worth's performance in "The Rape of Lucretia" at Castleton: "A trio of barihunks proved that well-trained, carefully directed younger singers can deliver polished, high-quality portrayals; especially Worth, whose wrathful Etruscan character seemed intuitively to sense the consequences of his assault on Lucretia."

Oddly, Worth's management site doesn't have his schedule.

Since the L.A. Times raised the issue of barihunks, here are a few more of our favorites:

[The super sexy Randal Turner, who we're hoping to see in the U.S. soon]

[Exotic Wes Mason, who will be starring in "Before Night Falls" in Ft. Worth]

[Kelly Markgraf will be in Omaha singing Count Almaviva]

[Adrian Kramer sporting his guns]


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Hot Schrott to Perform WIth Hot Trio of Barihunks

[Photos from www.erwin-schrott.com]




We haven't featured über-barihunk Erwin Schrott in awhile, so we thought we would check to see what's on his schedule. It looks like Milan's La Scala has him engaged through February 2010.

He'll be singing Carmen with hunkentenor Jonas Kaufmann and fellow barihunk, Austrian Mathias Hausmann as Morales.

[Mathias Hausmann]


A month later, he'll be joining two other barihunks, Mirco Palazzi and Alex Esposito, in Don Giovanni, where he will sing the role of the title character. Alex Esposito has been featured on this site before and is known for his compelling stage performance. He'll be singing Leporello and Palazzi will perform Masetto.

Mathias Hausmann studied singing with Karl Ernst Hoffmann in Graz as well as with Ryland Davies at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School of the Royal College of Music in London.

Hausmann has been a member of the ensemble at the Volksoper in Vienna where he has become a fan favorite. His barihunk roles include Papageno and A Midsummer Night's Dream.




Thirty-one year old Mirco Palazzi studied singing in Pesaro with Robleto Merolla. He has performed in Naples, Parma, Ravenna, Stuttgart, Japan, Naples and at La Scala.

He can be heard on the Opera Rara recordings of Rossini’s Zelmira and Adelaide di Borgogna (live from the Edinburgh International Festival), Donizetti’s Pia de’ Tolomei and Il diluvio universale and highlights of Meyerbeer’s L’esule di Granata.

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