Monday, March 30, 2009

Matthew Worth



[Photos from Balance Photography]

Our emerging baritone feature continues with the adorable Matthew Worth. If his repertoire is any guide, he's going to be a regular presence on Barihunks as his list of hunky roles is lengthy: Tarquinius, Aeneas, Billy Budd, Ottone, Don Giovanni and Papageno. He's also made a name for himself singing modern opera, playing the lead in Lowell Liebermann's Miss Lonelyhearts
and the role of the Coachman in Stephen Hartke's The Greater Good at Glimmerglass Opera (see the box to the right).

He recently joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera and, hopefully, we'll see him on some HDTV broadcasts.

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Christopher Bolduc's Career About to Take Off



Christopher Bolduc is an emerging barihunk whose career we're watching. He already has appeared on this site's "It's hot in Santa Fe" feature (http://barihunks.blogspot.com/2008/05/its-hot-in-sante-fe.html). He's a student of Bill Schuman at the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts and it looks like his career is about to take off complete with agency representation.

We noticed that he's booked this spring with the Palm Beach Opera and the Santa Fe Opera. He will also be appearing at that hotbed of barihunks, the Fort Worth Opera, as Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore. You can watch a preview of his Belcore above. His agency profile states that he is currently preparing Marcello in La Boheme, Valentin in Faust and Silvio in I Pagliacci.

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Friday, March 27, 2009

Barihunks in a Fishing Village: Phares and Okulitch





[Top photos of Daniel Okulitch; Keith Phares photos by Dario Acosta]

Although Benjamin Britten operas provide this site with a plethora of barihunks, it usually doesn't come from the magnificent opera Peter Grimes. Usually, it's The Rape of Lucretia, Midsummer Night's Dream or Billy Budd that provide us with the most scintillating pictures.

One of our readers sent us a picture of Keith Phares with a note that he found him the hottest singer in the production, despite Daniel Okulitch's portrayal of Swallow [stop giggling]. Our view is that they're both hot singers, even dressed up as fishing town villagers.

Opera News profiled Keith Phares and wrote:

Keith Phares...started making music as a trumpet player in the pit orchestra of his New Jersey high school's annual musical. After the baritone and his family moved to North Carolina, Phares kept up his trumpet playing, but his senior year brought his first taste of center-stage stardom. "The school had no orchestra. They said, 'We need guys. Can you audition?' And believe it or not, I got cast as Emile de Becque in South Pacific."

Phares entered the University of Richmond as a psychology major, but a summer-stock gig in The Secret Garden set him on the path to serious vocal study and stints at New England Conservatory and Juilliard Opera Center. He made his Opera Theatre of Saint Louis debut in 1999, as the Second Noble in Paul Schoenfield's The Merchant and the Pauper, and was soon tapped by the company for two high-profile assignments that showed off his warm, supple baritone and wry, uncommonly expressive command of text — Pip in Dominick Argento's revised Miss Havisham's Fire (2001) and Charles Lindbergh in the world premiere of Loss of Eden (2002).

It was in Saint Louis that Phares's eye was caught by mezzo Patricia Risley, who sang Estella to his Pip in Miss Havisham. "When we met, I figured that she was so far out of my league, professionally and personally, that I didn't have a prayer. That changed." They were married in 2004, and they try to sing together when their schedules allow. "It's great working with her — we don't dicker about dumb things."

Phares's leading-man looks belie his affinity for off-beat, modern roles such as Charlie in the 2008 world premiere of Jake Heggie's Last Acts (Three Decembers) at Houston Grand Opera (an assignment he repeats next season at San Francisco Opera); the Pilot in The Little Prince at New York City Opera and Boston Lyric Opera (2005); Chou En-Lai in Portland Opera's 2006 Nixon in China ("I feel comfortable being the wingman"); and the barnstorming preacher in the world premiere of Robert Aldridge's Elmer Gantry at Nashville Opera (2007). "That was a great big punishing sing — it was wild. I don't think of myself as a real alpha-male type, but as Elmer, I had a blast.


You can search this site for information on Daniel Okulitch, who has been a regular feature and a fan favorite.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

New Photo of Erwin Schrott



Here's a new photo of barihunk Erwin Schrott by the Italian photographer Giorgia Meschini. You can see more of her photos here: http://www.giorgiameschini.com

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Monday, March 23, 2009

"La Beau Hunk" on CD



[Top photo - Denis Sedov; Bottom photo - Christopher Schaldenbrand]

Two of the most stunning tall and handsome barihunks to emerge in recent years are Christopher Schaldenbrand and Denis Sedov. The latter has already appeared on this site and now we have an excuse to post them together. The two tall blondes appear together on a fairly new recording of La Boheme with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Spano.

La Boheme, or La Beau Hunk in this case, is rarely a barihunk role with the bohemians generally overdressed for the cold Paris winter. However, we can only imagine life in the tiny garret with these two studs. I'm not sure barihunk readers would have had a hard time keeping warm!

Christopher Schaldenbrand was born in Detroit and studied at Indiana University. He has already made Don Giovanni and Schaunard in La Boheme his calling card roles. He was twice a winner in the Palm Beach Vocal Competition, as well as the Greater Miami Opera Competition. The baritone was awarded a career grant from Opera Index and received the Pope Foundation Award.

Denis Sedov made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Colline in La Bohème after having been one of very few non-American singers ever invited to join the company’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development. He has since joined the company Orlick in Mazeppa and on tour in Japan for its production of Don Giovanni. With San Francisco Opera, he has sung Escamillo in Carmen and Achilla in Giulio Cesare. He made his New York City Opera debut as Argante in Rinaldo and has sung Assur in Semiramide with Minnesota Opera.

You can listen to Denis Sedov sing "Vecchia zimarra" by clicking on the Amazon link to the right.

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Melbourne Community Voice Features Hadleigh Adams


A life in tune
Written by Andrew Shaw

One thing you need to know about Hadleigh Adams: he doesn’t appreciate being stereotyped. “I did an article for Express, New Zealand's gay paper, and they referred to me as ‘the queen of opera’. And I said, ‘You know what, that reinforces every negative stereotype about what this community is doing to itself and I really resent it. Take it down now.’ I’m just saying: you should treat me the same as everyone else and if you do differently I will let you know you’ve done so.”

After completing post-graduate music studies in New Zealand, the 23-year-old Kiwi baritone is studying at The Opera School Melbourne, a new, private studio that opened its doors March 2. It takes 20 students annually, by audition only, and offers an intensive, one-year program. In 2009, visiting lecturers include conductor Richard Gill and director Stuart Maunder. Its performance-based program suits Adams, whose aim is “to work as a professional singer at an international level”. As the recipient of the school’s only scholarship, he has the voice, the looks and the drive that could take him to the top in a competitive field. It’s a journey that began when he was 10 years old.

“I’m from a little place in New Zealand called Palmerston North, about 80,000 people, fairly small, rural. My parents had records, and I put one on and the needle hit the exact point of an aria called Vissi d’arte from Tosca by Puccini. It’s the most incredible aria. She’s crying out to God, saying, ‘What have I done wrong?’ At 10 you can’t grasp that. All I heard was this woman who was really, really sad, and it just sounded so intense, raw and passionate. Well, at 10, not those things, but – ‘Wow! Awesome! Cool!’”

Adams talks excitedly about a recent performance of Don Giovanni by the Victorian Opera. Giovanni, a baritone role in a Mozart opera, is a character his young voice could assay right now, he says. Other roles must wait until he matures.

“Verdi’s writing, especially his later stuff, is incredibly epic. You need vocal cords of steel. The youngest Verdi you would see would be round about 35. My voice is rich, it’s mature; it’s got a long way to go, but that’s when a guy’s voice starts to settle down, round about 35, 40. That’s when the colour and the richest of a voice gets in there.”

Adams has tried his hand at modelling, but the mention of a website devoted to “hunky baritones” causes him to jump out of his seat: “Oh my God! No, no, no. OK, first of all I just want to point out that I didn’t know that I was on there, I didn’t know that site existed!”

He shows me the difference between a pop singer’s voice and an opera singer’s – the latter sound nearly blowing my head off with its volume. He doesn’t look like he’s trying to be louder, the sound comes from what he calls “the musculature”. It literally makes me wince, as if I’m sitting in front of a shockwave. But it’s beautiful, too.

Adams has a private project: a performance of the AIDS Quilt Songbook, which he plans for late November this year. He was involved in the NZ premier a couple of years ago: “The energy in the room,” he says dreamily. “The music just hits you between the eyes. It was the proudest moment in my life.”

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Sunday, March 15, 2009

Michael Todd Simpson's Smoking Hot Don Giovanni





If emails are any indication, I'd say that more people are attending the Eugene Opera than The Met. It seems like Michael Todd Simpson's two performances of Don Giovanni in Oregon stirred up quite a bit of excitement.

Simpson has been featured on this site before and he's clearly built up a fan base that is closely watching his rapid ascent. He now moves on to sing Escamillo in Carmen with the Chicago Opera Theater and on tour with Opera Australia.

You can follow his career at http://www.michaeltoddsimpson.com.

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Saturday, March 14, 2009

Sexiest Don Giovanni Contest a Landslide: Randal Turner






Everyone loves a Cinderella story, which was a lot of the appeal of Slumdog Millionaire. The quirky little movie grabbed America's hearts and swept the Academy Awards against the big budget Hollywood blockbusters.

For the same reason, it was fun to see Randal Turner who sings in smaller houses sweep the competition in our "Sexiest Don Giovanni" contest. Trained as both a singer and a dancer his sexy moves on stage captivated our readers. He beat out runner-ups Simon Keenlyside and Mariusz Kwiecien, two of the reigning Don's in the world today.

Amazingly, Turner has only performed Don Giovanni in Pisa, which is where the two screen caps come from (sorry about the quality, I couldn't find photos from the production). Hopefully, we'll see him perform this role in a more opera houses. (Anyone out there casting a Don Giovanni?). His other Mozart roles include Gugliemo in Cosi and the Great Mass.

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Ben Wager Rehearses the Ringmaster Song from Pinocchio




Here's a fun clip of sexy Ben Wager rehearsing the Ringmaster's Song from Jonathan Dove's "Pinocchio" at the Minnesota Opera. If you want to see the final version, you can visit http://www.mnopera.org/watchlisten.

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Another Up and Coming Barihunk: John Dooley



In our continuing series of introducing the next generation of barihunks, meet John Dooley. This stunningly good looking baritone is a native of Woodbridge, Virginia. He received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from Arizona State University.

He's participated in many young artist programs/residencies across the country. He was a studio artist with Central City Opera, an Apprentice Artist with Lake George Opera, the Amarillo Opera Artists in Residence, Tulsa Opera Studio, and Portland Opera Works!

In 2004 Mr. Dooley was honored with the Gertrude Anderson Memorial Award from the Central City Opera House Association. In 2005 he was selected as an alternate in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Tulsa region. Mr. Dooley was a finalist in the Heinz Rehfuss singing actor competition and received the Classical Singer Award from the Audcomps competition in 2006.

He's scheduled to sing Leporello in an upcoming performance of Don Giovanni with Opera Vivente. Most importantly, we want to know if that's a pistol in his pocket or if he's just glad to be on Barihunks.

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A Hot Don Down Under: Sam Dundas



One of the best things about this site is the enthusiasm of the readers for certain singers. Everyone seems to have a favorite Don Giovanni, but Scott in Australia sent us this picture of Sam Dundas who is singing the role at the Victorian Opera in Melbourne through March 14 (www.victorianopera.com.au).

He's worth sharing despite the Bee Gees hairdo that he's been subjected to.

Don't forget to vote in our Sexiest Don Giovanni poll.

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Our Top 3 Leaders in the Sexiest Don Giovanni Contest





1. Our current runaway leader in the hottest Don Giovanni contest is Randal Turner, whose portrayal of the role from Teatro Verdi di Pisa is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUkzUq8clZw and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoVZ2cY6IKA. Since we don't have photos of Turner from the production in Pisa and the video is dark, we've posted a photo of him in Streetcar. Turner brings an amazing physicality to the role and shows some skin along the way.
2. Mariusz Kwiecien brings a lot of raw sexuality to the role. He is the ultimate seducer on stage. He has earned his nickname of Hot Pole in some photos of him in tight pants during portrayals of Don Giovanni. Check out the picture at http://barihunks.blogspot.com/2007/11/mariusz-kwiecien.html and click to enlarge.
3. Simon Keenlyside set the opera world on fire when he appeared nude at the end of a performance of Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House. You can check out the screen cap at http://barihunks.blogspot.com/2008/11/simon-keenlyside-nude.html.

Voting is still going on, so make sure that you cast your vote.

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Saturday, March 7, 2009

Sexiest Don Giovanni Contest











I've received some email asking me what the Don Giovanni candidates in our poll look like. One can always search in the box on the upper right hand corner of the site for whomever you're looking for. It has already been pointed out to me that I left off Erwin Schrott, which was completely inadvertent. I'll make up for it by posting some great photos in the near future.

Make sure to vote. Here are out contestants from top to bottom:

1. Christopher Maltman as Don Giovanni
2. Mariusz Kwiecien as Don Giovanni
3. Randal Turner in Cosi
4. Simon Keenlyside as Don Giovanni
5. Cesare Siepi as Don Giovanni
6. Ildebrando d'Arcangelo in Le Nozze di Figaro
7. Daniel Okulitch as Don Giovanni
8. Martin Achrainer as Don Giovanni
9. Mark Stone as Don Giovanni

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Friday, March 6, 2009

Randal Turner Showing Some Skin




[Top photo from Rossini's Mose; Bottom photo from Streetcar Named Desire]

In the first act of Don Giovanni, Leporello sings about his master's conquests as a seducer.

My dear lady, this is a list
Of the beauties my master has loved,
A list which I have compiled.
Observe, read along with me.

In Italy, six hundred and forty;
In Germany, two hundred and thirty-one;
A hundred in France; in Turkey, ninety-one;
But in Spain already one thousand and three.


In recent years, sexy portrayals of the Don have made this sexual conquest list a lot more believable. Barihunks like Christopher Maltman, Mariusz Kwiecien Simon Keenlyside Erwin Schrott and Ildebrando d'Arcangelo have electrified audiences with their sexy portrayals. As hot as they are, I can't think of a sexier Don than Randal Turner in this performance from Pisa.

Not many baritones could get away showing this much skin and some MTV moves, as well. Poor Leporello never has a chance with this Don wooing the girls.

It's still amazing to me that no label has snapped up the super sexy Randal Turner and put him on DVD. He is clearly in the class of the aforementioned barihunks both vocally and in hotness. Check out more pictures at his website at www.randalturner.com where you can also listen to some stunning audio and view more videos.

Don't miss it!

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Chris Herbert at Grand Concours de Chant



Here's a shot of Chris Herbert at the Grand Concours de Chant competition in Austin, Texas where he was awarded a special merit award.

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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Barihunk Chris Herbert Places in French Song Competition



Chris Herbert, one of our favorite singers at Barihunks, recently was awarded a special merit award at the Grand Concours de Chant competition in Austin, Texas. Herbert will be featured in a recital in Paris this November along with the other winners, Jeffrey Hill, Matthew Hayward and Benjamin Sieverding.

Also, Chris Herbert received twice as many votes on the online voting poll for best singer. Thanks to all of you who voted!

We would like to congratulate all of the winners, but we know who is going to look the hottest in a tux.

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Sunday, March 1, 2009

Two Red-Headed Barihunks: Ágúst Ólafsson and Gregory Gerbrandt




[Top photo of Ágúst Ólafsson; Bottom photo of Gregory Gerbrandt]

Perhaps the memory of opera’s most famous redhead, Beverly Sills, is going to live on in the world of barihunks. Gregory Gerbrandt and Ágúst Ólafsson are two thrilling young redheads who Ms. Sills would have loved.

Gerbrandt voice is probably too low to land a bunch of traditional barihunks roles, but he’s been acclaimed as a Marcello (see video), Silvio, Almaviva in Nozze and as a concert artist. He also is a volunteer firefighter, which makes it all the more likely that Bubbles would have loved him. Sills released an album called “Up in Central Park” with a Sigmund Romberg song entitled “The Fireman’s Bride.” The song was full of sexual innuendo: she “clings to the hose” and “lies flat on her hide,” because she is the “naughty Fireman’s bride.”

Our other carrot top is Ágúst Ólafsson, who is a regular with the Icelandic Opera. He studied with the great Jorma Hynninen and Sauli Tiilikainen at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. He went on to win second prize in the international Hugo Wolf Academy Lied competition. Ólafsson, like Gerbrandt has also scored a huge success in the crossover title role of Sweeney Todd (Does anyone else think these two look like brothers?). On the opera stage Ólafsson is becoming a bit of a Mozart specialist, so we expect to see more of him on this site.

For some reason, we've had a run on redheads lately. If you're a fan, you might want to check out our recent post of Ryan de Ryke, as well, at: http://barihunks.blogspot.com/2009/02/red-headed-ryan-de-ryke.html.

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