Wes Mason: Overnight Sensation

We've been eagerly following the build up to the world premiere of "Before Night Falls" at the Ft. Worth Opera summer festival. Clearly, all eyes were on barihunk Wes Mason, the charismatic and talented young singer cast in the lead role. It's rare that a young singer with few major roles under his belt is tasked with such a demanding role at such an early stage of his career.

But credit General Director Darren Woods for having faith in Mason. In the videos we posted early one could see the enormous talent and growth of this young artist. From all accounts, Mason was a huge success. If conversations and emails that we've had with people in the opera world are any indication, we're going to be seeing a lot more of Wes Mason.

Here are some snippets from the first wave of reviews:

Onstage and singing much of the time, Wes Mason portrays Arenas with movie-star looks, a handsome baritone and strikingly clear diction. Scott Cantrell - Dallas Morning News

Wes Mason totally mastered an extraordinarily demanding role. Reinaldo Arenas, the central character, is on stage throughout the opera and sings in virtually every scene. This is a marathon for him, and he nailed it totally tonight. Blogger Leonard Link


Wes Mason as Arenas – who was rarely not onstage for two-and-half-hours — and Seth Mease Carico as a Fidel Castro type scored points, especially dramatically. Blogger Olin Chism

Wes Mason rises to the challenge of portraying Arenas, although you cannot help but wonder at the wisdom of entrusting such a punishing role to a young singer. He has a remarkable fresh lyric baritone voice, which one hopes he will be able to keep. Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theater Jones

Read the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram review HERE.
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Gregory Gerbrandt as Marcello

[Barihunk Gregory Gerbrandt and soprano Laura Pedersen]

 Barihunk Gregory Gerbrandt performed Marcello yesterday with the Natchez Music Festival in Mississippi. Unfortunately, this was the only performance of the opera, but we will keep an eye out for future performances by this sexy strawberry blonde.

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Duncan Rock's Video Diary of Billy Budd

If our email is any indication, then Duncan Rock not only has a lot of fans who find him quite hot, but a lot of colleagues who really love working with him. We started hearing about the hunky singer last year and ran our first post in January when he released his Elgar recording. There are a couple of themes in every email, mainly that he's fun, a great colleague, and "check out that body and those arms."

He is also a gifted singer and you can hear him sing Finzi and Mussorgsky at InstantEncore.

We also received a ton of email about the Billy Budd at Glyndebourne, which generated intense passions. One of the choristers was nice enough to alert us to Duncan Rock's video diary of the production. We've had some issues getting video margins to work, so you can watch it HERE if you have problems.





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WSJ Bemoans Billy Budd Minus Sexual Tension

It looks like the American press wasn't quite as forgiving as the British press when it came to Michael Grandage's Billy Budd at Glyndebourne. Both the director and the Billy Budd - Jacques Ibrailo - talked openly before opening night about their desire to focus more on Billy's goodness than the sexual tension in the libretto. Howls erupted from some within the opera community, but the British press still gave the production polite if not favorable reviews. However, Paul Levy in the Wall Street Journal was pretty forthright in his criticism.

Mr. Grandage seems to have eliminated the homosexual theme from the piece. As Billy, who is so good-looking that he is nicknamed "Beauty," Jacques Imbrailo radiates goodness and innocence. Most productions rely on the dramatic tension created by the feelings both Captain Vere and the Master-at-Arms, Claggart, have for the handsome able seaman, Billy, who has been press-ganged from his passing merchant ship, Rights o' Man. Neither John Mark Ainsley's Vere nor Phillip Ens's Claggart seems to have any sexual desire for Billy. Though it feels deliberate, this could, of course, simply be a failing in their performances.

In any case, it exposes a real weakness in the work's first half, in which Billy, unjustly accused by Claggart of inciting mutiny, stammeringly fails to defend himself, and in frustration strikes him dead with a single blow. The only witness is the unfailingly just Captain Vere. As he wrote to literary critic Lionel Trilling, Forster was more interested in Vere's lapse from goodness than in Claggart's "natural depravity." The novelist thought he'd written Claggart's monologue along the lines of Iago's in Verdi's "Otello," but in the absence of the sexual chemistry that usually conceals the poverty of the text, Claggart's Act I aria is just a statement of an inexplicable hatred for Billy. Forster's words don't even support a Coleridgean analysis of Iago and Claggart's characters as pure, unmotivated evil.

Read the entire review HERE.

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Speak Of The Devil: John Relyea

[John Relyea, Devilishly Hot in Faust]


Joshua Kosman, the always insightful critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, recently spoke with John Relyea about his career and penchant for devilish roles. Relyea will be performing in Gounod's Faust from June 5 to July 1 at the San Francisco Opera.

Local opera lovers with longish memories may recall bass-baritone John Relyea - from his days in the Merola Opera Program and as an Adler Fellow - as a young beanpole with a boyish demeanor and a powerful, dark-hued voice.

The voice is still there, and still deepening. But these days, at 38, Relyea has left boyishness behind in favor of an imposing physical presence that - even in amiable conversation - conveys just a hint of menace.

He's ready, in other words, to be the devil.

The article continues HERE.

Joining Relyea in the cast will be two other singers worthy of barihunk status, Brian Mulligan, who plays the army officer Valentin, and Austin Kness, who plays the student Wagner.

[Austin Kness, SF Opera's Wagner]


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Another Hot Giovanni: Fernando Javier Radó

A year after creating a sensation at the Cardiff Singer of the Year competition, Fernando Javier Radó found himself performing the title role in Don Giovanni at Argentina's Teatro Colón. Radó electrified audiences with his erotic portrayal of the womanizing rake in this updated production by Daniel Suárez Marzal.



Radó clearly had the hometown audience on his side. He was born in Buenos Aires in 1986 and became the youngest member of the Colón Theatre choir and the Colón Theatre's Superior Arts Institute. After his success at Cardiff, he's been working primarily in Europe where he has sung Sparafucile in Rigoletto, the Bonze in Madama Butterfly and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and other smaller roles. His success as Don Giovanni will undoubtedly speed up his career path. From the reaction of the audience and local bloggers he has become and instant fan favorite. From the look of these pictures we can certainly see why.

Don Giovanni returns to Teatro Colón with barihunk Daniel Okulitch in the title role on July 20, 23 and 25. This will be Okulitch's debut as Don Giovanni.

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Erwin Scrott: Figaro on BBC4 Today

Erwin Schrott's Figaro in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" can be heard today on BBC4 at 7:30 PM GST (2:30 PM EST and 11:30 AM PST). Schrott has become famous for his portrayal of Mozart's Figaro and Don Giovanni and he will be joined by and all-star cast. Gerald Finley will star as Count Almaviva, Miah Persson as Susannah and Dorothea Roschmann as the Countess.



Schrott has also announced that his next album will be dedicated to tango music. Schrott started performing them as encores in his recitals and they have become something of a sensation. No release date has been set.

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Interview With Mariusz Kwiecien

"You need balls to sing Don Giovanni, you must save it all for the end when you explode, then die” -- Mariusz Kwiecien

Music OMH interviewed barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien in London where he is performing Le Nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House opposite fellow barihunk Erwin Schrott. Read the entire interview HERE.

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Ft. Worth's Delectable Duo Garners Raves

[Michael Todd Simpson & Tom Corbeil, Photo; Ft. Worth Opera]


There has been a buzz about Ft. Worth Opera's Don Giovanni ever since the cast was announced. Admittedly, much of it had to do with the amazing soprano Susanna Phillips tackling the role of Donna Anna. But when opera fanatics learned that barihunk Michael Todd Simpson was being paired with the Leporello of Tom Corbeil, this literally became the hottest opera ticket around.

From all accounts, the performances and eye candy have lived up to the advance hype.

The Ft. Worth Express wrote:

Baritone Michael Todd Simpson...has probably exceeded expectations and is already a memorable Don Giovanni. His voice is strong and flexible, and his portrayal had the subtle nuances normally associated with a veteran performer.

Leporello –– handsomely sung by baritone Tom Corbeil –– was a contemporary here rather than an old retainer. The dynamic pointed up the class frictions touched on in the libretto and helped make Leporello’s impersonation of the lady-killing Don Giovanni more believable.

The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram wrote:

Michael Todd Simpson was a superb Giovanni, dashing with a sinister edge. As his servant Leporello, Tom Corbeil sang the famous "Catalogue Aria" with a fine, burly bass, woodwinds chattering like mocking laughter in the background.

[Michael Todd Simpson, Holli Harrison and Tom Corbeil. Photo by Ellen Appel]


Perhaps our favorite review came from D Magazine:

The pairing of Michael Todd Simpson in the title role with Thomas Corbeil as his faithful, ever-complaining manservant Leporella was a masterstroke on several levels. Both lean and tall, with long brunette hair, they created a visual pairing that continually emphasized their embodiment of opposite aspects of humanity. While in any decent production of Don Giovanni the tension of master and servant between these two is one of the central aspects, the physical similarities between these two singing actors emphasized Mozart and Da Ponte’s subtle dig at the rotting class structure that pervaded Europe . The ability of both to move with impressive agility across the stage added to their effectiveness as a team, and the powerful beauty of both of their voices further enhanced the magic of their performance. Along with the bounding energy the two brought to their roles, director Richard Kagey introduced numerous small but significant elements—Giovanni casually wiping the blood off of a dagger on his shirt, for instance, or Leporello’s rebuffed attempt to join Giovanni at the table for a meal—that constantly reminded the audience that Giovanni, sexy aristocrat though he may be, is still a compulsive thug of the worst sort.

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Mark Stone: Barihunk On The Run

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Bryce Smith On Being Single

Barihunk Bryce Smith wrote a piece for Operagasm about the issues around being single with an opera career. Here's a snippet:

If I can’t find the one person that’s supposed to love me no matter what, I’ll find those that will love me for what I create. Maybe that is why I stay as busy as I do – so I never have to face the truth that, at the end of the day, I am in fact alone. Therefore, I continue to throw myself into the one thing that matters most, the one thing that my passion is completely unbridled and running wild to be a part of, my first and only love – performing.

You can read the entire piece at Operagasm.

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Midwestern Heat in St. Louis

[Chris Herbert & Aaron Agulay]


Four of our favorite barihunks will be appearing at the Opera Theater of St. Louis' summer festival. Daniel Okulitch, who is suddenly one of the most eagerly sought after baritones in opera, will be singing the Gene Wilder role of Willie Wonka in the new opera The Golden Ticket by Peter Ash. The New York Times ran a brief blurb on the opera in their Sunday edition. The opera will head to the Wexford Festival in October 2010 where Wayne Tigges will sing the lead role.

[Daniel Okulitch & Lee Gregory]


Appearing together in Sondheim's A Litte Night Music will be three of the sexiest young barihunks around. Chris Herbert will sing the role of Henrik Egerman, while Lee Gregory takes on the role of Carl-Magnus Malcolm. Topping off an already amazing cast will be the young barihunk Aaron Agulay as Mr. Lindquist and the famous actress Amy Irving as Desiree Armfeldt. An additional bonus will be that sets, costumes and stage direction will be by the legendary fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi. Here is a video with Mizrahi talking about his upcoming work at the innovative opera company.

 

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The Don Giovanni That Almost Wasn't

When we got word that the Don Giovanni in Venice with Markus Werba was being canceled because of the Italian labor strike we were devastated. However, in typical Italian fashion, the performances finally were continued and one of the world's sexiest Don's took the stage.

Here is some rehearsal video:



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Mariusz Kwiecien: "Ah, per sempre io ti perdei"

[Photo by Axel Zeininger - courtesy of Vienna State Opera]


A great way to end the weekend: Barihunks favorite Mariusz Kwiecien singing the beautiful aria "Ah, per sempre io ti perdei" from Bellini's I Puritani. This video is from April 2010 in Vienna.



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Imbrailo's Billy Budd Well Received

The reviews are in for Jacques Imbrailo's much anticipated Billy Budd at Glyndebourne and it appears to have been a critical success. One of the criticisms before opening night was that the director and Imbrailo might take out some of the eroticism that both Hermnan Melville wrote into the original story and composer Benjamin Britten wrote into the opera. Despite the overall glowing reviews, The Guardian touched on the issue in their review:

The story-telling is pellucid, the characterisation focused down to the last rating. All I could have wished for was a little more imaginative playing-out of the repressed erotic tension – the essential queerness – between Billy, Claggart and Vere.

The Independent wrote:

Jacques Imbrailo’s slight but refreshingly modest Budd likewise had to dig deep – and did - to surmount the limitations of his bantam-weight voice and ultimately achieve real pathos through the strength of his conviction.

The entire review is HERE.



The Times of London wrote:

Jacques Imbrailo’s Billy, his fateful stammer intensified to epileptic proportions, has exactly the right mixture of puppyish naivety and physical prowess (his right hook would not disgrace Lennox Lewis), though in his superbly sung final soliloquy he tellingly hints that, beneath the jolly-Jack-Tar bravado, a terrified boy is trying desperately to hold it together.

The entire review is HERE.

The Guardian wrote:

Jacques Imbrailo's Billy is a total joy – slight, lithe and wonderfully guileless, singing his farewell to life with immense dignity and pathos.

Finally, The Stage wrote:

Jacques Imbrailo makes an important career step with his assumption of Billy. In imposing voice, he has the difficult task of presenting a character of natural goodness and entirely succeeds.

Imbrailo now heads to the Royal Opera House for performances of Le Nozze di Figaro and as Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale. He will be alternating nights as Count Almaviva with fellow barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien in Nozze. He will reprise the role of Billy Budd at the Netherlands Opera in March 2011. Early reports are that this Billy Budd will be the more radical interpretation that starred Peter Mattei in Frankfurt.

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Lyric Opera of Chicago: Listen To Faust Today

[Rene Pape and Lucas Meachem]


Listen to the Lyric Opera of Chicago's stunning performance of Gounod's Faust today at 1 PM CST. The cast features barihunks Rene Pape as Méphistophélès and Lucas Meachem as Valentin. For additional cast information visit the Lyric Opera of Chicago website. Click HERE to listen to the broadcast.


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Szot and Gunn Talk Acting

[Photo of Nathan Gunn by Clive Barda]


BACKSTAGE magazine, which is a resource for actors, has written a fascinating article about opera singers and acting. Barihunks Paulo Szot and Nathan Gunn are featured prominently and they discuss their very different approaches to acting on the opera stage.

Here are two excerpts:

...Gunn attempts to make eye contact with his partner. This will sometimes help the other actor focus on the dramatic moment rather than on the quality of the sounds coming out of his or her mouth.

[Photo of Paulo Szot by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera]

[Szot] says his experimentation with musical theater has taught him to be more fearless as a performer: "There are things you learn about yourself and the character that you can only experience by doing a show eight times a week for a long time."

You can read the entire article HERE.


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Michael Todd Simpson's "Don Giovanni" Promo

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Two Anticipated Openings in the U.K and U.S.

[Photo courtesy of Ft. Worth Opera]

Early reports from Ft. Worth Opera point to a huge success for their Don Giovanni, led by Michael Todd Simpson. Not only is he joined by the sexy barihunk Tom Corbeil as his sidekick Leporello, but we hear that the singing is going to be incredible (and isn't that what opera is all about?). Of course, we don't mind when there is a litte extra beefcake on stage, as well, and from the looks of things Michael Todd Simpson is looking good.

Don Giovanni opens Saturday, May 22 and repeats on May 30 and June 4. Visit the Ft. Worth Opera website for additional information.

[Photo by Alastair Muir]


Jacques Imbrailo finally makes his long anticipated appearance at Glyndebourne in Billy Budd today. We'll have plenty of more coverage, but we wanted to share with you the first photo, which accompanied an article in The Independent about a long-running feued between composer Bemjamin Britten and Glyndebourne.

The new production at Glyndebourne will run through June 27th. Click HERE for performance and ticket information. The website also contains musical excerpts and a fascinating podcast about the production and opera.

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Jordan Shanahan Interview

The blog ClevelandClassical.com has an interview with emerging barihunk Jordan Shanahan, who was recently featured on our site singing in the shower.

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Greer Grimsley Featured In Opera News

[Photo courtesy of SF Opera]


It's February, and a light snow is beating against the windows in the offices of OPERA NEWS. Greer Grimsley settles back in his chair, his extra-long legs stretched out in front of him, preparing to talk about himself and his career, a prospect that he says makes him feel "hugely grateful and surprised and honored, but intensely self-conscious." Onstage, Grimsley seems to be the least self-conscious man imaginable: his half-naked, totally crazed Jochanaan, a prophet of truly Biblical dimensions, recently ate up the stage at San Francisco Opera; his beautifully sung Wotan, a characterization of enormous humanity and surprising tenderness, has been the musical and dramatic power center of Seattle Opera's Ring cycle in its last two outings, in 2005 and 2009. Offstage, Grimsley is a tall, striking man, with little in his appearance that marks him as a performer, aside from a stage-worthy mane of long, gray-brown hair: his manner in private is perfectly affable yet scrupulously reserved. At first meeting, he seems more comfortable listening and watching than talking. "My first voice teacher was a big proponent of watching other performers. It didn't have to be a great performer, but by watching people perform, you learn something — no matter if they are talented in their craft. You learn from watching, and in this business, of course, by listening. To this day, I still learn from watching people."

[Read the rest of the article at OPERA NEWS]

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Nathan Gunn To Kick Off Free Recital Series

[Photo courtesy of Opera News]

The Summer Recital Series, launched last year and again presented in collaboration with City Parks Foundation, features six free concerts in all five boroughs. No tickets are required. The opening recital kicks off on July 12th at Central Park SummerStage at 8:00 pm with acclaimed baritone Nathan Gunn joined by rising opera stars Susanna Phillips (soprano) and Michael Fabiano (tenor). They will be accompanied by pianists Julie Gunn and Jonathan Kelly.

Monday, July 12, 2010 at 8:00 pm: Central Park SummerStage

Nathan Gunn, baritone
Susanna Phillips, soprano
Michael Fabiano, tenor
Jonathan Kelly/Julie Gunn, pianists

[From Playbill Arts]

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The Hot Pole Sings In The Bathroom

[Photos courtesy of Malemen]


Have you ever fantasized about watching your favorite barihunk singing in the bathroom. Well thanks to the Polish magazine Malemen you can see and hear Mariusz Kwiecien, aka The Hot Pole, singing "Deh vieni alla finestra" while getting ready in the morning.

After this video, who needs coffee?


[THIS VIDEO IS NOT WORKING WITH SOME BROWSERS. WE ARE TRYING TO FIX THE PROBLEM]

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Alexander Tsymbalyuk To Perform WIth Rosenblatt Recitals

Ukrainian-born barihunk Alexander Tsymbalyuk will be performing a recital with the Rosenblatt Recitals series in London, England. The program is a wonderful mix of Russian music and operatic show pieces. The program begins with songs by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, then concludes with arias by Verdi, Boito and Massenet.

As we've reported, Tsymbalyuk is slated to return to the Metropolitan Opera in Il Trovatore. His star is clearly on the rise, as he's also scheduled to perform at the Bavarian State Opera and the Royal Danish Opera.

The recital is scheduled for June 2 at St John's, Smith Square. For ticket and concert information visit the Rosenblatt Recitals website.

For a sampling of the wonderful programs put on my Rosenblatt recitals, check out this amazing video of fellow barihunk Leigh Melrose singing the Canon aria from Billy Budd.



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Liam Bonner in Hamlet at WNO

The Baltimore Sun features barihunk Liam Bonner prominently in their article about Thomas'Hamlet at the Washington National Opera. The opera opens on Wednesday, May 19th and runs through June 4th.

The Sun wrote:

Liam Bonner, the vibrant young baritone who will alternate in the title role with Michael Chioldi (both are substitutes for the originally announced Carlos Alvarez), is another admirer of the piece. "I'm not sure why it got lost over the years," Bonner says. "I know a lot of people who are wary of it. But I love it. It's a very challenging work and complex on many levels."

Read the entire article HERE.

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Jonathan Beyer Wins McCammon Voice Competition

Jonathan Beyer is becoming to opera what Meryl Streep is to the Oscars, racking up awards and leaving the competition in the dust. This talented young singer first appeared on our site a month ago after winning the Classical Idol Competition. Yesterday he walked away with the top prize in the prestigious McCammon Voice Competition after performing "News Has a Kind of Mystery" from John Adams' Nixon in China.

The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram wrote:

Beyer, a baritone from Philadelphia, won $10,000 and a role in a future Fort Worth Opera production. His characterization of President Richard Nixon in the aria "News Has a Kind of Mystery" from John Adams' Nixon in China was the afternoon's finest dramatic singing. Beyer plied the song's repeated words with forward-flowing momentum and captured the opera's momentous grandeur.

You can read the entire article HERE.

According to his website, he will be performing L'Heure Eapagnole with Opera Frankfurt, Jonathan Dove's Flight with Austin Lyric Opera, Schaunard in La Boheme with Hong Kong Opera, Morales in Carmen with Opera Company of Philadelphia, Marcello in La Boheme with Central City Opera, Ping in Turandot with the Dallas Opera, as well as a number of concerts and recitals.

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David McFerrin

[Photo by © Alan Alabastro]


We found this photo of David McFerrin at the Seattle Opera's blog and felt that it was worth posting. McFerrin is alternating the role of Paul in Daron Aric Hagen's "Amelia" with fellow barihunk Nathan Gunn. There are five performances left with McFerrin set to take the stage for the final time on May 16th.

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Eugene Brancoveanu Triumphs in Carmina Burana; SF Recital Next

Eugene Brancoveanu, who we are certain is one of the next operatic superstars, recently scored a major triumph singing Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote:

Outstanding guest vocalists filled the three solo rolls. Eugene Brancoveanu, baritone, displayed amazing versatility in his extensive solos. He exuded a calm earnestness in his "Omnia sol temperat" "The sun warms everything"; his powerful voice exploded vigorously in "Estuans interius" Burning inside. In "Dies, nox et omina" "Day, night and everything", Brancoveanu seamlessly traversed over three octaves as he described the various pains of love.

The former Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera now returns to the Bay Area to perform a song recital at the SF Conservatory of Music on Sunday, May 16th. Readers can get two for one tickets by visiting the City Box Office website and entering the promo code EB50.

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Amelia Premieres in Seattle With Two Barihunks

[Kate Lindsey & David McFerrin; Photo by Rosarii Lynch]


We've given a lot of coverage to the two world premieres in Texas, Jake Heggie's "Moby Dick" in Dallas and Jorge Martín's "Before Night Falls" in Ft. Worth. With all of the excitement surrounding those two premieres, we almost forgot about Barihunks favorite Nathan Gunn who is starring in the world premiere of Daron Aric Hagen's "Amelia" at the Seattle Opera. The opera also features David McFerrin as Paul. We featured the young baritone on this site about a year ago as an emerging barihunk who we were watching. We're thrilled that the Seattle Opera gave him this opportunity and wish him luck with his career.

One of our favorite reviewers, Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times, wrote a thoughtful review that covers the music and story of Amelia in great detail.

[Nicholas Coppolo as Icarus, Kate Lindsey as Amelia, and Nathan Gunn as Paul; Photo by Rosarii Lynch]


The opera runs through May 22 and you can click HERE for ticket and performance information. Here is a preview video of the opera.



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Free Ticket Give Away

Barihunks is giving away three sets of tickets to the first three people who can identify the two singers in this picture. In order of responses, you can choose from one of these three performances at the Ft. Worth Opera.

Send your response to barihunks@gmail.com

Friday May 28, 2010 – The Elixir of Love

Saturday May 29, 2010 – Premiere of Before Night Falls

Friday June 4, 2010 – Don Giovanni

Markus Werba's Sexy Don Giovanni in Lyon

We're adding Markus Werba to our list of the world's sexiest Don Giovanni's, which includes Randal Turner, Mariusz Kwiecien, Simon Keenlyside, Martin Achrainer, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Lucas Meachem, Matthew Worth, Nmon Ford and others. Werba is finally emerging as a major star in opera in Europe, America and Japan, where he is wildly popular.



The Austrian singer has also scored huge successes with two other Mozart roles, Papageno in Magic Flute and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. He'll be returning to the role of Papageno next year in Vienna, where he joins fellow barihunk Günther Groissböck, who is singing Sarastro. On May 18th, he opens in Don Giovanni opposite barihunk Alex Esposito's Leporello at the stunning Teatro la Fenice. He returns to Lyon in March 2011 to reprise his success in Don Giovanni.



Make sure to watch the highlight trailer below from Lyon.

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Sing for Hope Gala a Success

We recently posted about barihunk Chris Herbert's involvement with the Sing for Hope organization. They had their gala this weekend and here is a photo of the gifted young singer from the event. The second annual Songs for Our Future concert took place in honor of Yale's "Day of Service" as a benefit for the organization.

Joining Herbert at the gala were "Mad About You" actor Richard Kind, former TV talk show host Dick Cavett, Tony Award nominee Malcolm Gets and Broadway stars Amy Justman, Nicole Lewis and Lauren Worsham.

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Mark Stone at Carnegie Hall

We love promoting American composers on this site and were thrilled that Jake Heggie's "Moby Dick" at Dallas Opera has received universal critical acclaim. We're still hoping a John Adams opera will make the site someday, as he is one of the true American masters. We've featured posts on operas and vocal music from Mark Adamo, Ricky Ian Gordon, Leonard Bernstein, Tobias Picker, Lerner & Loewe, Carlisle Floyd, Glen Roven and Andre Previn.

So we were thrilled to learn that the May 19 concert at Carnegie Hall singing the music of 4-time Emmy Award winning composer Glen Roven is almost completely sold out. We hear that there are only a handful of tickets, so click HERE to order.

One of the things that this site is dedicated to is keeping the operatic art forum fresh, exciting and current. We believe that opera needs to compete with television and the movies to survive. The works by our great living composers does much to foster that goal. Please keep us informed of any new works that haven't appeared on this site by sending an email to barihunks@gmail.com, especially if they include a barihunk!

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Benjamin Britten's Barihunks In Berkeley

Opera fans on the West Coast learned this week that they are going to experience the amazing Britten operas that conductor Lorin Maazel has been performing at his ranch in Castleton. Maazel is bringing the barihunk laden "Rape of Lucretia" and "Albert Herring" to Cal Performances in Berkeley. Both operas will be fully staged. Maazel's Castelton Festival has become something of a cult among opera connoisseurs and this promises to be some of the most visually and vocally exciting Britten to hit California in recent memory. Also, make sure to check out classical music critic Anne Midgette's post on this road tour.

[Michael Rice]


Heading the cast of "Rape of Lucretia" will be two of our favorite young barihunks, Matthew Worth and Michael Rice (a.k.a. Steamy Rice). We once had a post called "Our Michael Rice Crush" where we spelled out a number of reasons why we love this young singer. Not only is he eye candy and a wonderful singer, but he is the host of the OperaNow! podcast, one of the most entertaining shows about opera to be found anywhere. You can subscribe to his podcast on iTunes.

[Matthew Worth]


Matthew Worth has become one of the most popular barihunks on this site, often receiving as many hits as established stars like Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Erwin Schrott and Nathan Gunn. He has rapidly developed a reputation in the opera world as a talented young singer, gifted actor and wonderful colleague. Opera fans in the Bay Area should race to buy tickets to see this young singer before he is gobbled up by the Metropolitan Opera and other large companies.

Fans of Matthew Worth in the Midwest can see him from May 8-16 at the Chicago Opera Theater performing the role of Charlie in Jake Heggie's "Three Decembers" opposite Federica von Stade.

[Adrian Kramer]


The second offering at Cal Performances will be "Albert Herring," which along with "Rape of Lucretia" is probably one of Britten's most unfairly neglected operas. It was also written as a companion piece to "Rape of Lucretia" and is another one of Britten's exploration of a societal outcast, a theme that is quite pronounced in his more famous operas "Billy Budd" and "Peter Grimes."

Adrian Kramer, a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, will be singing the role of Sid in "Albert Herring," as he did at the Castleton Festival.

Visit the Cal Performances website for ticket and performance information.

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Bolduc To Appear As Belcore

We featured Christopher Bolduc over a year ago as a barihunk whose career was about to take off. We're thrilled to see that he's been cast as Belcore in Ft. Worth Opera's production of 'L'elisir d'amore" during their summer season. We're still bullish on Bolduc and predict great things for this young singer. It's great that Ft. Worth is willing to put young singers on stage in roles like Belcore, rather than always casting the same handful of singers.

Belcore isn't usually considered a barihunk role, although Mariusz Kwiecien sexed up the role in Amsterdam, as seen on this site.



It looks like Ft. Forth is sticking with a more traditional performance than their Dutch counterparts, but we're still confident that Bolduc will look good and sound good. Here is a video of him from the Academy of Vocal Arts singing another non-barihunk role, Ford in Verdi's "Falstaff."



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