Barihunks on OperaNow!

Two of the best opera podcasts are Handlemania and OperaNow! We particularly love OperaNow! because it's run by barihunk Michael Rice a.k.a. "Steamy Rice." He generally includes other singers on his show and his latest podcast had fellow barihunk Keith Phares. We would argue that Phares may have the most beautiful eyes in opera and Rice the best arms.

What made the latest podcast fun for us that Oliver Camacho, a regular on the show who always has great insights, introduced Phares as a barihunk.

If you're an opera fan, we strongly suggest that you subscribe to OperaNow!, which you can do on iTunes. It's a fun show that often contains serious discussions about opera and the state of the artform.

Keith Phares is currently at the Central City Opera where he is singing his signature role of Charlie in Jake Heggie's "Three Decembers." Michael Rice will be performing in Britten's "Rape of Lucretia" with Cal Performances in March 2011.

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Matthew Treviño's Sexy Sparafucile

There are some roles that we suspect will never make it onto Barihunks, like Falstaff. It's just hard to imagine anyone making that particular role sexy. We have our abundance of Escamillos, Zurgas, Billy Budds and Don Giovannis, so we're always looking for the unusual. We were toying with posting Simon Keenlyside's Rigoletto at Welsh National Opera, but we realized that even with one of our favorite barihunks, it was a stretch.

However, we did find this clip of Matthew Treviño as Sparafucile from the same opera. We were blown away by how searingly sexy he is as the evil assasin in this clip from Act 3. The performance appears to be from a recent production at the San Antonio Opera. We're fairly certain that he's the first Sparafucile to appear on this site.

Treviño now heads to Austin Lyric Opera to perform in Michael Nyman's chamber opera "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat."

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Escamillo & the Matadors

Barihunks loves the role of Escamillo because it always seems to attract the hunkiest singers in the world. There are a number of performances currently running or coming to opera houses this Fall that include barihunks. Ryan McKinny is the Escamillo in the Carmen currently running at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

[Ryan McKinny  - Photo courtesy of Deustche Oper Berlin]

We've received a lot of emails about Michael Chioldi, who we haven't posted yet. This seems like a good time to mention that he'll be performing the role of the swaggering torreador in Bordeaux opening in September.

[Michael Chioldi]

On October 13th, one of our favorites, Kyle Ketelsen, dons the "traje de luces" of the torreador at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

[Kyle Ketelsen - Photo by Terrence McCarthy; San Francisco Opera]

If you've ever wondered what goes on backstage during a performance of an opera, check out this hilarious video of the matadors dancing backstage during a performance of Carmen last year at the Royal Opera House.

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Lee Gregory Announced for Detroit

We spent a good deal of time covering the Isaac Mizrahi production of "A Little Night Music" in St. Louis in some recent posts. We featured Chris Herbert pretty prominently, but also mentioned that Aaron Agulay and Lee Gregory were in the cast. Lee Gregory is married to the supremely gifted soprano Kelly Kaduce Gregory and we've just learned that the couple will be performing together again.




Lee Gregory will be singing Shaunard in La Boheme with Kelly Kaduce Gregory as Mimi from November 13-21 at the Michigan Opera Theater. This is the same company that brought us the U.S. debut of Barihunks favorite Randal Turner, so they hold a special place in our hearts.

We also feel compelled to bestow some praise on Michigan Opera Theater general director David DiChiera, who has kept opera running in a city that has faced some severe economic challenges. It was recently announced that DiChiera was selected as one of the recipients of the 2010 National Endowment for the Arts’ Opera Honors for his lifetime contribution to opera. The other recipients are Martina Arroyo, Eve Queler, and Philip Glass.

This site would like to offer a special CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. DiChiera.

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Also make sure to visit the new Barihunks store by clicking on the tie dye t-shirt above.

Guess the Barihunk

Could you recognize a barihunk solely by looking in his eyes?

Here is one of our favorite and most popular singers getting his makeup applied. If you can't figure it out, click HERE to see the video of an interview with this world-class baritone.

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Skovhus & Ketelson in Aix-en-Provence Giovanni

We think Bo Skovhus gets sexier and sexier every year. Shaving off those strawberry blond locks that he was famous for only made him more masculine on stage and the voice is as solid as ever. We can't imagine a better role for him at this stage of his career than Don Giovanni, nor a better sidekick than Kyle Ketelsen's Leporello.

The two barihunks will be performing together at the Aix-en-Provence Festival beginning on July 1st and running through July 20th. Here are some rehearsal pictures of the two men working together.

Also, due to the popular demand of the Barihunk t-shirt, we have opened up a store where you can purchase your very own apparel. We even have t-shirts for the women who like their men with low notes and hot bodies!

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Alexander Tsymbalyuk SIngs "Son lo spirito che nega sempre"

Here is the first video from Alexander Tsymbalyuk's June 2nd Rosenblatt Recital in London. He's singing the aria "Son lo spirito che nega sempre" from Boito's Mefistofele. There will be more videos from this concerts in future posts.

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Maija Kovalevska: Luckiest Woman in the World

Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska had to be the luckiest woman in the world when director Stephan Kimmig called for her to be "hunk handled" by both Erwin Schrott and Alex Esposito at the Bavarian State Opera. This performance was from October 2009 and it returns next month with Mariusz Kwiecien as Don Giovanni and Alex Esposito returning as Leporello. Maija Kovalevska returns as Donna Elvira - and who could blame her.



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John Relyea's Devilish Side

You can watch an interview with John Reylea from the local ABC affiliate in San Francisco by clicking HERE. The Canadian barihunk is performing as Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust at the San Francisco Opera, which runs through July 1st.

Cheryl North wrote this in the San Jose Mercury News:

The dominant force on San Francisco's stage Saturday was unquestionably the tall, mahogany-voiced John Relyea, as Mephistopheles. With his suave demeanor, gestures and sardonic wit, he channeled a chillingly duplicitous devil with a wicked sense of humor.

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Okulitch as Willie Wonka

We mentioned in a previous post that barihunk Daniel Okulitch would be appearing at the Opera Theater of St. Louis with three other barihunks, Chris Herbert, Aaron Agulay and Lee Gregory.

[Photos by Ken Howard]

The opera has received favorable coverage in the Los Angeles Times and on NPR, where you can hear an extended sound clip from the opera. The Dallas Morning News provided this summary of the opera:

The opera is billed for children as well as adults. And the first act is delightful: a fanciful tale meets theater of the absurd meets opera. Sturrock's libretto bubbles along with fun rhyming couplets, and the music is surprisingly sophisticated. 

The orchestral writing is restless, spiky, tangy, full of tricky rhythms, sometimes onomatopoetic. (A bassoon dramatizes digestive effects of cabbage soup.) Vocal parts, including witty parodies of operatic clichés, certainly challenge singers to find pitches. 

 Okulitch, who continues to take the opera world by storm for his portrayals of new roles and standard repertoire, is probably thrilled to have a successful world premiere under his belt. Although he was praised for his performance in "The Fly," the opera was universally panned. However, the performance brought the "full monty" to opera and it's never been the same, helping to elevate the idea of opera singers actually being sexy enough to bare it all on stage.

After St. Louis, the Canadian baritone returns to Mozart at the Teatro Colón, where he will tackle the lead role in Don Giovanni. 


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Bryce Smith

Some things in life make no sense, like Bryce Smith being single. We ran a piece about a month ago that the sexy barihunk wrote for Operagasm about being single. Maybe he just needed to show a bit more of his amazing body to the world. Clearly, he epitomizes what this site is all about: a beautiful baritone voice with a major dose of hunkiness.

If you'd like to see Bryce Smith live, he has two upcoming perfomances scheduled. From July 8-11 he will perform the role of Miles Gloriosus in Stephen Sondheim's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" at the Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre in New Orleans. In August, he joins Opera Manhattan for their summer concert series. We'll have more details later.

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Photos from "A Little Night Music"

[Top photo - Lee Gregory; Center and Bottom Photos - Chris Herbert]

There are still three performances of Isaac Mizrahi's production of "A Little Night Music" at the Opera Theater of St. Louis. We thought that we'd tantalize you with a few more pictures from the production taken by photographer Ken Howard.

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My Shop

Steven LaBrie

Steven LaBrie is yet another barihunk from Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. LaBrie is a fourth-year resident artist from Dallas.

At AVA, he has performed Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the Captain in Eugene Onegin, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Baron Douphol in La Traviata, Kuligan in Kát’a Kabanová, and Malatesta in Don Pasquale.


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Don Giovanni Movie Trailer With Mariusz Kwiecien

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Lee Poulis: "The Elixir of Love Those Shorts"

These photos are from a performance of the Elixir of Love at Theater Bonn, where barihunk Lee Poulis was performing as Belcore. Although we have no doubt that this talented young singer has a great career ahead of him, he can always work as a Calvin Klein underwear model if things don't work out.

Poulis is currently in Gelsenkirchen through June 27 playing Lord Mountjoy in Britten's "Gloriana." Although Poulis appears to be fully dressed in Gloriana, we did find this video still from the production. We're not quite sure who this is, but it seems tantalizing enough to add to this post and it's consistent with our underwear theme.

If legs aren't your thing, here are some shots of Lee Poulis in a suit and showing off his arms as Papageno (also from Bonn).

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Pittsburgh Opera's Barihunk Tradition Continues

[Top photo: Barihunks Dan Kempson, Craig Verm & Liam Moran; bottom photo Liam Moran; photos courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera]

In January and February of this year the Pittsburgh Opera performed Benjamin Britten's opera "Rape of Lucretia" with their young artists. As always, Lucretia seems to attract the hunkiest singers around and Pittsburgh's production was no exception. Craig Verm cut a dashing figure as Junius, Dan Kempson a matinee idol Tarquinius and Liam Moran was a total stud as Collatinus.

If you missed this performance, the Pittsburgh Opera has some barihunks on their upcoming schedule. Matthew Worth will perform Figaro in the "Barber of Seville," Denis Sedov will portray Raimondo in "Lucia di Lammermoor," and Craig Verm will be back as Ping in "Turandot."
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Nathan Gunn Discusses Future Plans

  [Nathan Gunn]

Nathan Gunn remains one of the most popular singers in opera today. His good looks, attractive voice and easy manner appeals to virtually everyone who attends the opera. His Billy Budd and Papageno are considered definitive portrayals by both critics and audiences.

Gunn was interviewed by MusicalCriticism.com and discussed his favorite roles and future plans. You can read the entire interview at the MusicalCriticism.com website.

"With the numerous roles he has portrayed, Gunn confesses that Britten's Billy Budd is the character he likes to embody the most: 'I love him. He brings out the best in me.'"

You can catch Nathan Gunn at Chicago's Ravinia on August 6th and 8th performing Le Nozze di Figaro with fellow barihunk Ildebrando d'Arcangelo.
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Ildebrando d'Arcangelo's Amazing Toreador's Aria

Listen to Ildebrando d'Arcangelo pour out sound in this rendition of "Votre toast" from Bizet's Carmen. If you think there is a better version post it in the comments. We'll put up a post of the best ones for comparison.

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Gabriele Nani Delights in Mozart and Rossini

 [Photos from Don Giovanni]

Somehow we've managed to go two years without a posting of the delightful and talented Italian barihunk Gabriele Nani. Here are two recent videos of him singing Rossini and Mozart. He opens tomorrow as Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" at the music festival at the Olympic Theatre in Vicenza.

We always like to thank the great Italian soprano Mara Zampieri for "discovering" this amazing talent. Amazingly, no American opera company has scooped up Nani yet. Reports we've received from Italy say that few singers can rival the stage presence of this young barihunk.




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Isaac Mizrahi: Chris Herbert is "incredibly cute."

We've covered the much anticipated opening of Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" on Barihunks and it's finally opening tomorrow. The show is designed and directed by the amazing Isaac Mizrahi. There is a video preview available on the Opera Theater of St. Louis website if you want to preview the performance. On Isaac Mizrahi's blog he calls barihunk Chris Herbert "incredibly cute," which is the perfect description. And speaking of cute, fellow barihunk Lee Gregory is also in the cast as Carl-Magnus Malcolm.

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Barihunk Gathering In Ft. Worth

Since the Ft. Worth summer opera festival has the greatest collection of barihunks around this season, it seemed appropriate to brave the 100-degree heat and hand out the first official BARIHUNK t-shirts.  The top photo is Ft. Worth's Don Giovanni, Michael Todd Simpson and Wes Mason, who plays Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls. The middle photo is John Boehr, Matt Trevino, Chris Bolduc, Seth Mease Carico, Wes Mason and Michael Todd Simpson. The bottom photo is Wes Mason, Michael Todd Simpson, Matt Trevino, Seth Mease Carico, John Boehr and Chris Bolduc.

It's already been suggested that the next batch be muscle shirts. Thoughts? 

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Raves For Schrott/Kwiecien Pairing In London

 [Mariusz Kwiecien and Annette Dasch]

It doesn't get any better that Mariusz Kwiecien and Erwin Schrott singing together - vocally or visually. The reviews are in for this pairing and it sounds like the two Über-Hunks stole the show.


The Times of London wrote:


"...Erwin Schrott who, in superbly cultivated voice, has a knowing, dignified and often very amusing sense of self-possession and a vocal depth that, in Act IV, can find the true darkness of despair. His counterpart in the struggle for male self-awareness is the Count of Mariusz Kwiecin, a rabid hunter, filling his own inner vacuum with a virtuoso anger and violence that can make body and voice quiver from top to toe."

 [Kwiecien & Schrott talking to the BBC]

Mark Berry, writing for MusicWeb wrote:

"...there were two stellar performances from Erwin Schrott as Figaro and Marius Kwiecien as the Count. Both are artists – and actors – of extraordinary charisma. Testosterone levels registered during their confrontations might well have exceeded all previous records. Never have I felt so keenly the fury of Figaro’s ‘Perché no?’ immediately prior to the third act finale. The Count’s frustrations of his valet had finally pushed him too far; I thought he might kill his master. For the chemistry between the two baritones was something special indeed, their relationship far more credible than any other. Kwiecien possessed the stage as to the manor born, the dark arrogance of his vocal portrayal enhanced by his physical presence. And the slipping away of his authority, supplanted by the upstart Figaro, was if anything all the more impressive in its astonishing subtlety. But victor, of course, there could only be one: Schrott left one in no doubt that this was ultimately Figaro’s show. Try as I might, I could not summon up a single reservation – and, to be frank, I have no inclination to do so. Whether it be his ease with the Italian language, the diction of extraordinary and meaningful clarity, not least in his daring sashays into parlando delivery, the beauty of his legato tone, the smouldering sexuality, or the equally extraordinary vulnerability displayed in his fourth-act aria, this Figaro had it all. Schrott’s is an assumption every bit the equal of his astounding Don Giovanni."

 [Erwin Schrott, Photo by Bill Cooper]

 Tim Ashley in the Guardian wrote:

"...in Mariusz Kwiecien's Count and Erwin Schrott's Figaro we have performers equal in vocal and dramatic sensibility, capable of realising the central conflict in terms of psychology and class consciousness.

You sense danger whenever they are on stage. Kwiecien's sexual insistence carries the terrifying potential for abuse. Schrott paces like a frustrated animal before stalking the Count with a shotgun. The climax comes in a phrase of recitative, often overlooked. "I never dispute matters of which I know nothing," Schrott hisses at Kwiecien, eyeball to eyeball for the first time. The world seems changed in an instant."

The production at the Royal Opera House runs through July 3 and Jacques Imbrailo will take over for Kwiecien in the later performances.
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Wes Mason

Here is the best shot that we've seen from Before Night Falls at the Ft. Worth Opera. There is still one performance scheduled for Sunday, June 6th.
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Gabriel Bermudez Nude

Gabriel Bermudez, who we have featured on Barihunks before showing off his stunning upper body, has now given us the full monty.  The hunky Spaniard showed his stuff during two performances of Francis Poulenc's rarely performed farce Les mamelles de Tirésias.

Unfortunately, there are no remaining performances, but at least we have these images and this amazing video.




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An Interview with Alexander Tsymbalyuk

There are still tickets remaining for Alexander Tsymbalyuk's London recital on June 2. Click HERE for tickets. Even if you can't make the recital, here is an interview with the gifted young barihunk from the Rosenblatt Recital website.

When did you realise you wanted a career in music?
At birth my grandmother predicted that I would become a composer as whenever music played I would sit still and listen. When I turned four my uncle gave me a piano, which I studied for 7 years, then I went on to study drums and began singing at the age of 20.
What one thing that has happened in your life has made the biggest impact on who you are today?
I cannot identify a specific event as there are many things that made me the person I am today but mostly it was people like my family, teachers, the audience, my agency... my motto is that you have to live, love and enjoy. I try to be positive and always be ready to give somebody a smile: what goes around comes around.
Do you have a favourite opera?
I like all opera depending on my mood - today it's Boris Godunov, tomorrow a Verdi opera and next week Rossini. It's impossible to give a definitive answer.
What was the last book you read?
Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor, as this was the last major new production I performed in Hamburg.
What three items would you take to a desert island?
I would take a stack of books, a few people to sing to, and wings - to fly away if I am bored of the Island.
What advice would you give to any aspiring singers?
Hang in there! Focus on the big goal, be patient, optimistic and always be friendly.
How would you like your career to develop in the future?
I would like to continue to study and hope more people are touched by my singing. I would like to expand my repertoire, bring different colours to my voice, but the main thing is that I am happy with what I am doing.
Which of your favourite songs to perform could you not live without?
Очи чёрные, (Ochi chyornye; Black Eyes) Russian folk song.
In which country would you most like to perform?
England (laughs).
The best advice anyone has ever given you?
Hang on in there! Keep going!
Highlight of your career so far?
Winning the “The XIII International Tchaikovsky Competition” Moscow (2007)

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