Aussie Football Meets Opera

  Barihunks Jud Arthur and Teddy Tahu Rhodes with North Melbourne vice-captain Drew Petrie. (Picture: Manuela Cifra Source: Herald Sun)

 

 

From the Melbourne Herald-Sun:


By Loretta Hall

MATCH fitness is the secret to success for footy players and opera singers alike.

To prove the point, Opera Australia singers Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Jud Arthur teamed with North Melbourne's Drew Petrie at Arden St this week - and traded tips about staying in shape.

"They have to be in good nick to belt out their tunes," the Kangaroos vice-captain says. "And they need abdominal muscle strength for that."

Petrie was impressed with Arthur's ball-kicking ability.

The singer, performing in Opera Australia's Rigoletto as Monterone, once enjoyed a professional rugby career in New Zealand and only rediscovered his love of song while recovering from injury.

Rhodes, playing the lead role in The Marriage of Figaro, has the physique of an AFL footy player and whenever he performs in the same city as Arthur, they train and run together.

But Arthur admitted their gym regimen was nowhere near as stringent as that of Petrie, who works out six days a week.

Is Petrie into opera? Not as yet but the Kangaroo hopes to "get along for a bit of a listen" this week.

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Send us your listing of Handel's Messiah to Barihunks@gmail.com

John Chest Wows Audience and Judges

Dreamy John Chest

John Chest was clearly the audience favorite a the 2010 Stella Maris International Vocal Competition and almost walked away with the judges top prize, as well. The blonde barihunk walked away with the €15,000 audience favorite prize money and a test contract with Deutsche Grammophon. 

Chest sang a broad range of music throughout the competition, topping it off with a stunning rendition of "Look, through the port" from Britten's "Billy Budd." He also performed "Dunque io son" from the Barber with fellow Merola participant Daniella Mack, Rigoletto in the quartet from Verdi's opera, "Auf dem flusse" from Schubert's "Winterreise," "Lord God of Abraham" from Mendelssohn's "Elijah," the Pierrot-Lied from Korngold’s "Die tote Stadt" and the famous Largo from Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia."

Singers in the competition must be nominated by one of the top opera eight opera companies in the world. Chest was nominated by the Bavarian State Opera and his partner in the Barber duet, Daniella Mack, was nominated by the San Francisco Opera, where Chest was part of the prestigious Merola Opera Program. 

Our source at the competition wrote, "Chest looked every bit as good as he sounded. This guy has true star quality."

John Chest: Future Billy Budd?

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Remember to email us your listing of Handel's Messiah at Barihunks@gmail.com

Erwin Schrott Switches Teams

A Decca Promotional Shot of Erwin Schrott

Barihunk Erwin Schrott aka "Hot Schrott" is switching his recording label from Decca to Sony Classical.

The Uruguayan singer has signed an “exclusive, long-term agreement” with Sony Classical and will release his first CD in April 2011. The recording will feature music from his native South America, and include tangos by Astor Piazzolla, Pablo Ziegler and Juan Carlos Coblan, as well as songs from Argentina and Brazil.

Next year will feature a heavy dose of Mozart, as he sings Leporello and Figaro at Salzburg, Don Giovanni in Berlin and the Count in Vienna.

Keep in mind that we're still posting Messiah's where barihunks are performing. Send us your listing to Barihunks@gmail.com.

John Relyea's Messiah

John Relyea will perform Handel's Messiah with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra on December 16, 18, 19, 20, and 21. For additional concert infornation and tickets visit the TSO website.

Barihunks will be posting concert information for upcoming Messiah's throughout the holiday season. If you know of a barihunk performing the Messiah, please send your listing to Barihunks@gmail.com.

Kwiecien sings "Vedrò, mentr'io sospiro"

 

Mariusz Kwiecien sings the Count's aria "Vedrò, mentr'io sospiro" from Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro." This was recorded at the Reate Festival outside of Rome in 2010.
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Upcoming Messiah's

Jesse Blumberg

• The University Musical Society Choral Union will perform the Messiah on December 4, 5 and 8 at the Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor with Jesse Blumberg. Visit the UMS website for details and tickets. 

Keith Phares

• TONIGHT Keith Phares performs the Messiah on Saturday, November 27 with the Kansas City Symphony at the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence, Missouri. Visit the Kansas City Symphony website for details and tickets. 

Randal Turner

• The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performs the Messiah on December 18 at Clowes Memorial Hall with Randal Turner. Visit their website for tickets and performance information. 

Tyler Duncan

• If you want to hear a Messiah the way Handel wrote it and performed it, then check out the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, which is featuring Tyler Duncan. Performances are December 3, 4, 5 and 7 throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit their website for performance and ticket information.

Send Us Your Listing of Handel's Messiah

George Frederick Handel

We would like to do a posting of upcoming Messiah's featuring barihunks. Send us your listing to Barihunks@gmail.com.

Alexander Hurd Sings John Musto's "Litany"

Alexander Hurd

Enjoy this performance of barihunk Alexander Hurd singing John Musto's beautiful song "Litany." This was taken from the album, "Shadow of the Blues: Songs by John Musto."



Hurd earned his Bachelor’s degrees in voice performance and history from Oberlin College and his master’s and doctoral degrees from The Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He is the winner of the 2005 Joy In Singing Award. In 2004 he received 2nd prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. A Fulbright Grantee, he studied the lied repertoire in Stuttgart, Germany.

Hurd can next be seen performing Marcel Tyberg's "Liederzyklus aus Heine's Lyrischen Intermezzo" at the Crane School of Music at SUNY on January 25, 2011.

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NY Raves About Randal Turner; West Coast Debut on December 6th

Two amazing talents come together: Composer Clint Borzoni & Baritone Randal Turner

Here's a photo of the amazingly gifted young composer Clint Borzoni with barihunk Randal Turner at a recent preview concert in New York. Turner will be making his West Coast debut in San Francisco on December 6th singing the music of living American composers, including an incredible setting of two Walt Whitman songs by Borzoni. The songs are based on "I Dream’d in a Dream" from “Leaves of Grass” and "That Shadow, My Likeness" and are being heard for the first time on the West Coast.

The concert will also include the world premiere of Julia Schwartz's “Don Juan at Forty” from “Histories of Desire” by Ron Butlin, as well as arias by Ricky Ian Gordon and his "Four Poems by Dorothy Parker," Glen Roven's “Four Melancholy Songs” based on poems by William Butler Yeats, arias by Jake Heggie and his songs "In Praise of Songs that Die" based on poem by Vachel Lindsay and "In the Morning" based on an A.E. Housman setting.

Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets.

Three of the composers attended the New York preview concert, as well as Dr. Ruth Westheimer. By all accounts the program was a huge success. If you're on the West Coast, buy your tickets now for this amazing concert and a chance to hear the music by five of the most gifted composers in the world today. If you haven't seen Randal Turner perform before, you're in for a special treat.

Regular visitors to this site will recall that he was also voted by our readers as the "Sexiest Don Giovanni in the World." Rumor has it that he's been hired to sing the role again in early 2011. Details are forthcoming.

Randal Turner as Don Giovanni

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Trio of Barihunks at Julliard

Drew Santini, Andreas Aroditis & Tim McDevitt

If you don't want to spend the big bucks to see the sexy group of barihunks at The Met, you can head over to Julliard and catch this trio of emerging barihunks. Drew Santini, Andreas Aroditis & Tim McDevitt will be performing in Poulenc’s greatly underrated opera Les mamelles de Tirésias (The Breasts of Tirésias). There are performances on Monday, December 6, Wednesday, December 8, and Friday, December 10 at 8 PM and Sunday, December 12 at 2 PM in Juilliard’s Willson Theater. There are limited free tickets available beginning on Wednesday by calling (212) 769-7406 or visiting www.juilliard.edu.www.juilliard.edu

Our most popular post ever on this site is of barihunk Gabriel Bermudez doing the full monty in a production from Barcelona.

If you need some additional enticement, Tim McDevitt was quoted in the Juilliard Journal saying, "I have four costumes in the opera....none of which involve pants"

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Another Hot Canadian: Philip Kalmanovitch

Philip Kalmanovitch

We get a lot of emails suggesting new barihunks, but this might have been the most concise and to the point yet:

"How have you missed Philip Kalmanovitch?"

It's a good question and he adds to our ever-growing roster of Canadian barihunks. With all of these hot singers coming out of Canada, we're amazed that the tundra hasn't melted.

The young Canadian baritone is still in the early phase of his career. He's an apprentice artist with the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal. He has appeared in several operas, including Puccini’s "La Bohème as Marcello, Donizetti’s "L’elisir d’amore" as Belcore, "La fille du regiment" as the Corporal, and in one of our our most popular operas for discovering new barihunks, Britten’s "The Rape of Lucretia," where he performed Junius.

Kalmanovitch is a founding member of Open Corps Theatre, a Toronto-based collaborative theatre company. With Open Corps he sang and played guitar and bass in sold-out productions of "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris."

Upcoming roles include Conte Ceprano in Verdi’s "Rigoletto," Servant in Donizetti’s "Roberto Devereux," Secret Police Officer in Menotti’s "The Consul," and Sergente in "La Bohème," all with Opéra de Montréal.

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Barihunk-A-Week at The Met

Nathan Gunn, Gunther Groissböck, Paulo Szot & Simon Keenlyside

If you're in the New York area and you love barihunks, you might want to buy tickets to the next five performances at The Met. On Monday, the Met opens with a new Don Carlo featuring Simon Keenlyside that was featured in the Sunday New York Times. The article is a must read for fans of The Met or Verdi.

Fans of Nathan Gunn will be able to see him as Gugliemo in "Cosi fan tutte" and Papageno in the "Magic Flute" over the next few weeks. Not had enough? Carmen will alternate Escamillo's with John Relyea and opera's new superstar stud Paulo Szot. If you missed the sizzling hot Gunther Groissböck in La Boheme there is no need to worry, as Peter Mattei is about to join the cast.

You can purchase tickets and check casts at the Metropolitan Opera website.

David Adam Moore in Soldier Songs

Due to time constraints, we missed informing readers about tonight's performance of Peter Lieberson's rarity "King Gesar" featuring barihunk David Adam Moore. Moore now heads to Seattle for a run of the Barber of Seville on January 16, 21, 23, and 28. The December cast will feature barihunk José Carbó as Figaro.

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Happy Birthday, Zach Altman

Kempson (L) and Altman (R)

When we ran a shirtless photo of barihunk Zach Altman wearing nothing but a towel and it ended up being one of the most visited post on Barihunks. It has held a spot in the Top 10 posts ever since.

Today is Zach Altman's 26th birthday, so we thought it was a fitting time to celebrate with a new post and new photo.

The Philadelphia native is now headed to the Sarasota Opera to participate in their apprentice artist program.

What many people don't know is he one half of a Barihunk Duo, as his partner is Dan Kempson, who has also been featured on this site. The couple may not get to perform together much since they are both baritones, but they did appear on court television together over a demo tape dispute.

Sexy Zach Altman - A Barihunks favorite

Hopefully, one of our composer fans of this site will write a special duet for the sexy pair. If it happens, we promise to post it on the site.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY from Barihunks, you sexy thang.

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Emerging Barihunk Gabriel Preisser

Gabriel Preisser as a modern day Don Giovanni

Here are two videos of the emerging barihunk Gabriel Preisser, who is new to the site. The 26-year-old singer is currently at the Kentucky Opera singing Yamadori in Madama Butterfly and Figaro in the “Barber of Seville.” He then travels further south to the Pensacola Opera where he will be one of their studio artists. He is slated to sing John Brook in Mark Adamo’s “Little Women” and the Mandarin in Puccini’s “Turandot.” As an added bonus to Barihunks fans, one of our favorite singers, Matt Trevino, will be performing Timur. [Look to your right!]



This video is from Daron Hagen's “Broken Pieces,” his New York Stories trilogy. Gabriel Preisser is joined by soprano Andrea Shokery and pianist Lisa Hasson. The production is part of the Composer Workshop program, a collaboration with Kentucky Opera, the University of Louisville School of Music and the Academy of Music at St. Francis in the Fields.



Here is Gabriel Preisser as Riccardo in Bellini's I Puritani Act II Finale duet with Daniel Richardson as Giorgio.

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The Gilfry's: All in the family

Rod Gilfry as Gesualdo

Barihunk Rod Gilfry has been a regular on this site since it's inception. He was a major star in opera and is now making his mark as Emile De Becque in "South Pacific." He recently finished a highly acclaimed performance of the title role in Dalbavie's "Gesualdo" in Zurich opposite the Pietro of Gabriel Bermudez, who remains the most popular singer on this site of all time.

Santa Fe Apprentices Tom Corbeil, Tom Forde & Mike Nyby

Gilfry apparently has strong genes, as his daughter Carin Gilfry is now emerging on the scene as a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she grow up with a barihunk dad, but she was a participant in the Santa Fe Apprentice Artist program, which has produced a long roster of barihunks. Participants who apprenticed with Gilfry include Tom Corbeil, Mike Nyby and Tom Forde. The 2011 Santa Fe Opera schedule is out and includes Faust, La Boheme, Griselda, Wozzeck and The Last Savage.

Carin & Rod Gilfry

Fans of either Gilfry can see them perform together at the Chamber Music Sedona’s fifteenth annual "Holiday Gala Benefit - A Night at the Opera" on Sunday, December 12 at the Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa.

Tickets are available at www.ChamberMusicSedona.org or by calling (928) 204-2415.

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Gay Boheme With Barihunk Romance

Bohemian Lovers: Bryce Smith & Robert Maril

Opera Manhattan is performing Puccini's "La Boheme" with a gay subplot. Purists need not get too concerned, as they haven't transformed Mimi into Bruce. In this production Colline and Schaunard have eyes for each other, which certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Considering that two barihunks, Robert Maril and Bryce Smith, are the two singers in the romance, it makes sense that they'd want to snuggle up together in a cold Bohemian garret. Who could resist either of these guys?

Certainly after RENT, it only makes sense that "La Boheme" now gets an updated treatment. Smith has appeared on this site before and we welcome Robert Maril, whose name sounds suspiciously similar to a famed baritone of the 1950s and 1960s.

There are still two performances left on November 19 and 20 and tickets can be purchased at the Opera Manhattan website. Smith is also one of the co-founders of the company along with Rebecca Greenstein. We always encourage readers to support singers who promote opera in ways other than singing.

For New Yorkers who want a traditional La Boheme, the Metropolitan Opera next run of the classic begins on December 1st with barihunk Gunther Groissböck as Colline.

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Michael Mayes: Becoming Don GIovanni

Barihunk Michael Mayes

Here is a video of barihunk Michael Mayes being made up in 45 seconds for his portrayal of Don Giovanni at the Shreveport Opera. The makeup artist is Sondra Nottingham. Make sure to check out his special Don Giovanni pose at the end.

The Texas native next appears as Marcello at the Eugene Opera on December 30, before heading off to portray Valentin in Faust with Opera Birmingham.

Here is a clip of him performing Don Giovanni:


Mayes sings Don Giovanni

ADA Artists | Myspace Video

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Andrea Concetti Strips During "Madamina"

Italian barihunk Andrea Concettti strips down while singing "Madamina! Il catalogo è questo." at the 2009 Sferisterio Opera Festival. We ran some pretty sexy shots of this production of Don Giovanni when it opened in September 2009, but this video wasn't available at the time. We think that the 45-year-old singer is worth another look.

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Matthew Morris & Betty Buckley Team Up to Battle Gay Teen Suicide

Benefit Poster & Matthew Morris

We love it when barihunks do community work and we have promoted Chris Herbert and Erwin Schrott for their recent efforts. Add barihunk Matthew Morris to the mix, as he will be joining Broadway legend Betty Buckley in a benefit for The Trevor Project. The gala will be on Monday, November 22nd at 8 p.m. at St. Paul the Apostle Church at West 60th and Columbus in New York City.

“This concert is for those kids who feel that they have no one to talk to, no one who can understand, no one who cares," said Matthew Morris, who is also one of the producers of the event. "There are many people out there who care deeply. This night is about showing that care in a concrete way by gathering people from all walks of life: artists, members of the faith community, business people, straight people, gay people, men, women, old, and young who will show up and say, ‘You are not alone.'"

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. The organization was founded in 1998 by three filmmakers whose film, “Trevor,” a comedy/drama about a gay teenager who attempts suicide, received the 1994 Academy Award® for Best Short Film (Live Action).

Along with the concert, a silent auction will offer items from Tom Ford, Hermes of Paris, and Zac Posen, as well as special items from Gary Beach, Christine Brewer, Chelsea Handler, Scott Nevins, Billy Porter, and other Broadway performers.

General Admission tickets are $25, and premium seats are $100. Tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting You are Not Alone.

Here is a clip of Morris performing "I think it's going to rain today." 



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Martin Achrainer Sings Frank Martin

Tyrolian Barihunk Martin Achrainer

Here is a riveting performance of Frank Martin's "O ewiger Gott! O göttliches Gesicht!" sung by the Austrian baritone Martin Achrainer. This is a selection from the "Six Monologues from Hugo von Hofmannsthals 'Jedermann.'"

Achrainer's next performances will be during November with the Landestheater in Linz as Konrad in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Cornelius in "Hello, Dolly!"

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Theodore Uppman sings Poulenc & Hahn

We really wish that more baritones would sing the gorgeous Reynaldo Hahn song À Chloris in recital. Although it has been historically sung by sopranos, it seems much better suited to for baritones. Here is one of our favorite barihunks of the past,  Theodore Uppman, performing À Chloris and three Poulenc songs, Attributs, Chanson à boire and La belle jeunesse. These were recorded in the 1960s with Allen Rogers on piano.

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Rehearsal Footage From "A Quiet Place" at NYCO

Performances of Leonard Bernstein's "A Quiet Place" still has five performances remaining at New York City Opera. Tickets and performance information are available at the New York City Opera website.

Louis Otey and Joshua Hopkins, who have both appeared on this site are in the cast, as is Patricia Risley in the critical role of Dinah. We mention Risley, because she is the wife of barihunk Keith Phares, who just received rave reviews in Orff's "Carmina Burana" with the San Francisco Symphony.

Louis Otey & Joshua Hopkins

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Another Barihunk From Opera Atelier

João Fernandes

Few opera companies are better at Baroque opera or sexy opera than Opera Atlelier and they've done it again with Handel's "Acis and Galatea." A number of our favorite posts have come by way of this creative company, including those of Curtis Sullivan, Phillip Addis, Vasil Garvanliev and Olivier Laquerre. Now you can add João Fernandes as Polyphemus to the mix. Check out the guns on that man!


There are two performances of this production left and they are on Saturday, November 6 and Sunday, November 7. You can purchase tickets HERE.  Here is the trailer for the opera. You can hear Fernandes sing at the 1:40 mark:




Fernandes has made a career out of singing early Romantic and Baroque opera, including performances of Giove in La Calisto  at the Royal Opera House, Claudio in Handel's Agrippina at New York City Opera, Bellone in Rameau's Les Indes Galantes  at the Paris Opera) and Don Afonso in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte and Seneca in Monteverdi's L’incoronazione di Poppea at Lyon Opera).

Rodion Pogossov SIngs Papageno

Here is a video of Rodion Pogossov performing Papageno's heartfelt aria from Die Zauberflöte. The performance was with the Rosenblatt Recital Series in London on October 30th. 

Here is an interview with the Russian barihunk:

What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Life is not a sprint, but a long distance race.

Who do you admire? (It can be personal and/or professional)

My family, friends, well, I have a long list, I could write a book with all the names...

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I would live in NYC, and when I'm older in New Zealand probably, to be close to nature.

What is your favourite TV show?

I don't know if it's a TV show, but I like the program "Inside the actor studio"

Is there an art form you don’t relate to?

Something where there is nothing to deal with a talent.

What other passions do you have aside from music?

Theatre, cinema, martial arts (just to watch), sport (sometimes also just to watch).

What one song would work as the soundtrack to your life?

It's hard to fit your life into one song; may be in the symphony instead; but I would say Moon River perhaps.

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"Hot Pole" Turns 38: Happy Birthday, Mariusz Kwiecien

Polish barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien turned 38 today and is still looking good. He's currently at the Metropolitan Opera performing in Don Pasquale through November 18th. The opera will be telecast nationally in HD on November 13th, so check out your local listings.

WABC Features Keith Miller

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Lee Gregory in Detroit

Lee Gregory (photos by John Grigaitis)

The Michigan Opera Theater is presenting La Boheme this month with barihunk Lee Gregory. He will be singing the role of Shaunard with his gorgeous wife Kelly Kaduce playing Mimi. Die hard opera fans will know that this couple is the North American version of Schrott-Netrebko in terms of hotness onstage.

The photos above are from the current rehearsals at the opera house.

Barihunks encourages anyone in the Detroit area to support this opera company, which has not only survived in a brutal economy, but has maintained the highest artistic standards. Tickets can be purchased at the MOT website.  Performances run from November 13-21.

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NY POST: "Woman collapses during Nathan Gunn performance at Richard Branson's Halloween bash"

Let's face it, the most enjoyable news and gossip can be found in the New York Post's "Page Six" column. Imagine our delight when we opened the paper and saw the post-Halloween headline that screamed: "Woman collapses during Nathan Gunn performance at Richard Branson's Halloween bash"

Here's the actual piece that ran in the NY Post:

There was drama at Saturday's Halloween masked ball at Richard Branson and Robert Wojtowicz's Natirar estate when a well-dressed woman collapsed as baritone Nathan Gunn performed. Guests including Cornelia Guest and Matthew Settle gasped as a member of the New Jersey social club and spa at the estate fainted as Gunn performed a Schubert piece in German. The woman was revived, but paramedics were called as a precaution. Gunn told us: "The song had a Halloween theme, about death. I decided not to sing in German again after that. Luckily there were two doctors in the house. I hope she is OK." Other guests at the breast-cancer fund-raiser included Veronica Webb and Mary Alice Stephenson, who seemed disappointed that Queen Noor was "unexpectedly detained overseas," according to organizers. Branson also missed the bash after he decided to party on his private Necker Island in the Caribbean.

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