Jesse Blumberg stunning as Ulysses

Jesse Blumberg in Opera Omnia's The Return of Ulysses

We were very excited when we learned that the innovative young opera company Opera Omnia had hired Jesse Blumberg for their production of Claudio Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses. He's become a favorite of ours, as well a favorite of composers like Ricky Ian Gordon and a number of leading opera companies. A thoughtful singer with great dramatic instincts and a beautiful voice, he's also a true barihunk in every sense of the word. For this role he had to sing shirtless for almost the entire first act and we heard that he stuck to a pretty strict workout regime. Of course, we had to get a picture to share with our readers.

The New York Times wrote of his performance, "And the vocal performances were in general excellent. Jesse Blumberg was compelling as Ulysses, throwing himself into the role physically as well as vocally."

Blumberg can next be seen on October 4th in the premiere of Paul Richards' Biennale with fellow barihunk Christopher Burchett in Philadelphia. Later that month he can be heard performing music of Emmanuel Chabrier with the Mirror Visions Ensemble in New York and Philadelphia. We're most excited about a performance in April next year with the Minnesota Opera when he'll be performing Papageno in the brilliant production of Mozart's The Magic Flute created by director Barrie Kosky and the British theatre group 1927. We saw this in Berlin and it is brilliant. Add it to your opera travel calendar today. More information is available online.