Christopher Maltman's shows some skin in Salzburg

Christopher Maltman in Iphigénie en Tauride

We recently posted about the two runs of the Whitsun Festival at Salzburg's highly successful production of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride.  The opening night performance on May 22 already has opera aficionados across the globe talking about the production, which included an all-star cast led by Christopher Maltman as Oreste,  Cecilia Bartoli as Iphigénie, Michael Kraus as Thoas andTopi Lehtipu sings Pylade.

Iphigénie en Tauride

Beyond the great singing, much of the buzz has centered around an extremely fit Christopher Maltman's nude scene, which proves that a man can be as sexy at 45 than at 25. Maltman is no stranger to nudity, having bared all in the movie Juan, as well in the 2010 Salzburg production on Don Giovanni.

The  Festival has already announced additional performances from August 19-28 to supplement the one remaining show on May 25. Fair warning if you plan on attending, order your seats now because tickets are scarce.

Visit the Salzburg Festival website for additional information.

Christopher Maltman in Iphigénie en Tauride

With Iphigénie en Tauride, Gluck took the final step in his mission of operatic reform, radically distancing himself from both the formulaic opera seria, with its rigid sequence of numbers, and traditional French opera, creating a psychologically sound musical drama with self-contained scenes and integrated arias.

Christopher Maltman and Topi Lehtipu in Iphigénie en Tauride

Gluck had long since given the chorus an active role, and in this work, the ballet scenes that were obligatory in Paris are no longer harmless, non-committal amusements, but organically integrated in the action. Gluck stated that opera “...should speak the language of the heart, credibly portray great human passions, and serve poetry.”

Christopher Maltman in the movie Juan and Don Giovanni in Salzburg

You can next catch Maltman at the Royal Opera in London as the title character in Don Giovanni with fellow barihunks Alex Esposito as Leporello and Nahuel Di Pierro as Masetto. He'll also be reunited with his fellow cast member from Iphigénie, Rolando Villazón, who is singing Don Ottavio.

Photos from the osterfestspiele, Monika Rittershaus and Salzburg