Marco Vassalli's upcoming gala at the Eutiner Festspiele

Marco Vassalli

The Eutiner Festspiele has been presenting outdoor concerts on the old ducal palace gardens of East Holstein town of Eutin since 1951.  Each year about 40,000 spectators come to listen to complete operas and concerts, which concludes with a gala concert that includes fireworks.

Eutin is the birthplace of composer Carl Maria von Weber. To honor him, the open-air theater (Freilichtbühne) was built in the park of Eutin Castle and operas are performed there. This year's operas are Verdi's Aida and Carl Zeller's Der Vogelhändler.

Included in this year's lineup is German barihunk Marco Vassalli, who just wrapped up his calendar photo shoot for us in France. We thought that we'd use this as an opportunity to share some of the pictures that won't be in the Barihunks calendar, but worthy of sharing. Despite his Italian surname, Vassalli was born and raised in Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Germany and studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne.

This year's Eutiner Festspiele gala will include music by Johann Strauß and Franz Léhar. Vassali will be joined mezzo Milana Butaeva, tenor Vincent Schirrmacher and fellow baritone Uwe Schenker-Primus. The concert is on August 21 and 22 and tickets are available online. This Fall, he heads to the Staatsoper Hannover to peform four roles in Bernstain's Candide.