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| Zachary Gordin on the cover of Queer.de |
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You started the blog Barihunks 10 years ago, in
2007. It’s dedicated to hunky baritones representing a sexy, sportive and
youthful vision and version of opera. What inspired you to create your blog,
where did the initial spark come from? (And how long did it take from the
initial spark to the actual website?)
The inspiration for
Barihunks started as a conversation between a friend in New York and me in San
Francisco. By coincidence, we had both just seen Dmitry Hvorostovsky and
Mariusz Kwiecien in different performances. Director Francesca Zambello had
recently coined the term “barihunk” in reference to Nathan Gunn performing
shirtless in The Pearl Fishers. We joked around that it would be fun to create
a tribute blog, believing that perhaps a handful of people would look at it.
Within a few weeks we noticed a huge surge in traffic and realized that we had
tapped into something with the opera crowd.
Was there anything like Barihunks around
before? Or was this a complete novelty in the world of classical music/opera?
I don’t know of anything
like Barihunks before it appeared on the scene.
I was personally put
off by a number of bitchy opera blogs and felt like opera needed a more
positive and fun portrayal of the artform. In fact we’ve posted the following
under our Mission Statement: “Keep opera positive! No bitchiness allowed! This
industry is tough enough.”
There have been a
number of copycat sites, like “Sexy Sopranos,” but none have really taken off.
There is something so unique about a gorgeous man with a low voice singing the
most beautiful music ever written that just can’t be copied.
Many people don’t
realize that we also use the site to raise money to support young artists and
new compositions for baritones and basses through our sale of the Barihunks
calendar and our tee shirts. Our goal is to truly be a positive force in opera.
There’s a famous saying, “It’s not over till
the fat lady sings.” Most people do not associate opera and opera performances
with well-build singers. Yet you present a never-ending army of them: where do they
all come from suddenly? Did something in opera change around 2007? Has sex
appeal become important in a business so exclusively focused on “voice” alone
for so many years? Is there a historic precedent from sexy singers – back in
the 17th or 18th century? Are you rediscovering something
that was an original appeal of the art form opera?
This is a complicated
question and I will answer it in the affirmative and the negative.
Yes, something did
change, which is the omnipresence of TV and movies that made appearance more
important. I had a singer say to me once, “Being on your site has given me the
edge. If ten of us are going in for an audition for Don Giovanni and we all sing
pretty much at the same level, but I may look better shirtless or in a closeup
that is being broadcast on TV or on a movie screen, then I’ll probably get the
role.” We talk about singers taking care of BOTH their voices and their bodies,
as directors are demanding more physicality on stage and broadcasts are making
appearance more important, whether one likes it, or not.
No, sexy singers are
not new and that goes back to the earliest days of opera. The castrati singing
in the 18th century European courts were often gorgeous and made up
as beautifully as any woman. More recently, there have been barihunks around
who we can still watch on old TV broadcast and videos on YouTube. We’ve
featured many of them as “Historical Hunks,” including Gérard Souzay, Justino
Diaz, Theodor Upmann, Paul Robeson (who famously posed nude!), Ettore Bastianini, Mario Sereni and the German
Roland Hermann. I still think for both voice and looks, Ettore Bastianini is
one of the sexiest singers to ever grace the stage.
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| Duncan Rock |
Why baritones and not tenors or basses? What is
it about baritones that makes them physically hunkier than others? (Do they
have to make up for the sex appeal tenors have in climactic high notes with
pumped up torsos? Is the baritone sound in itself hunkier than other sounds…..
are there any historic baritones you would describe as hunks, vocally or
physically? And what about the basses, not sexy at all?)
If you look at our
Mission Statement on the site, it reads “To promote the baritone to bass voice
range, especially emerging talent.” We LOVE basses and feature them all the
time. As for tenors, or hunkentenors as they’ve been dubbed, I’ll leave that to
someone else. We do sneak a few onto our site and even into our calendar. Tenor
Glenn Seven Allen is one of our sexiest photos in this year’s calendar. There
was a Hunkentenor site that briefly appeared and went dark pretty quickly.
I do believe that the
baritone has a special appeal. The great composer Ricky Ian Gordon said that
the baritone is the voice of the “All-American man.” Both he and Jake Heggie
compose many, if not all, of their lead roles for baritones. The tenor as the
lead may be an artifact of the past. Baritones and basses are no longer always
the villain and are becoming more sympathetic characters.
As for basses, I would
argue that some of the sexiest singers on our site are basses, including the
German Malte Roesner, who is the seventh most viewed singer on our site of all
time and a regular in our calendars.
How do you select the barihunks you feature?
How do you get the photos? (How many photos or messages a day do you receive?
How strong is the increase in numbers since 2007 and 2017? From any region in
particular?)
I receive photos and
“barihunk tips” on a daily basis, for which I am grateful. When I first started
the site, I had to hustle for content, but now it shows up in the in-box.
Content comes from a variety of sources. Some are not surprising, like from
singers, colleagues, boyfriends/girlfriends, spouses, opera marketing
departments and agents.
However, my favorites
come from mothers! Not a month has gone by without a submission from a mother
and it usually comes with a note that says something like, “I know I’m biased,
but I think my son is beautiful and definitely a barihunk.” I have one mother
who gives me monthly updates on her son’s career. I simply adore her for
it. What’s more beautiful than a
mother’s love and pride for her son?
As for regions, I’d
say 80% of my content comes from the United States, Germany, Canada, Australia
and the United Kingdom. Sadly, for someone who loves Latino men, the most
underrepresented area is Central and South America.
You are a gay man living together with another
man. How much has your sexuality influenced your fascination for hunky
baritones? Do you think a heterosexual male opera lover would have ever thought
of creating such a blog? (Are there any heterosexual equivalents with gorgeous
sopranos or mezzos, or is that not necessary because it’s how the current
mainstream opera business works anyway, Miss Netrebko showing her décolleté and
selling a million more CDs/concert tickets?)
This is a fascinating
question, because intuitively I would say that my sexuality totally influenced
me to create the site. However, I’ve learned so much from the straight
barihunks on the site about self-esteem and fitness. A number of singers,
including Keith Miller and Kasey Yeargain, have created fitness sites and
businesses which are an outshoot of what we’ve created. Therefore, I would say
that a straight man could have created the site, but I would argue that
Barihunks probably had to happen first.
I find mezzos to be
the female equivalent of barihunks. There are a ton of sexy mezzos out there on
the world’s opera stages. We’ve had Joyce DiDonato on our site in an “Honorary Barihunk”
tee shirt. There is a young mezzo named Laura Krumm who is both sexy and has
the most seductive voice I’ve heard in years.
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| Jan Rekeszus (Bild: Dennis König Photographie) |
Is it an act of gay liberation to be able to
openly admit and discuss ones fascination for attractive singers today, without
feeling ashamed about it? (And how do the singers react to being thus admired?)
I wouldn’t call it an
act of gay liberation. Directors have made the fascination with attractive and
even naked singers a pretty ordinary occurrence (especially in Germany!). Most
singers love being admired. After all, anyone who walks out onto a stage is
seeking approval and admiration.
I was surprised by a
conversation with a barihunk on my recent visit to Germany, who said to me, “I
don’t mind being admired for being shirtless on stage, but I am uncomfortable
with posing for a calendar.“ He said being admired as beefcake made him feel
like a woman who is sexualized simply for being attractive and not for her other
traits.
Traditionally, “opera queens” as Wayne
Koestenbaum describes them or Terrence McNally portrays them worship sopranos.
Are you the next step in the opera queen evolution?
I started as the
quintessential “Diva worshipper,” which comes out of that old stereotype of gay
men idolizing strong, passionate, over-the-top female femme fatales. I find it
a bit passé today. What I love about the barihunk phenomenon is that it appeals
equally to men and women, as well as straight or gay.
Considering the homoeroticism of many barihunk
photos: are the visitors of your blog only gay men? (Do you ever have to deal
with homophobia? Do you discuss sexual orientation with your barihunks? Is it
an issue for baritones today whether they are admired by gay men or
heterosexual women? Are there regional or age differences?)
From what we can tell
from analytics and sales of our merchandise, we’re almost 50-50 male to female.
As I mentioned earlier, many of our male readers are straight men obsessed with
fitness and exercise. We’ve done some Bari-Chunk to Bari-Hunk features which
have generated ten times our usual traffic. Most of the email about those posts
comes from straight guys thanking us for inspiring them to get in shape and to
improve their self-esteem.
As for homophobia,
we’ve experienced virtually none in ten years of posts. We did have one singer
ask us to remove a post because it violated his religious beliefs.
We’ve had a series of
“Barihunk Lunches” where we gather a group of low voices and discuss a variety
of topic over a meal. I’m so impressed with how easily straight and gay men in
this business get along, tease each other and even toss around sexual
innuendos. I believe there has been a true generational shift around sexual
orientation. Fortunately, the opera world is miles ahead of everyone else.
What do you think attracts heterosexual women
to barihunks? And is the opera industry fully responding to the needs these
women have? Any suggestions for improving the image of opera, in general?
I love that Barihunks
has allowed women to not only talk about, but brag about, their attraction to
men. Some of the most provocative comments and emails that I receive are from
women – and they know what they like! It is interesting to me that gay men and
straight women tend to be attracted to completely different men. For instance,
Nathan Gunn and Thomas Hampson seem to be total magnets for women, but don’t’
generate the same level of intensity from men.
If you look at an
average opera audience, the majority is made up of gay men and women. We both
clearly love beautiful men with gorgeous, resonant low voices. More of that
would go a long way! I’m proud that a positive image of healthy, virile men has
become the new stereotype for opera, rather than the antiquated idea of an
oversized Wagnerian soprano with horns and a spear.
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| Justin Hopkins |
Where do your followers come from, mostly?
The United States,
Germany, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, with a huge increase coming
from Russia and Eastern Europe.
You mentioned that one of your most successful
posts was on a red headed singer. Why are red heads such an item?
I follow my analytics
closely, as they dictate who I post (or don’t post). Certain types seem to have
particularly passionate followers and red-heads fall into that category, as do
hairy men, hairless men, Asian singers and men in tuxedos.
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| Puerto Rican Xavier Edgardo |
Talking of red heads: how much desire for
diversity do you see among your followers? Are there any Asian, Arab, black or
any other people of color barihunks?
We are very cognizant
about diversity and truly try to put as much of it on display as possible.
We’ve featured numerous black and Asian singers on the site, but there aren’t
many Arab baritones in the world today. If your readers know of some, send them
our way at Barihunks@gmail.com.
Do your followers ever discuss vocal aspects,
or do they focus only on exterior body elements?
You can’t have an
opera blog and not discuss the voice. It’s still first and foremost about the
voice.
After 10 years of barihunks: what has changed
in the opera world, for you? Has barihunks influenced these changes? What do
you wish should happen in the future, what happens in the US that Germany could
learn from or vice versa?
The biggest change in
opera has been its accessibility. I’m sitting in California as I respond to
your questions from Germany while watching Semiramide on my laptop from France. The barihunks
phenomenon cannot be separated from the fact that opera is showing up on
people’s TV screens, laptops and in movie theatres. It has become as much a remote
VISUAL MEDIA artform as a LIVE VOCAL artform.
Your focus on sexy singers is very pop culture
orientated, it corresponds to what most teen magazines do with pop stars. Why
are traditional opera magazines like Opernwelt completely ignoring the trend you
sent and why are most opera magazines so unsexy and stuffy? (While opera
companies lament the lack of interest from young audiences.)
I think part of the
success of Barihunks is that we’re not stuffy, don’t take ourselves too
seriously, yet still respect the artform and remain informative.
I’m fascinated by the
marketing of opera in Europe, which often features an 80-year-old conductor,
while in the U.S and Canada the focus in on the singers. Even US opera
magazines like Opera News are doing Hollywood-style photoshoots with singers
and featuring young, often attractive, rising stars of opera. I open some
European music magazine and I feel like I should be blowing dust off of the
pages.
Marco Vassalli sings Clint Borzoni's "Stufen"
What’s the most inappropriate mail you ever received
from a barihunk (or singer)?
Oh Lord! I had a
British baritone (of some note) who delighted himself by sending me the most
inappropriate dick pics. I never knew if he was serious, or not, but he claimed
he did it because he was obsessed with getting on the site. We don’t ever post
random nudity and only post it if it’s related to a performance.
I also receive
“revenge photos,” which really upset me and which I DO NOT TOLERATE. I had a
soprano send me a series of nude photos of her barihunk ex-boyfriend, begging
me to post them. I finally threatened legal action against her with the help of
an attorney, as this is both illegal and inappropriate.
Would it bother you if a barihunk did porn? Does
porn stop you from having a serious opera career, as it did years ago in
Hollywood? Has the opera business become more tolerant about sex videos, too?
Has opera embraced porn as a topic in the same way Hollywood has? Or is this
the next cross-over frontier?
Well, there has been Gordon Beeferman’s The
Enchanted Organ: A Porn Opera featuring a character named Avery Dick that was done in New York and Pornographi,
which was done in the
Netherlands. I suspect that if
there is an audience, it will get performed.
I know of a
singer who seriously considered doing porn to supplement his income, but wisely
decided against it. I suspect that it would adversely effect one’s career. I
knew of an amateur video of a barihunk that made the rounds and it created some
serious problems for his agent and almost cost him a major debut.
Will you ever publish a book about your time as
“Mr. Barihunks”? And did you ever think you ever think your blog would become
such an era defining thing?
I’m not sure that a
book would be of much interest, but I have seriously explored shutting down the
site and turning it into a foundation to support young artists and new
compositions.
Sam Ramey and Giorgio Zancanaro in the Attila duet:
(What’s your favorite baritone aria? Sung by
whom, historically?)
I love two low voices
together, so two duets stand out for me:
·
The
Attila-Ezio duet “Tardo per gli
anni" by Verdi with Sam Ramey as Attila!
· The King Philip and Grand Inquisitor duet from
Verdi’s Don Carlo with Ferruccio Furlanetto and Sam Ramey.
As for a solo aria,
there are far too many to chose from, but I’m a sucker for Don Giovanni’s “Deh,
vieni alla finestra” sung by Mariusz Kwiecien or Dmitry Hvorostovksy, Wotan's
Farewell “Leb' wohl” and Hamlet’s drinking song “O vin, dissipe le tristesse”
sung by Stépane Degout or Simon Keenlyside.
My personal contemporary
favorite is Marco Vassalli singing Clint Borzoni’s song “Stufen,” with text by
Hermann Hesse, which is viewable on YouTube.
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