Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!

What could we possibly say about Mozart that either hasn't been said or you don't know already? Born on January 27, 1756, he was a child prodigy, who wrote his first symphony when he was eight years old and his first opera at age twelve. He went on to write some of the most important masterpieces of the Classical era, including symphonies, operas, string quartets and piano music. Of course, he has been an endless source of material for Barihunks, especially his operas Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro and Cosi fan tutte, which provide us with an ongoing stream of sexy low voices.

We think the best way to celebrate his birthday is with some music from our favorite singers:

Aaron Sørensen sings Mozart's "Alcandro, lo confesso"

Erwin Schrott sings the Catalog aria:

Cesare Siepi sings "Per questa bella mano":

Rod Gilfry and Liliana Nikiteanu sing "La ci darem la mano"

Aaron Sørensen to perform first Stabat Mater with Oakland Symphony

Aaron Sørensen from past Barihunks calendars

Bass-barihunk Aaron Sørensen will be performing his first bass solo in Rossini's beautiful Stabat Mater with the Oakland Symphony. He'll be joined by tenor Thomas Glenn, mezzo-soprano Betany Coffland and soprano Shawnette Sulker under the baton of Michael Morgan.  There will be a single performance on Friday, November 17th and tickets are available online.

The program also includes Jonah M. Gallagher's Vocare and Mozart's Symphony #40. The program's theme is "love and loss," as the Stabat Mater recounts Mary's devastation over the death of Jesus, Vocare was written after the composer lost his mentor to cancer, and Mozart's Symphony #4o is one of only two of symphonies written in minor keys, reflecting his interest in the Sturm und Drang movement (Storm and Stress), in which darker and stronger emotions were showcased. 

After the production of William Tell in 1829, Rossini wrote no more operas. During a visit to Spain two years later, he reluctantly accepted a commission to write a Stabat Mater for the archdeacon of Madrid, Don Manuel Fernandez Varela. Rossini feared comparisons with Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, and stipulated that Varela retain sole possession of the score and never allow publication.

The Stabat Mater was premiered in Paris at the Théâtre-Italien's Salle Ventadour on January 7, 1842, with the Italian premiere occurring three months later in Bologna led by composer Gaetano Donizetti.

Samuel Ramey sings Pro peccatis...Eja, Mater from Rossini's Stabat Mater:

Rossini's extensive operatic career had divided the public into admirers and critics. The announcement of the premiere of Rossini's Stabat Mater provided an occasion for a wide-ranging attack by Richard Wagner, who was in Paris at the time, not only on Rossini but more generally on the current European fashion for religious music and the money to be made from it. A week before the scheduled concert Robert Schumann's Neue Zeitschrift für Musik carried the pseudonymous essay, penned by Wagner under the name of "H. Valentino", in which he claimed to find Rossini's popularity incomprehensible.

The first theme in the tenor solo "Cujus animam" was quoted note-for-note in the 1941 Woody Herman jazz number, "Blues on Parade." The bass has the solo Pro peccatis and Eja, Mater sung with chorus.

Zachary Gordin & Gianluca Margheri from the 2018 Barihunk Calendar/Book

Our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!
 

West Edge Opera season off to thrilling start

Dan Kempson

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, you will want to check out the West Edge Opera's current festival which got underway last week. Not only are the first two shows that have opened (Lulu and As One) all the talk of the local opera community, but all three operas feature barihunks.

We managed to get this picture of barihunk Dan Kempson from Act 1 of Laura Kaminsky's As One where he shares the role of Hannah with the thrilling mezzo-soprano Brenda Patterson. The piece is being performed at The Oakland Metro, a punk rock venue reflective of Oakland’s gritty art scene and the ideal space for such a provocative piece. Kempson is shirtless within 5 minutes of the first bar of music.

Kaminsky was inspired to write As One after reading an article in the New York Times in 2008 about a New Jersey marriage in which one of the parties transitioned from male to female, transforming the couple from straight to gay. The opera is based on the life experience of noted filmmaker Kimberly Reed. There are two performances remaining on July 31 and August 8th.

Alban Berg’s Lulu will be performed in the abandoned and decaying 1912 Beaux-Arts train station at 16th Street in Oakland where the movies Funny Lady and RENT were filmed. It opened to rave reviews and has additional performances on August 2 and 8. It features barihunk Zack Altman as the Athlete.

The final opera is Monteverdi’s, Ulysses, which will be staged at the American Steel Studios, a former pipe factory turned six acre art studio that’s now home to steel fabricators, sculptors, vertical aerial and trapeze performers, glass artists, and more. The opera stars Nikolas Nackley in the title role and barihunk Aaron Sørensen as Neptune. It opens on August 1 with additional performances on August 7 and 9.

Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Aaron Sørensen & Kevin Thompson to make role debuts as Osmin

Kevin Thompson & Aaron Sørensen

Two of our very favorite (really, really) low voices will be making their respective role debuts as Osmin in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio). 

The coveted Mozart bass role will be sung by Aaron Sørensen with the Houston Symphony Orchestra on January 23 and 25 under the baton of Andrés Orozco-Estrada. The cast also includes Lauren Snouffer as Konstanze, Paul Appleby as Belmonte, Rafael Moras as Pedrillo and Abigail Dueppen and Blonde. It will be performed in concert performance. Tickets are available online.

Matti Salminen sings "O, wie will ich triumphieren":

A month later Kevin Thompson will take on the role with West Bay Opera under the baton of José Luis Moscovich and directed by barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu. Performance will run from February 13-22.  The cast also includes Nikki Einfeld as Kostanze, Michael Desnoyers as Belmonte, Tapan Bhat at Pedrillo adn Chelsea Hollow as Blonde. Tickets are available online.

Osmin, who the Pasha's comically sinister overseer of the harem, is a send-up of earlier stereotypes of Turkish despotism. Osmin's music includes some of the composer's most spectacular and vocally challenging music. His Act 3 aria "O, wie will ich triumphieren" includes characteristic 18th century coloratura passage work, and twice goes down to a low D (D2), one of the lowest notes demanded of any voice in opera. In the aria, Osmin sings of the delight that he will have when Pedrillo, Belmonte, Blondchen, and Konstanze are all hanged. The first Osmin was Ludwig Fischer, a bass noted for his wide range and skill in leaping over large intervals with ease. 

Eleven basses show off their Low D:

Osmin's other arias are "Solche hergelaufne Laffen" from Act 1, where he explains in graphic detail why he does not like Pedrillo. Also in Act 1 is "Wer ein Liebchen hat gefunden," when he sings a song while picking figs, not realizing that Belmonte is watching. His song advises the listener to reward your love with kisses and make her life great. It also advises the young lover to lock up your woman's other lovers, lest they tempt her to forget her faithfulness. 

Time is running out to buy your 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar, which you can order for the next 5 days by clicking below. 

Aaron Sørensen to sing Colline in reopened historic theatre

Aaron Sørensen from the Barihunks calendar & the Criterion Theatre in Maine

Aaron Sørensen, who was one of this year's recipients of a Barihunks calendar grant, made his West Coast recital debut in a concert with hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock with the grant. Having wowed audiences along the Pacific Ocean with his sonorous low notes, he now returns to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. He'll be at the Bar Harbor Music Festival performing Colline in a single night performance of Puccini's La boheme. 

The opera will be performed in the historic art-deco Criterion Theater in downtown Bar Harbor. Opened in 1932 as a movie palace, prominent families like the Rockefellers, who vacationed in the area, were frequent patrons. The theatre is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and recently reopened after a $150,000 upgrade 
to their marquee. 

Aaron Sørensen sings Mozart's "Alcandro, lo confesso" at his West Coast recital debut at Duende (Don't miss the low note at the end!):

Now in its 48th season, the Bar Harbor Music Festival has advanced the careers of over 1,800 aspiring instrumentalists, singers, and composers, presenting a summer of music encompassing recitals, chamber music, Pops, a new composers series, opera, jazz, and string orchestra concerts.

La boheme will be performed on Friday, July 11 at 8:00 p.m.. The cast also includes Jonathan Lasch as Marcello, Chad Sloan as Schaunard, Janinah Burnett as Mimi and Scott Scully as Rodolfo. Tickets are available online.

Rare Hunkentenor-Bass/Barihunk concert in East Bay

Jonathan Blalock and Aaron Sørensen

One of the recipients of our proceeds from the Barihunks calendar was the team of hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock and Bass-Barihunk Aaron Sørensen, who came up with the novel idea for a concert with this rarely seen vocal combination.

The duo will perform music by George Gershwin, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie, Glen Roven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Gioacchino Rossini. The performance will be at Duende on Wed., May 21 at 7 PM  in the heart of Oakland's burgeoning arts district, The Uptown. Duende has become a popular destination for aficionados of alternative jazz and they've been eager to expand their musical offerings to include classical music. This will debut what we all hope is a regular feature on their calendar. A stones throw away from Duende is the restored Fox Theater, which features some of the biggest names in the music industry.  Tickets for the Blalock/Sørensen recital are available online.

This recital will also be the West Coast debut for two of the most talked about young artists in opera. Jonathan Blalock received rave notices from the New York Times and Alex Ross in the New Yorker for his riveting performance in Gregory Spears' Paul's Case, which featured barihunk Keith Phares. Aaron Sørensen is the bass voice that the opera world continuously clamors for and he recently appeared as the French General in Fort Worth Opera's production of Kevin Puts' Silent Night.

Efrain Solis in an ad for West Edge Opera

Blalock will be returning to the East Bay this summer in West Edge Opera's production of Philip Glass's Hydrogen Jukebox, featuring barihunk Efrain Solis and bass-barihunk Kenneth Kellogg. You can watch a preview of their exciting and innovative upcoming season above and get more information on their website. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you'll want to add their summer festival to calendar.

Christopher Burchett in North Dakota's first opera premieres

Christopher Burchett in Soldier Songs

Barihunk Christopher Burchett, who showed off that he look pretty hot in a pair of skivvies in David T. Little's Soldier Songs, is about to make history in Fargo, North Dakota. On March 28th and 30th at the Fargo Moorhead Opera, he'll be part of the Poe Project Double Bill, which is comprised of two one-act operas, Buried Alive and Embedded, which were commissioned by American Lyric Theater as part of Edgar Alan Poe centennial back in 2009. These will be the first opera premiere ever presented in the state.

Composer Jeff Myers and librettist Quincy Long's Buried Alive draws on themes of anxiety and mortality from Poe’s story “The Premature Burial,” as a painter’s nightmares of death start to become real. It will be directed by Larry Edelson.

Composer Patrick Soluri and librettist Deborah Brevoort's Embedded was inspired by Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.”  The libretto revolves around a TV news anchor who finds herself on the other side of the headlines. It will be directed by Sam Helfrich.

Aaron Sorensen & Jonathan Blalock

Burchett will be joined in both operas by soprano Caroline Worra, soprano Sara Gartland, mezzo soprano Jennifer Feinstein, bass Nathan Stark and tenor Jonathan Blalock, who was recently awarded a Barihunks Calendar Grant along with bass Aaron Sorensen to make a joint West Coast recital debut in 2014.

Tickets for the world premiere production of the Poe Project may be purchased online.

Fargo-Moorhead Opera was founded in 1968 and and is the only full-season opera company from Omaha to Winnipeg and Minneapolis to Billings. The company tours regularly throughout North Dakota and rural Minnesota as a part of its commitment to bring opera to communities that have never before experienced live opera.

Hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock & Bass-Barihunk Aaron Sorensen receive latest Barihunks Calendar Grant

Aaron Sorensen and Jonathan Blalock

Our latest grantees from the proceeds of our 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar may be a surprise to some people. We had a lot of interesting requests for the second grant, but none struck us as original as a concert featuring a tenor and a bass! That's what hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock and bass-barihunk Aaron Sorensen suggested and we loved the idea immediately.

We can't think of many times that we've ever seen that combination in a concert hall and we wanted to help make it happen. Although a place and time has not been set of this date, the discussion around the program is quite intriguing. We also believe that the recital will be paired with some other big announcements related to the two singers. Both singers are clearly on the cusp of major careers and theaters are taking notice.

Blalock as Lazaro in Before Night Falls, Photo by Ellen Appel.

Blalock recently premiered the role of Paul in Greg Spear's critically acclaimed opera Paul's Case with Urban Arias. He is reprising the role from January 8-13 with the Prototype Festival in New York. Barihunk Keith Phares is also reprising the role of Paul's father. The opera is based on the famous short story by Willa Cather. He first caught our eye with two stunning performances at the Fort Worth Opera Festival, appearing shirtless in both Jorge Martin's Before Night Falls and Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox. Last season, he was one of the many gifted young artists at the Santa Fe Opera.

We also first spotted Aaron Sorensen at the Fort Worth Opera where he appeared as Benoit and Alcindoro in La Boheme, as well as a hilarious turn as the Wigmaker in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Sorensen is a true bass, which is a rarity in opera these days. We have a feeling that we'll be watching this amazing talent grow into a great Verdi/Wagner bass as his career advances.

The Nebraska native honed his craft at Yale Opera Program and has gone on to sing Masetto in
Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Father Trulove in Stravinky’s The Rake’s Progress at the Wolf Trap Opera, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen and Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, and Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Tosca, and The
Rake’s Progress with Des Moines Metro Opera.

He'll be returning to the Fort Worth Opera Festival next season as the French General in Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night.

Raves for Crossley-Mercer and Maltman in sexy Marriage of Figaro

Malin Christensson and Edwin Crossley-Mercer in Los Angeles (Lawrence K. Ho, Los Angeles Times)

We posted about the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Mozart -Da Ponte Trilogy awhile back. If you missed getting tickets for Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, you missed some serious eye-candy, with three barihunks who have been on this site. Leading the way was the sexy Figaro of Edwin Crossley-Mercer.  

The LA Times wrote, "Baritone Edwin Crossley-Mercer was a distant, angry, virile yet, as Alaïa dressed him, metrosexual Figaro." After seeing the pictures, we would have added "smoking hot" to the list of superlatives. Also in the cast is Christopher Maltman as the Count. The LA Times wrote, "Maltman [wore] tight whites that only a powerful man could get away with, but Maltman is a magnetic baritone scarily uncowed. When outwitted, he still holds all the power, and he sang that way." In the small role of Antonio is Barihunk calendar model Brandon Cedel.

Dorothea Röschmann and Christopher Maltman (Genaro Molina)

There are still two performances remaining on May 23 and May 25. Conducting wunderkind Gustavo Dudamel is leading the orchestra. Visit their website for tickets.

If you want to catch Crossley-Mercer in the United States, you may want to catch one of these performances. When he wraps up on May 25th, he heads back to Europe for a series of concerts and operas in France and Germany. He kicks of on June 9th at the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch Partenkirchen before heading to the Théâtre des Champs Élysées on June 20th for Fauré's Pénélope. There are no other U.S. performances listed on his schedule.

If you want to catch Brandon Cedel, he'll be appearing at the Wolf Trap Opera beginning on June 21st in Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims. That production also includes barihunks Aaron Sorensen, Norman Garrett and Steven LaBrie. Additional information is available online. 

Introducing Bass-Barihunk Aaron Sorenson

Aaron Sorenson (Photo by Barihunks)

Despite the fact that our homepage includes the definition of a "barihunk" that includes basses, the most common question we get is: "Can a bass be on barihunks?" The answer is a resounding YES and we admittedly love any low voice (even the mezzos!). Aaron Sorenson is a great example of why we'd be fools to not include basses on this site.

We had the pleasure of seeing his artistry live at the Fort Worth Opera as Benoit and Alcindoro in La Boheme, as well as a hilarious turn as the Wigmaker in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. While we were in Fort Worth, we joined photographer Michael Yeshion for a photo shoot with Sorenson, Michael Mayes and Anthony Reed. A few of those shots are previewed here and more will be appearing in our 2014 Barihunks Calendar.

Basses Aaron Sorenson and Anthony Reed (Photo by Michael Yeshion)

The Nebraska native honed his craft at Yale Opera Program and has gone on to sing Masetto in
Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Father Trulove in Stravinky’s The Rake’s Progress at the Wolf Trap Opera, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen and Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, and Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Tosca, and The
Rake’s Progress with Des Moines Metro Opera.

He'll be returning to the Fort Worth Opera Festival next season as the French General in Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night.

We also found this little tidbit on the Wolf Trap Opera blog: “When not singing (opera), Aaron Sorensen can most often be found in the kitchen whipping up something delectable and sinfully delicious. Taught by his grandmothers and mother, he is a foodie at heart and is infamous for his desserts. He is also an avid fan of hiking and the outdoors. It doesn’t happen often, but when time allows Aaron also enjoys watching movies and pointless television. So far, the best movie he has seen this year is, without a doubt, The Muppet Movie!”

If you're a barihunk based in New York, we recommend that you contact Michael Yeshion for your headshots. If you want to be considered for next year's calendar, he can shoot some great photos for you. Any barihunk can submit photos for consideration to the calendar or the website at Barihunks@gmail.com. A photo in a Barihunk tee-shirt increases your chances of inclusion.

Barihunks Lunch in Fort Worth

Wes Mason, Michael Mayes and Jonathan Boehr

It's no secret that we're huge fans of the Fort Worth Opera Festival, which has become one of the best summer opera festivals in America, if not the world. Under the inspired leadership of general director Darren Woods, the once fledgling company has become a required stop for serious opera lovers. The company is known for its combination of old standards and works by new composers. The new works often become the hit of the festival, as is the case this year with Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied starring Michael Mayes. Woods is also notorious for finding gifted young opera singers before other companies "discover" them, so it's a wonderful opportunity to catch the next wave of great singers.

Wes Mason, Michael Mayes and Jonathan Boehr goof off; Anthony Reed flexes his guns

 

Aaron Sorensen, Michael Adams, Steven Eddy, Wes Mason, Michael Mayes, Jonathan Boehr & Anthony Reed

As is often the case when one of the Barihunks bloggers flies into town, a lunch with the hottest low voices tends to break out. Singers are all given a Barihunk tee-shirt and other gifts, which have ranged from coffee mugs to iPods. This year singers were given gift cards of varying value depending on their ability to answer Barihunks trivia questions. Jonathan Boehr was the winner of the $100 gift card and three CDs featuring baritones. Wes Mason was too busy having fun and missed answering a question where he was part of the answer. Wes also entertained the group with some of his amazing impersonations, which included Christopher Walken, Marlon Brando, Thomas Hampson and tenor Jonathan Blalock [see photo at bottom of the feed].

Jonathan Boehr, winner of 1st prize in the Barihunk Trivia Contest

Michael Adams sporting Michael Mayes' glasses and look

All of the singers shown above are appearing with the Fort Worth Opera Festival this year. Wes Mason is Marcello in La bohème, Michael Mayes is Capt. Jim Thompson in Glory Denied, Steven Eddy is Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos, Michael Adams is the Custom House Sergeant in La bohème and the Corporal in Daughter of the Regiment, Aaron Sorensen is Benoit/Alcindoro in La bohème, Jonathan Boehr is Schaunard in La bohème, and Anthony Reed is Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos. Tickets and additional information are available online.

Wes Mason channeling tenor Jonathan Blalock's famous Southern smile