Wes Mason as leather-clad Achilla at Opera Roanoke

Wes Mason as Achilla with Pompeo's head

Virginia native Wes Mason is returning to his home state to perform the scheming Egyptian general Achilla in Handel's Giulio Cesare with Opera Roanoke. We heard that he was clad in a sexy leather outfit, so we asked for some pictures from the dress rehearsals, which we're thrilled to share with our readers.

The cast also includes Teresa Buccholz as Giulio Cesare, Amy Cofield Williamson as Cleopatra, Eric Brenner as Tolomeo, Toby Newman as Sesto and Carla Dirlikov as Cornelia.

Performances are on March 21 and 23 at the Jefferson Center's Shaftman Performance Hall in Roanoke. Tickets are available by calling (540) 345-2550.

You can also watch an interview with Wes Mason from WDBJ-TV Channel 7 where he discussed the opera and the role of Achilla.

In addition to Achilla, Wes Mason's current season is filled with role debuts this year, including Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen with Syracuse Opera, Zurga in Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles with both Baltimore Concert Opera and Delaware Opera, Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Opera Philadelphia, and both Curly in Oklahoma! and the Bishop in Les Misérables with Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre.

Dreamy Casting: Barihunks on the air

Edwin Crossley-Mercer as Don Giovanni

Thanks to a heads up from an alert reader, we've learned that Edwin Crossley-Mercer just performed his first Don Giovanni in Dijon, France. He was joined by fellow barihunk Damien Pass as Masetto. If you missed the performance, you're in luck, as it's temporarily available on Medici.tv. Click HERE to watch the entire performance.

Medici.tv has a number of current releases featuring barihunks, including Purcell's Dido and Æneas with Lucas Meachem, Gounod's Romeo and Juliet with François Le Roux, Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande with Stéphane Degout and Messiaen's Saint-François d'Assise featuring both Henk Neven and Rod Gilfry.

Guido Loconsolo

On April 4th, Italian barihunk Guido Loconsolo makes his Met debut as the scheming Egyptian general Achilla in Handel's Giulio Cesare. He'll be part of a dream cast that includes David Daniels, Natalie Dessay, Alice Coote and the amazing Christophe Dumaux as Tolomeo.

You can watch the April 27th matinee as part of the Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD series which will be transmitted live around the world.

Guido Loconsolo previously sang the role of Achilla at Glyndebourne. Earlier this season, he sang the title role in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at Glyndebourne, Publio in a new production of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito at Madrid’s Teatro Real, Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Bolshoi in Moscow, and Plutone in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo in Freiburg and Essen, Germany.

Simon Keenlyside

Fans of Simon Keenlyside will get plenty of chances to hear the ageless barihunk online. On April 6th, Radio France will broadcast his performance of Berg's Wozzeck from the Vienna, Staatsoper under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst. On April 25, BBC 3 will rebroadcast his Macbeth opposite the riveting Lady Macbeth of Liudmyla Monastyrska from the Royal Opera House. This is a performance that is not to be missed! BBC 3 has also announced that they will be broadcasting Keenlyside's Eugene Onegin from the Royal Opera House. The date and time has not been announced, but we believe that it will be June 1st.

Morgan Smith

On Sunday, April 7th at 8:00 PM/PST San Francisco's KDFC will broadcast Jake Heggie's latest masterpiece Moby-Dick. The opera stars barihunk Morgan Smith along with Jay Hunter Morris, Stephen Costello, Jonathan Lemalu, Talise Trevigne, Matthew O'Neill and Robert Orth. The performance is a rebroadcast from last season.