Christopher Bolduc takes on Don Giovanni in new concept

Christopher Bolduc (right) as Don Giovanni in Wiesbaden

Christopher Bolduc continues to make his mark at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden in Germany, where he has performed Belcore in Donizetti's L’elisir d’amore, Lescaut in Massenet's Manon, Wolfram von Eschenbach in Wagner's Tannhäuser, Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème and Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte.

His latest performance will be in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni in Nicholas Brieger's new concept where the Don's conflict is as much with growing older, as it is with women. The current run goes from June 17-29 and includes Netta Or as Donna Anna, Ioan Hotea as Don Ottavio, Young Doo Park as the Commedatore, Heather Engebretson as Donna Elvira, Shavleg Armasi as Leporello, Benjamin Russell as Masetto and Katharina Konradi as Zerlina. The production returns later this year in September and October, as well next year from January 30-February 23. Tickets are available online.

Christopher Bolduc sings Britten's "O Waly, Waly":

Bolduc will take a break from playing Mozart's most famous seducer in November to sing the title role in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin opening on November 10th.

Regular readers will remember his recent sexy debut at the National Theatre (Národní divaldo) in Prague in the title role of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd. The photos are worth checking out HERE.

Barihunk Gerd Grochowski dies day after singing Wotan

Death notice from Gerd Grochowski's website

German barihunk Gerd Grochowski died of a heart attack 17 hours after performing Wotan at the Wiebaden Opera. He had received a rousing ovation from the audience and no one noticed anything unusual with his health.

Gerd Grochowski sings "Wo du bist?" from Tristan und Isolde:

Grochowski was a Wagner specialist who had performed Telramund and Heerrufer in Lohengrin, the title role in The Flying Dutchman, Wotan in The Ring, the Wanderer in Siegfried, Gunther in Götterdämmerung, Kurwenal in Tristan and Isolde and Amfortas and Klingsor in Parsifal. His breakthrough came with his debut at New York’s Metropolitain Opera as Kurwenal in Tristan and Isolde led by Daniel Barenboim. He performed at many of the world's greatest opera houses and festivals including the San Francisco Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, La Scala, Festival Aix-en-Provence, Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Salzburg Festival.

After Sunday's performance, he told his daughter "Nur eines will ich noch, das Ende," which translates to: "There is but one thing left I desire, the end."

Brett Carter's sexy Valentin in Mainz

Brett Carter in Mainz's production of Faust

We first introduced Aussie barihunk Brett Carter to readers last year when he was performing  Mercurio in Cavalli's Calisto at the Hessischen Staatstheaters in Wiesbaden. We featured some sexy shots of him performing in Britten's Rape of Lucretia and Ravel's L'heure espagnole.

Brett is a now an ensemble member at the Staatstheater in Mainz, where his upcoming performances include the baritone solo in Orff's Carmina Burana opening on November 22 and Alloro in Dusapin's Perelà in the Spring 2016. He's currently performing Valentin in Gounod's Faust (Margerete) and once again showing off a little skin for the German audiences. Performances run through February 14 and additional cast information and tickets are available online.

Next year, he'll be returning to his native country to sing the title role in Rossini's The Barber of Seville. 

Carter studied Classical Guitar and Voice at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He then became a member of the Australian Opera Studio where his roles included Mozart’s Conte Almaviva, Don Giovanni and Britten’s Tarquinius. After receiving a Scholarship to participate in the Cincinnati Music Festival in Lucca, Italy, he then went on to become a Young Artist with Opera Queensland. During this time he received first prize in the German Australian Opera Grant and from 2007- 2014 was a member of the Hessischen Staatstheater in Wiesbaden. 

MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGERS FROM 9 COUNTRIES.