David Diston posts funny bio for upcoming Winterreise

David Diston

We've been meaning to post about Canadian David Diston for at least a year, but his bio for his upcoming bio for the 24-baritone Winterreise-fest was the best motivation to get this done. Regular readers may recall barihunk Zachary Luchetti's hysterical and epic biography that we posted about in 2015 and Diston's is shorter, but every bit as clever.

"David Diston’s rapidly developing artistry is quickly gaining him recognition as a ‘sonorous baritone’ (Huffpost Alberta) with ‘full-throated and characterful singing’ (Calgary Herald). Also hailed as 'the best baritone ever' (Dave's Mom), Mr. Diston recently performed a most dramatic rendition of Don Giovanni, in his shower. Critically acclaimed for his coffee consumption abilities, David becomes a bigger fan of coloratura with each additional cup. Don't miss David in his upcoming appearances as 'King of the Night' in his living room, and 'passenger' on the 11:43pm Lakeshore West from Union."

You can hear (and see) Diston live in the Tongue In Cheek Productions performance of twenty-four basses and baritones singing Schubert's Winterreise on Wednesday, September 5, 8pm at Lula Lounge in Toronto. Some of the singers include Jason Howard, Doug MacNaughton, Dion Mazerolle, Alexander Hajek, Cairan Ryan, Aaron Durand, Michael Nyby and Olivier Laquerre. Tickets are available online.

Mike Nyby to sing first Scarpia with Opera Ithaca

Mike Nyby

Canadian Mike Nyby will be making his role debut as the evil police chief Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca with Opera Ithaca. Nyby will be replacing fellow barihunk Zachary James, who had to withdraw for personal reasons. Nyby has previously performed with the company as Demetrio in Kristin Hevner Wyatt's Il Sogno and as Falke in Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus.

Jake Stamatis (Photo: Joshua Bernard)

The cast also includes barihunk Jake Stamatis as Angelotti, Megan Nielsen as Floria Tosca and Paola Buffagni as Mario Cavaradossi. The semi-staged production will be performed at the Community School of Music & Arts in Ithaca on February 16th and at the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn on February 18th. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

This is Nyby's fourth Puccini role, have previously performed Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi and both Schaunard and Marcello in La bohème. This is a homecoming of sorts for Nyby, who graduated from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Music.

Sexy pictures of Mike Nyby from Isis and Osiris

Mike Nyby in Togni's Isis and Osiris (Michael Barrett, left; Lucia Nesrallah, right)

Earlier in the week we posted about Canadian barihunk Mike Nyby singing Seth in the world premiere of award-winning composer Peter-Anthony Togni's "Isis and Osiris." The new Canadian opera, concludes the 2016 season of Toronto's Opera in Concert program with performances on April 1st and 3rd.

We now have a couple of photos from the rehearsals, so we wanted to share them with our readers. His character isn't exactly the nicest guy in the world. In the photo on the left he's about to dismember Osiris's body and in the photo on the right he's raping Isis.

Isis and Osiris, Gods of Egypt is based on the major myth of ancient Egypt, telling their love story in a larger-than-life tale of sibling jealousy, lust for power, fratricide and the quest for immortality. Togni collaborated with Toronto poet Sharon Singer on the piece.

The remainder of the cast includes Lucia Cesaroni as Isis, Michael Barrett as Osiris, Julie Nesrallah as Nepthys, Stuart Graham as Grand Vizier Khamet, Leigh-Ann Allen as Sennefer and Christopher Wattam as Imhotep.

Upcoming performances for Nyby include Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen with the Huronia Symphony and Gounod's St. Cecilia's Mass with the Toronto Korean-Canadian Chorale. 

Mike Nyby in world premiere of Isis and Osiris

Mike Nyby

Canadian barihunk Mike Nyby will be singing Seth in the world premiere of award-winning composer Peter-Anthony Togni's "Isis and Osiris." The new Canadian opera, concludes the 2016 season of Toronto's Opera in Concert program with performances on April 1st and 3rd. 

Isis and Osiris, Gods of Egypt is based on the major myth of ancient Egypt, telling their love story in a larger-than-life tale of sibling jealousy, lust for power, fratricide and the quest for immortality. Togni collaborated with Toronto poet Sharon Singer on the piece.

The remainder of the cast includes Lucia Cesaroni as Isis, Michael Barrett as Osiris, Julie Nesrallah as Nepthys, Stuart Graham as Grand Vizier Khamet, Leigh-Ann Allen as Sennefer and Christopher Wattam as Imhotep.

Aaron Sørensen in 2 world premieres; Reprising Osmin in Baltimore

Aaron Sørensen's barihunk photo shoot

Bass-barihunk Aaron Sørensen has had an interesting beginning to the new year, performing two world premieres and his second Osmin.

He just released a song cycle by four-time Emmy Award-winning composer Glen Roven that was written with his voice in mind. The original song cycle is based on wine tasting notes from Obsidian Ridge Winery in Sonoma, California that were penned by winemaker Alex Beloz. The text screams for music with phraes like "dancing on the palate" and "a full crescendo of stony tannins." Only Sørensen's rich, deep base could do justice words like "dark hibiscus" which almost demands to be written for the lowest reaches of the human voice.

The song cycle will be premiered at the winery on June 20th and we'll have more details in a future post. There was also a video of the songs taped at Henry's Restaurant in New York City, which you can watch below. The video was directed by the gifted opera director John De Los Santos.

The former Barihunks calendar model also just sang in the world premiere of  Gregory Vajda’s comic opera Georgia Bottoms with fellow barihunk Mike Nyby and the Huntsville Symphony. The opera about the modern South, is based on the national best-seller by Alabama author Mark Childress.

On March 7th he'll sing his second performance of Osmin in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Peabody Opera Theatre in Baltimore. Osmin was Sørensen's dream role and he just debuted it with the Houston Symphony last month. The Peabody performance will be directed by Garnett Bruce, who directed their successful Rake's Progress in 2011.

The opera will be performed at the Modell Performing Arts Center in Baltimore and tickets are available online.

Silent Night to air on PBS

Liam Bonner in Silent Night

The barihunk-laden production of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night from the Minnesota Opera will be broadcast nationally on PBS on Friday, December 13 at 9pm ET (check local listings). The opera was the first commission of Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative, a landmark program designed to invigorate the operatic repertoire with an infusion of contemporary works.

The Minnesota Opera presented the world premiere of Silent Night in November 2011 with a cast that included barihunks Craig Irvin as Lieutenant Horstmayer, Gabriel Preisser as Lieutenant Gordon,  Mike Nyby as William Dale, Liam Bonner as Lieutenant Audebert, Troy Cook as Father Palmer, Joseph Beutel as the British Major, Ben Wager as the General and Andrew Wilkowske as Ponchel.

Silent Night is conducted by Minnesota Opera’s Music Director Michael Christie and staged by Academy Award-winning director Eric Simonson. The opera was recently honored with a regional Emmy nomination.

Quartet from Silent Night:

Silent Night was co-produced with Opera Philadelphia, who presented the work in February of this year. It now travels to the Fort Worth Opera Festival on May 4 and 10 with barihunks Dan Kempson, Craig Irvin and Morgan Smith.

The opera is based on the screenplay Joyeux Noël by Christian Carion and recounts a miraculous moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars in human history. On WWI’s western front, Scottish, French and German officers defy their superiors and negotiate a Christmas Eve truce. Enemies become brothers as they share Christmas and bury their dead.
 
You can listen to the entire opera online at composer Kevin Puts' website. 

Another sexy ad campaign and barihunk-laden season at Opera Atelier

Opera Atelier's laterst  marketing photo

A recent conversation with the head of an American opera company included a lot of questions about marketing. He was a little surprised with the response that no company matches the Canadian baroque specialists Opera Atelier when it comes to creativity, appealing to younger audiences and making opera seem accessible. After all, they've taken operas that are over 300 years old and made them downright sexy and appealing. Best of all, the same high standard that they use in their marketing campaigns translates to the stage, where they produce some of the most visually stunning performances to be seen anywhere.

When we preach about opera companies needing to compete with television and movies, without compromising standards, Opera Atelier is the model.

Making Der Freischütz sexy

The 27-year-old company has done it again for their latest season, which includes Mozart's The Magic Flute and Weber's Der Freischütz. We don't think that we have EVER seen a sexy marketing campaign for Weber's most performed opera before now. What's even more amazing is that four singers who have appeared on Barihunks are in the cast, including Olivier LaQuerre as Kuno, Mike Nyby as Killian/Prince Ottokar, Curtis Sullivan as Samiel and the deliciously sexy Vasil Garvanliev as Kaspar.

Performances of Der Freischütz run from October 27 through November 3.

Jack Rennie as Love with Peggy Kriha Dye as Armide and Curtis Sullivan as Hatred in The Glimmerglass Festival/Opera Atelier production of Armide. (Photo Karli Cadel/The Glimmerglass Festival)

Their other production is The Magic Flute, which is an opera that is more often featured on this site. Usually the opera is featured because it stars one of the many adorable Papagenos singing the role today. Opera Atelier features Olivier LaQuerre as the tallest Papageno you'll probably ever see at 6'9" (2.06 metres). His Freischütz castmate Curtis Sullivan reappears as the Speaker along with João Fernandes as Sarastro.

Vasil Garvanliev: The world's sexiest Kaspar?

The Magic Flute will run from April 6-13, 2013. Complete cast information and tickets are available at the Opera Atelier website.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

CBC's "The Sexiest Barihunks in Canada"

Mike Nyby (L) and Philip Kalmanovitch (R)

We've been featured and even interviewed on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and they've mentioned us a number of times. But they've stepped it up a notch with their "The Sexiest Barihunks in Canada" feature.

The post features four barihunks hot enough to melt the ice caps north of the Yukon: Etienne Dupuis, Phillipe Sly, Phillip Addis and Brett Polegato. The singers are asked about their sexiest features, sexiest roles, workout routine and what they'd sing to woo a lover. It is definitely worth checking out and we appreciate the ongoing love from the CBC, who we adore more than a Molson at a hockey game.

We're pretty sure that limiting it to four singers was more about who they could successfully contact than creating a comprehensive list. We're pretty certain that Canada has the highest per capita ratio of barihunks in the world. We've featured close to two dozen Canadians on this site, including three in last year's calendar: Philip Kalmanovitch, Jonathan Estabrooks and Aaron Agulay. Estabrooks will be reappearing in the 2013 calendar.

Daniel Okulitch in The Last Savage

Two Canadians barihunks are having huge international careers, Daniel Okulitch and John Relyea. Relyea is a regular at the Met and other major opera houses, while Okulitch is a fan favorite in opera houses across the globe. His performance in a loin cloth in  Menotti's "The Last Savage" at the Sante Fe Opera still has opera cognoscenti buzzing with delight.

Elliot Madore is on the verge of breaking into the upper tier of singers. He has a redesigned website and has caught the attention of opera general managers everywhere. We recently received emails from opera executives in three countries praising this gifted young artist.

Other Canadians who we've featured include Mike Nyby, Stephen Hegedus, Olivier Laquerre, Tyler Duncan, Riley McMitchell, Peter Barrett, Gordon Bintner, Philip Kalmanovitch, Benjamin Covey and Michael Adair (who co-opted "Barihunk" for his Twitter name).

 John Relyea sings "Scintille, diamant" from The Tales of Hoffmann":

Kevin Puts' "Silent Night" wins Pulitzer Prize

Barihunk Ben Wager and a scene from Silent Night

Last November, we posted about Kevin Puts' new opera "Silent Night," which was being premiered at the Minnesota Opera. We were all atwitter, because not only did it seem like an amazing new American opera, but it featured a cast with more sexy men than a college water polo team. The cast included Gabriel Preisser, Liam Bonner, Mike Nyby, Andrew Wilkowske and Ben Wager and was named as our "Best Barihunk Feast of 2011" in our year-end wrap up.

Apparently, some other pretty impressive musical minds agreed that the opera was worthy of recognition, as the Pulitzer Prize for "Distinguished Musical Composition by an American" was awarded to composer Kevin Puts for "Silent Night." The opera was commissioned and premiered by the Minnesota Opera in Minneapolis on November 12, 2011, a company that we have long praised  for its heartfelt commitment to premiering new works, especially those by American composers. We would like to add ourselves to the chorus of congratulatory messages from the music world.  

The opera. with a libretto by Mark Campbell, recounts the true story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, French and Germans during World War I, displaying versatility of style and cutting straight to the heart. The story was based on the 2005 film "Joyeux Noël."

Composer Kevin Puts

Also nominated as finalists in this category were Tod Machover for "Death and the Powers," premiered by the Boston Modern Opera Project in Massachusetts on March 18, 2011 and Andrew Norman for “The Companion Guide to Rome,” premiered on November 13, 2011 in Salt Lake City.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Papageno!!! Papageno!!! Sarastro!!! & A Barihunk Gathering in Minnesota

Some days we open our inbox and a theme just seems to appear. Today it was barihunks who are performing Papageno or Sarastro in Mozart's "Magic Flute."

The Opera Theatre Company in Ireland is touring the opera to a number of venues. The Sarastro is one of our favorite barihunks, Matthew Trevino, who also happens to in our Barihunks charity calendar in September. The opening night performance on Friday, November 25 is already sold out, but there are still tickets remaining for the remaing 19 performances, which run through December 10.

The Papageno is Owen Gilhooly and the production is performed in an English translation. Visit the Opera Theatre Company website for additional information or to purcharse tickets.

David Adam Moore (Papageno) and Jamie-Rose Guarrine (Papagena) (Photo by Mark Matson)

Another barihunk featured prominently in our calendar (and showing some skin) is the always entertaining David Adam Moore. Moore is a performer who always brings something extra to a performance, whether singing Mozart, Rossini or contemporary opera. He just wrapped up a run as Papageno with the Austin Lyric Opera. If you're in Texas and are kicking yourself with your cowboy boots for missing him, you're in luck. Moore is returning in April to perform Timur in Puccini's "Turandot" opposite yet another calendar model, Craig Verm,who shows off his amazing chest in our May feature along with Douglas Carpenter, Justin Hopkins and Dan Kempson (you won't want to miss it!).

By the way, you won't want to miss the AMAZING Turandot of Lise Lindstrom, who practically owns this role right now and performed the role to great acclaim at the Met. It's impressive that a smaller company like Austin Lyric Opera has managed to engage her. Buy your tickets now at their website, as this production will undoubtedly be sold out.

Gyula Orendt

We hadn't heard of Gyula Orendt until a reader brought him to our attention. The Transylvania-born singer studied at Franz Liszt University in Budapest. Orendt won numerous awards at the Viñas vocal competition in Barcelona in January 2010, including those for Oratorio/Lied, Mozart singing and Dalton-Baldwin prize. The baritone is a member of the ensemble of the Berlin State Opera House this seasons where he will perform Papageno, among other roles. Next year, he will also perform the Gamekeeper in Dvorak's "Rusalka" at the Royal Opera in London.

Lastly, we had to share the following picture from the Minnesota Opera. As we previously posted, the world premiere of Kevin Puts' "Silent Night" was full of amazing baritones and, better yet, barihunks. One of the things that we like about operas based on war stories, is that they inevitably have a lot of beefcake to enjoy and "Silent Night" is no exception.

Top Photo: Troy Cook, Gabriel Preisser, Ben Wager, Michael Nyby and Craig Irvin

Of course, "Silent Night" has also been a critical success and has instantly become a welcome addition to the repertory. We highly recommend that you read the reviews from the Minneapolis Examiner and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Regular readers of this site will also know that Troy Cook is one of only a handful of singers to appear on this site in the Full Monty. Cooks revealing debut on this site last summer was from a performance of Poulenc's "Les mamelles de Tirésias" and it continues to be a popular post with readers.

Please remember that all proceeds from our Barihunks calendar is going to benefit young artist programs that produce singers like Matthew Trevino, Troy Cook, Gabriel Preisser, Mike Nyby, David Adam Moore and others. Holiday shopping season officially begins this week, so click HERE and order your calendar today. Join us in making this a special holiday for young artists and you can enjoy looking at them ALL YEAR.

Your input, suggestions and occasional corrections are always welcome at Barihunks@gmail.com

Minnesota Opera's Barihunk-laden "Silent Night"

Gabriel Preisser, Liam Bonner, Mike Nyby, Andrew Wilkowske & Ben Wager

The Minnesota Opera is one of the gems in the landscape of American opera houses. It doesn't always get the national notoriety that it deserves, but within music circles it is known for consistently strong vocal performances and their religious commitment to young artists and living composers.

The Minnesota Opera has premiered Oliver Knussen's "Where the Wild Things Are," Libby Larsen's "Frankenstein," Ricky Ian Gordon's "The Grapes of Wrath," and Bernard Herrmann's sole opera "Wuthering Heights." They've also presented the American premieres of Jonathan Dove's Pinocchio, Poul Ruders' "The Handmaid's Tale," Dominick Argento's "Postcard from Morocco," Rossini's "Armida," Laurent Petitgirard's "The Elephant Man," and Reinhard Keiser's "The Fortunes of King Croesus."



The latest premiere from the Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative is Kevin Puts' "Silent Night," which is based on the screenplay for Joyeux Noël by Christian Carion. The opera recounts a miraculous moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars in human history. On World War I’s western front, weapons are laid down when the Scottish, French and German officers defy their superiors and negotiate a Christmas Eve truce. Enemies become brothers as they come together to share Christmas and bury their dead. Tenor William Burden, who has a place in barihunk history for starring shirtless opposite of Nathan Gunn in the production that gave rise to the term, stars as the soldier whose voice inspired peace among adversaries – if only for a day.

Canadian Mike Nyby plays Scottish soldier William Dale

The opera contains more sexy men than a World Cup soccer championship. There are four barihunks who have appeared on this site before, including Mike Nyby, Gabriel Preisser, Ben Wager and Liam Bonner. The world premiere was on Saturday, November 12 and there are additional performances on November 15, 17, 19 and 20, 2011. Visit the Minnesota Opera website for additional performance and ticket information.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Don't forget that you can support young artists like those performing at the Minnesota Opera by purchasing our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. All proceeds go to benefit young artists. The calendar features the hottest singers from six countries. Click HERE to purchase your own calendar or make it the perfect holiday gift. 

The Gilfry's: All in the family

Rod Gilfry as Gesualdo

Barihunk Rod Gilfry has been a regular on this site since it's inception. He was a major star in opera and is now making his mark as Emile De Becque in "South Pacific." He recently finished a highly acclaimed performance of the title role in Dalbavie's "Gesualdo" in Zurich opposite the Pietro of Gabriel Bermudez, who remains the most popular singer on this site of all time.

Santa Fe Apprentices Tom Corbeil, Tom Forde & Mike Nyby

Gilfry apparently has strong genes, as his daughter Carin Gilfry is now emerging on the scene as a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she grow up with a barihunk dad, but she was a participant in the Santa Fe Apprentice Artist program, which has produced a long roster of barihunks. Participants who apprenticed with Gilfry include Tom Corbeil, Mike Nyby and Tom Forde. The 2011 Santa Fe Opera schedule is out and includes Faust, La Boheme, Griselda, Wozzeck and The Last Savage.

Carin & Rod Gilfry

Fans of either Gilfry can see them perform together at the Chamber Music Sedona’s fifteenth annual "Holiday Gala Benefit - A Night at the Opera" on Sunday, December 12 at the Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa.

Tickets are available at www.ChamberMusicSedona.org or by calling (928) 204-2415.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

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Emerging Barihunk Mike Nyby Featured in Newspaper

Emerging barihunk Mike Nyby is featured in the Hamilton Spectator.

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It's HOT in Santa Fe And It's Not Just The Weather

Barihunks was partially inspired by the wonderful site Parterre Box, who entered the term into the English language. Parterre Box defined a barihunk as one who likely was an apprentice artist at Santa Fe Opera, which has undeniably produced their fair share of good looking singers.

This year is no exception, as you can see from the three barihunks features below. Another current apprentice artist, Tom Corbeil, has been featured prominently on this site.

This is Tom Forde, who has a great face and physical presence for the stage. I would hope that anyone casting the Mozart "Big 3" (Cosi, Nozze, Giovanni) would think about casting this charming young barihunk. He would be ideal. Forde has also appeared here before.



Mike Nyby also caught our eye before. He is originally from Canada and grew up in New Jersey. I can see him becoming the next great Billy Budd, as he totally looks the part. He's also be an interesting Tarquinius, which would surely guarantee a repeat appearance on this site. You can hear him sing a wonderful Escamillo excerpt on his website with the talented Kirt Pavitt on piano.




Matthew Morris is new to this site and he is absolutely adorable. He is a natural on stage, having studied some dance and already has an impressive resume outside of opera, having been a dancer in the movie "The Producers" and a performing a cameo on TV's "Law & Order." If opera doesn't work out he could easily be a star on a soap opera or a leading man on Broadway.


We're glad that Santa Fe continues to be a launching pad for barihunks.

For ticket information click here.

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