What the hell?

[Photo courtesy of Minnesota Opera]

Having watched more performances of Don Giovanni that I can count, I've never seen one where the title character eagerly awaits his decent into hell. However, if the devil looked like Kyle Ketelsen it might seem like a lifetime at Club Med.

Ketelsen will be playing Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust at the Minnesota Opera oppostite fellow barihunk Lucas Meachem, who is playing Valentin. Although we rarely discuss tenors on this site, Faust is played by the wonderful singer Paul Groves. This should be a delightful production. It plays from January 24 through February 1 at the Ordway Center in St. Paul. For more information visit .

What the hell, a trip to Hades doesn't sound so bad in Minneapolis in January, especially if Ketelsen is brandishing his pitchfork.

Phillip Sulzberger

German barihunk Philipp Sulzberger studied at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Munich, the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute and at the University of Nebraska. He studied with longtime Met soprano Ariel Bybee.

It seems like Pittsburgh is joinging Sante Fe as a hotbed for barihunks, as Sulzberger has become a regular with the Pittsburgh Opera. Pittsburgh has already invited back Nathan Gunn and previously hosted Greer Grimsley and Michael Todd Simpson, all of whom can be seen on this blog. Sulzberger's barihunk roles thus far are Escamillo and Papageno.

Nathan Brian

Minnesota native Nathan Brian is fairly new on the scene, but is rapidly establishing a solid career after completing his studies at the University of Michigan. He will be singing in Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette" at the Minnesota Opera in January and February 2008. He has also performed with the Sarasota Opera, Utah Lyric Opera, Minnesota Orchestra and the Ohio Light Opera.

Brian also sings musical theater, operetta and oratorio. His barihunk role is Papageno, but he looked pretty good as Ottone in "L'incoronazione di Poppea," as you can see from the photo. He was also trained as a dancer so, hopefully, he'll bring some of those moves to the stage.