Christopher Bolduc makes house debut at Deutsche Oper am Rhein featuring barihunk trio

Richard Šveda and Christopher Bolduc

American barihunk Christopher Bolduc will make his house debut tonight as Marcello at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein's Theater Duisburg in Puccini's La bohème. Bolduc will be joined by fellow barihunks Richard Šveda as Schaunard and Luke Stoker as Colline in a cast that also includes as Luiza Fatyol as Mimi, Luis Gomes as Rodolfo and Lavinia Dames as Musetta.

Director Philipp Westerbarkei has updated the production to contemporary times, with the male foursome wearing muscle shirts and even dancing in pink tutus. Performances with Bolduc are on December 21, 25, March 28 and May 2 and 13.  

After the first two performances of La bohème, Bolduc returns to his home base at the Hessiscches Staatstheater Wiesbaden to perform Lescaut in Massenet's Manon, Stern in Mark-Anthony Turnage's Anna Nicole and Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.

Luke Stoker and Richard Šveda in La bohème

Bass-barihunk Luke Stoker is new to this site. He hails from Australia, where he received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Queensland and a Master of Music Studies from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music/Griffith University. In 2013, he was awarded the German Opera Scholarship and subsequently became part of the ensembles at Oper Köln and Oper Dortmund. In January 2020, he will make his role and house debut at the Volksoper Wien as Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen.

Richard Šveda is also new to this site. He has been a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein since the 2010-11 season. He has performed most of the leading Mozart baritone roles, including Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Count Almaviva in the Marriage of Figaro and  the title role in Don Giovanni. The famous soprano Edita Gruberová regularly included him in her concerts with young artists. Mozart continues to fill his calendar, as he performs Don Giovanni at the Slovak National Theater Bratislava and the Count in The Marriage of Figaro at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in January and May.

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.

Christopher Bolduc in Czech premiere of 4-act Billy Budd

Christopher Bolduc as Billy Budd in Prague

Blond barihunk Christopher Bolduc, who likes like he was born to sing the role of the handsome young sailor Billy Budd, will perform the role in the Czech premiere of Benjamin Britten's original four act version. The composer later revised the opera as a two-act opera with a prologue and an epilogue, which is how it generally performed today.

The opera will be performed at the Czech National Opera and features the Losers Cirque Company, a group of dancers and acrobats. The troupe helps director Daniel Špinar delve into the destructive power of sexuality that the composer wrote about in this piece, as well as Death in Venice. Bolduc physically resembles Theodor Uppman, who Britten chose for the world premiere (after Geraint Evans withdrew).

Christopher Bolduc as Billy Budd with the Losers Cirque Company

The opera is based on Herman Melville’s eponymous novel and tells the story of what took place on board a British battleship during the Napoleonic Wars. Britten was also a passionate pacifist, who possessed a great sense of justice, and he personally resented violence, be it in war conflicts or committed on individuals. All these topics are afforded a significant role in the opera, in which a handsome, naïve and trustful youth becomes the object of hatred on the part of a sadistic manipulator, master-at-arms Claggart, who falsely accuses Billy of inciting the crew to mutiny.

Christopher Bolduc as Billy Budd with the Losers Cirque Company

Billy inadvertently kills his torturer and is duly sentenced to death. Captain Vere faces an agonising decision: should he pardon the innocent boy, or should he abide by the law of war? He does not prevent the tragedy and the memory of his fateful failure will haunt him throughout his life. Billy Budd is the composer's second “nautical” opera, in which the sea, the rocking of the waves and the gusts of wind are reflected in every single bar of music.

Performances run from January 18-28, and again on April 25 and 27 .

Updated Cosi's in Florence and Wiesbaden (and shirtless men!)

Omar Montanari, Juan Francisco Gatell and Simone Alberghini

Così fan tutte at Opera di Firenze

We introduced Italian barihunk Omar Montanari back in 2011. He specializes in comic roles, such as Dandini and Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola and Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore, and is currently singing Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Opera di Firenze through October 27. The popular new production directed by Lorenzo Mariani was sold out on opening night. It updates the action and features lots of shirtless men, as you can see from the pictures above.

The cast also includes Anna Goryachova as Dorabella, Juan Francisco Gatell as Ferrando, barihunk Simone Alberghini as Guglielmo and Giulia Semenzato as Depsina.

Omar Montanari sings Strangers in the Night in Italian (Solo piu' che mai):

Upcoming peformances for Montanari include Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia in Rome and Venice, Taddeo in Rossini's L'italiana in Algieri and Dulcamara in Venice. 

Another new production, directed by Uwe Eric Laufenberg, will open in Wiesbaden on November 1st and feature American barihunk Christopher Bolduc as Guglielmo. The production is offering limited seating on a special rostrum at the back area of the stage,  allowing audiences to get close to the action with the beautiful theater as the backdrop.

Christopher Bolduc and Silvia Hauer (Dorabella) in Wiesbaden

The cast includes Heather Engebretson as Fiodiligi, Silvia Hauer as Dorabella, Ioan Hotea as Ferrando, Gloria Rehm as Despina and Wolf Matthias Friedrich as Don Alfonso.

This season in Wiesbaden, Bolduc can also be seen as Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore and Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

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

 

Christopher Bolduc making Wagnerian debut

Christopher Bolduc

Christopher Bolduc in making his Wagnerian debut today as the King's Herald in Lohengrin in Wiesbaden, Germany. His only prior on-stage performance of the great German composer was singing the aria "O du, mein holder Abendstern" from Tannhäuser at his undergraduate recital.

Performances run throught May 25th with two casts, although Bolduc is in all of the performances. It opens with Marco Jentzsch as Lohengrin, Johanni van Ostrum as Elsa and Andrea Baker as Ortrud, with those roles being taken over by Klaus Florian Vogt, Barbara Haveman and the great Waltrud Meier. Tickets and additional cast information are available online.

In the 2013-14 Bolduc made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Jake in Nico Muhly’s Two Boys.
Last season, he also performed Christopher as the Huntsman in Heinz Holliger’s Schneewittchen at Theater Basel and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore at Oper Köln.

At the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the American barihunk has performed Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème and Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. On May 3rd he takes on another great German composer in Wiesbaden when he sings Der Einäugige (the one-eyed man) in Richard Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten.

Christopher Bolduc makes role debut as Marcello in Germany

Christopher Bolduc as Marcello in Wiesbaden

American barihunk Christopher Bolduc made his role debut as Marcello in Puccini's La boheme on Friday night at the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany. Icelandic director Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson, who is the new general director at the opera company, set the piece in a world of nostalgic fairy book charm, complete with a carousel.

Bolduc, who has impressed European audiences with performances at Oper Köln, Glyndebourne and Theater Basel is now on the permanent roster of the the opera in Wiesbaden where he's also wrapping up a run in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten today. He'll reprise his performance in that opera in May 2015. In between, he'll be singing Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and the King's Herald in Wagner's Lohengrin. American audiences will remember Bolduc from his stunning portrayal of Jake in Nico Muhly’s Two Boys in his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2013. 

The current cast performs through October 30th with Matias Tosi taking over the role of Marcell beginning on November 14th.  Tickets and additional cast information are available online.

Christopher Bolduc and Keith Miller in new Two Boys recording

Christopher Bolduc and Keith Miller

Nonesuch is releasing Nico Muhly's Two Boys, which was recorded live during the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013 production with barihunks Christopher Bolduc as Jake and Keith Miller as Peter. It's currently available for pre-orders at the Nonesuch Store with an instant download of the opera’s Act I, Scene 6.

The two-act opera, which features a libretto by award-winning playwright Craig Lucas, is loosely based on true events and follows a lonely detective whose investigation of a seemingly simple crime draws her into a complex web of online intrigue. Alice Coote sings the role of Detective Inspector Anne Strawson and Paul Appleby sings Brian, the 16-year-old boy at the center of her investigations.

The 32-year old Muhly, 32 is the youngest composer ever commissioned by the Met, and Two Boys was his first large-scale opera. Two Boys, set in an English industrial city in 2001, combines two story elements rarely seen on the operatic stage: a police procedural and a dramatization of the mysterious and lonely lives of those who inhabit the dark corners of the Internet.

Muhly’s other recent projects include music for the Broadway production of The Glass Menagerie and the score to the film Kill Your Darlings. His other film credits include scores for Joshua (2007), Margaret (2009), and the Academy Award–nominated The Reader (2008).

The cast also features Jennifer Zetlan as Rebecca, Caitlin Lynch as Cynthia, Sandra Piques Eddy as Fiona, Judith Forst as Anne’s Mum

Christopher Bolduc is currently a resident artist at the  Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany. He'll be performing Der Einäugige in Richard Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten from September 12-October 11. In October, he'll be Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème, followed by Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia in December.

Make sure to check out our recent post about Keith Miller's upcoming appearance in Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas at the Nashville Opera.

Christopher Bolduc makes Met debut in Two Boys

Christopher Bolduc

Christopher Bolduc is finally making his Metropolitan Opera debut, after being a national semifinalist in both the 2007 and 2008 Metropolitan National Council Auditions. He'll be performing as Jake in Nico Muhly's Two Boys, which we've been following since its premiere at the English National Opera in 2011. The much anticipated U.S. premiere, which happens six years after it was commissioned by the Met, takes place on Monday, October 21 at 8 PM. 

The opera explores identity and desire in the shadowy world of the Internet as a detective investigates the stabbing of one teenage boy by another—and discovers a tangled web of online intrigue. Loosely inspired by real events, the work even comes with a warning for Met audiences about graphic and sexual language.

Performances will run through November 14th and tickets are available online.

This revised version of the ENO production of Two Boys is the first composition to be performed at Met stage since it inaugurated its commissioning program with Lincoln Center Theater seven years ago. If you want to see the opera, you'll have to see it live, since General Manager Peter Gelb said the adult themes ruled out the opera from inclusion in the company's HD theater simulcasts.

Keith Miller in the 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar

Appearing as Peter will be Barihunks calendar model Keith Miller. Other performers include mezzo-soprano Alice Coote as Detective Anne Strawson and tenor Paul Appleby as Brian, a 16-year-old accused of stabbing Jake.

Don't forget that money from this year's Charity Calendar will be determined from suggestions on our Facebook page or on Twitter using the hashtag #Barihunks2014. Money can go to young artist programs or any efforts involving young artists, including recording, recitals or performances. You can purchase a calendar and help out young artists by clicking HERE. 

Christopher Bolduc wants to be your Valentine

Who could argue with this?

Christopher Bolduc's Facebook Post from today

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Billy Budd Buzz for Lieutenant Ratcliffe: Is Bolduc a Budding Budd?

Clemens Unterreiner: Stealing the show as a secondary character?

Our source in Vienna says that the barihunk buzz for tonight's opening of Billy Budd isn't with the title character, but with the role of Lieutenant Ratcliffe played by Clemens Unterreiner. She says that people who have worked with Unterreiner have always wondered why he hasn't been offered leading roles to show of his Hollywood good looks and dashing charisma. Of course, we're not casting doubt that the gifted singer and actor Adrian Erod won't be brilliant in the title role, we're just telling ticket holders to keep a keen eye for Ratcliffe. For additional cast and performance information visit the Vienna State Opera website.

Unterreiner, a Viennese native, has been with the company for just over five years and has become a fan favorite despite singing the usual array of secondary roles like Marcello and Sharpless. He's scheduled to make his La Scala debut in September as Count Dominick in Richard Strauss' Arabella. 

BOLDUC A BUDDING BUDD?

Christopher Bolduc: Future Billy Budd?

Every so often we get an email asking us to suggest a singer for a certain role or production and we're usually more than happy to oblige. However, while we're on the topic of Billy Budd, we thought we'd offer some unsolicited advice to anyone casting Billy Budd. We've found the perfect title character in Christopher Bolduc, who not only perfectly fits the description of Melville's character, but has that same unassuming charm that the character is supposed to possess. The pictures of Bolduc are from a recent production of Don Giovanni.

Just a thought.

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Barihunk Gathering In Ft. Worth

Since the Ft. Worth summer opera festival has the greatest collection of barihunks around this season, it seemed appropriate to brave the 100-degree heat and hand out the first official BARIHUNK t-shirts.  The top photo is Ft. Worth's Don Giovanni, Michael Todd Simpson and Wes Mason, who plays Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls. The middle photo is John Boehr, Matt Trevino, Chris Bolduc, Seth Mease Carico, Wes Mason and Michael Todd Simpson. The bottom photo is Wes Mason, Michael Todd Simpson, Matt Trevino, Seth Mease Carico, John Boehr and Chris Bolduc.

It's already been suggested that the next batch be muscle shirts. Thoughts? 

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Bolduc To Appear As Belcore

We featured Christopher Bolduc over a year ago as a barihunk whose career was about to take off. We're thrilled to see that he's been cast as Belcore in Ft. Worth Opera's production of 'L'elisir d'amore" during their summer season. We're still bullish on Bolduc and predict great things for this young singer. It's great that Ft. Worth is willing to put young singers on stage in roles like Belcore, rather than always casting the same handful of singers.

Belcore isn't usually considered a barihunk role, although Mariusz Kwiecien sexed up the role in Amsterdam, as seen on this site.



It looks like Ft. Forth is sticking with a more traditional performance than their Dutch counterparts, but we're still confident that Bolduc will look good and sound good. Here is a video of him from the Academy of Vocal Arts singing another non-barihunk role, Ford in Verdi's "Falstaff."



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More Beefcake From "Rape of Lucretia"

[Kiera Duffy and Philip Cutlip]


[Kiera Duffy and Lee Gregory]


Benjamin Britten's operas are the gift that keeps on giving for this site. One opera that we always keep an eye out for is "Rape of Lucretia," which is usually cast with at least one shirtless hunk in the cast.

Fortunately for Barihunks readers, the delightful and talented soprano Kiera Duffy has posted some pictures from the recent production of Toledo Opera's "Rape of Lucretia." The opera featured two of the hottest barihunks around, Lee Gregory and Philip Cutlip.

The Toledo Blade wrote of Cutlip:

"As the bad boy Etruscan prince, Tarquinius, Philip Cutlip is menacing and macho."

Read the entire review HERE.

By the way Duffy is featured in the film The Audition, an amazing movie about the Metropolitan Opera auditions. The movie also featured barihunks Christopher Bolduc and Ryan McKinny.

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Wes Mason on "Before Night Falls"

One of our favorite opera companies in the United States is the Ft. Worth Opera. They always combine great repertoire with wonderful young singers. Once again, they've put together a great season with Don Giovanni, The Elixir of Love, and the world premiere of Before Night Falls.

Every year the opera world is abuzz about a new opera and this year it appears to be Jorge Martin's "Before Night Falls" about the gay Cuban counter-revolutionary Reinaldo Arena. They have engaged the hunky Wes Mason to take on the title role in his first leading role on a major stage. From what we've heard of Mason, he will undoubtedly be a smash hit. Here is some video of the emerging barihunk singing and talking about the role.

By the way, the other operas at Ft. Worth have their fair share of barihunks, as well. Don Giovanni has Michael Todd Simpson in the title role, fresh off his critically acclaimed performance in the Tales of Hoffman at The Met. His sidekick will be Tom Corbeil who created quite a sensation on this site when he first appeared last year. Even the Elixir of Love has the adorable Christopher Bolduc cast as Belcore.

Christopher Bolduc as Enrico

Christopher Bolduc must be a nice guy, as his colleagues at the Philadelphia Academy of Vocal Arts are always eager to apprise us of his latest conquests. Here is a video and photo of the young barihunk performing Enrico in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor." Bolduc is definitely one of the new group of singers who look as good as they sound. This video shows his enormous potential.

As usual, Ft. Worth Opera wasted no time is scooping up yet another barihunk, as he's scheduled to sing Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore in the Texas city in the near future. He will also be performong Schaunard in La Boheme at the Palm Beach Opera. Rumor has it that he's also working on Marcello in the same opera for an unveiling in the not too distant future.

We're hoping for some more barihunk roles like Zurga or Tarquinius. Any impressarios out there casting those roles?

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Christopher Bolduc's Career About to Take Off

Christopher Bolduc is an emerging barihunk whose career we're watching. He already has appeared on this site's "It's hot in Santa Fe" feature (http://barihunks.blogspot.com/2008/05/its-hot-in-sante-fe.html). He's a student of Bill Schuman at the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts and it looks like his career is about to take off complete with agency representation.

We noticed that he's booked this spring with the Palm Beach Opera and the Santa Fe Opera. He will also be appearing at that hotbed of barihunks, the Fort Worth Opera, as Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore. You can watch a preview of his Belcore above. His agency profile states that he is currently preparing Marcello in La Boheme, Valentin in Faust and Silvio in I Pagliacci.

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