David Adam Moore returns to Atlanta Opera as Eugene Onegin

David Adam Moore in A Streetcar Named Desire (Photo: David Beloff)

American barihunk David Adam Moore returns to the Atlanta Opera on March 2nd in the title role of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. He previously sang Schubert's Winterreise with the company in a  production designed by GLMMR with costumes by Moore's partner Vita Tzykun.

He last sang the role of Onegin with the Arizona Opera in 2015. The Atlanta cast includes tenor William Burden as Lensky, Raquel González as Tatyana and Megan Marino as Olga. There are additional performances on March 5, 8 and 10 and tickets are available online.

David Adam Moore highlights from Winterreise:

Tchaikovsky based his opera on Alexander Pushkin's s novel, which was written in verse and is considered a classic of Russian literature. The idea of setting the story to music was suggested to the composer by the great Russian mezzo-soprano Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya. Tchaikovsky arranged much of the verse himself into the libretto with help from his friend Konstantin Shilovsky.

Moore will also be making his Teatro Colòn debut in May 2019 singing one of greatest roles,  Stanley Kowalski in Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire. 

David Adam Moore to reprise sexy Stanley Kowalski

David Adam Moore as Stanley Kowalski (Photo @dabva)

The Teatro Colón has announced its 2019 season, which will include barihunk David Adam Moore as Stanley Kowalski in Andre Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, in what will be the South American premiere of the opera. Moore has had great success with the role at both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Virginia Opera.

The opera is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tennessee Williams and has become a showcase for barihunks, including Gregory Gerbrandt, Dan Kempson, Rod Gilfry, Ryan McKinny, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Jordan Shanahan.

A Streetcar Named Desire was premiered at the San Francisco Opera in 1998 with Rod Gilfry as Stanley and its become one of the most popular contemporary American operas in the repertory. It has gone on to see performances in New Orleans, Kentucky, Carnegie Hall in New York San Diego, Washington D.C., San Francisco (Merola Opera), Cleveland, Chicago, Santa Barbara, Honolulu and Virginia Opera. It had it European premiere in Strasbourg in 2001 and its U.K. premiere in 2003, with subsequent performances throughout Europe and in Tokyo.

The Teatro Colón cast will also include Sarah Jane McMahon, Eric Fennell, and Victoria Livengood. Performances run from May 7-14, 2019

David Adam Moore stars in West Coast premiere of Soldier Songs

David Adam Moore

Barihunk David Adam Moore will reprise the role of the Soldier in David T. Little's "Soldier Songs," which he created at the 2008 premiere at Le Poisson Rouge in New York. The Ford Theatres and LA Opera Off Grand, in collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects, will present the West Coast premiere of the piece on October 13th.

The monodrama for baritone and chamber orchestra is a groundbreaking multimedia piece that combines elements of theatre, opera, rock-infused concert music and film. The piece contrasts the perceptions and realities of war from the soldier's perspective.

David Adam Moore

The score for Soldier Songs was commissioned by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, which premiered a concert version of the work in 2006. Soldier Songs received a fully staged workshop production sold to standing room capacity by Beth Morrison Projects in New York in 2008 at Le Poisson Rouge. Beth Morrison Projects produced the premiere of the full production at The International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut in June 2011 and was remounted during the inaugural PROTOTYPE Festival.

Tickets are priced at $35, 55 and 75. Tickets and information about parking are available by visiting FordTheatres.org or by calling (323) 461-3673.

David Adam Moore appearing in fitness book, The New Yorker and world premiere.

David Adam Moore from Complete Vocal Fitness

American barihunk David Adam Moore, who just scored a huge triumph in Thomas Adés' The Exterminating Angel, is featured in a Kickstarter campaign for the book Complete Vocal Fitness: A Singer's Guide to Physical Training, Anatomy & Biomechanics. The book, authored by vocal coach Claudia Friedlander, offers the same tools that fitness trainers use to train elite athletes to assist singers in developing their instrument to perform at peak performance.

The book will be a guide on learning how the vocal instrument functions, offering descriptions of the fundamental components of vocal anatomy – laryngeal function, articulation and resonance – explaining their movements, their interaction with one another, and their integration with the anatomy of breathing and alignment. You can learn more about the book and Kickstarter campaign online.
 

David Adam Moore in the 2014 Barihunks Calendar

Moore has been a regularly featured singer on Barihunks and appeared in our 2012 and 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendars. He was also recently featured in The New Yorker, which included a picture by noted photographer Andres Serrano. Check it out here.

We have featured him in a number of classic, sexy baritone roles, including Joseph de Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, Stanley Kowalksi in Andre Previn's Streetcar Named Desire and his famous portrayal David T. Little's Soldier Songs.

Moore will next appear in the world premiere of David T. Little's electroacoustic song cycle Book of Dreams: Chapter Sand at the National Sawdust on December 17th. Tickets and additional information is online. 

2018 Barihunks Calendar

ONLY 25 DAYS LEFT TO ORDER our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think.

David Adam Moore making role debut as Guglielmo in Central City

David Adam Moore (center from The Exterminating Angel)

Barihunk David Adam Moore will make his principal role debut as Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Central City Opera. The opera has not been performed at the historic Colorado opera house since 1990, when they marked the 200th anniversary of the piece. Performances will run from July 15 through August 4.

Moore will be joined by soprano Hailey Clark as Fiordiligi, mezzo-soprano Tamara Gura as Dorabella, tenor Matthew Plenk as Ferrando, Megan Marino as Despina and Patrick Carfizzi as Don Alfonso.

The full name of the opera is actually Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti, which means "Thus do they all, or The School for Lovers." The subject matter of infidelity was considered so taboo in the 19th century that the opera was often accompanied by an apology, altered or even completely rewritten. Mozart's contemporary Antonio Salieri attempted to set the libretto to music, but never completed the project. 

In November, Moore will reprise the role of the Colonel in Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel at the Met. He'll be joined by fellow barihunks Christian van Horn as Julio, Rod Gilfrey as Roc and Kevin Burdette as Russell.

Last performed in Central City in 1990, this new production of Così fan tutte is directed by London-based Stephen Barlow,

Last performed in Central City in 1990, this new production of Così fan tutte is directed by London-based Stephen Barlow,

David Adam Moore makes KC debut in Dead Man Walking

David Adam Moore as Joseph de Rocher in Des Moines

Barihunk David Adam Moore will be making his Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut in the role of Joseph de Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Moore sang the role with the Den Moines Metro Opera in 2014, which was broadcast on public radio. He'll be joined by fellow barihunk Daniel Belcher, who will make his role debut as the grieving parent Owen Hart.

Dead Man Walking has become one of the most frequently performed contemporary operas in recent years. It is the story of a profound spiritual journey taken by a nun and a convicted killer about to face the ultimate sentence. Based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean, the opera delves into the conflict between the act of murder, society’s demand for retribution and redemption, and forgiveness. 

Performances are on March 4, 8, 10 and 12 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Moore will be making two major house debuts in 2017, one as Col. Alvaro Gomez in Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel at The Royal Opera in London, opening on April 24 April and a second at the Metropolitan Opera (which has not been officially announced).

Belcher will continue to sing contemporary American opera, as he takes on the role of Brian Castner in Jeremy Howard Beck's The Long Walk at Utah Opera from March 13-April 2.

America's hottest barihunks to sing in "Counter-Inaugural Concert"

David Adam Moore, Kyle Ketelsen, Nathan Gunn, Sidney Outlaw, Andrew Garland & Michael Kelly (clockwise)

Those of you who follow Barihunks know that we steer clear of politics and stick to opera. However, when an amazing collection of barihunks is assembled to sing at a Counter-Inaugural concert, we have to post about it. Composer Glen Roven has set two of Hillary Clinton's speeches to music for the concert.

Some of operas greatest deep-voiced men will be performing, including David Adam Moore, Kyle Ketelsen, Nathan Gunn, Sidney Outlaw, Daniel Sumegi, Lester Lynch, Andrew Garland and Michael Kelly. They will be joined by Isabel Leonard, Patricia Racette, Lawrence Brownlee, Matthew Polenzani, Carin Gilfy, Laquita Mitchell, Glenn Seven Allen, Dominic Armstrong, Jonathan Blalock and others.

Hunkentenors Jonathan Blalock and Glenn Seven Allen

The concert film will be streamed from National Sawdust on January 20, 2017, in conjunction with the presidential inauguration ceremony.  The two speeches that have been set to music are Mrs. Clinton's first announcement of her candidacy on January 7, 2007, and her presidential concession speech on November 9, 2017. 

Glen Roven has some history with the Clintons, having conducted the concerts at the Lincoln Memorial at both of Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration ceremonies. He was slated to conduct had Hillary Clinton won.

You can watch the concert online on January 20th beginning at noon EST/9 AM PST by clicking HERE. The concert film is directed by James Gray, Warren Elgort, and Larry Robbins.

David Adam Moore to make Salzburg debut in new Adès opera

David Adam Moore

On July 28th, barihunk David Adam Moore will be making his Salzburger Festpiele debut in the world premiere of Adès’ The Exterminating Angel.  He will be creating the role of Colonel Alvaro and will be joined by fellow barihunk Rafael Fingerlos as Enrique and hunkentenor Ed Lyon as Eduardo. The remainder of the all-star cast includes Alice Coote, Frederic Antoun, Amanda Echalaz and Audrey Luna, Charles Workman, Frédéric Antoun, Sir Thomas Allen, John Tomlinson and Anne Sofie von Otter.  

The opera, which is a co-commission between the Met, the Salzburg Festival and the Royal Opera,  features a libretto by Tom Cairns who based the work on the 1962 Luis Buñuel film of the same name. The co-commission was originally announced in 2011, but was delayed for unspecified reasons. After Salzburg, it will be performed at London's Royal Opera from April 24-May 8, 2017, New York's Metropolitan Opera in the Fall of 2017 and eventually at the Den Kongelige Opera in Copenhagen.

Rafael Fingerlos

Adès was inspired by Luis Buñuel’s surrealist film El ángel exterminador, which deals with the social rituals of an elite upper class, stating, “It’s territory that I like very much because it looks as though the people are in a room, but it’s not really about the room, they’re actually trapped in their own heads.“  

Performances will run from July 28 through August 8th and tickets are available online.

Reader Submission: Austrian Barihunk Rafael Fingerlos

Rafael Fingerlos

An eagle-eyed reader introduced us to barihunk Rafael Fingerlos, who he noticed was singing the world premiere of Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel at the Salzburg Festival this summer with fellow barihunk David Adam Moore, hunkentenor deluxe Ed Lyon and  the legendary baritone Sir Thomas Allen. The all-star cast also includes Anne Sofie von Otter, Sally Matthews, Charles Workman, Iestyn Davies, Eric Halvarson and Audrey Luna with performances running from July 28-August 8.  

The Exterminating Angel is inspired by the 1962 film El ángel exterminador by the famed surrealist Luis Buñuel. The Salzburg performances will be followed by productions at The Royal Opera in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 2017. Buñuel’s film, a parable on the ‘bourgeois condition’, sees a collection of society’s grandees trapped in a room; in no time at all their veneer of sophistication cracks.

Barihunk David Adam Moore and Hunkentenor Ed Lyon are both appearing in Salzburg

Fingerlos hails from Mariapfarr in the Salzburg region of Austria, so music is in his blood. In 2013, he graduated with honors from his master’s program in solo vocal performance at the private Conservatory of Vienna and won the “Musica Juventutis” auditions at the Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna.

He also won the  Brahms singing competition and received first prize as well as the public’s choice prize at the International Franz Schubert Lied Competition held in Steyr. As a participant in the Young Singers Project at the 2015 Salzburg Festival, Rafael sang the part of Figaro in Der Barbier von Sevilla für Kinder. 

 Rafael Fingerlos sings Brahms' "Wie rafft' ich mich auf":  

This Fall, he will alternate the title role in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Vienna State Opera with fellow barihunk Alessio Arduini. His Rosina will be Isabel Leonard and Almaviva will be sung by hunkentenor Pavel Kolgatin. 

He has released a solo CD of romantic German Lieder and one of Bach’s cantatas.

Matthew Worth to star in Southeast premiere of Soldier Songs

David Adam Moore in Soldier Songs

Matthew Worth will take on David T. Little's Soldier Songs in a new production at the Atlanta Opera, which has previously been performed by fellow barihunks David Adam Moore in New York and Christopher Burchett in Fargo. The production is part of the new Atlanta Opera Discoveries series and will be Southeast premiere of the work. The performances will run from November 11-15 and tickets are available online.

The production is being done by the art/media collective,GLMMR, with sets, costumes, video by David Adam Moore's partner Vita Tzykun and lighting by Max Bowman. The director will be Tomer Zvulun who is the first veteran to be creatively involved with the show. He was a combat medic in the Israel Defense Forces. 

Soldier Songs is an evening-length multimedia event that combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused-concert music, and animation to explore the perceptions versus the realities of the Soldier, the exploration of loss and exploitation of innocence, and the difficulty of expressing the truth of war. The libretto was adapted from recorded interviews with veterans of five wars. 

In December, Worth will return to his native New England to perform Joyful Voices with the Hartford Symphony and Chorale. The performance includes music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, excerpts from Handel's Messiah and Fauré's Requiem in D minor, Op. 48. He'll be joined by soprano Melody Moore.

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

David Adam Moore to make Salzburg Festival debut

David Adam Moore (far left in Dead Man Walking at DMMO) and Barihunk Calendar photos (center, right)

Barihunk David Adam Moore will be making his Salzburger Festpiele debut in the 2015-16 season. He will be creating the role of Colonel Alvaro in the world premiere of Adès’ The Exterminating Angel in a production by Tom Cairns.

The opera, which is a co-commission between the Met, the Salzburg Festival and the Royal Opera,  features a libretto by Tom Cairns who based the work on the 1962 Luis Bunuel film of the same name. The co-commission was originally announced in 2011, but was delayed for unspecified reasons. After Salzburg, it will be performed at London's Royal Opera in the Spring of 2017 and at New York's Metropolitan Opera in the Fall of 2017.

Hunkentenor Ed Lyon

Word has it that Moore will alternate the role with fellow barihunk Simon Keenlyside, who has been sidelined with an illness since withdrawing from Rigoletto in Vienna in December 2014. The remainder of the cast is rumored to include hunkentenor Ed Lyon, Alice Coote, Frederic Antoun, Amanda Echalaz and Audrey Luna. 

 Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel will be premiered in Salzburg next year, ahead of performances at the Royal Opera House, London and the Metropolitan Opera, New York.  

David Adam Moore as sexy Pasha in Des Moines

 

David Adam Moore as the Pasha in Des Moines

The Des Moines Metro Opera is a stop that we're going to have to add to our tour schedule. Every season seems to be loaded with an ample supply of Midwest, grain-fed barihunks and hunkentenors. This year is no exception. Much of the credit has to go to Michael Mayes, who showed up in 2012 to sing the lead in Mozart's Don Giovanni and decided to get all of the baritones and tenors in shape. Singers were emailing telling us that Mayes was had them on a military regiment of gym training. 

Singers showing up in Des Moines seem to subconsciously realize that they better hit the gym and get their bodies in good as shape as their voices. Last year was no exception, as David Adam Moore set the standard with his ripped Joseph de Rocher in Heggie's Dead Man Walking. 

Jonathan Blalock: Even the tenors are getting bari-hunky in Des Moines

He's back this year in the non-singing role of the Pasha in Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio and he's bringing the sexy back to farm country. The cast includes two other singers familiar to this site, Matt Boehler as Osmin and hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock as Pedrillo. Blalock has been hitting the gym with barihunk Brent Michael Smith, who is singing Billy Jackrabbit in Puccini's Girl of the Golden West. And wait until you see the guys in that show! We promise that we have plenty of pictures forthcoming. 

David Adam Moore and Amanda Woodbury

Performances are on June 26 and 28, and July, 3, 11 and 19 and additional information is available online. 

Listen to a killer performance by David Adam Moore

David Adam Moore in Des Moines' Dead Man Walking

You have two chances to listen to barihunk David Adam Moore's performance of convicted killer Joseph de Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Iowa Public Radio will broadcast last season's performance of the opera from the Des Moines Metro Opera. Performances will air at  7 PM CST/8 PM EST/5 PM PST. on Saturday, April 11 and 10 PM CST/11 PM EST/8 PM PST. on Sunday, April 12.

The American baritone is joined in the cast by mezzo soprano Elise Quagliata as Sister Helen Prejean,  bari-chunk founder Kyle Albertson as George Benton, Karen Slack as Sister Rose, Margaret Lattimore as Mrs. de Rocher, Wayne Tigges as Owen Hart and bari-chunk to bari-hunk Kasey Yeargain as the Prison Guard. You can tune in HERE.

Kasey Yeargain

Heggie’s work, based on the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, tells the story of a nun acting as a spiritual guide to a death-row inmate who was found guilty of murder. It offers a haunting inside look at capital punishment in America.

David Adam Moore returns to the Des Moines Metro Opera this summer as Pasha Selim in Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio from June 26-July 19

David Adam Moore in Gatsby-esque Cosi fan tutte

David Adam Moore & Aaron Blake (left) in Cosí fan tutte*; Moore in Dead Man Walking (center)

American barihunk David Adam Moore is as sexy in evening wear as he is in briefs, which is when we last saw him as Joseph de Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking.

Moore opened last night at the Utah Opera as Guglielmo opposite hunkentenor Aaron Blake in their  production of Mozart's Cosí fan tutte, which is updated to 1920s Naples, Italy. The entire cast is bedecked in Great Gatsy-like costume complete with spats.

Will Crutchfield leads a cast that also includes Matthew Burns as Don Alfonso, Karin Wolverton as Fiordiligi, Leah Wool as Dorabella and Abigail Levis as Despina. Performances run through March 22nd and tickets are available online.

*(Cosi photos by Rick Egan of The Salt Lake Tribune)

Barihunks star in Atlanta Opera's new season

David Adam Moore in Winterreise at the Anchorage Opera

Some of the most popular barihunks in the world will be headlining in a number of performances in the just announced 2015-16 Atlanta Opera season.

David Adam Moore, who is currently performing the title role in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the Arizona Opera, will bring his critically-acclaimed semi-staged production of Schubert's Winterreise. The production was designed by GLMMR with costumes by Moore's partner Vita Tzykun.

Eugene Opera runs through February 8th at the Arizona Opera and the cast also features barihunk Nicholas Masters as Prince Gremin. Barihunk Chris Carr takes over the title role for one performance on February 7th. Additional information is availabel online.

    .

Matthew Worth will take on David T. Little's Soldier Songs, which David Adam Moore had a critical success with in 2008 when it was presented by Beth Morrison Projects in New York. Worth is currently preparing the role of Sergeant Raymond Shaw in the world premiere of Kevin Puts' The Manchurian Candidate at the Minnesota Opera. The opera opens on March 7 and runs through March 15.

Matthew Worth (left) and Theo Hoffman (right)

Soldier Songs is an evening-length multimedia event that combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused-concert music, and animation to explore the perceptions versus the realities of the Soldier, the exploration of loss and exploitation of innocence, and the difficulty of expressing the truth of war. The libretto was adapted from recorded interviews with veterans of five wars.

Moving into the standard repertory, rising star Theo Hoffman will sing the role of Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème in a cast that also features Trevor Scheunemann and Leah Partridge. The remainder of their season included Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance and Gounod's Romeo & Juliet. Visit their website for additional information.

Pick our best Italian Themed Photo: $250 to winning barihunk

Now that we've wrapped up our Sexiest Photo Submission, which resulted in a virtual tie between Ernesto Petti and Kasey Yeargain, we've off to the best Italian Themed Photo.

Our calendar this year is titled "VIVA, ITALIA!" and we asked singers to submit photos that fit that theme. Our five judges couldn't narrow it down to just five singers, so we have six to choose from. We're also reducing the voting period from seven days to three days, so cast those votes. We'll also let you vote for multiple singers. The winning singer will receive $250 in prize money.

Here are the selections (and vote in the right sidebar, not in the comments section):

Donovan Singletary: Italian Ice Cream

David Adam Moore: Mozart's Guglielmo

Doug Carpenter: Italian Cooking

L'Oiseleur des Longchamps: Monteverdi's Orfeo

Richard Alexandre Rittlemann: Pizza Delivery

Xavier Rivera: Rossini's Barber

You can order your own calendar by clicking below. You'll enjoy 19 of opera's hottest men for the entire year.

Operatic Angels in America premieres in Poland

Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk and David Adam Moore

Barihunks David Adam Moore and Craig Verm created a sensation in 2008 at the Fort Worth Opera in Péter Eötvös' Angels in America as Prior Walter and Joe Pitt respectively. David Adam Moore is back singing the piece with Opera Wrocławsa with Maurice Lenard as Joe Pitt. Moore has also performed the piece with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra to great acclaim. This is the opera's first production in Poland.

The opera will be back in the U.S. from February 19-22 at the Boston University Theatre with a different cast.

Tenor Gyula Rab and baritones David Adam Moore and Maurice Lenhard

Lenhard, a native of Gelnhausen, Germany,  is new to this site. He studied voice at the Hochschule für Musik and the Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main. He originally studied piano and was good enough to take top prizes at the Gründauer Kultursommers and the Willy-Bissing Klavierwettbewerbs Hanau competitions. Like Moore, he is a proponent of contemporary music and performed in the 2013 premiere of the chamber opera Out at SEA with the Péter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation and the Ulysses Network in Budapest.

You can catch Moore again in the United States at the Utah Opera in March when he takes on Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.

David Adam Moore in innovative Alcina in NYC

David Adam Moore as Melisso in Alcina (Photo: Philippe Tremblay-Berberi)

David Adam Moore, who is featured in October in our 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar, is currently appearing in Handel's Alcina in director R. B. Schlather's innovative production at the Whitebox Art Center in New York City. There will be performances on September 20 and 21 at the Whitebox main exhibition space.

Handel’s 1735 opera Alcina is a story of love and illusion that includes some of the composer's most inventive and melodic music. Schlather is staging this work in an untraditional opera venue and is opening up all the musical and staging rehearsals up to September 17, as well as the General Rehearsal on September 19th at 7pm.  These rehearsals are free, except on Thursdays, thanks to an IndieGoGo campaign, which you can still donate to. For the final performances, the opera will be enacted live with an orchestra, in Italian, utilizing new technologies with projected English subtitles.

The opera is set on the island of the enchantress Alcina, and explores themes of identity, illusion, and transformation. This island exists as a beautiful landscape in the middle of the ocean, where Alcina culls her powers to create a paradise, only to lure and seduce the knights that wash up on her shore, one of whom is the heroic Ruggiero. Alcina’s magic causes Ruggiero to fall under her spell and, in doing so, he forsakes his duty as a knight and forgets his fiancée, Bradamante. The opera develops as Bradamante disguises herself as a male warrior her brother “Ricciardo” and sets out on a mission to recover her love.

Accompanied by Alcina’s guardian, Melisso (played by David Adam Moore), the two are shipwrecked on Alcina’s island by fate. Imminent danger awaits Ruggiero, as Alcina possesses the power to transform her foes and lovers of whom she tires into rocks, trees, and wild beasts. The already heavily dramatized plot is further complicated by the integration of different characters who all, in their own right, act on emotions of love and jealousy. In portraying Alcina’s thickened plot, Schlather’s production brings to life a story of enchantment, folding into it classic operatic moments of romance, betrayal, violence, unrequited love, and magic.

Click HERE for tickets.

Dead Man Walking opens in Des Moines; More productions ahead

David Adam Moore in Dead Man Walking

David Adam Moore in Dead Man Walking

Jake Heggie's masterpiece, Dead Man Walking, has quickly entered the standard repertory since its San Francisco premiere in 2000. Amazingly, this was Heggie's first opera and it has become a star vehicle for baritones and especially barihunks. The role not only requires a ripped physique, but one of the arias is sung while doing pushups. John Packard was the original Joseph De Rocher, the convicted killer who is the center of the opera.

The Australian premiere was in 2002 at the State Opera of South Australia with Teddy Tahu Rhodes, which was nominated for six Helpmann Awards, winning for "Best Set Design" and "Best Male in an Operatic Performance." The Canadian premiere occurred on January 2006 at the Calgary Opera with Daniel Okulitch. The European premiere was given in May 2006 at the Semperoper in Dresden, Germany with Mel Ulrich.

John Arnold as Joseph De Rocher

Our site has been filled with a veritable Who's Who of barihunks singing Joseph De Rocher, including veritable Who's Who of barihunks including Michael Mayes, Philip Cutlip, Etienne Dupuis, Jordan Shanahan, Thomas Gunther, John Arnold, Marcus DeLoach.

David Adam Moore in Dead Man Walking

David Adam Moore in Dead Man Walking

Next up is David Adam Moore who opened up in the show tonight at the Des Moines Metro Opera. The cast also includes one of our most inspirational stories, Kasey Yeargain, as one of the prison guards. You may remember Yeargain for his Bari-Chunk to Bari-Hunk transformation. Speaking of BariChunks, Kyle Albertson the creator of our brilliant and entertaining sister site is also in the cast as the prison warden George Benton.

There are four remaining performances on July 6, 8, 11 and 19. Tickets are available online.

Central City Opera ad for Dead Man Walking

Michael Mayes as Joseph De Rocher

One of the definitive performers in the role of Joseph De Rocher is Michael Mayes, whose intense and riveting performance has to be experienced live. It is a performance that few will ever forget. He opens in the role on July 5 at the Central City Opera outside of Denver, Colorado. There will be eight performances through July 25. Tickets are available online.

If you can't catch these performances head East to see John Arnold. He sang the role in Boston to great acclaim and will reprise the role with the Dayton Opera in Ohio on February 27 and March 1 next year. Tickets are available online.

Barihunks Alternate Soldier Songs in D.C. and Holland Festival

Composer David T. Little's Soldier Songs seems to be finding a foothold in the contemporary repertory, as it is being reprised in Washington D.C. this weekend with barihunk David Adam Moore.

Soldier Songs is an evening-length multimedia event that combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused-concert music, and animation to explore the perceptions versus the realities of the Soldier, the exploration of loss and exploitation of innocence, and the difficulty of expressing the truth of war. The performance is further enhanced with video and film from Bill Morrison.

The libretto, created by the composer, was adapted from recorded interviews with veterans of five wars.  Soldier Songs traces the shift in perception of war from the age of 6 to the age of 66. The story follows the abstract character through the three phases of life:  Youth (playing war games) Warrior (time served in the military) and Elder (aged, wise, reflective).

There is one remaining performance at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on Sunday, May 18 and tickets are available online. The production then travels to the Holland Festival with Christopher Burchett as the soldier for a double-bill with Nico Muhly's Spiral Mass. Tickets are available online.