American barihunk Michael Adams will be making his debut with the Utah Opera as Marcello in Puccini's La bohème, a role he debuted in 2016 at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. He was recently featured in Opera News as being among "25 Rising Stars: Opera's Exciting New Voices."
Adams was recently seen as Donald in Britten's Billy Budd at the Des Moines Metro Opera, a performance that will be broadcast on Iowa Public Television on September 29 at 8:30 PM CST. The cast includes barihunks Craig Verm in the title role, Zachary James as the evil John Claggart and Emmett O'Hanlon as the Novice's Friend, as well as barihunk turned hunkentenor Chris Carr as Maintop. Last
month, the Washington National Opera announced that Adams would be one
of the incoming members of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program,
which began this month. Adams will be performing Melisso in Handel's Alcina in November and the Pilot in Portman's The Little Price in December with the company. He also is currently under a festcontract at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Joining him in the cast of La bohème will be Samuel Schultz as Schaunard, Ao Li as Colline, Jennifer Black as Mimì, Scott Quinn as Rodolfo and Celena Shafer as Musetta. Tickets are available online and performances are on October 7, 9, 11, 13 at 7:30 PM and October 15 at 2 PM.
Craig Verm as Billy Budd(photos: Des Moines Metro Opera)
On September 29th, Iowa Public Television will broadcast the world premiere of the newly orchestrated version of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd. The opera features barihunk Craig Verm, whose promo photo from this production were featured in our 2017 Barihunks Calendar. The episode will be available online.
The production, which was filmed in July, features a number of other singers familiar to
readers, including Zachary James as the evil John Claggart, Michael
Adams as Donald, Emmett O'Hanlon as the Novice's Friend and barihunk
turned hunkentenor Chris Carr as Maintop. The all-male cast included 70 singers and was the largest ensemble in the 45 year history of the Des Moines Metro Opera. [Zachary James is slated to appear in our 2018 calendar].
The Iowa Public Television coverage includes behind-the-scenes footage and perspectives
on the making of Billy Budd, the stage experience, the opera’s
complex emotional themes, as well as interviews with Des Moines Metro Opera General and Artistic
Director Michael Egel, conductor David Neely, stage director Kristine
McIntyre and principal cast members.
Craig Verm as Billy Budd(photos: Des Moines Metro Opera)
“'Billy Budd' is a true masterpiece,” said Craig Verm, the baritone
featured in the title role. “It’s epic in its scope of onstage forces of
orchestration, of story, of morality, and of good and evil. It’s
gripping. It’s magical.”
In 2007, Verm first
appeared in the opera as the Novice's Friend in Pittsburgh opposite the Billy Budd of Nathan
Gunn and the thrilling Claggart of Greer Grimsley. The production was
directed by the woman who inspired Barihunks, Francesca Zambello.
Billy Budd had its world premier at London’s Royal Opera House on
December 1, 1951 conducted by the composer with the role of Captain
Vere sung by
Britten’s partner Peter Pears. Billy Budd received its United States premiere in 1952 at the Indiana University Opera Company with Jack Gillaspy in the title role.
A number of famous barihunks have sung the role of Billy Budd, who many
believe was secretly desired by the evil Claggart. Famous barihunk Billy
Budd's include John Chest, Simon Keenlyside, Richard Stilwell, Nathan
Gunn, Rod Gilfry, Bo Skovhus, Thomas Hampson, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Peter
Mattei, Lauri Vasar, Lucas Meachem, Jacques Imbrailo, Daniel
Belcher, Roderick Williams, Iurii Samoilov and Liam Bonner.
Craig Verm as Billy Budd (photo courtesy of Des Moines Metro Opera)
American barihunk Craig Verm is returning to the role of Billy Budd at the Des Moines Metro Opera on July 1, 9, 11 and 14. Verm has become a popular singer of Benjamin Britten's title character. Verm performed Billy to great acclaim at the
Teatro Municipal de Santiago in 2013.
The production will feature a number of other singers familiar to readers, including Zachary James as the evil John Claggart, Michael Adams as Donald, Emmett O'Hanlon as the Novice's Friend and barihunk turned hunkentenor Chris Carr as Maintop.
In 2007, Verm first
appeared in the opera as the Novice's Friend in Pittsburgh opposite the Billy Budd of Nathan
Gunn and the thrilling Claggart of Greer Grimsley. The production was
directed by the woman who inspired Barihunks, Francesca Zambello.
Emmett O'Hanlon, Zachary James as Claggart and Michael Adams
Billy Budd had its world premier at London’s Royal Opera House on
December 1, 1951 conducted by the composer with the role of Captain
Vere sung by
Britten’s partner Peter Pears. In 1966, in preparation for a
television broadcast, Britten cut the score from four acts to two with a
prologue and epilogue, which has become the standard version for the
opera.
The libretto was written by the English novelist E. M. Forster and Eric
Crozier, and is based on the short novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville.
The book was first published posthumously in London in 1924. Melville
began writing the work in November 1888, but left it unfinished at his
death in 1891. The novella was discovered in manuscript form in 1919 by
Raymond M.
Weaver, who was studying Melville's papers as his first biographer.
Craig Verm as Billy Budd (photos courtesy of Des Moines Metro Opera)
The first production of the opera Billy Budd in Russia occurred 100 years after the birth of Britten at St. Petersburg’s
Mikhailovsky Theatre in 2013. Billy Budd received its United States premiere in 1952 at the Indiana University Opera Company with Jack Gillaspy in the title role.
Britten originally intended the title role for Sir Geraint Evans, but he
felt that the role sat to high for his voice, so he switched to the
role of Mr. Flint. Britten then opted for barihunk Theodor Uppman to
replace Evans in the title role. The performance launched Uppman's
international career and he went on to become one of the definitive
Billy Budd's off all-time. Uppman sang in an acclaimed performance in
1970 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which included Sir Geraint Evans as
Claggart and Richard Lewis as Vere.
A number of famous barihunks have sung the role of Billy Budd, who many
believe was secretly desired by the evil Claggart. Famous barihunk Billy
Budd's include John Chest, Simon Keenlyside, Richard Stilwell, Nathan
Gunn, Rod Gilfry, Bo Skovhus, Thomas Hampson, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Peter
Mattei, Lauri Vasar, Lucas Meachem, Jacques Imbrailo, Daniel
Belcher, Roderick Williams, Iurii Samoilov and Liam Bonner.
One of our favorite summer opera festival's recently kicked off, as the Des Moines Metro Opera kicked off their 44th season with a number of barihunks in the cast. Last season, we even featured a barihunk group photo from their production of Puccini's La fanciulla del West, which made our 2015 Best of Barihunks feature in addition to Brad Baron, who was an apprentice artist with the company and our Best Twitter discovery of the year (@BaronAsInRed).
This summer, the company is featuring full-scale operas along with a black box production. The full-scale productions are Verdi’s Falstaff, Massenet’s Manon and Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, which will be running until July 17th at the Blank
Performing Arts Center in Indianola Iowa. The black box opera will be Philip Glass’ Galileo Galileo, which will be performed on July 7 and 10 at the Science Center of Iowa in Des
Moines.
Edward Parks sings Ford's aria from Verdi's Falstaff:
We can always rely on the company featuring some of the most talented barihunks on the scene and this season is no exception, as Verdi’s Falstaff will feature Wayne Tigges in the title role and Edward Parks, a recent Operalia finalist, in his debut as Ford. The gifted soprano Kelly Kaduce will sing the role of Alice Ford. Massenet’s Manon will feature the rising young talent Michael Adams making his debut as Lescaut and Troy Cook taking on de Brétigny. While none of three main characters in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice are baritones, the cast includes the hot young bass Brent Michael Smith as one of the Furies. The rest of the cast includes Jennifer Johnson Cano in the title role, soprano Susannah Biller as Eurydice and Honorary Barihunk Cree Carrico as Amor. Philip Glass’ Galileo Galilei will feature Troy Cook as the Younger Galileo.
DMMO young artists Nate Mattingly, Brent Michael Smith & Charles Eaton
There are a number of baritones and basses in the Des Moines Opera Appretice Artist Program this season, including Tyler Alessi, Joshua Conyers, Charles Eaton, Reuben Lillie, Brent Michael Smith, Spencer Reichman, Nate Mattingly, Connor McDonald, Ben Schaeffer and Reuben Walker. The young artists will be performing scenes on July 8, 13 and 16.
We are thrilled that Brent Michael Smith will appear in our 10th Anniversary "Barihunks in Bed" calendar. He can next be seen back at the Michigan Opera Theater, where he is a young artist. From October 15-23 he'll be singing Zuniga alongside the Morales of fellow barihunk Harry Greenleaf in Bizet's Carmen. From November 12-20, he appears as the British Major in Kevin Puts' Silent Night alongside fellow barihunk Gabriel Preisser's Lt. Gordon and tenor Chad Johnson's Nikolaus Sprink. Tickets for all performances can be found online.
We plan on featuring some of the DMMO young artists and we'll start with Charles H. Eaton, who recently received his Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota. In his second year of studies, he was a participant of the ECCO Program, which facilitates hours of coaching and exchange between promising young artists in the School of Music and the music staff at Minnesota Opera. Charles will cover Lescaut in Des Moines Metro Opera's production of Manon and participate in the chorus of Falstaff as an apprentice artist. He is a Rocky Mountain District winner of the 2016 Metropolitan Council Auditions.
From left to right: Harry Greenleaf, Andrew Potter, Alex Soare, Geoffrey Penar (seated) Joshua Jeremiah, Christopher Job, Tyler Alessi, Zach Owen, Cesar Mendez Silvagnoli (seated), Trevor Martin and Jonathan Harris
One of our favorite opera companies is the Des Moines Metro, which always delivers great repertory, high musical standards, amazing young singers and a liberal helping of barihunks. This season was no exception, as their production of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) including some of the hottest talent in opera (both vocally and physically).
Barihunks photographer Michael Yeshion
Fortunately, one of our Barihunks calendar photographers, Michael Yeshion, was working at the company as the fight director. He managed to snap some pix of the guys in costume and shirtless. He's promised us some more pictures, which we're looking forward to receiving. He also shot some pictures for this year's calendar.
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.
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
We've gotten know bass-baritone Brad Baron through Twitter and love following his tweets @BaronAsInRed. We've been meaning to post him many times over the last two years. In fact, he's been recommended to us by a few of his colleagues, particularly while working at the Des Moines Metro Opera. When we say his latest selfie...we knew it was time!
He has peformed Sir Anthony Absolute in the New York premiere of Kirke Mechem’s The Rivals with the Bronx Opera Company, Harapha in Handel’s Samson and premiered The Soldier in the first orchestra performance of Theo Popov’s Once Upon the Wind with The Secret Opera. At the aforementioned Des Moines Metro Opera he sang the role of an Old Gypsy in Bizet's Carmen and one of Flora's attendants in Verdi's La traviata at their 2014 Festival. He sang in the first public performance of Clint Borzoni’s opera Antinous and Hadrian as the High Priest with operamission.
He was an Encouragement Award winner in the Violetta DuPont Competition,
a finalist in Classical Idol 8, a semi-finalist in the Lyndon Woodside
Oratorio Solo Competition, and a semi-finalist in the Mildred Miller
International Voice Competition. He will be a resident artist at the Ohio Light Opera this summer.
In addition to his work as a he singer, he's an actor and writer. His play 140 Characters or Less had its first reading as a part of the Annual Short Play Festival at Luna Stages. Brad is the author of five full-length plays and many more one acts. His
full-length play Where We Always Go received its first staged reading
as a part of the New Playwrights Series with The Villagers Theater in
Somerset, New Jersey, and his play Homochondria had its regional premiere as a
part of the Ringwald Theatre’s Gay Play Series in Michigan.
In addition to writing plays, Baron is a published contributing writer for a number of online blogs. He periodically writes for the site GayGamer.net and also cultivates his own personal blog.
Baron graduated from Princeton University with an AB in English and Certificates in Theatre and Vocal Performance. He is currently in pursuit of his Masters of Music at Louisiana State University.
There are still two opportunities to see one of the comic masterpieces of the operatic canon, Rossini's Le Comte Ory, which is playing tonight and on July 18th at the Des Moines Metro Opera.
Barihunk and MAC model Steven LaBrie as Raimbaud heads a brilliantly talented cast that includes tenor Taylor Stayton as Le Comte Ory, Sydney Mancasola as Comtesse Adèle, Wayne Tigges as the tutor and Margaret Lattimore as Ragonde. Tickets are available online.
"Sister" Steven LaBrie in Le Comte Ory
The opera was first performed on August 20, 1828 at the Salle Le Peletier by the Paris Opera. It's American premiere was on December 16, 1830 at the Théâtre d'Orléans in New Orleans. Often described as either a comedy or a farce, it is rapidly gaining in popularity throughout the world and is now considered one of the finest comedies in the repertory.
The story centers around Count Ory, who is determined to win the countess Adèle. He will do anything
to get access to the castle where the women are, including disguising
himself and his men as nuns.
The Metropolitan Opera had a huge hit with the opera in 2011 with a cast that included Juan Diego Flórez, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato and barihunk Stéphane Degout. The performance has been released on DVD.
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.
Our latest Reader Submission is Andrew Wannigman, who is performing Maximilian in Skylark Opera's production of Bernstein's Candide. There are two performances left on June 20th and 22nd and tickets are available at Ticketworks.com or by calling 612-343-3390
Andrew Wannigman has performed with the Central City Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera New Hampshire, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre and Opera North since his 2007 graduation from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Last spring, he premiered the role of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and
covered the title role in Justine F. Chen and David Simpatico’s The Turing Project with American Lyric Theater in New York City.
Andrew Wannigman
While completing his master’s degree at the New England Conservatory, he also performed with Longwood Opera, Boston Opera Collaborative, Juventas New Music Ensemble and the Plainsong in Boston. He was also a section leader and soloist with the First Church in Chestnut Hill and St. John the Evangelist.
For two years, he was a resident artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera performing in their Opera Iowa outreach troupe and also as an apprentice artist for their summer festival. He performed Figaro in Rossini's Barber of Seville, Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute, and covered Dr. Malatesta in their mainstage production of Donizetti's Don Pasquale.
Andrew Wannigman sings Debussy's Le promenoir des deux amants:
Wannigman is also been active as a soloist in both concerts and recitals. At Luther College, he was a soloist for Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Beethoven’s Mass in C. In Boston, he performed the premiere of Lori Dobbins’ Rage of Achilles, a recital of songs by Charles Ives and Mass for Baritone & Piano by Randall Despommier at Jordan Hall.
Upcoming roles for Wannigman include Sciarrone in Puccini's Tosca with Mill City Summer Opera and a role debut as Escamillo next season.
We have had few posts that have generated as much interest as Kasey Yeargain's transformation from an overweight, unhealthy, depressed singer into a healthy, physically fit, confident barihunk who cuts a mean figure in a uniform. His story shot into our ten most viewed posts within a month and remains in our Top 5 to this day.
At his heaviest, he weighed between 270-300 pounds (122-136 kilos) and he now weighs around 199 pounds (90 kilos). He has created his own blog called The Opera Bro where he shares his story and talks about his weight loss and fitness routine.
Kasey Yeargain as Zuniga
His incredible story culminates on May 2 at the Tulsa Opera where he is making his professional stage debut as Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen. We often joke about Carmen running off with Escamillo when there's a barihunk in the role, but in this production she may run off with the officer Zuniga. If you can't make opening night, there will be an additional performance on May 4. Tickets are available online.
This summer, he'll be able to strut his stuff opposite one of the great bodies in opera, as he takes on the Prison Guard in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking opposite über-barihunk David Adam Moore at the Des Moines Metro Opera. This will be Yeargain coming full circle, as his dedication to fitness began while he was a studio artist with the same company last year. Performances will run from June 28-July 19 and tickets are available online.
