Björn Bürger doing double duty in Germany & Switzerland

Björn Bürger

German barihunk Björn Bürger is wrapping up 2018 with a busy schedule, as he's singing back-to-back-to-back performances in Switzerland in Germany.

He is opening a run as Dr. Falke in Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus (La Chauve-Souris in French) in Lausanne on December 13th, with performances running through New Year's Eve. Meanwhile, he's wrapping up performances as Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Staatsoper Stuttgart. That means he'll be singing in Lausanne on the 28th, a matinee in Stuttgart on the 29th and back in Lausanne on the 30th.

The cast of the Die Fledermaus also includes Stephan Genz as Gabriel von Eisenstein and Eleonore Marguerre as Rosalinda.

The cast of Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Staatsoper Stuttgart also includes the always entertaining bass Matthew Anchel as Bartolo, Mert Süngü as Almaviva and Stephanie Lauricella as Rosina. There is an evening performance of the same opera that features fellow barihunk Jarrett Ott as Figaro.

Lausanne and Stuttgart are about 438 km (272 miles) apart. 

Michael Mayes: Rockabilly Cowboy or Flexin' Texan?

Michael Mayes rehearses “Die Fledermaus” with the Opera on the James

Michael Mayes was not only one of our most popular singers featured in last  year's calendar, but he became an inspiration for other singers after he appeared in our "BariChunk to BariHunk" feature. The Texas baritone lost fifty pounds and buffed up to play the role of Joseph de Rocher in Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking." The post has become one of our ten most visited posts of all-time.

Chris Carr's transformation was inspired by Michael Mayes

His workout routine consisted mostly of a fierce dedication to the Spartacus workout program. While at the Des Moines Opera earlier this year, he inspired countless singers, especially fellow baritone Chris Carr, who went through an amazing transformation.

Mayes also started a Facebook site called Operaticus where singers can go and post their progress with the Spartacus workout, ask questions or post workout tips.

Michael Mayes using a rock for his workout when there were no barbells

Mayes is curently preparing to open as Gabriel Eisenstein in Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus with Opera on the James in  Lynchburg, Virginia. The cast also includes fellow barihunk and 2012 calendar model Jordan Shanahan as Dr. Falke. There is one performance on Sunday, November 11th. Tickets are available online.

A recent feature article on Mayes in the Lynchburg Burg newspaper referred to Mayes as the "Rockabilly Cowboy" (or as we'll call him, Rockabilly Baritone). However, he's also been dubbed the "Flexin' Texan." We want readers to decide which is the best nickname for Mayes. You can vote in the sidebar to the right.

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Happy New Year with Paul Armin Edelmann

Johann Strauss' "Die Fledemaus" is traditionally performed on New Years Eve, so we leave 2009 with this delightful performance by Paul Armin Edelmann of "Bruderlein und Schwesterlein."




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Our Latest Baby Barihunk was Paul Armin Edelmann

No one managed to guess that our latest baby picture was of Austrian barihunk Paul Armin Edelmann. The popular guesses seemed to be Rod Gilfry and Teddy Tahu Rhodes.

Edelmann may be the only singer that we know of who has made Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus sexy. After this video, perhaps we should add it to our list of barihunk roles. He also manages to sing this aria as beautifully as we've heard since Herman Prey three decades ago.



Fans of this site will be pleased to know that Edelmann has an actual barihunk role on his agenda. He's scheduled to sing Papageno in both Beijing and at the St. Margarethen Opera Music Festival.

EDELMANN AS PAPAGENO


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