Barihunk Quartet takes home GRAMMY Award

John Brancy, Gabriel Preisser, Andrew Craig Brown and John Dooley (clockwise)

The barihunk quartet of John Brancy, Gabriel Preisser, Andrew Craig Brown and John Dooley took home the "Best Opera Recording" GRAMMY award last night for their recording of Tobias Picker's Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Released on the BMOPsound label, the recording features the Boston Modern Orchestra Project in collaboration with Odyssey Opera and Boston Children's Chorus under the baton of Gil Rose. The cast also includes hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock, Krista River, Edwin Vega, Elizabeth Futral, Tynan Davis, Andrey Nemzer and Gail Novak Mosites.

For those unfamiliar with story, Brancy's Mr. Fox is virtually moribund after having his tail shot off by money-loving farmers, only to become happy again after outwitting his enemies.

Every nominee in this category featured at least one barihunk. Other nominees were George Benjamin's Lessons In Love & Violence with barihunk Stéphane Degout, Alban Berg's Wozzeck with barihunk Christopher Maltman, Charpentier's Les Plaisirs de Versailles with barihunk Jesse Blumberg and Richard Wagner's Lohengrin with barihunk Tomasz Konieczny.

Barihunk duo featured in fundraiser for Pulse nightclub survivors

Nathan Stark and Brian James Myer

The Timucua Arts Foundation and Opera Orlando have joined forces for “One Voice Orlando,” a benefit concert for Proyecto Somos Orlando. The organization brought the Latino and LGBTQ community together to provide social services and mental health care after the devastating shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016. Proceeds will also be directed to those in need after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico.


The shooting at the gay bar was one of deadliest mass shootings by a single gunman in U.S. history, and the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the events of September 11, 2001, killing 49 people and injuring another 53. 

Gabriel Preisser, Brian James Myer and Nathan Stark sing 

"Can't Help Falling In Love WIth You":

Opera Orlando is providing the talent for the show, including barihunks Brian James Myer and Nathan Stark, who will be joined by soprano Maria Laetitia Hernandez. Selections will include “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” from Les Miserables,  “No Puede Ser" and selections from Zarzuela.

The event is on Sunday, November 4th at the Timucua White House in Orlando. Tickets are available online. 

Those wishing to donate can visit the Proyecto Somos Orlando website. 

Derek Chester & Marco Vassalli from Barihunks Calendar and Book

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!

Barihunk quartet featured in N.C. premiere of Silent Night

Kyle Guglielmo, Gabriel Preisser, Brian Banion and Gregory Gerbrandt

Piedmont Opera will present the North Carolina premiere of Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night beginning on October 27th. The opera will feature a quartet of barihunk, including Gabriel Preisser as Lieutenant Audebert, Gregory Gerbrandt as Lieutenant Gordon, Brian Banion’s as Lieutenant Horstmayer and Kyle Guglielmo as Ponchel. Tickets are available online.

 

The opera. with a libretto by Mark Campbell, recounts the true story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, French and Germans during World War I during one of the bloodiest wars in human history. Enemies become brothers as they share Christmas and bury their dead.

 

Liam Bonner sings Lieutenant Audebert's aria:

 

The story was based on the screenplay by Christian Carion for the Oscar-nominated 2005 French film Joyeux Nöel, which dramatized actual events during WWI during the days before Christmas 1914.

The Minnesota Opera presented the world premiere of Silent Night in November 2011 with a cast that included barihunks Craig Irvin as Lieutenant Horstmayer, Gabriel Preisser as Lieutenant Gordon,  Mike Nyby as William Dale, Liam Bonner as Lieutenant Audebert, Troy Cook as Father Palmer, Joseph Beutel as the British Major, Ben Wager as the General and Andrew Wilkowske as Ponchel.
 

The 2018 Barihunks Calendar and Photo Book

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!

Three Barihunks regroup for holiday concert and CD

Nate Stark, Brian James Myer and Gabriel Preisser

Back in August, we featured barihunks Nathan Stark, Gabriel Preisser and Brian James Myer who were performing "The Three Baritones" concert for Opera Orlando's annual "Opera in the Park" concert. Now they're back for a "Three Baritone Christmas" concert and a new CD of holiday favorites. The CD will be out by Nov 21st and available for purchase on CD Baby, iTunes and Amazon.

They will be performing on the other side of the country in Bellevue, Washington at Resonance in the SOMA Towers on December 1st and 3rd. Tickets are available HERE for the first show and HERE for the second performance. They will also be performing music from opera and Broadway.

Brian James Myer will be appearing with Opera San José as Figaro in Rossini's Barber of Seville from November 12-22 and Ponchel in Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night from February 11-24. Fellow barihunk Colin Ramsey will be singing Basilio in the Barber of Seville, while the cast of Silent Night includes a veritable feast of barihunks and hunkentenors, including Kirk Dougherty as Nikolaus Sprink, Ricardo Rivera as Lt. Audebert, Matthew Hanscom as Lt. Gordon, Kyle Albertson as Lt. Horstmayer, Colin Ramsey as Father Palmer, John Lindsey as Jonathan Dale, Nathan Stark as General Audebert, Christopher Bengochea as Kronprinz, Branch Fields as William Dale and Vitali Rozynko as the British Major.

The Barihunks in Bed calendar, which celebrates our 10th Anniversary is now on sale. Get your copy before the holiday rush by clicking on the lulu button.

Three Baritones concert at Opera Orlando

Brian James Myer, Nathan Stark and Gabriel Preisser (L-R)(Photo: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel)

On August 28th, Opera Orlando's annual "Opera in the Park" will feature a "The Three Baritones" concert starring Brian James Myer, Nathan Stark and Gabriel Preisser.

We introduced Myer to readers back in December, when he joined the 2016 Chautauqua Opera Young Artists after he had performed the title role in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Florida Grand Opera. The multi-talented young artist was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he studied piano, flute, cello, guitar, and voice. He's also a published composer of choral music. Myer will be returning to Opera San Jose this season to perform in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Kevin Puts' Silent Night and Puccini's La bohème.

Gabriel Presser has been a regular on our site since 2010 and we've featured him in singing competitions, starring in the world premiere of Kevin Puts' award-winning opera Silent Night, in webcasts and his new role as the impresario of Opera Orlando.

Gabriel Preisser sings Largo al factotum:

Nathan Stark has appeared on our site, but has never been featured. It was Stark's idea to assemble the three singers for the concert. The California native, who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, is making a number of company debuts this season, including at Tulsa Opera as Colline in La bohème, Hawaii Opera Theatre as Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and at Fort Worth Opera in The Gravedigger in Buried Alive and Montressor in Embedded.

The concert starts at 2 PM at the University Club of Winter Park in Orlando. Tickets are available online. Opera Orlando's season kicks off on November 18 and 20 with Donizetti's Don Pasquale, followed by Giancarlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors for the Christmas holiday and wrapping up with Mozart's Don Giovanni with Preisser in the title role.

Another barihunk takes helm of U.S. opera company

Gabriel Preisser
(Photo courtesy of veramarinerstudio)

It seems like it's becoming a regular occurrence, as yet another barihunk is taking over the helm of an American opera company. Gabriel Preisser will take over the revamped and resurrected Opera Orlando as its new executive and artistic director. Vincent Connor will serve as the new general director.

The opera company, which was previously known as the Florida Opera Theatre, was one of a number of U.S. opera companies that collapsed after the recent financial crisis, closing its doors in 2009. They will kick off their new season with a double-bill of Mozart's Impresario and Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias on April 22, 23 and 24.

Gabriel Preisser takes his first fundraising pitch online with a matching grant challenge:

Preisser plans on creating site-specific productions in unconventional spaces and developing special programs for children and young professionals, as well as tour shows to neighboring communities.

Preisser's successful singing career includes over forty operatic and musical theater roles, including creating the role of Lt. Gordon in Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize winning Silent Night at Minnesota Opera. You can still catch Preisser on stage, as he has a number of performances coming up with Opera Tampa, including Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, the Marquis in Verdi's La traviata and Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Barihunk trio in Fantastic Mr. Fox in San Antonio

John Brancy: Fox and foxy

Opera San Antonio rolled out its initial season with Tobias Picker's chamber opera Fantastic Mr. Fox. Of course, what would make more sense than casting your fox with a foxy barihunk?  John Brancy takes on the title role in an impressive cast that also includes mezzo Renee Rapier as Mrs. Fox, tenor Theo Lebow as Mr. Porcupine, countertenor Andrey Nemzer as Agnes the Digger, Jonathan Blalock as Mr. Mole, Tynan Davis as Rita the Rat, soprano Elizabeth Futral as Miss Hedgehog, baritone Andrew Craig Brown as Boggis, tenor Edwin Vega as Bunce and baritone Gabriel Preisser as the gun-happy Bean. Andrew Craig Brown and Gabriel Preisser have both been featured on this site.

For those unfamiliar with story, Brancy's Mr. Fox is virtually moribund after having his tail shot off by money-loving farmers, only to become happy again after outwitting his enemies.

The new company has a hit on their hands, as the entire run at the Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater is completely sold out. Rumor has it that other companies are already looking at picking up the production.

Five years in the making, Opera San Antonio has produced its first fully staged opera after earlier organizing recitals and partnering with the San Antonio Symphony for a semi-staged production of  Dvorák’s Rusalka. Next up for the company, which is being led by Tobias Picker, is Richard Strauss’ Salome, a far cry from the children's story Fantastic Mr. Fox.

You can listen to an interview with John Brancy on Texas Public Radio by clicking HERE. 

Gabriel Preisser has a busy schedule coming up. to be a busy couple months. On October 5 and 6, he heads to Philadelphia for a recital with Lyric Fest of German lieder. He then sings Escamillo with Florida Opera Theatre in Orlando on October 17 and 19, and then again in Duluth, Minnesota with the Lyric Opera of the North on November 15. On November 23, he'll sing Orff's Carmina Burana at the new Dr Phillips Performing Arts Center in Orlando.

Interview with stars of Cincinnati Opera's "Silent Night"

Gabriel Preisser (Photo: Provided/Opera Philadelphia, Dominic Mercier)

As the Cincinnati Opera gears up to be the latest company to present Kevin Puts' Silent Night, the Cincinnati Enquirer sat down and interviewed three of the leading baritones from the production. Here is the interview with Craig Irvin, Gabriel Preisser and Andrew Wilkowske.

You were all in the world premiere at Minnesota Opera in 2011. Tell us about your characters.
Preisser: I play Lt. Gordon, the Scottish lieutenant who proposes the truce. I think he’s the kind of person who’s trying to do the right thing. He doesn’t go into it wanting to fraternize, but his troops are exhausted and he’s told they’ll be home for Christmas. The Scottish, I assume, have no idea why they’re fighting. It’s not their war. Yet there they are. So when he sees these German soldiers singing Christmas carols, and the bagpipe player jumps up on the trench, he has no choice but to say we need to have a truce.
Irvin: I’m Lt. Horstmayer, the German, who has to deal with Sprink (a private who is an opera singer), who’s questioning him all the time and going into no-man’s land, where Horstmayer feels he’ll be killed any moment.
Wilkowske: My character is Ponchel, the aide-de-camp of the French lieutenant. He’s the comic relief. … In an opera that’s about people getting killed all the time, it’s nice to be the guy who gets to have a couple of jokes. He carries an alarm clock to remind him that he used to have coffee every day at that time with his mother.
Irvin: In the Muppet opera version, we decided he’s Fozzie.
Preisser: In the “MASH” version, he’s Radar O’Reilly.

[Read the entire interview at the Cincinnati Enquirer]

Performances are on July 10 and 12 and tickets are available online.

Barihunk trio in Opera Parallèle Double-Bill

Gabriel Preisser, Hadleigh Adams and Daniel Cilli at a dress rehearsal

Regular readers of this site know that we have a particular fondness for Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias. Apparently, our readers do, as well, as the production from Barcelona remains one of our most visited posts (barihunk Gabriel Bermudez appearing in the buff may account for some of that traffic!).

San Francisco's innovative young opera company Opera Parallèle has assembled three popular and talented barihunks for their double-bill of Weill's Mahagonny Songspiel and Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias for their three performances at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from April 25 - 27 under conductor Nicole Paiement. Gabriel Preisser performs Bobby in Mahagonny and Le mari in the Poulenc, Daniel Cilli is Billy and Le directeur/Presto, and San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Hadleigh Adams sings Le gendarme.

Gabriel Preisser and Hadleigh Adams (left); Hadleigh Adams and Daniel Cilli (right)

Director Brian Staufenbiel has seamlessly combined the two works, beginning with Mahogonny set in a future where water is in scarce supply and a theater troupe dragging an old boat (that the company found in the Santa Cruz Mountains) stops to perform Les Mamelles. The Poulenc opera is about a woman who becomes a man and changes the submissive role of women in her world, as her husband overpopulates the world by giving birth to thousands of babies.

The Poulenc, which includes members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus to great effect, will be presented in the re-orchestration for smaller orchestra for the first time in the United States.

Hadleigh Adams and Renee Rapier

Gabriel Preisser took the opera world by storm with his portrayal of Lt. Gordon in the world premiere of Kevin Putz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night with Minnesota Opera and Opera Philadelphia. He will reprise the role this summer with the Cincinnati Opera with tenor Thomas Glenn, who is Charlie/Lacouf/Le Journaliste/Le fils in the Weill/Poulenc double-bill. He'll also be joined by fellow barihunks Joseph Lattanzi, Philip Addis, Craig Irvin and Andrew Wilkowske. Performances are on July 10 and 12 and tickets are available online.

Hadleigh Adams made his debut with the San Francisco Opera as Luther and Schlémil in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann and in several roles in the world premiere of Mark Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. He'll appear with the company again this season as the Jailer in Puccini's Tosca.

Daniel Cilli heads to the Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre this summer to sing Javert in Les Misérables. During the 2012-13 season, he performed the title role Carlo Gesualdo in the premiere of  Dante DeSilva's Gesualdo: Prince of Madness with Opera Parallèle.

For those unfamiliar with Opera Parallèle, it's a company that you should keep an eye on, as they are doing some of the most innovative and interesting opera on the West Coast. They've produced Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in a double-bill with Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, the world premiere of Jacques Desjardins’ re-orchestration of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, the San Francisco Bay Area premiere of Philip Glass’ Orphée, the first West Coast performances of John Rea’s chamber version of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, the world premiere of Lou Harrison’s opera Young Caesar with a nude scene featuring barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu, Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts and the world premiere of Luciano Chessa’s A Heavenly Act.

Silent Night to air on PBS

Liam Bonner in Silent Night

The barihunk-laden production of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night from the Minnesota Opera will be broadcast nationally on PBS on Friday, December 13 at 9pm ET (check local listings). The opera was the first commission of Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative, a landmark program designed to invigorate the operatic repertoire with an infusion of contemporary works.

The Minnesota Opera presented the world premiere of Silent Night in November 2011 with a cast that included barihunks Craig Irvin as Lieutenant Horstmayer, Gabriel Preisser as Lieutenant Gordon,  Mike Nyby as William Dale, Liam Bonner as Lieutenant Audebert, Troy Cook as Father Palmer, Joseph Beutel as the British Major, Ben Wager as the General and Andrew Wilkowske as Ponchel.

Silent Night is conducted by Minnesota Opera’s Music Director Michael Christie and staged by Academy Award-winning director Eric Simonson. The opera was recently honored with a regional Emmy nomination.

Quartet from Silent Night:

Silent Night was co-produced with Opera Philadelphia, who presented the work in February of this year. It now travels to the Fort Worth Opera Festival on May 4 and 10 with barihunks Dan Kempson, Craig Irvin and Morgan Smith.

The opera is based on the screenplay Joyeux Noël by Christian Carion and recounts a miraculous moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars in human history. On WWI’s western front, Scottish, French and German officers defy their superiors and negotiate a Christmas Eve truce. Enemies become brothers as they share Christmas and bury their dead.
 
You can listen to the entire opera online at composer Kevin Puts' website. 

Gabriel Preisser's new CD and upcoming performances

Gabriel Preisser

We first started following Gabriel Preisser three years ago when an opera insider wrote us and told us to keep an eye on the then 26-year-old singer. At the time, he was headed off to be a studio artist in his native state of Florida. The buzz about this gifted young singer really picked up steam as he scored a series of critical successes in regional houses. His big break came when the Minnesota Opera and Opera Company of Philadelphia cast him as Lieutenant Gordon in the world premiere of Kevin Putz’s Pulitzer Prize winning opera Silent Night, which he'll be reprising at the Cincinnati Opera on July 10th and 12th, 2014. 

He's gone on to make quite a name for himself in contemporary opera, singing the title role in Robert Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry, Tom Joad in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath, and Riolobo in Daniel Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas all at the Moores Opera Center; Antonio in Daron Hagen’s New York Stories at Kentucky Opera; John Brooke in Mark Adamo’s Little Women and the Shoe Salesman/Puppet role in Dominick Argento’s Postcard from Morocco both at Pensacola Opera.

Gabriel Preisser

We also just learned that he'll be singing in the double bill of Francis Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias and Kurt Weill's Mahagonny Songspiel with America's hottest new company, Opera Parallèle in San Francisco. The photo at the top of the page was taken at the recent photo shoot for the production.

Gabriel Preisser sings Soliloquy from Carousel:

If you can't make it to San Francisco or any of his upcoming performances [check out his schedule], you can listen to this hot new talent on his new CD "Being Alive," which features arias, lieder, Italian songs and the best baritone music from Broadway. You can listen to samples, but the CD or download the music at CD Baby.

Listen to Kevin Puts' "Silent Night" on NPR

Mike Nyby

We've covered composer Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night extensively in its performances in Minneapolis and Philadelphia. You can plan on more coverage as it heads to Fort Worth Opera and elsewhere in the opera world as this barihunk-laden opera quickly enters the standard repertory. Not since Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking have we seen a new opera take the music world by storm like this. 

The opera was originally commissioned by the Minnesota Opera and is based on the screenplay by Christian Carion for the Oscar-nominated 2005 French film Joyeux Nöel, which dramatized actual events during WWI during the days before Christmas 1914. The opera which deals with French, Scottish and German soldiers enjoying a truce during the bloody war is sung in German, French, English, Italian and Latin.

 Liam Bonner sings Lieutenant Audebert's "J'ai perdu ta photo" from Silent Night:

National Public Radio (NPR) has posted the audio of the orginal performance from the Minnesota Opera, which included a slew of barihunks. They include Craig Irvin as Lieutenant Horstmayer, Michael Nyby as William Dale, Troy Cook as Father Palmer, Gabriel Preisser as Lieutenant Gordon,
Joseph Beutel as the British Major, Liam Bonner as Lieutenant Audebert, Andrew Wilkowske as Ponchel and Ben Wager as the General.

Popular barihunks lead upcoming Cincinnati Opera season

Andrew Garland working out in his Barihunk tee-shirt

The Cincinnati Opera has announced its casting for next season and it is delightfully laden with some of opera's most popular barihunks. Fans of Daniel Okultich can see him twice, as the former Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music graduate appears as Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen and as Giove in Cavalli's La Calisto. Andrew Garland will also appear in La Calisto as Mercurio.

La Calisto will run from July 17-27, 2014 at the Corbett Theater in the School for Creative and Performing Arts near Music Hall. The cast also includes male soprano Michael Maniaci as Endimione, Jennifer Johnson Cano as Diana/Destino, Alexandra Deshorties as Giunone, Aaron Blake is Pane/Natura and bass Nathan Stark as Sylvano.

Fans of Andrew Garland can purchase his amazing CD American Portraits at the GPR Records website. It includes songs by Stephen Paulus, Jake Heggie, Lori Laitman and Tom Cipullo. You won't be disappointed!

Andrew Garland

Okulitch will be opening the season in Bizet’s Carmen on June 12th and the cast includes Stacey Rishoi in the title role, William Burden as Don José, Jessica Rivera as Micaela and Nathan Stark as Zuniga.

Gabriel Preisser backstage in Philadelphia for Silent Night

July 10 and 12 they will be presenting the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by Kevin Puts, Silent Night, which is filled with baritones. The performances will take place near the 100th anniversary of the outset of World War I. A number of baritones are reprising roles from the productions in Minnesota and Philadelphia, including Gabriel Preisser as Lt. Gordon, Craig Irvin as Lt. Horstman and Andrew Wilkowske as Ponchel.

Also in the cast are Thomas Blondelle as Nikolaus Sprink, Erin Wall as Anna Sorensen, barihunk Phillip Addis as Lt. Audebert and the gifted young tenor Thomas Glenn as Jonathan Dale.

Acclaimed "Silent Night" to open in Philadelphia with an army of barihunks

Regular readers might recall that we generously covered the debut of Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera "Silent Night," when it premiered at the Minnesota Opera in 2011.  It featured a veritable army of barihunks including Troy Cook, Gabriel Preisser, Ben Wager, Michael Nyby and Craig Irvin, all of whom posed for a picture that we posted [see below].

Five of the barihunks from that production are reprising their roles at Opera Philadelphia opening on February 8th and running through February 17th. They include Craig Irvin as Lieutenant Horstmayer, the German commanding officer; baritone Liam Bonner as Lieutenant Audebert, the conflicted French commander and his aide-de-camp Ponchel sung by Andrew Wikowske; baritone Gabriel Preisser as Lieutenant Gordon; and, Troy Cook as Father Palmer.

Troy Cook, Gabriel Preisser, Ben Wager, Michael Nyby and Craig Irvin

Tenor William Burden stars as the drafted opera singer whose voice inspires peace among adversaries and soprano Kelly Kaduce as his love interest, Anna Sørenson. Kaduce also happens to be married to a barihunk in real life, Lee Gregory.

Liam Bonner sings Lieutenant Audebert's "J'ai perdu ta photo" 

Silent Night, which is based on the 2005 French film Joyeux Noel, recounts a miraculous moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars in human history.   On World War I’s western front, weapons are laid down when Scottish, French and German officers defy their superiors and negotiate a Christmas Eve truce. Enemies become brothers as they come together to share Christmas and bury their dead.

Gabriel Preisser

Tickets and additional information is available online.

Also in 2014, the Fort Worth Opera Festival will give the regional premiere of the opera.

Have Some Coffee and a Silent Night with Gabriel Preisser

Gabriel Preisser

Gabriel Preisser returns to his native Florida to perform Bach's Coffee Cantata with the Orlando Philharmonic Symphony on December 10th. He'll be joined by soprano Ruthie Nelson under the baton of Christopher Wlikins. Tickets are available online.

This foray into baroque repertoire is a switch for Preisser, who has recently made a name for himself performing newer works. He recently created the role of Lt. Gordon in the world premiere of Kevin Putz’s Pulitzer Prize winning Silent Night with the Minnesota Opera. Preisser will reprise this role with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in February 2013, where he'll be reunited with fellow barihunk Liam Bonner who is singing the role of Lieutenant Audebert.

Liam Bonner sings Lieutenant Audebert's aria "J'ai perdu ta photo" from Silent Night:

Other upcoming engagements include Yamadori with the Orlando Philharmonic, baritone soloist in the Carmina Burana with the Atlanta Ballet, and El Gallo in the Fantasticks with Skylark Opera.

Support other emerging artist by purchasing your 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar TODAY. All proceeds go to benefit young artist programs and young artists:

Kevin Puts' "Silent Night" wins Pulitzer Prize

Barihunk Ben Wager and a scene from Silent Night

Last November, we posted about Kevin Puts' new opera "Silent Night," which was being premiered at the Minnesota Opera. We were all atwitter, because not only did it seem like an amazing new American opera, but it featured a cast with more sexy men than a college water polo team. The cast included Gabriel Preisser, Liam Bonner, Mike Nyby, Andrew Wilkowske and Ben Wager and was named as our "Best Barihunk Feast of 2011" in our year-end wrap up.

Apparently, some other pretty impressive musical minds agreed that the opera was worthy of recognition, as the Pulitzer Prize for "Distinguished Musical Composition by an American" was awarded to composer Kevin Puts for "Silent Night." The opera was commissioned and premiered by the Minnesota Opera in Minneapolis on November 12, 2011, a company that we have long praised  for its heartfelt commitment to premiering new works, especially those by American composers. We would like to add ourselves to the chorus of congratulatory messages from the music world.  

The opera. with a libretto by Mark Campbell, recounts the true story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, French and Germans during World War I, displaying versatility of style and cutting straight to the heart. The story was based on the 2005 film "Joyeux Noël."

Composer Kevin Puts

Also nominated as finalists in this category were Tod Machover for "Death and the Powers," premiered by the Boston Modern Opera Project in Massachusetts on March 18, 2011 and Andrew Norman for “The Companion Guide to Rome,” premiered on November 13, 2011 in Salt Lake City.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Live Webcast of Werther from Minnesota Opera

Tenor James Valenti & Baritone Gabriel Preisser

The Minnesota Opera will be presenting a live webcast of Massenet's "Werther" with barihunk Gabriel Preisser as Albert, James Valent as the title character and Roxana Constantinescu as Charlotte.

The webcast will air on Sunday, February 5, at 3 PM EST/2 PM CST/12 PM PST. The webcast is free of charge.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Papageno!!! Papageno!!! Sarastro!!! & A Barihunk Gathering in Minnesota

Some days we open our inbox and a theme just seems to appear. Today it was barihunks who are performing Papageno or Sarastro in Mozart's "Magic Flute."

The Opera Theatre Company in Ireland is touring the opera to a number of venues. The Sarastro is one of our favorite barihunks, Matthew Trevino, who also happens to in our Barihunks charity calendar in September. The opening night performance on Friday, November 25 is already sold out, but there are still tickets remaining for the remaing 19 performances, which run through December 10.

The Papageno is Owen Gilhooly and the production is performed in an English translation. Visit the Opera Theatre Company website for additional information or to purcharse tickets.

David Adam Moore (Papageno) and Jamie-Rose Guarrine (Papagena) (Photo by Mark Matson)

Another barihunk featured prominently in our calendar (and showing some skin) is the always entertaining David Adam Moore. Moore is a performer who always brings something extra to a performance, whether singing Mozart, Rossini or contemporary opera. He just wrapped up a run as Papageno with the Austin Lyric Opera. If you're in Texas and are kicking yourself with your cowboy boots for missing him, you're in luck. Moore is returning in April to perform Timur in Puccini's "Turandot" opposite yet another calendar model, Craig Verm,who shows off his amazing chest in our May feature along with Douglas Carpenter, Justin Hopkins and Dan Kempson (you won't want to miss it!).

By the way, you won't want to miss the AMAZING Turandot of Lise Lindstrom, who practically owns this role right now and performed the role to great acclaim at the Met. It's impressive that a smaller company like Austin Lyric Opera has managed to engage her. Buy your tickets now at their website, as this production will undoubtedly be sold out.

Gyula Orendt

We hadn't heard of Gyula Orendt until a reader brought him to our attention. The Transylvania-born singer studied at Franz Liszt University in Budapest. Orendt won numerous awards at the Viñas vocal competition in Barcelona in January 2010, including those for Oratorio/Lied, Mozart singing and Dalton-Baldwin prize. The baritone is a member of the ensemble of the Berlin State Opera House this seasons where he will perform Papageno, among other roles. Next year, he will also perform the Gamekeeper in Dvorak's "Rusalka" at the Royal Opera in London.

Lastly, we had to share the following picture from the Minnesota Opera. As we previously posted, the world premiere of Kevin Puts' "Silent Night" was full of amazing baritones and, better yet, barihunks. One of the things that we like about operas based on war stories, is that they inevitably have a lot of beefcake to enjoy and "Silent Night" is no exception.

Top Photo: Troy Cook, Gabriel Preisser, Ben Wager, Michael Nyby and Craig Irvin

Of course, "Silent Night" has also been a critical success and has instantly become a welcome addition to the repertory. We highly recommend that you read the reviews from the Minneapolis Examiner and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Regular readers of this site will also know that Troy Cook is one of only a handful of singers to appear on this site in the Full Monty. Cooks revealing debut on this site last summer was from a performance of Poulenc's "Les mamelles de Tirésias" and it continues to be a popular post with readers.

Please remember that all proceeds from our Barihunks calendar is going to benefit young artist programs that produce singers like Matthew Trevino, Troy Cook, Gabriel Preisser, Mike Nyby, David Adam Moore and others. Holiday shopping season officially begins this week, so click HERE and order your calendar today. Join us in making this a special holiday for young artists and you can enjoy looking at them ALL YEAR.

Your input, suggestions and occasional corrections are always welcome at Barihunks@gmail.com

Minnesota Opera's Barihunk-laden "Silent Night"

Gabriel Preisser, Liam Bonner, Mike Nyby, Andrew Wilkowske & Ben Wager

The Minnesota Opera is one of the gems in the landscape of American opera houses. It doesn't always get the national notoriety that it deserves, but within music circles it is known for consistently strong vocal performances and their religious commitment to young artists and living composers.

The Minnesota Opera has premiered Oliver Knussen's "Where the Wild Things Are," Libby Larsen's "Frankenstein," Ricky Ian Gordon's "The Grapes of Wrath," and Bernard Herrmann's sole opera "Wuthering Heights." They've also presented the American premieres of Jonathan Dove's Pinocchio, Poul Ruders' "The Handmaid's Tale," Dominick Argento's "Postcard from Morocco," Rossini's "Armida," Laurent Petitgirard's "The Elephant Man," and Reinhard Keiser's "The Fortunes of King Croesus."



The latest premiere from the Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative is Kevin Puts' "Silent Night," which is based on the screenplay for Joyeux Noël by Christian Carion. The opera recounts a miraculous moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars in human history. On World War I’s western front, weapons are laid down when the Scottish, French and German officers defy their superiors and negotiate a Christmas Eve truce. Enemies become brothers as they come together to share Christmas and bury their dead. Tenor William Burden, who has a place in barihunk history for starring shirtless opposite of Nathan Gunn in the production that gave rise to the term, stars as the soldier whose voice inspired peace among adversaries – if only for a day.

Canadian Mike Nyby plays Scottish soldier William Dale

The opera contains more sexy men than a World Cup soccer championship. There are four barihunks who have appeared on this site before, including Mike Nyby, Gabriel Preisser, Ben Wager and Liam Bonner. The world premiere was on Saturday, November 12 and there are additional performances on November 15, 17, 19 and 20, 2011. Visit the Minnesota Opera website for additional performance and ticket information.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Don't forget that you can support young artists like those performing at the Minnesota Opera by purchasing our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. All proceeds go to benefit young artists. The calendar features the hottest singers from six countries. Click HERE to purchase your own calendar or make it the perfect holiday gift. 

"Must See" Recitals: Gabriel Preisser, Michael Kelly, Jonathan Estabrooks and Lucio Gallo

Gabriel Preisser

If you're anywhere near the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, Parliament Hill or the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," then there are recitals near you that you won't want to miss.

We first learned about Gabriel Preisser about a year ago when we received an email from a respected figure in opera who touted him as the next great baritone voice. At the time, Preisser was performing small roles at the Kentucky Opera and heading off to the Pensacola Opera. He has since wowed the judges at the Lirico Concorso Competition and landed at the Minnesota Opera (with what seems like a planeload of barihunks. More on that in a future post). Preisser can be seen Thursday night as part of the Schubert Club's "The Magic of Mozart" series. He will be performing with soprano Angela Mortellaro and accompanist Aaron Breid. Click HERE for additional information.

Michael Kelly

Another singer who has been wowing judges in Michael Kelly, who recently showed off his vocal skills at the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition and was the winner of the 2011 "Joy in Singing Award." We also recently featured an entire recital from Michael Kelly on this site, which you can still watch.

If you'd like to see him live, he will be part of the New York Debut Artist Recital series on Monday, October 24th at 8pm in Merkin Hall. Visit their website for additional information. His recital will feature music by Schubert, Poulenc, Vaughan Williams, and William Bolcom, and introduce a new cycle written for him by Ben Moore. Jonathan Ware will be at the piano.

On Thursday, November 3rd, Kelly will appear at the Hungarian Consulate General with soprano Julia Küsswetter to perform music by Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt and Bartok. Additional information can be found at the German Forum website.

Jonathan Estabrooks

On Saturday, October 15 at 7:30 pm  Jonathan Estabrooks and his brother Bryan Estabrooks will present a musical journey ranging from opera houses to night clubs. Hosted by Jian Ghomeshi from CBC Radio's Q, this promises to be an entertaining evening. Trust us that anything involving the Estatbrooks Brothers promises to be fun. The performance is at the Shenkman Arts Center in Ottawa. Click HERE for additional information.

Of course, you can always catch Jonathan Estabrooks at "A Singer's Life" on YouTube.

For those of you in London, the great Italian baritone Lucio Gallo is the next performer in the Rosenblatt Recital series on Wednesday, October 12 at 7:30 PM. He'll be bringing sunny Italy to England with an evening of songs and arias by Tosti. Visit the Rosenblatt Recital website for additional information.

Here is Gallo singing Mozart's "Hai gia vinta la causa" from "Le nozze di Figaro":



 Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com