Jud Arhur's naked Fafner in Australian Ring Cycle

Jud Arthur as a professional model and as Fafner

Director Neil Armfield's Der Ring des Nibelungen at Opera Australia was quite the buzz even before it opened. Now that the first cycle is wrapped up the buzz has only escalated about this dreamlike Ring Cycle that pushes the imagination. All is all, it seems to be a critical success.

Of course, our readers are buzzing about barihunk Jud Arthur's surprising entry from his cave as the mortally wounded Fafner, splattered with blood and completely naked. Rather than feeling like German regietheater, our contacts in Australia said that it gave the moment a heartfelt humanity as Fafner, stripped bare, warns Siegfried of the Ring's power.

One reviewer called Arthur's Fafner a "Pagliacci vesti-la-giubba moment," as he's seen applying make-up in front of a dressing-room mirro. Fafner grimaces into a camera built into the mirror which projects his magnified image to the audience until he eventually appears before the naive Siegfried as a naked vulnerable man.

 Jud Arthur as Fafner with Daniel Sumegi as Fasolt

Jud Arthur was born in New Zealand, worked as a farmer in Mosgiel, and then began a career as a professional rugby player. He's been one of the most popular regulars at Opera Australia for a decade now and also moonlights as a professional model.

The rest of the all-star cast includes Terje Stensvold, Susan Bullock, Richard Berkeley-Steele, Stefan Vinke, Stuart Skelton, Daniel Sumegi, Miriam Gordon-Stewart, Jacqueline Dark, Graeme Macfarlane and Warwick Fyfe. 

Cycle Two begins on November 27 and Cycle Three begins on December 6. Call (03) 9685 3700 or visit the Opera Australia website.

 You can enjoy beautiful barihunks all year with our 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar. It's the perfect gift for the holidays. Click below to order now. Every penny of profit goes to benefit young artists.

Jud Arthur Profile: From Rugby to Opera

Jud Arthur: As an opera singer and as a rugby player

Farm boy turned baritone opera singer Jud Arthur discusses his current roles with Opera Australia and the blood, sweat and tears of music and Italian football. [Read the entire article from the Melbourne Broadsheet HERE].

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Giorgio Caoduro Triumphs in Opera Australia Debut; Barihunks Abound in Barber

Giorgio Caoduro at Opera Australia

Italian barihunk Giorgio Caoduro, who we last saw on this site shaking his booty, has just made a triumphant Australian debut in the Barber of Seville at Opera Australia. Caoduro performs again on Monday night and then turns of the role of the Barber to fellow barihunk Jose Carbo. You can find complete cast and performance information on the Opera Australia website.

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote the following:

In the title role, Giorgio Caoduro as Figaro established himself as a suave operator, a dapper factotum whose vocal skills match the enterprise of his character in the ability to adapt to any situation with flexibility and charm.

 Caoduro will continue singing his famous "Largo al factotum" in Talouse at the Théâtre du Capitole, alternating the role with yet another barihunk, Vittorio Prato. Performances run from March 18-27.

Jud Arthur

In Talouse and in Sydney, Caoduro will have a barihunk performing the role of Don Basilio. Performing in both casts at Opera Australia is former professional rugby player turned opera singer Jud Arthur. We've been told by our sources that the hunky bass has a promising future in opera. In Toulouse the role will be performed by the stunningly handsome Giovanni Furlanetto.

Vittorio Prato & Giovanni Furlanetto

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Aussie Football Meets Opera

  Barihunks Jud Arthur and Teddy Tahu Rhodes with North Melbourne vice-captain Drew Petrie. (Picture: Manuela Cifra Source: Herald Sun)

 

 

From the Melbourne Herald-Sun:


By Loretta Hall

MATCH fitness is the secret to success for footy players and opera singers alike.

To prove the point, Opera Australia singers Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Jud Arthur teamed with North Melbourne's Drew Petrie at Arden St this week - and traded tips about staying in shape.

"They have to be in good nick to belt out their tunes," the Kangaroos vice-captain says. "And they need abdominal muscle strength for that."

Petrie was impressed with Arthur's ball-kicking ability.

The singer, performing in Opera Australia's Rigoletto as Monterone, once enjoyed a professional rugby career in New Zealand and only rediscovered his love of song while recovering from injury.

Rhodes, playing the lead role in The Marriage of Figaro, has the physique of an AFL footy player and whenever he performs in the same city as Arthur, they train and run together.

But Arthur admitted their gym regimen was nowhere near as stringent as that of Petrie, who works out six days a week.

Is Petrie into opera? Not as yet but the Kangaroo hopes to "get along for a bit of a listen" this week.

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