British barihunk Huw Montague Rendall will be making his role debut as Count Almaviva in Mozart's the Marriage of Figaro at the Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy, France.
Performing Figaro will be 25-year-old Russian bass-barihunk Mikhail Timoshenko, who won the Wigmore
Hall International Song Competition in September. The cast also includes Adriana Gonzalez as the Countess, Lilian Farahani as Susanna, Giuseppina Bridelli as Cherubino and Ugo Guagliardo as Bartolo.
Performances are on January 31 and February 2, 4, 7 and 9. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.
Huw Montague Rendall performs Mahler:
He will also be performing a recital on February 11th at Salle Poirel à Nancy accompanied by Ensemble Stanislas and Hélio Vida on the piano. The program will feature French and English songs. Tickets are available online.
This summer, Rendall will perform Marcello in Puccini's La bohème at the Komische Oper.
Barihunk Joseph Lattanzi will be one of the featured stars of Cincinnati Opera's free Opera in the Park concert on June 9th. He'll be joined at Washington Park by his fellow cast members from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, which is being performed on June 13 and 15. They include sopranos Janai Brugger and Susanna Phillips, mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb and tenor Martin Bakari. Also performing will be Piotr Buszewski, Liv Redpath, Thomas Dreeze and hunkentenor Aaron Blake.
No tickets are required for the event, but guests are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs, Concessions and food trucks will be on site.
In addition to The Marriage of Figaro, Lattanzi will join the company from July 22-27 for the world premiere of Scott Davenport Richards and David Cote's opera Blind Injustice, which explores the true stories of these six people who were tried, convicted, imprisoned, then ultimately freed by the Ohio Innocence Project. Joining him in the cast are fellow barihunks Miles Wilson-Toliver and Morgan Smith.
Casts and additional information on the Cincinnati Opera season can be found online.
Later this season, Lattanzi will reprise the role of Hawkins Fuller in Gregory Spears' Fellow Travelers at the Arizona Opera and then perform Dandini in Rossini's L Cenerentola at the Virginia Opera.
Bass-barihunk Ryan Kuster will star in the title role of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, which closes the 2018-19 Opera Colorado season. The singer previously appeared as Escamillo with the company in Bizet's Carmen.
Kuster will be joined by soprano Maureen McKay as Susanna, bass-baritone Simone Alberghini as Count Almaviva, soprano Ellie Dehn as Donna Anna, mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala as Cherubino, mezzo-soprano Margaret Gawrysiak as Marcellina and bass-baritone Stefano de Peppo making his Opera Colorado debut as Dr. Bartolo.
Also joining the the cast are members of Opera Colorado's 2018-19 Artist in Residence Program, including tenor Aaren Rivard, as both Don Basilio and Don Curzio, baritone Eric McConnell as Antonio and soprano Rebekah Howell as Barbarina.
The production opens Saturday, May 4, and runs through Sunday, May 12. For tickets and information, visit the Opera Colorado online.
Christian Pursell at the Partners for the Vocal Arts Vocal Competition
American barihunk Christian Pursell won the 6th Annual Partners for the Arts Vocal Competition today in Alexandria, Virginia. Second Place went to tenor Brandon Scott Russell and Third Place to soprano Robin Steitz.
The 2016 Metropolitan Opera semi-finalist performed "Aprite un po queli' occhi" from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and "O du mein holder abendstern" from Wagner's Tannhauser.
Pursell is a first year Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera. This season he'll be performing a number of roles with the company, including Walter Raleigh in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, the Jailer in Puccini's Tosca, Count Lamoral in Richard Strauss' Arabella, and a fourth of the Angel Quartet in Jake Heggie's It's a Wonderful Life.
Opera Atelier will open their new season on October 26 with barihunk Douglas Williams making his company debut in the title role of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. The opera will also feature two other singers who have appeared on our site, Olivier Laquerre as Antonio and Stephen Hegedus as Count Almaviva. The remainder of the cast includes Mireille Asselin as Susanna, Peggy Kriha Dye as Countess Almaviva,
Mireille Lebel as Cherubino, Laura Pudwell as Marcellina, Gustav
Andreassen as Bartolo), Christopher Enns as Basilio/Don Curzio, and Grace
Lee as Barbarina.
Opera Atelier’s production of The Marriage of Figaro will be sung in the famous English translation by American playwright Jeremy Sams.
Doug Williams sings "Non più andrai" from Marriage of Figaro:
Stephen Hegedus (photo: David Cooper) and Olivier Laquerre (photo: Bruce Zinger)
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. $15 Operatix tickets may be purchased by patrons aged 15-30 in person at the Elgin Theatre Box Office or online with the code OPERATIX. Performances run through November 4th.
Opera Atelier will host a special Operatix Evening on Friday, November 3rd, featuring a post-performance party with the artists for ticket-holders age 30 and under.
Derek Chester and Marco Vassalli from the 2018 Barihunks Photo Book
Our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchaseHERE.
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 thatHERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!
The big hit of the Glyndebourne season is barihunk Björn Bürger's Figaro in Rossini's Barber of Seville, which runs through July 17th with limited availability. The cast also includes Taylor Stayton as Almaviva and Danielle de Niese as Rosina. You can check for tickets HERE.
This appears to be one of those career defining moments for a young singer, as crowds and critics have responded enthusiastically. Mark Valencia in What's on Stage wrote, "The handsome young baritone exudes elegant bonhomie and fourth-wall-breaking razzle-dazzle, and he delivers Rossini's tongue-twisters with an eloquence it would be hard to better." Richard Fairman in the Financial Times wrote, "What fun there is comes from a well-chosen cast. At the top of the class is Björn Bürger’s ace Figaro, sung with brilliance, precision and a nonstop cheery grin, as if it is all no effort at all."
If you can't catch it live, you have two chances to watch in remotely. If you're in the UK, you can see it in a theatre in a live broadcast on Tuesday, June 21 at 6:30 PM. You can find screening near you by clicking HERE.
If you live elsewhere, the performance will be streamed live online on the same day HERE.
Next up at Glyndebourne is Mozart's Marriage of Figaro featuring the barihunk duo of Davide Luciano as Figaro and Gyula Orendt as Count Almaviva. It runs from July 3 to August 24.
On July 3rd, the San Francisco Opera is continuing its annual tradition to simulcast opera to AT&T Park, home of the World Champion San Francisco Giants. The production is headlines by two barihunks, Philippe Sly as Figaro and Luca Pisaroni as Count Almaviva. Sly makes his role debut in this production and Pisaroni returns to reprise his successful performances from 2010.
This is the San Francisco Opera’s 13th simulcast and it will be transmitted live from the stage of the War Memorial Opera House to AT&T Park’s high-definition scoreboard. The performance will begin at 7:30 PM and it is recommended that people register for tickets online.
John Brancy returns to the role of Papageno in Edmonton Opera's The Magic Flute, which opens Saturday, January 31st and runs through February 5th.
The opera, which was created and designed in house, will be presented as a visually stunning,
exotic pop-up storybook. The vibrant hues
and angular set pieces hint at an exotic location without placing it in
any one specific locale or time period.
Tickets available ONLINE. You can watch highlights of the production below.
Next up for Brancy is another Mozart role, when he takes on Figaro in the composer's The Marriage of Figaro at Opera Lyra Ottawa. Performances run from March 21-28th at Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. This will be his debut with the company.
The Vienna State Opera's live streaming opera service will be presenting Luca Pisaroni in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro on February 25th at 5:30 PM CET/11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST). The service requires a log-in and the first seven days are free. On demand operas will cost €14.00 ($17.40) for a single opera with subscriptions available. The service also includes the option to view multilingual subtitles and to follow along with the score.
The cast also includes Adam Plachetka as Figaro, Olga Bezsmertna as the Countess and Anita Hertig as Susanna.
The Vienna State Opera produces more than
40 live broadcasts annually, and is making nearly all of its 2014-15
season productions available in Ultra HD via the Internet, smart TVs and
mobile devices. Click HERE to start watching now.
Pisaroni returns to the U.S. early in the new year, with a performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in January with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. He then heads to the Met in February for a run as Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni. Peter Mattei sings the title role.
Don't forget to order your 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar before the busy shopping season begins.
Zachary Gordin teaching at the College of the Sequoias (left) and as he appears in our calendar
We recently awarded Center Stage Opera in the Los Angeles area and barihunk Zachary Gordin our first grant from our 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar. Gordin is currently performing Count Almaviva in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro with the Visalia Opera Company. Performances are running from November 8-10and tickets are only $25 for adults and $15 for students. They can be purchased online.
Our grant was to pay for Gordin to work with young singers in master classes with Center Stage Opera. He's also getting a chance to work with young singers at the College of the Sequoias and we have some video to share with you. You can see why he's the perfect candidate for our first grant, which helps both his career and a bunch of aspiring young singers.
Gordin, who started his career as a countertenor, performed his first
baritone role with Center Stage Opera in 2005 - Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.
He has maintained an artistic association with them ever since. The
company will use the Barihunks grant to bring Gordin back for his third
master class with young artists.
We hope to have some additional video for you then.
You can buy your 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar by clicking HERE.
Theo Hoffman, who we introduced to readers in August of this year, will be performing Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze do Figaro at Julliard. At the time of the orginal post we didn't have the dates, which are from November 4-10. Joining him in the cast is Jake Alan Nelson as Figaro. Tickets are limited, so call Juilliard Vocal Arts for tickets at (212) 799-5000.
Julliard's "Trio of Barihunks": Szymek Komasa, Theo Hoffman & Jake Alan Nelson
We also didn't have the date for his recital, which we now know will be on December 3 in Alice Tully Hall. The performance will be part of the Juilliard Songfest Britten centennial with accompanist Brian Zeger and fellow barihunk Szymek Komasa, who we first introduced readers in 2011 when he was competing in the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. We also posted about him earlier this month when he was spotted by someone attending a master class where he was working with Joyce DiDonato.
American barihunk Dan Kempson has been awarded the Donald Gramm Memorial Award by the Santa
Fe Opera named in honor of the internationally acclaimed American bass-baritone who appeared numerous times with the Santa
Fe Opera. Kempson was given the award for his outstanding contribution as a baritone during his summer with the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singer Program.
The famed apprentice program received 968 applications this year and only 43 singers were chosen to perform with the Santa
Fe Opera during its 57th season. Kempson was the cover for Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, performed Le Notaire and was the cover for Baron Grog in Offenbach's The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein and performed Father Flynn from Douglas Cuomo's Doubt in the Apprentice Scenes Showcase where they performed the final scene from Act 1.
The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singer Program provides young artists the
opportunity to work and perform with some of the most respected
conductors, directors and singers in the classical music world. The
apprentices form the backbone of the season’s five operas as members of
the chorus and in supporting roles. They receive coaching, lessons in
diction, period music style, and performance with faculty from The
Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, San Francisco Opera,
and Manhattan School of Music, as well as master classes by
artists such as Harry Bicket, Christine Brewer, and Joyce DiDonato.
Luca Pisaroni appeared on BBC's "In Tune" to talk about his Covent Garden debut as Figaro in David McVicar's "Marriage of Figaro." You can listen to the interview and hear him sing Schubert's "An die Musik" on BBC Radio 3 until September 19th.
Performances of the opera will run from September 16-October 7 and include fellow barihunk Christopher Maltman as the Count. The opera will be conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. The opera will be revived in May 2014 with barihunk Alex Esposito as Figaro and the sensational Gerald Finley as the Count. Tickets for all performacnces are available online.
Pisaroni actually made his opera debut
in 2001 as Figaro in Klagenfurt, Austria after completing his studies at the Verdi Conservatory
in Milan, and later in Buenos Aires and New York. He'll be reprising the role again at the Wiener Staatsoper in January 2014 opposite the Count of fellow barihunk Simon Keenlyside.
San Francisco's restored Nourse Theater, site of April 1, 2014 Luca Pisaroni recital
His fans in the United States will have to wait until 2014 to hear him live. He'll be performing recitals on opposite coasts, beginning in Washington D.C. on January 31 with the Vocal Arts DC series and then at the beautifully restored Nourse Theater in San Francisco on April 1. In between those recital, he will return to the Met as Caliban in The Enchanted Island from February 26-March 20.
Malin Christensson and Edwin Crossley-Mercer in Los Angeles (Lawrence K. Ho, Los Angeles Times)
We posted about the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Mozart -Da Ponte Trilogy awhile back. If you missed getting tickets for Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, you missed some serious eye-candy, with three barihunks who have been on this site. Leading the way was the sexy Figaro of Edwin Crossley-Mercer.
The LA Times wrote, "Baritone Edwin Crossley-Mercer was a distant, angry, virile yet, as Alaïa dressed him, metrosexual Figaro." After seeing the pictures, we would have added "smoking hot" to the list of superlatives. Also in the cast is Christopher Maltman as the Count. The LA Times wrote, "Maltman [wore] tight whites that only a powerful man could get away with, but Maltman is a magnetic baritone scarily uncowed. When outwitted, he still holds all the power, and he sang that way." In the small role of Antonio is Barihunk calendar model Brandon Cedel.
Dorothea Röschmann and Christopher Maltman(Genaro Molina)
There are still two performances remaining on May 23 and May 25. Conducting wunderkind Gustavo Dudamel is leading the orchestra. Visit their website for tickets.
If you want to catch Crossley-Mercer in the United States, you may want to catch one of these performances. When he wraps up on May 25th, he heads back to Europe for a series of concerts and operas in France and Germany. He kicks of on June 9th at the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch Partenkirchen before heading to the Théâtre des Champs Élysées on June 20th for Fauré's Pénélope. There are no other U.S. performances listed on his schedule.
If you want to catch Brandon Cedel, he'll be appearing at the Wolf Trap Opera beginning on June 21st in Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims. That production also includes barihunks Aaron Sorensen, Norman Garrett and Steven LaBrie. Additional information is available online.
American Marc Callahan and Brit Michael Davis opened as Figaro and the Count respectively in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro this weekend at the beautiful Winslow Hall in Buckinghamshire, England. The estate out in the glorious English countryside was designed by England’s greatest architect, Sir Christopher Wren. Performances run through Sunday, July 29th. To book tickets, call the Stowe Opera box office at 01280 848275 or download a booking form from www.stoweopera.com.
Winslow Hall
Now resident in the United Kingdom, Marc Callahan is a native of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. His formal music studies began at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music Degree, and later at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, where he received his Masters Degree and is continuing his doctoral studies. A lover of French art song, Marc furthered his vocal studies in Paris, France at the Schola Cantorum and the École Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot.
Michael Davis
Born in London, Michael Davis studied at Oxford University and the Royal College of Music, where he was supported by the Constant and Kit Lambert Studentship. He furthered his studies on the English National Opera, Opera Works course. He also won first prize in the 2009-10 Bayreuth Bursary Competition.
Simon Keenlyside sings "Hai gia vinta la causa" from Le nozze di Figaro:
Director Olivier Py's sexy production of Bizet's Carmen is currently available in its entirety at Arte Live Web. The production stars Giorgio Caoduro as Escamillo and it's not to be missed!
If Carmen's not your cup of tea or if one barihunk isn't sufficient to whet your appetite, then check out Mozart's Marriage of Figaro with Paolo Szot as Count Almaviva and Kyle Ketelsen as Figaro. (The production also features the amazing Cherubino of Kate Lindsey).
Paolo Szot & Kyle Ketelsen
Both operas will be available for free for about the next six month. For your convenience, we've posted them both on Barihunks for your viewing pleasure.
In an unrelated matter, we're taking submissions for our 2nd Annual Barihunks Charity Calendar. Send pictures (with appropriate permissions) to Barihunks@gmail.com.
Donovan Singletary takes on the title role in the Marriage of Figaro
The local NBC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth ran a feature on the upcoming opera festival, which included a nice mention of Barihunks.
Barihunk Donovan Singletary, who is singing the title role in the Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" is prominently featured on the news segment. The cast includes fellow barihunk Jonathan Beyer as Count Almaviva, Andrea Carroll as Susanna, Jan Cornelius as Countess Almaviva, Rod Nelman as Dr. Bartolo, Kathryn Cowdrick as Marcellina and Wallis Giunta as Cherubino. The opera will be performed on May 19, 27 and June 1st.
Visit the Fort Worth Opera Festival website for additional information and tickets. They are also performing Mark Adamo's Lysistrata, Puccini's Tosca and Jake Heggie's Three Decembers.
The winners of the 2012 McCammon Voice Competition have just been announced and two of the award winners were barihunks who have been featured on our site. Congratulations to Norman Garrett who won 3rd Prize and to Andrew Garland who won the coveted Audience Favorite Award.
Since its debut in 1985, the McCammon Voice Competition has grown into
one of the world's most important operatic events. Every two years, the
contest showcases the most compelling young singers of our time. After
several rounds of reviews and eliminations, the McCammon finalists
engage in two days of intense competition. Many of the winners are catapulted onto major opera stages.
Previous barihunk winners include Jonathan Beyer and Donovan Singletary. Both men are appearing at the upcoming Ft. Worth Opera Festival in Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro."
Donovan Singletary
Andrew Garland can next be seen as Mercutio in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Annapolis Opera.
When we recently featured Michael Mayes and his self-described transformation from Bari-Chunk to Bari-Hunk, it almost doubled our internet traffic for a week. Michael Mayes is one of our favorite people in opera. His Texapolitan Opera podcast is one of the most entertaining sites in all of classical music. He's also known as a great colleague, who works hard and is supportive of others. He's also become a fan favorite at the Ft. Worth Opera Festival, where he will return this season to sing Kinesias in Mark Adamo's comedy Lysistrata.
We've been unabashed in our support of the Ft. Worth Opera Festival, which we believe is a mandatory stop on any opera lover's list of festivals. This year they're also performing Jake Heggie's Three Decembers, Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and Puccini's Tosca. We encourage you to check out their website and learn more about this company.
Mayes is one of the feature stories in the May 2012 issue of 360 West magazine, where he talks about the special place that the Festival holds in his heart. It's an absolute must read and can be accessed HERE beginning on page 104.
Ted Federle sings Kinesias' aria from Adamo's "Lysistrata"in the 2007
non-professional premiere of the opera at the Seagle Music Colony:
It's not often that we feature Tosca and it's not that we don't love the opera. It's just that Scarpia hasn't been the quintessential barihunk role. Fort Worth Opera performed Tosca with the dashing Michael Chioldi in 2005, which brought a whole different tension to the rape scene. For a moment, one wondered, "Well, maybe Scarpia wouldn't be such a bad hook-up." Of course, then Puccini's music said otherwise. Fort Worth is bringing Chioldi back to reprise his successful portrayal of the evil police chief.
But who really caught our eye was Angelotti, who will be sung by the gifted young baritone Tom Forde, who we first discovered as a Santa Fe Apprentice Young Artist and who we featured in our charity calendar. Forde has taken his fitness routine as serious as his singing...and it shows. Forde, who has always had a great face for the stage - expressive, with big features - now has the body to match.
We are kind of wondering if Tosca will dump Mario and run off with Angelotti.
Donovan Singletary
Forde, will have a little of barihunk competition at the Fort Worth Opera Festival, as Donovan Singletary is returning to take on Figaro in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" opposite fellow barihunk Jonathan Beyer, who is singing Count Almaviva. Singletary, a rising vocal talent who excelled in the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in New York, also happens to have one of the greatest bodies in opera.
We hate to rewrite Mozart, but if we were the Countess, we'd turn the tables on the philandering Count and run off into the garden with Figaro.
Seth Mease Carico (L) & Michael Mayes (R)
If you haven't hadn't enough beefcake after Tosca and Figaro, make sure to grab a ticket for Mark Adamo's comic, yet racy Lysistrata. Another singer who has recently hit the gym, Michael Mayes, will be performing Kinesias. His new abs went viral on the internet when we posted his picture performing in Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking" at the Tulsa Opera.
Patrons who last saw Seth Mease Carico in Fort Worth's "Before Night Falls" may not recognize the singer, who has a body and new look that makes him look more like Adam Levine than Leonard Warren. Carico and Mayes are both great singers AND actors, which makes us think that Lysistrata could be the surprise hit of the festival. Few opera companies perform non-standard repertory as well as Fort Worth. Last season, Philip Glass' "Hydrogen Jukebox" played to enthusiastic, sold out houses. In fact, we named it our "Best Opera of 2011" in our annual year end feature.
Matt Worth
Last on the agenda, is Jake Heggie's amazingly moving opera "Three Decembers," which will feature one of our favorite singers, Matthew Worth.
Worth sang the role of Charlie with the Chicago Opera Theater in 2010 to great critical acclaim. Mark Thomas Ketterson wrote in Opera News, "Matthew Worth's warmly youthful baritone is intrinsically appealing, and he shaded Charlie's music with intelligence and great sensitivity."
Jake Heggie talks about his opera:
The Fort Worth Opera Festival should be a stop on any opera lover's travel calendar. This year's festival runs from May 12-June 3 and tickets can be purchased online.
