Barihunk trio in live stream of "La pietra del paragone" from Rossini Festival

Gianluca Margheri and Paolo Bordogna

The barihunk duo Gianluca Margheri, Paolo Bordogna and Davide Luciano will appear in a live stream of La pietra del paragone (The Touchstone) from the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro on August 11th. Gianluca Margheri sings the Conte Asdrubale, Paolo Bordogna sings Pacuvio and Davide Luciano sings Macrobio. The cast also includes La pietra del paragone as the Marchesa Clarice, Maxim Mironov as Cavalier Giocondo, Aurora Faggioli as Baronessa Aspasia, Marina Monzó as Donna Fulvia and William Corrò as Fabrizio.

Much of the action taken place in and around a swimming pool, so you'll get to see some barihunk skin in this popular production.

La pietra del paragone, which was Rossini's first major commission, was first performed at La Scala in Milan on September 26, 1812 and was an instant success. Despite its early success in Europe, the work did not receive its North American premiere until 1955 and not until 1963 in Britain, when it was performed at he St Pancras Town Hall.

In Rossini's comedy, a wealthy man devises a test to separate his true friends from those who love him only for his money. Although “touchstone” is no longer regularly used in the English language, it is still alive in an Italian proverb that forms the basis of this comic opera. They say “Men have a touchstone to test gold, but gold is really the touchstone to test men.” (“L’uomo ha la pietra di paragone per saggiare l’oro, ma l’oro è la pietra di paragone per saggiare gli uomini.”) 

You can also watch the same Pier Luigi Pizzi production on Medici.TV with barihunk Marco Vinco as Il Conte Asdrubale, Paolo Bordogna as Pacuvio and Pietro Spagnoli and Macrobio.

Watch Philippe Sly as Don Giovanni at Aix-en-Provence

Philippe Sly as Don Giovanni as Aix-en-Provence

Barihunk Phillipe Sly is a particularly sexy (and scantily clad) Don Giovanni in Mozart's classic at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. This performance marks his debut in the role, as well as the role debut of Isabel Leonard as Donna Elvira.

Performances are running through July 21, but one can also catch a broadcast of it on July 10th on Medici.tv at 12:30 PM PDT.

 The new production by Jean-François Sivadier includes Nahuel Di Pierro as Leporello, Eleonora Buratto as Donna Anna, hunkentenor Pavol Breslik as Don Ottavio, Julie Fuchs as Zerlina,  Krzysztof Baczyk as Masetto and David Leigh as Il Commendatore.

Watch Ildar Abdrazakov as Méphistophélès from Salzburg

Ildar Abdrazakov as Méphistophélès

You can watch Ildar Abdrazakov as Méphistophélès from the Salzburg Festival on August 23, 2016 at 10 AM PST/1 PM EST on Medici.tv. The production also stars Piotr Beczala as Faust, Maria Agresta as Marguerite, Alexey Markov as Valentin, as  Tara Erraught as Siébel and Marie-Ange Todorovitch as Marthe. The new production is staged by Reinhard von der Thannen and conducted by Argentinian Alejo Pérez.

Watch Kelly Markgraf LIVE or ONLINE

Kelly Markgraf

One of our favorite emerging barihunk stars is Kelly Markgraf, who was just part of the sold out two-night performance of Philharmonic 360 at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. He was joined by barihunks Keith Miller and Ryan McKinny in one of the most talked about classical music performances in years.

If you missed the performance, you're in luck, as it will be webcast for free by medici.tv beginning July 6 at 2:00 PM EDT/11 AM PST for 90 days. You might recall the medici.tv also provided the same benefit to opera lovers by broadcasting the Operalia competition online. In addition to the three barihunks, who are performing the closing scene from Act 1 of Mozart's Don Giovanni, the webcast features the New York Philharmonic's Music Director Alan Gilbert conducting Karlheinz Stockhausen’s epic composition Gruppen.

Our favorite picture of Kelly Markgraf

We're visual people and will be watching on medici.tv, but if you can suffice with just the audio, the concert will be streamed on Q2 Music, WQXR’s online music station, on Tuesday, July 10 at 3:00 PM EST, Wednesday, July 11 at 7:00 PM EST, and Saturday, July 14 at 10:00 AM EDT and archived for 30 days.

Kelly Markgraf and Sasha Cooke

For those who prefer to see Markgraf live, he'll be performing with his wife Sasha Cooke at the internationally acclaimed Music@Menlo series this month. The attractive couple is going to give Erwin Schrott and Anna Netrebko a run for their money with their "made-for-Marie Claire" looks and great singing. 

The couple will be part of the July 27 concert entitled "TRANSPORTED: Sonic Journeys."  “Transported” will explore music’s ability to enrapture listeners through vivid depictions of places near and far. Markgraf will perform Samuel Barber’s classic Dover Beach which are set to poet Matthew Arnold’s picturesque paean to the English shore. The program also features, Chen Yi’s "Romance of Hsiao and Ch’in, " Debussy’s "Images," Albéniz’s "Iberia Suite," Sibelius’s "Voces Intimae" and Gustav Mahler’s "Das himmlische Leben" from his 4th Symphony.

If you plan on going, order now, as tickets are already limited. Click HERE for tickets.

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