Barihunk trio in Michigan Opera's Carmen, including calendar model Brent Michael Smith

Harry Greenleaf and Luis Alejandro Orozco

The Michigan Opera has assembled a stunning barihunk trio for their upcoming Carmen, that includes Luis Alejandro Orozco making his role debut as Escamillo, Barihunks calendar model Brent Michael Smith as Zuniga and Harry Greenleaf as Morales. The cast also includes Ginger Costa-Jackson and Sandrea Eddy as Carmen, Marcelo Puente and Alok Kumar as Don Josè and Cecilia Violetta Lopez as Micaela.

The opera will be performed on October 15, 19, 22 and 23. Tickets are available online.

Other engagements for baritone Luis Alejandro Orozco this season include the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni at Bar Harbor Music Festival, Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia in his house début with Florentine Opera in May 2017, and a reprisal of his signature role, El Payador, in María de Buenos Aires with the Atlanta Opera.

Brent Michael Smith, Jérôme Varnier & Brad Baron

Bass-barihunk Brent Smith is featured in the month of April in our "2017 Barihunks in Bed" calendar which is on sale now. As a Young Artist at the Michigan Opera, he has sung Colline in Puccini's La bohème, the Second S.S. Officer in Weinberg's The Passenger, the Doctor in Verdi's Macbeth and The Speaker in Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Last year he was an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, where his performance as Billy Jackrabbit in Puccini's La fanciulla del West received critical acclaim by Opera News as a “standout.”

Baritone Harry Greenleaf was a Studio Aritist with the Wolf Trap Opera Company in 2012 and 2013, where he sang the role of Baron Douphol in Verdi's La traviata and Monsieur Barbu in Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirésias. He made his debut with Michigan Opera Theatre in 2016, singing the role of Top in Copland's The Tender Land, as well as Jake Wallace in La fanciulla del West, and Le Bret in Dr. David DiChiera’s Cyrano.

 

Michael Mayes to make role debut as Sharpless; Broadcast live!

Michael Mayes

Michael Mayes has become so associated for his brilliant portrayals in contemporary opera, that we sometimes forget that he's a compelling presence in the standard repertory, as well. Mayes, who has been dubbed the definitive Joseph de Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, a role he'll reprise in Opera Parallèle's upcoming season, will be making his role debut as Sharpless in Puccini's operatic classic Madame Butterfly next month.

Mayes will sing the role with the Michigan Opera Theatre from November 15-23 alongside hunkentenor Noah Stewart. Joining them in the cast will be Moldavian soprano Inna Los and Italian soprano Donata D'Annunzio Lombardi who will alternate in the role of Cio-Cio San.

If you can't make it to Detroit, opening night of the opera on November 15th will be broadcast live on WRCJ 90.9 FM. Tickets may be purchased online.

Dead Man Walking will be performed in San Francisco and Santa Monica and tickets are now on sale. This show will sell out fast, so visit the Opera Parallèle website today if you plan on attending.

Make sure to order our new 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar featuring 19 of the hottest men in opera. Michael Mayes was one of the stars of our 2014 calendar. Click on the LULU button below to order now.

A Birthday Tribute to Randal Turner

Randal Turner

We have a lot of favorite singers on Barihunks, ranging from the mega-stars like Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Mariusz Kwiecien to the upcoming singers like Matthew Morris, Hadleigh Adams and Jonathan Estabrooks. Then there is Randal Turner, who is in that middle ground with his student days behind him and stardom just a big break away.

Despite being from Indiana and attending the esteemed singing program at Indiana University, his career has been primarily in European opera houses. Perhaps it's because he's based in Zurich.

However, we still can't figure out why he's not been engaged by more American companies. We saw his sexually charged and vocally sublime Don Giovanni in Detroit, as well as his debut at New York City Opera in Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna and were incredibly impressed. We've been selling his debut CD on the site, which was his West Coast recital debut and filled with music from America's greatest composers: Jake Heggie, Ricky Ian Gordon, Glen Roven, Clint Borzoni and his fellow Swiss-based American, Julia Schwartz.

We're at a loss why he's not on the schedules of more American opera companies. If any of them are reading this, we're eager to hear him in some early to mid-Verdi, some non-Ring Wagner and some more American or English opera (Billy Budd!). Of course, we won't complain about another Don Giovanni either.

Happy Birthday to one of our favorite singers!

Opera news from around the world

Tom Corbeil in opera and as Lurch

Today is one of those days when we have a bunch of miscellaneous items to posts. First up is the Michigan Opera Theater, which we have a special affection for since they managed to survive an economic calamity in Detroit to open their forty-second season. During a time when many opera companies were shutting their doors, MOT managed to raise money and trim some costs to keep opera alive in the Motor City.

They also manage to put out casts which are always of interest to us at Barihunks. They are kicking off this season with Rossini's Barber of Seville. In the small, but important role of Basilio, is Tom Corbeil who returns to opera after a successful run as Lurch in the Addams Family Musical (he's been replaced by Zachary James). Roddion Pogossov and Eugene Chan will share the role of the Barber. There are two other singers that we should highlight, who you want to miss: Elizabeth DeShong as Rosina and Eleazor Rodriguez as Almaviva.

Tickets are available by calling 313-237-SING or online at the MOT website. The opening night performance will be broadcast on WRCJ 90.9 FM on October 13 beginning at 7 PM CST.

"Teddy Bare" and his co-star are in the tabloids again

We're really not an opera gossip site, there are too many great ones out there for us to compete with and we like staying focused on promoting barihunks. However, we can't stop following the Teddy Tahu Rhodes/Lisa McCune romance that's playing out in the Australian tabloids during their tour of South Pacific. It almost seems like the couple is seeking out the publicity, as they keep engaging in very public displays of affection.

You can read the latest story in the Herald-Sun.

Philip Kalmanovitch shirtless as the Don and with Hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock

We keep trying to wrap up the 2013 Barihunks Calendar, but seem to get distracted by pictures of the 2012 models. Here is Philip Kalmanovitch from a 2011 IVAI production of Mozart's Don Giovanni with hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock, another one of our favorite people in opera.

Perhaps this is a good time to clear up any misunderstanding about Hunkentenors. We get a lot of mail asking us why we don't post more on Hunkentenors. The simple answer is it's not our site. We focus on baritones, although we do give the occasional shout out to a few irresistible tenors like Blalock, Noah Stewart, Jonas Kaufmann and Juan Diego Flores.

Sébastien Lemoine

We post about a lot of singers and many are top of mind because the singers, their agents, their publicists or opera marketing departments make sure that we know about their every move. Other singers we chose to follow because you've shown an interest in their careers or they are particular favorites of ours. Every so often, we see someone appear in our analytics under "searches" that reminds us about our reader's interest in a singer. Recently, Sébastien Lemoine appeared near the top of our searches after a long absence from the site.

The former aviator and all-around jock, wrapped up performances in April of Bernstein's Wonderful Town and now is scheduled to perform  scenes from Don Giovanni in Macon, France on November 18th. The performance is part of the Les Symphonies d’Automne Festival and tickets are available online.

For those of you who were searching for Lemoine, thanks for keeping him on our radar!

Detroit Awaits Hot New Ford

Noah Stewart & Nmon Ford

Detroit has fallen on some hard times in recent years. It was once one of the great American industrial cities with a thriving musical scene. In recent years, neighborhoods have emptied out and Detrioit is no longer one of the 10 largest cities in America. But things appear on the rebound as President Obama's auto bailout has brought new hope to the region. The Michigan Opera Theatre survived the economic downtown and the Detroit Symphony is back after a brief hiatus. Cars and music defined the city for years, so it only makes sense that the Michigan Opera Theatre is presenting the hottest new Ford in years.

It's not a Mustang or a Crown Victoria, but barihunk Nmon Ford. The singer will be performing Zurga in fashion designer Zandra Rhodes' visually stunning production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers at the Detroit Opera House. Singing opposite Ford will be the hot, young tenor Noah Stewart, a recent graduate of San Francisco's Merola Opera program who has become a fan favorite in Detroit. We have a feeling that when these two guys appear on stage together, Detroit will have its hottest Spring ever.

Motown is back!

Ford and Stewart will alternate with tenor Jesus Garcia and baritone Edward Parks. Performances run from April 14-22 at the Detroit Opera House. Ford and Stewart perform together on April 14, 18 and 21. Visit the Michigan Opera Theatre website for more information.

You can watch Nmon Ford in a complete performance of Verdi's Attila in 

sixteen YouTube videos starting with this one:

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Happy Birthday, Randal Turner! 生日快樂

Randal Turner is about to debut in China

We'd like to wish Randal Turner a very special birthday.

We've met some amazing talents and incredible singers since starting Barihunks and Randal Turner counts among our favorites. He is one of many talented singers who we discovered singing in Europe who had yet to appear in the United States. Like Luca Grassi who made his belated U.S. debut at the Dallas Opera tonight, the American-born Turner didn't appear on stage in the U.S. until 2010 when he was cast as the title character in Don Giovanni at the Michigan Opera Theater.

Turner followed his critical success in Detroit with his West Coast recital debut in San Francisco, which has been recorded and is for sale on this site.  He was recently engaged by the Washington National Opera to cover Placido Domingo in Gluck's Iphigenie en Tauride and will be making his debut at the New York City Opera in February 2012 in Rufus Wainwright's "Prima Donna." Turner was also named the world's sexiest Don Giovanni in a reader poll on this site, beating out international superstars like Simon Keenlyside and Mariusz Kwiecien.

Ads heralding Randal Turner's US Debut in Detroit

The legendary conductor Loren Maazel is now taking Randal Turner to China to make his Asian debut as the title character in Rossini's Barber of Seville. The performance is a co-production between the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts and Maazel's Castleton Festival. Performances run from November 24-27.

Listen to Randal Turner:

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Michael Todd Simpson in Carmen & Messiah; Pop's Sexy Carmina Burana; Varnier in Rimini

Anita Rachvelishvili as Carmen & Michael Todd Simpson as Escamillo in rehearsal; (Bill Mohn, photo)

Michael Todd Simpson brought his swaggering Escamillo to Seattle Opera for their performances of Bizet's "Carmen." In a performance that included the riveting Carmen of Anita Rachvelishvili and a host of other hot men, the American barihunk managed to catch the attention of reviewer Jackson Holtz at the Everett Herald.

"Seattle Opera veteran Michael Todd Simpson was sexy and charming as the matador." 

You can read the entire review at the Everett HeraldNet website.

Bernard Jacobson of the Seattle Times wrote:

"Don José...projected just the nebbish air of indecision that makes José putty in Carmen's hands — no competition for the sexy Escamillo and Zuniga of Michael Todd Simpson and Donovan Singletary."

Donovan Singletary in his Barihunks tee shirt

Performances run through October 29th and tickets can be purchased online. Simpson next heads down the coast to California, where he will perform Handel's "Messiah" with the amazing San Francisco Symphony. Performances are on December 16, 17 & 18. Visit the San Francisco Symphony website for tickets and additional performance information.

By the way, if you haven't seen the Seattle Opera's "If Carmen and her friends were on Facebook...," then you missed one of the funniest and creative things that we've ever seen from an Opera Company (that was meant to be funny!). You can see the entire post on their wonderful blog. 

Kudos to the Seattle Opera, which continues to be one of the most creative opera companies in the world.

Cirque du Soleil performers and Marian Pop combine forces in Detroit

The Michigan Opera Theater hired some Cirque du Soleil acrobats to add an erotic touch to Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana." The piece was part of a double-bill with Menotti's "The Medium." Barihunk Marian Pop, a regular fixture with the opera company, was singled out for his performance by the local press.

"Baritone soloist Marian Pop's expressive singing was the musical highlight of "Carmina."

You can read the entire review at the Detroit Free Press website.

Jérôme Varnier

Jérôme Varnier is wrapping up a run as Palémon in Massenet's "Thaïs" tonight at the Opéra de Tours. He now heads to the Opéra-Théâtre de Metz to perform Guido in Ambroise Thomas' "Francesca da Rimini," which opens on November 18. Tickets and additional performance information are available online.

DiChiera Delivers Magic Flute in Detroit; Cyrano in Miami

Michael Mayes

Michael Mayes, host of the hilarious Texapolitan Opera podcast, will be singing Papageno at the Michigan Opera Theater. Performances will run from April 9-17 and tickets and additional cast information can be found HERE.  Here is a brief video of Mayes explaining why The Magic Flute is a great opera for kids (while wearing skulls on his cowboy shirt!). We told you that he's funny.



Here is the famous version of Ileana Cotrubas and Christian Boesch singing the duet for Papageno and Papageno.


By the way, David DiChiera, who runs the Michigan Opera Theater and who is also a composer, will have his opera "Cyrano" performed at the Florida Grand Opera with baritone Marian Pop. Click HERE for additional information and to listen to audio clips. Here is a video of the Act 2 quintet.

 

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Lee Gregory in Detroit

Lee Gregory (photos by John Grigaitis)

The Michigan Opera Theater is presenting La Boheme this month with barihunk Lee Gregory. He will be singing the role of Shaunard with his gorgeous wife Kelly Kaduce playing Mimi. Die hard opera fans will know that this couple is the North American version of Schrott-Netrebko in terms of hotness onstage.

The photos above are from the current rehearsals at the opera house.

Barihunks encourages anyone in the Detroit area to support this opera company, which has not only survived in a brutal economy, but has maintained the highest artistic standards. Tickets can be purchased at the MOT website.  Performances run from November 13-21.

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Lee Gregory Announced for Detroit

We spent a good deal of time covering the Isaac Mizrahi production of "A Little Night Music" in St. Louis in some recent posts. We featured Chris Herbert pretty prominently, but also mentioned that Aaron Agulay and Lee Gregory were in the cast. Lee Gregory is married to the supremely gifted soprano Kelly Kaduce Gregory and we've just learned that the couple will be performing together again.




Lee Gregory will be singing Shaunard in La Boheme with Kelly Kaduce Gregory as Mimi from November 13-21 at the Michigan Opera Theater. This is the same company that brought us the U.S. debut of Barihunks favorite Randal Turner, so they hold a special place in our hearts.

We also feel compelled to bestow some praise on Michigan Opera Theater general director David DiChiera, who has kept opera running in a city that has faced some severe economic challenges. It was recently announced that DiChiera was selected as one of the recipients of the 2010 National Endowment for the Arts’ Opera Honors for his lifetime contribution to opera. The other recipients are Martina Arroyo, Eve Queler, and Philip Glass.

This site would like to offer a special CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. DiChiera.

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This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com.

Also make sure to visit the new Barihunks store by clicking on the tie dye t-shirt above.

Double Delight in D.C.

[Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Ildar Abradzakov]

We like the increasingly popular trend of casting multiple barihunks in a production, as with our recent posts of Opera Atelier and Michigan Opera Theater. We're eager to see the pairing of Teddy Tahu Rhodes' Count Almaviva with Ildar Abdrazakov's Figaro in Washington Opera's "Le Nozze di Figaro." The barihunk pairing in Chicago's Nozze between Mariusz Kwiecien and Kyle Ketelsen was a huge success.

The production runs from April 24-May 7 with alternating casts, so check the website.

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Barihunks On The Air - David Adam Moore & Randal Turner

One of the great things about most of our barihunks is that they are not only lovely to look at, but there are a number who are highly compelling artists. David Adam Moore and Randal Turner are not only two of the most riveting performers on stage, but they are also amazing singers. You can now hear both of them online in their most recent performances.

Moore has shown his ability to bring great depth to music ranging from the baroque to today's most modern compositions. Great examples of this are his critically acclaimed performances as Aeneas in Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" and his riveting performance of David T. Little's "Soldier Songs."

[David Adam Moore in Soldier Songs]


Moore just reprised the lead role of Prior Walter in Peter Eötvös' "Angels in America" to great critical acclaim at the Barbican Center in London with the BBC Symphony. The Sunday Times of London raved about the U.K. premiere of the opera. You can haer it on the BBC until April 14th by clicking HERE. Due to "adult language" there is a box that you'll have to click to attest that you're over the age of eighteen. Although the opera contains a lot of recitative, Eötvös has created a condensed and highly effective opera based on Tony Kushner's award-winning play.

[Randal Turner as Don Giovanni]


Randal Turner is known for his warm, mellifluous baritone as well as his ease on stage. Trained as a dancer, he brings great physicality to all of his roles. The early buzz on his Don Giovanni in Detroit is that it's going to be a sexually charged performance. For those who can't make the performance, they will still have the opportunity to hear it broadcast live on April 14th on Detroit's WRCJ 90.9. The internet stream will be available HERE at 7:30 PM EST.

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Randal Turner Featured In Detroit LGBT Paper

The buzz about barihunk Randal Turner's North American debut in Detroit has been picked up by the local gay paper Pride Source. Who could blame them for featuring the muscular singer with pictures like this?

Turner is performing the title role at the Michigan Opera Theater, but is alternating the role with Robert Gierlach. If you want to see Turner, we don't recommend using the Michigan Opera website which oddly doesn't tell you which cast is singing on any given night. We suggest that you call (313) 961-3500 for cast information. We believe that he's singing on April 14 and April 17.

You can read the entire Pride Source interview with Randal Turner HERE.

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Don Giovanni Goes To Church

As we recently mentioned, Randal Turner stopped by his hometown of Crawfordsville, Indiana to perform at the First Christian Church. Turner is on his way to Detroit to make his North American debut as Don Giovanni with the Michigan Opera Theater.

Despite the church visit, we doubt that this Don Giovanni will give up his lascivious ways. If you want to find out, performances run from April 10-18.

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Randal Turner Announces Concert Preceeding US Stage Debut

Randal Turner, who is heading back from Switzerland to make his North American stage debut as Don Giovanni with the Michigan Opera Theater, is going to stop by him hometown and perform a concert. If you're in Indiana, you can get more information HERE.

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Imagine Randal Turner Dressed Like This

[Left - Erwin Schrott in Don Giovanni; Right - Randal Turner]

Every so often Barihunks proclaims an upcoming performance a "must see" event. The recent Don Giovanni at New York City Opera was certainly one of those. The latest is the April run of Don Giovanni at the Michigan Opera Theater featuring Randal Turner, who won our "Sexiest Don Giovanni" contest last year.

The production is John Pascoe's extremely sexy version that starred barihunk Erwin Schrott at Washington National Opera in 2007 [see photo above]. Schrott was pretty damn sexy in those costumes and we can't wait to see Randal Turner show off his stuff on stage. Not only is Turner a gifted singer and certifiable barihunk, but he was trained as a dancer and can move on stage like few other singers.

By the way, the extremely talented Kelly Kaduce will be singing Donna Elvira. We mention this because she is married to barihunk Lee Gregory and we couldn't pass up an excuse to post this sexy picture of him.

[Lee Gregory]

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Sexiest "Don Giovanni" Coming to Michigan Opera

In March 2009, Barihunks asked readers to pick the world's sexiest Don Giovanni. We had an incredibly hot group of contestants that included Christopher Maltman, Mariusz Kwiecien, Randal Turner, Simon Keenlyside, Cesare Siepi, Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Daniel Okulitch, Martin Achrainer and Mark Stone. Not only are all of these men incredibly hot, but they are all pretty amazing singers who perform Mozart's classic as well as anyone on the stage today.

Our readers are a pretty sophisticated bunch and in the end American Randal Turner beat out two other barihunks who also play the role with physically erotic gusto, Simon Keenlyside and Mariusz Kwiecien. Turner has gone on to be a regular on this site and we've bemoaned the fact that despite his American roots, his career has been centered in Europe. To our shear delight, the Michigan Opera Theater has hired Randal Turner to replace fellow barihunk Paulo Szot, who withdrew from the production. It's difficult from their website to figure out what nights he's singing, as he's alternating performances with Robert Gierlach. However, we've confirmed that Turner is performing on April 14th & 17th.

Here is a YouTube clip of Randal Turner singing a beautifully nuanced performance of "Deh, vieni, alla finestra." If you're anywhere near Michigan, we suggest that you click HERE and buy your tickets today. This is a U.S. debut that shouldn't be missed!


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Casting Coup at Michigan Opera; Bavarian State Opera Promises Eye Candy

[Top, John Relyea from his website; Center; Die Bassariden from Bavarian State Opera and bottom, photo of Paulo Szot]

The Michigan Opera Theater has announced the casting coup of the season. Paulo Szot, fresh off his hugely successful run in South Pacific on Broadway, will play the lead role in Don Giovanni next season. It's amazing that Barihunks even got this information as MOT is the worst opera company on the planet in listing complete casts. Even for their upcoming Carmen, they don't list the Escamillo!

Nonetheless, we're all going to be keeping our eye on this performance. Paulo Szot is one of the hottest singers in the world and sex appeal clearly reached the masses reprising the classic Ezio Pinza role of Emile De Becque. If anyone at MOT is reading this, who is playing Leporello and Masetto?

Also, I received an email from the Bavarian Opera informing us that Barihunks Lucas Meachem and John Relyea will perform together next season in Le Nozze di Figaro. Meachem will play the Count Almaviva and Relyea will be Figaro. Mrs. Teddy Tahu Rhodes, a.k.a. Isabel Leonard, will portray Cherubino. The opera company will also present Henze's Die Bassariden, which often gives us some great skin shots, as evidenced from the picture above. No cast list is available yet.

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Gunn in Michigan

Thanks to "Mike in Michigan" for sending along this photo of Nathan Gunn from the Michigan Opera in 2004. Mike thinks that Nathan has put on some weight for the Chicago Lyric performance, but "he's still hot."

I'm more interesting in figuring out why the Michigan Opera Theater decided to dress Top Gunn in Salome's seven veils and not the diaper that the supernumeraries had to wear.