Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek featured in Bleep magazine

Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek in Bleep magazine

Christiaan Smith Kotlarek, who is our Mr. December in the Barihunks charity calendar, is featured in the latest issue of Bleep magazine (he's on page 31). Bleep describes itself as, "The internationally-read online creative culture magazine about people who are creating the future of art."

He's currently appearing as Dancaïre in Carmen with the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. There is a performance tonight and on Sunday, August 3. In the Fall, he returns to New York to perform in his own solo cabaret night with Live Band featuring songs of John Mayer, Jason Mraz, and others. We'll have more details as the performance nears. 

Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek & Matthew Anchel star in "Grease" parody

"Summer Nights" leads Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta and Matthew Anchel & Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek

A video resurfaced last week of a bunch of students at the 2013 Music Academy of the West (MAW) in Santa Barbara, California performing a parody of "Summer Loving" from Grease. The video was created and produced by one of the funniest people in all of opera, bass Matthew Anchel. He plays the Olivia Newton-John role of Sandy Olsson, while barihunk Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek cranks up the hotness knob on John Travolta in the Danny Zuko role. The video is actually part of a 24-minute video called "Real Housewives of MAW."

The Music Academy of the West is a well-respected summer music festival for young artists, which has been under the direction of the legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne since 1997.

 Watch the MAW and original version of "Summer Nights":

You can also catch Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek onstage as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème with the Townsend Opera in Modesto, California. The production, which is directed by Mark Streshinsky, will be performed on January 30 and February 1. Also in the cast is barihunk Eric Downs as Colline. Visit their website for ticket and performance information. He recently performed Schaunard with the Kentucky Opera.

Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek

In July, Smith-Kotlarek will be returning to Music Academy of the West to sing Dancaïre in Bizet's Carmen. The performance is in honor of Marilyn Horne's 80th birthday.

You should also check out his personal trainer website.

Watch the entire video "Real Housewives of MAW":

Also appearing in the video are barihunk John Brancy, Diana Newman, Claire DeSevigny, Ashley Dannewitz, Julie Adams, Quinto Ott, Mingjie Lei, David Leigh, Emily Siar, John Churchwell, Jonathan MacArthur, Keith Colclough, J. Warren Mitchell, Alex Raszkazoff, Emma McNairy, Sara Couden, John Kapusta, Christina Giuca and Helen Becqué

Introducing Abdiel Gonzalez

Abdiel Gonzalez

We've decided to pass on our annual feature of posting a calendar of barihunks singing in Handel's Messiah around the world. Let's face it, if there's a Messiah, there's an 80% chance that it features a sexy baritone belting out "Why Do the Nations Rage."

However, as we head down to Los Angeles today for Mozart's Magic Flute at the L.A. Opera, we noticed that Puerto Rican baritone Abdiel González is performing the Messiah tonight and next Sunday with the Los Angeles Master Chorale at Disney Hall. Tickets for his two performances of the Messiah are available online.

We had heard about him previously from singers who attended the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, but somehow never got around to posting him. He was brought to attention a second time last March when he was performing in Stravinsky's Renard under Esa-Pekka Salonen with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. 

He has performed Mercutio in Gounod's Roméo et Julliette, Shrike in the West Coast Premiere of Lowell Liebermann's Miss Lonelyhearts, Athanaël in Massenet's Thaïs, Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and a number of zarzuelas, including the title role in Luis Alonso, Paquiro in Goyescas and Don Pedro in El Barberillo de Lavapies.

On the concert stage he has perfomed as a soloist in Handel's Messiah, Orff's Carmina Burana, Fauré's Requiem, Stravinsky's Pulcinella, Haydn's Creation, Mozart's Requiem and Mass in C Minor, and others.

He was a first place winner in both the San Diego District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Opera 100 Competition.

NEWS FLASH: John Brancy wins Marilyn Horne Song Competition

John Brancy

We have just learned that barihunk John Brancy and pianist Mario Antonio Marra are this year's winners of the  Marilyn Horne Song Competition. Brancy and Marra will each receive a cash award of $2,500, and will be presented in recitals at Hahn Hall, Santa Monica’s Broad Stage, and the National Opera Center in New York City next year. 

Brancy sang Schubert's Nachtstück, Rachmaninov's In the Silence of the Secret Night, and Stephen Foster's Beautiful Dreamer.

Judges for this year's competition were Marilyn Horne, Jeremy Geffen, Barbara Hocher, Gayletha Nichols, and Lorne Richstone. 

Brancy will also be performing Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Music Academy of the West on August 2 and 4. Tickets are available online. 

Reader Submission: Snowboarding Barihunk Christiaan Smith Kotlarek

Christiaan Smith Kotlarek

Our latest Reader Submission is the second one by a very fortunate soprano, who seems to get cast opposite some of the hottest men in opera. She was as surprised as us that no one had ever submitted Christiaan Smith Kotlarek.

Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek studied at the Boston University Opera Institute where he was a Phyllis Curtin Artist. His professional credits include roles with the Madison Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Ash Lawn Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera, where he was also an apprentice artist. In 2007, Christiaan toured the Marche region of Italy singing the role of Marco in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi.

Christiaan Smith Kotlarek

On January 31st he performed in Opera Louisiane's “The Best of Opera and Broadway” hosted by Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne at the Old State Capitol. In October, he was Christiano in Madison Opera's production of Verdi's Un ballo in maschera which included fellow barihunk Thomas Forde as Count Ribbing. He is currently at the Music Academy of the West where he is covering the role of Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute. 

Christiann Smith Kotlarek sings "That Moment On" from the song cycle  

Pieces of 9/11 by Jake Heggie:

While at Boston University, he met composer Jake Heggie, who invited him to sing his song cycle Pieces of 9/11. The composer must have been impressed, as he'll be singing the barihunk role of Joseph DeRocher in Dead Man Walking with the Modern American Music Project in Asheville, North Carolina on April 26 and 27.

His great body is the result of his penchant for snowboarding and extreme sports in his spare time. In fact, he has been a snowboard instructor for about a decade at Norway Mountain in Michigan.

You can read an extensive interview with him on the Madison Opera blog. He also has a blog called OutsideTheOperaBox where he discusses music and fitness.

Emerging Barihunk Zach Altman

How did we go this long without posting Zach Altman? He first came to our attention a year ago via an email from Philadelphia and somehow slipped through the cracks. An astute reader reminded us of our omission today and we're not going to waste any time posting this hottie.

The Philadelphia native is in his third year at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. He will be performing in Don Giovanni at the Academy on August 6th and 8th. In previous seasons he has performed in Don Pasquale, Tales of Hoffmann and Sargon's "A Clear Midnight."

Altman attended the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where he received his Bacelor's and Master's degrees. He is also a two-time winner of the Encouragement Award in the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition.



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