Edwin Crossley-Mercer and Marc Mauillon in fun-filled Platée in Paris; New York City up next

Edwin Crossley-Mercer (left) and Marc Mauillon

Director Robert Carsen and conductor William Christie have moved their co-production of Rameau's Platée from the Theater an der Wien to the Opéra Comique. The innovate and lively production is set in the world of fashion-driven high society. Jupiter, played by barihunk Edwin Crossley-Mercer is fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who parades around with his  fluffy, white cat. La Folie, sung by the amazing Simone Kermes,  morphs from Lady Gaga into a series of entertainingly unique incarnations. Marc Mauillon, who somehow had been overlooked by our European barihunk "scouts" until now, plays Cithéron.

Performances run through March 30 and tickets are available online. The production then will move to New York City for a single performance at the Alice Tully Hall on April 2. TIckets are still available, but are extremely limited. It is suggested that you call 212.721.6500 for tickets. 

Vittorio Prato's sexy Count in "Le Nozze di Figaro"

Vittorio Prato as the Count

Vittorio Prato is one of our favorite Italian barihunks, not just for his Armani model looks, but for his compelling stage presence. He's another one of those European singers who mysteriously hasn't appeared on a U.S. roster. Readers might remember our NSFW* post featuring Prato in Rameau's Les Indes Galantes" at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse.

He's wrapping up a run as the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro today at the Teatro Communale in the Sardinian city of Sassari. This was Prato's debut at the theater in a production directed by Marco Spada. The final performance was today, but we had to share the sexy shirtless pictures with our readers.

Vittorio Prato showing of his guns

The singer now takes a different Count on the road, Count Gil in Wolf-Ferrari's Il segreto di Susanna. The opera will be performed as part of a double-bill with Poulenc's La Voix humaine at Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg on February 20th and 23rd and at the Opéra Comique in Paris from March 17-29. As an added bonus, the riveting soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci will star in both operas.

Il segreto di Susanna is a comedy that depicts the beginnings of women's liberation in the early 20th as Susanna demands the right to partake in something reserved only for men - smoking.

* Not safe for work

Don't forget to purchase you 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar, where you'll find 14 barihunks as sexy as Vittorio Prato. All proceeds go to benefit young artists and young artist programs. For the price of lunch, you can help the careers of our next generation of singers. CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW.

Emerging Barihunk: Nicolas Courjal

Here's a shot of Nicolas Courjal as Masetto looking at fellow barihunk Franco Pomponi in a production of Don Giovanni in Montpellier, where he is currently singing The Speaker in Die Zauberflote opposite Detlef Roth, the brilliant Sandrine Piau and the Queen of the Night as sung by Uran Urtnasan-Cozzoli.

The French-born bass studied at the Conservatory in Renne and established himself at the famed Opera Comique in Paris. Like many basses, he's not given many barihunk roles, getting stuck singing Zuniga instead of Escamillo, and Basilio rather than the Barber. That's why we decided to feature a picture of him offstage, so that Barihunk fans can see him in his full glory and not dressed up looking like Moses.

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