Barihunk duo in Palermo's Attila

Erwin Schrott as Attila (on stage and in rehearsal)

The bass-barihunk duo of Erwin Schrott and Antonio Di Matteo have been wowing audiences in director Daniele Abbado's riveting production of Verdi's Attila at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. The February 19th opening day performance marked the debut of Schrott in the title role of Verdi's early opera. 

Schrott recently told the Italian press that the character was a "complex, restless, insecure and even emotional man who eventually succumbs to love." He recorded that aria "Mentre gonfiarsi l'anima" on his 2012 album of arias.

Erwin Schrott sings "Mentre gonfiarsi l'anima" from Attila:

Joining him in the cast as Pope Leo is fellow bass-barihunk Antonio Di Matteo, who is new to this site. He is a former member of the Opera Studio of Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and former member of the chorus at the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli. 

Antonio Di Matteo as Pope Leo in Attila

He has previously peformed Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Araldo in Verdi's Macbeth and the Commedatore in Mozart's Don Giovanni. Di Matteo can next be seen as Cesare Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca at the Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari and Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna 

Schrott can next be seen in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and then the title role in Boito's Mefistofele in Baden-Baden, Germany. 

Antonio Di Matteo sings Pope Leo in Palermo's Attila:

Tickets are available online for the remaining performances on February 24 and 26.

Pape to sing for Pope

We had to run this item just for the headline and the fact that we can't think of any other reason to post Pope Benedict XVI.  It's also probably the only time that a Pope will be featured in two consecutive posts, as our last post about Attila featured Sam Ramey playing Pope Leo I. 

Pape will sing in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under Daniel Barenboim at Milan’s La Scala, in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI on June 1st. The Pope's visit is part of the World Encounter of Families, which deals with issues relating to the family. The first Pope to attend a performance at La Scala was was Pope John Paul II, who enjoyed selections from Verdi operas in 1983 under Riccardo Muti.

Pope Leo I

After entertaining the Pope, Pape will don a crown and perhaps borrow the papal scepter to play King Philip II in in Verdi’s Don Carlos under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst at the Vienna State Opera. Performances run from June 16-29 and the cast also includes fellow barihunk Simon Keenlyside as Rodrigo. Visit the Vienna State Opera website for additional details. 

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com