Barihunk bliss in Seattle's Eugene Onegin

Michael Adams, John Moore and David Leigh

If you want to start off the new year with some barihunk bliss then you might want to head to the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle Opera will be rotating barihunks as the title character in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin running from January 11-25 with John Moore and Michael Adams both taking on the charming, but jaded character.

Also in the cast will be bass-barihunk David Leigh as Prince Gremin, who sings the beautiful aria "Lyubvi vse vozrasty pokorny," where he tells Onegin how love can change a life at any age, and how he is madly in love with Tatiana.

The remainder of the cast includes Colin Ainsworth as Lenski, Marjukka Tepponen and Marina Costa-Jackson as Tatyana, Melody WIlson as Olga, Meredit Arwady as Filipievna, Margaret Gawrysiak as Larina and Martin Bakari and Triquet. Tickets are available online.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Eugene Onegin at The Met:

Tchaikovsky based his opera on Alexander Pushkin's s novel, which was written in verse and is considered a classic of Russian literature. The idea of setting the story to music was suggested to the composer by the great Russian mezzo-soprano Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya. Tchaikovsky arranged much of the verse himself into the libretto with help from his friend Konstantin Shilovsky.

The opera was first performed in Moscow in 1879 and has remained popular since its premiere.

A number of barihunks have sung Onegin to great acclaim, including Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Mariusz Kwiecien, Nathan Gunn, Simon Keenlyside, Artur Rucinski, Peter Mattei, Paulo Szot, Tobias Greenhalgh, Christopher Maltman, Günter Papendell and Franco Pomponi.   

Other companies performing the opera in 2020 include the Norwegian Opera, Rome Opera, Finnish National Opera, Israeli Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Munich Opera Festival and Opera Australia.        

Barihunks Craig Verm and Michael Adams alternate Guglielmo in Seattle

Craig Verm (as Billy Budd) and Michael Adams

Barihunks Craig Verm and Michael Adams will alternate the role of Guglielmo in Jonathan Miller’s production of Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Seattle Opera. They'll be joined by Kevin Burdette as Don Alfonso and Laura Tatulescu as Despina for all performances, while Ginger Costa-Jackson and Hanna Hipp will alternate as Dorabella, Marina Costa-Jackson and Marjukka Tepponen alternate as Fiordiligi, and Tuomas Katajala and Ben Bliss alternate as Ferrando. 

Verm will perform on January 13, 17, 24 and 27, while Adams will perform on January 14, 20 and 26. Tickets are available online. 

After the run, Verm will stay with the Seattle Opera to perform Claudio in Mozart's Beatrice & Benedict, which runs from February 24-March 10. 

Michael Adams will open tomorrow as the Pilot in Rachel Portman's The Little Prince at the Washington National Opera, which runs from December 14-17. Tickets and additional cast information is available online. The opera is directed by Francesca Zambello.

Derek Chester and Marco Vassalli in the 2018 Barihunks Calendar/Photo Book

ONLY 18 DAYS LEFT TO ORDER our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think.

Baritone John Moore added to Carnegie Hall program

Baritone John Moore

Barihunk John Moore has been added to this season's Carnegie Hall lineup. He'll be joining the Met Chamber Ensemble's concert on Sunday, December 13 at 5:00 p.m. in Zankel Hall featuring conductor James Levine.

Moore will perform Poulenc's Le Bal masque (A Masked Ball), in a program that also includes Pierre Boulez's Dérive 1 and Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps. Tickets are available online.

Poulenc's Le Bal masque was commissioned by the Vicomte and Vicomtesse de Noailles for a 1932 concert at the Théâtre de Hyères. The text is taken from Max Jacob's 1921 anthology Laboratoire central. The score calls for a solo baritone, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, piano, violin, cello, and percussion with the melodies passed from instrument to instrument, which adds Poulenc's trademark musical wit to the text. 

On December 16th, he'll be Philadelphia performing Bach's Ich habe genug, BWV 82 at St. Mark's Church with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

Upcoming stage performances for Moore include his debut with the Seattle Opera in February 2016 as Count Almavivia in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (with fellow barihunk Aubrey Allicock as Figaro), his debut with the Bayerische Staatsoper in July 2016 as Adario in Rameau's Les indes galantes as well as Tadeusz in Weinberg's The Passenger with Florida Grand Opera, Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, and Figaro in Opera Omaha's production of Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia.

You can listen to John Moore's Figaro HERE.

Time is running out to order your 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar, featuring 18 of the sexiest men in opera. ORDER TODAY by clicking below (you won't regret it!)

 

Keith Phares' sexy Zurga in Seattle

Keith Phares in Seattle Opera’s Pearl Fishers (Photos © Elise Bakketun)

Barihunk Keith Phares is alternating the role of Zurga with Brett Polegato in the Seattle Opera's current production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. Phares, who turns 41 on October 26, appears to be in the best shape of his career, as witnessed in these photos from the opera. Phares has one performance left on October 30, which is opposite the stunning Léïla of Elizabeth Zharoff and the Nadir of Anthony Kalil, who joins him in the famous duet "Au fond du temple saint.”

There are additional performance with Polegato, Maureen McKay and John Tessieron October 21, 24, 28 and 31.  Tickets and additional production information is available online.

Upcoming performances for Phares include the Alzheimer's Stories with the Montclair State University Chorale on December 6th and a return to his acclaimed performance of Charlie in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers with the Florentine Opera from March 11-20.

MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGER FROM 9 COUNTRIES.

Seattle Opera keeps barihunk tradition alive in new era

German bass-barihunk Andreas Bauer

The Speight Jenkins era at the Seattle Opera is officially over, as incoming General Director Aidan Lang has announced his first full season, which will be presented in 2015-16. The good news is that the company's long-standing commitment to barihunks is in tact with some of the world's sexiest baritones and basses in all of their casts!

The six season opera will include a new production, a world premiere, and two of the repertory's greatest operas that have never been seen before in Seattle, Verdi's Nabucco and Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. Lang is also maintaining Seattle Opera's great Wagnerian tradition by presenting The Flying Dutchman with barihunk Greer Grimsley. He'll be alternating the role with Alfred Walker.

Nabucco will feature the Seattle debuts of barihunks Andreas Bauer and Christian Van Horn alternating the role of the High Priest Zaccaria, in a cast that also includes Gordon Hawkins in the title role and Mary Elizabeth Williams in the fiendishly difficult role of his daughter Abigaille.

Morgan Smith (left) and John Moore (right)

The company is also presenting the world premiere of Jack Perla's An American Dream, which resulted from the company's story telling initiative, the Belonging(s) Project. The World War II based libretto tells the story of strangers bound together after a Japanese American family is forcibly removed from where they live on an island in Puget Sound, and the new residents slowly piece together the history of their home. Barihunk Morgan Smith will sing the role of Jim, an American soldier married to Eva, a German Jew who has fled the Nazis and moved to the Pacific Northwest.

Morgan Smith will also alternate the role of Count Almaviva in a new production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro with fellow barihunk John Moore. The cast also includes barihunk Aubrey Allicock as Figaro, a role he will rotate with Shenyang.

Sarah Larsen with  Michael Todd Simpson, Steven LaBrie, Joseph Lattanzi, and Colin Ramsey in the Seattle Opera's The Consul modeling Barihunk tee shirts (Photo by Elise Bakketun)

Other barihunks appearing with the company are Michael Todd Simpson as Cecil in Maria Stuarda and Keith Phares and  Brett Polegato rotating the role of Zurga in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. The production will also include the Seattle Opera debut of Jonathan Lemalu as Nourabad. The female leads in the Donizetti will be Christine Rice and Joyce El-Khoury as the doomed queen, while Mary Elizabeth Williams and Keri Alkema sing Queen Elizabeth I, her hated rival.

Tickets and additional cast information are available online. 

Interview with Evan Boyer

Evan Boyer

What do you do if you’re a kid whose deep voice always sticks out? For Evan Boyer, the answer was: become an opera singer. “No matter how quiet I tried to talk in class, I was always that kid who the teacher could hear,” Boyer says. As a teenager, he discovered his true talent accidentally at camp: some cute girls who liked his bass sound asked him to sing for them. He impressed his audience, and surprised himself with what turned out to be a defining moment. It led him to pursue choir in high school, and later, he studied voice in college. Now, Boyer is a recent graduate of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s professional training program. He makes his Seattle Opera debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni, and has been called “excellent” by The Seattle Times.

Welcome to Seattle Opera! You’re making your debut with us.
Don Giovanni was actually the first opera I ever saw as a senior in high school. It was the Kentucky Opera in Louisville. [He says the name with a Southern accent: "Lou-ville."] I guess here in Seattle you’d say “Louie-ville” [laughs].

Based on some of the names Masetto calls his wife, as well as his quick temper, it might be easy to assume that he’s a bad guy. However, he’s more complex than that, isn’t he?
Masetto has a temper, and tends to see things in black and white--there's very little gray area for him. But he’s a really honest, good guy; he's just trapped in an impossibly difficult situation. He thinks his wife is abandoning him for someone else on his wedding day; in an instant, the happiest day of his life has become a nightmare. Masetto is of a lower class. There’s nothing he can do when this nobleman starts coming on to Zerlina. She’s definitely not resisting as much as she should be. Naturally, he’s pissed off.

[CLICK HERE CONTINUE READING ON SEATTLE OPERA BLOG]

There are remaining performances of Don Giovanni on Oct. 29, 31 and Nov. 1. For tickets and more information, go to seattleopera.org. 

 Make sure to order our new 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar featuring 19 of the hottest men in opera. Click on the LULU button below. 

Seattle Gay Scene bemoans missing Mariusz

If you don't think fans of barihunks (small "b") love their singers, then check out the latest issue of the Seattle Gay Scene, which dedicates a whole article to the fact that Mariusz Kwiecien, who appears in the Seattle Opera's marketing materials does not actually appear in the Seattle Opera's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni.

We have to admit that were impressed that writer Michael Strangeways actually knew that Mariusz Kwiecien was one of the inspirations for Barihunks (big "B').  In fact after two of us had seen the "Hot Pole" in separate productions of Don Giovanni (in Seattle and San Francisco), the seeds of this site were planted seven years ago. So, naturally, one would think that we'd be disappointed, too. But we're regulars at the Seattle Opera and have no doubt that they will deliver an amazing performance of Mozart's timeless classic.

Evan Boyer and Erik Anstine (in his BARIHUNK tee shirt)

In fact, they've cast two singers who have been featured on this site, Evan Boyer as Masetto and Erik Anstine as Leporello. Those two should adequately fill the requisite "minimum barihunk requirement" for Don Giovanni. French bass Nicolas Cavallier will sing the title role. Performances will run from October 18 through November 1 and tickets and additional cast information are available online.

Mariusz Kwiecien on the Lyric Opera of Chicago website

If Michael Strangeways, or anyone else, wants to see Mariusz Kwiecien as The Don, then should fly to the Windy City, where he's starring in their production alongside fellow barihunk Kyle Ketelsen's Leporello. The Lyric Opera of Chicago even has a feature online called "Rolling with the Don" where the singer talks about the role (and is referred to as a "barihunk"). Performances run through October 29th and tickets are available online. Oddly, Lyric's website does not list who is singing Masetto.

Seattle Opera's "Four Barihunks" Model Tee Shirts

Sarah Larsen with  Michael Todd Simpson, Steven LaBrie, Joseph Lattanzi, and Colin Ramsey (Photo by Elise Bakketun)

 

We recently posted about the barihunk foursome performing in Menotti's The Consul at the Seattle Opera. The opera stars Michael Todd Simpson as John Sorel, Steven LaBrie as the Police Agent, Joseph Lattanzi as Assan and Colin Ramsey as Mr. Kofner. The four singers agreed to don their Barihunk tee shirts and take some shots on the set with soprano Sarah Larsen, who plays the secretary.

Sarah Larsen with  Michael Todd Simpson, Steven LaBrie, Joseph Lattanzi, and Colin Ramsey (Photo by Elise Bakketun)

The Consul was a huge hit during its initial Broadway run, earning both the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical and the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music. The original production featured the legendary performances of Patricia Neway as Magda Sorel and Marie Powers as the mother. The great Verdi baritone Cornell MacNeil sang the role of John Sorel.

The story is about a devoted wife and mother who clashes with the bureaucracy of a nameless police state while trying to obtain an exit visa for her family.

Sarah Larsen with  Michael Todd Simpson, Steven LaBrie, Joseph Lattanzi, and Colin Ramsey (Photo by Elise Bakketun)

The opera runs from February 22nd to March 7 and tickets are available online.

Barihunk foursome in Seattle Opera's The Consul

Michael Todd Simpson & Colin Ramsey

Joseph Lattanzi & Steven LaBrie

Michael Todd Simpson will be joining three of the hottest barihunks on the scene in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul at the Seattle Opera, which runs from February 22nd to March 7. Michael Todd Simpson takes on the major role of John Sorel, Steven LaBrie makes his company debut as the Police Agent, Joseph Lattanzi performs Assan and Colin Ramsey also makes his company debut as Mr. Kofner. We can't remember many instances when there's been this much pulchritude on the stage at one time.

Michael Todd Simpson is also the featured singer on the Seattle Opera blog where you can read an extensive interview with the Seattle based performer. 

Colin Ramsey will reprise the role of Mr. Kofner in a different production of The Consul with Opera Santa Barbara on March 25 and 27.  That production will feature barihunk Joshua Jeremiah as John Sorel.

Greer Grimsley interview

You have now sung Wotan all over the world. What does this Ring mean to you?
I love this Ring. Since it is the first Ring that I ever did, it has huge sentimental value for me. I also believe in the production. I believe in the storytelling that we do. For all of its wonderful music, the Ring is also very text driven. The care that’s given to the text and to making sure that all intentions and relationships are clear—you don’t get that in all productions. That keeps me coming back.

Plus, I’m just so happy to be back in Seattle. I consider Seattle one of my home spots in the world.

When did it occur to you that someday you’d sing Wotan?
I had lots of folks telling me, ‘You might end up doing this,’ but it wasn’t until Speight gave me the opportunity to sing Telramund in Lohengrin. Prior to that, I was a victim somewhat of the very conservative nature of musical-vocal thinking in the United States: that you have to sing Mozart until you’re 45 and then you can do heavier things. That’s not how my voice worked. Early in my career on I was having trouble finding direction because that didn’t suit what I could do. It wasn’t until I sang my first John the Baptist that things clarified for me in terms of where I should find my niche in the opera business. Then that opened up other opportunities. And I would have to say, yes, of course I started thinking about Wotan, but I was thinking about other things as well, such as just getting hired. When Speight did ask me to do Wotan, I was ready to be asked. It happened exactly at the right time.

[CONTINUE READING AT THE Seattle Opera Blog]

Greer Grimsley can be seen in Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Seattle Opera from August 4-25. Visit the Seattle Opera website for additional information or tickets.

West Coast tidalwave of barihunks coming

David Adam Moore in Chicago's Streetcar Named Desire

As opera companies announce their upcoming seasons, it appears that the West Coast might be the best destination to catch a few barihunks. When even Rigoletto is cast with a barihunk, one can expect a tidal wave of male pulchritude on opera stages up and down the coast from Seattle to San Diego.

We've already marked our calendars to see the seethingly sexy David Adam Moore in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci at the San Diego Opera. The American baritone, fresh off his debut in Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire at Lyric Opera of Chicago will be singing the role of Silvio. This is one production where we certainly can't blame Nedda for having an affair with Silvio.

San Diego Opera will feature other operas with major baritone roles, including the great Ferruccio Furlanetto in the title role of Massenet's Don Quichotte. Malcolm McKenzie and the hilarious John Del Carlo will team up in Donizetti's The Elixir of Love. Aris Argiris will join tenor superstar Piotr Beczala in Verdi's Un ballo in Maschera, which is sure to be a hot ticket. 

Dmitri Hvorstovsky & Ildar Abdrazakov (Dario Acosta Photography)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky will also return to the West Coast with recitals in Los Angeles on May 22, 2014 and San Francisco on May 25, 2014. The "Siberian Hunky" will perform romances on poems by Alexander Pushkin from Glinka, Borodin, Rachmaninov and Glier.

The recently buffed up Ildar Abdrazakov is featured prominently on the San Francisco Opera's beautiful 2013-14 marketing materials. He'll be kicking off the new season in the title role of Boito's Mephistopheles in an all-star cast that included Patricia Racette and Ramon Vargas. Performances run from September 6-October 2, 2013. Opera buffs will remember that the "Age of the Barihunks" unofficially kicked off with Samuel Ramey in the same opera in San Francisco in 1994.

Other prominent barihunks appearing with the San Francisco Opera are Nathan Gunn in Jerome Kern's Show Boat, Green Grimsley in Wagner's The Flying Dutchman and Audun Iversen making his local debut in Rossini's Barber of Seville.

Michael Todd Simpson shows off his baritone claw

Up north in Seattle, where they are three months away from Greer Grimsley heading the cast as Wotan in Wagner's Ring Cycle, they've announced a season with a bevy of barihunks. Michael Todd Simpson, a notoriously sexy Escamillo, will be taking on a very different role when he portrays John Sorel in Menotti's The Consul. Also in that production will be barihunks Steven LaBrie and Joseph Lattanzi. 

Steven LaBrie (left) and Donovan Singletary (right) heating up Seattle

The aforementioned Rigoletto will be in Seattle, as Marco Vratogna portrays the title character. We've seen him in this role and it's a performance that is not to be missed. Also in the cast is fitness guru Donovan Singletary as Count Monterone. 

Other operas are Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment and Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann. The Seattle Opera will also be hosting two special events next year. On August 7th the International Wagner Competition will take place and two nights later a concert celebrating the company's 50th anniversary and the tenure of outgoing general director Speight Jenkins. Features performers include Stephanie Blythe, Greer Grimsley, John Relyea and William Burden. 

Paul LaRosa (left) and Liam Bonner (right)

We don't feature the Los Angeles Opera as much as other companies because they cast fewer barihunks than most companies. They are almost making up for it in one performance of Britten's Billy Budd, which features Liam Bonner in the title role, Greer Grimsley as John Claggart, Paul LaRosa as the First Mate, Jonathan Michie as Donald and Samuel Ramey as Dansker. 

Of course, our biggest frustration with L.A. Opera has been their bad habit of casting tenors in baritone roles. They're doing it again this year, as tenor Plácido Domingo takes on one of the great baritone roles, Athanael in Massenet's Thaïs. Other operas include Glass' Einstein on the Beach, Donizett's Lucia di Lammermoor, Mozart's Magic Flute, Verdi's Falstaff and Bizet's Carmen (with a yet-to-be-announced Escamillo).

Seattle Opera announces new season with barihunk-laden Consul, Rigoletto

Donovan Singletary and Steven LaBrie

The Seattle Opera announced its 2013-14 season which includes two operas not generally thought of as barihunk operas, Menotti's The Consul and Verdi's Rigoletto.

The Consul includes three of the hottest singers on the scene, led by Seattle resident Michael Todd Simpson in the major role of John Sorel. Also in the cast are Steven LaBrie as the Police Agent and Joseph Lattanzi as Assan. LaBrie is making his Seattle Opera debut. Performances run from February 22nd to March 7, 2014. The Consul won the Pulitzer Prize in 1950.

Marco Vratogna

This year is the big 200th anniversary of Verdi's birth, so we're getting an ample supply of the Italian's operas. Usually it's Attila that features two barihunks and rarely is it Rigoletto. Seattle has cast the amazing Marco Vratogna as the hunchbacked jester and this is a portrayal that is not to be missed. We caught him at the San Francisco Opera and it was one nothing short of a masterful performance both vocally and dramatically. In the smaller, but important role of the Count Monterone is fitness guru Donovan Singletary. Gilda and the Duke will be performed by Davinia Rodríguez and Francesco Demuro respectively. The opera is being transported to 1930s Italy and performances run from January 11-25, 2014.

Michael Todd Simpson and Joseph Lattanzi

Speaking of anniversary seasons, the Seattle Opera seems to be marking a bunch of them this season, including their 50th anniversary, their 10th year at McCaw Hall and general director Speight Jenkins'  30th year leading the company.

Other operas for the upcoming season include Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment from October 19-November 2, 2013 with tenor Lawrence Brownlee and Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffman from May 3-17, 2014 with tenor William Burden and the brilliant mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey. Visit the Seattle Opera website for additional information and don't miss their upcoming Ring Cycle featuring Greer Grimsley as Wotan.

Michael Todd Simpson's TV Interview

Michael Todd Simpson

Barihunk Michael Todd Simpson was featured on Dallas television station KXTD to promote his holiday concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Unfortunately, the performances are over, but enjoy the interview.

You can next see Michael Todd Simpson live at the Seattle Opera in Puccini's La boheme with fellow barihunk Andrew Garland. Performances are on February 23 and 27, and March 2, 6 and 9. Visit the Seattle Opera website for additional information and tickets.

DON'T FORGET TO BUY YOUR 2013 BARIHUNKS CHARITY CALENDAR BY CLICKING BELOW. ONLY 7 DAYS LEFT!

Pittsburgh's KDKA Features Don Giovanni Barihunks (and the Barihunks Calendar)

Two screen shots of KDKA's "Don Giovanni" feature

Pittsburgh Opera is opening their new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni on Saturday, November 3rd with a stellar young cast led by barihunk Michael Todd Simpson in the title role.

Pittsburgh's CBS affiliate KDKA Channel 2 ran a seven minute feature with Simpson and his sidekick Leporello, Wayne Tigges. In the middle of the feature, the conversation turned to the growing need for singers to look the part. The hosts then popped up an image of the 2013 Barihunks calendar as the female host ooh-ed and ahh-ed as shirtless and muscular pictures of Michael Todd Simpson flashed across the screen.

Don Giovanni will have four performances on November 3, 6, 9 and 11. The cast also includes tenor hunk Sean Panikkar as Don Ottavio, Joseph Barron as Masetto, Caitlyn Lynch as Donna Anna, Jennifer Holloway as Donna Elvira, Sari Gruber as Zerlina and Hao Jiang Tang as the Commendatore. Additional information is available at the Pittsburgh Opera website.

Barihunks will be traveling to the Seattle Opera in February 2013 to see Michael Todd Simpson in Puccini's La boheme, where he'll be joined by fellow barihunk Andrew Garland. Wayne Tigges can next be seen as the Superintendent Budd in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring at the Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse in January 2013.

Greer Grimsley takes on Beethoven and Wagner at the Seattle Opera

Greer Grimsley as Wotan

Greer Grimsley has become the low voice of choice at the Seattle Opera and has developed a loyal following of fans. Tonight he closes as the villainous Don Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio. You can hear him discuss the role below on Seattle's ArtZone with Nancy Guppy [the clip begins at 5:30].

Of course, people on both coasts are excited about Grimsley's 2013 schedule when he showcases his heralded portrayal of Wotan in Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle.  On May 4th, he'll open in the Ring Cycle at the Metropolitan Opera before returning to Seattle on August 4th to reprise the role of Wotan.

Seattle Opera's award-winning production is inspired by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest and has been a sold-out success in 2001, 2005 and 2009. Order you tickets online.

"Madama Butterfly" Simulcast in Seattle Tonight

Brett Polegato (Sharpless) at Seattle Opera  (Elise Bakketun, photo

 

Fresh on the heals of Dallas Opera's successful simulcast of Mozart's "Magic Flute," the Seattle Opera will be featuring Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" in a broadcast at KeyArena tonight (Saturday, May 5th).

Doors open for those who have preregistered at 6 p.m., and for the general public at 6:30 p.m. Anyone without a ticket will be allowed into KeyArena until the capacity is met. The opera begins at 7:30 p.m. This is the first time the Seattle Opera has hosted a simulcast of one of its productions.

Seattle Opera's production stars Brett Polegato as Sharpless,  Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San and Stefano Secco as Pinkerton.

Live performances of "Madama Butterfly" continue through May 19 at McCaw Hall. Visit the Seattle Opera website for more information. 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Upcoming FREE Barihunk Concerts of Interest

Southern Heat: Tennessee native John Brandon

Barihunk John Brandon will be part of a free afternoon of opera at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga on Sunday, April 15, at 3 p.m. in the Roland Hayes Hall.

An Afternoon of Opera sponsored by the Connor Society will be held on , UTC Fine Arts Center, located at the intersection of Vine and Palmetto Streets.  He will be joined by soprano Cherry Brendel, tenor Ron Brendel and mezzo Rosella Ewing in selections from Carmen, Rigoletto, La traviata, Lakme, The Pearl Fishers, Samson & Delilah, The Elixir of Love, and The Magic Flute.
 
For more information, call 425-4627 or email verbie-prevost@utc.edu.

Apple of our eye: Christopher Dylan Herbert

Christopher Dylan Herbert is breaking away from his role as the baritone/bass member of New York Polyphony to perform a free concert on Monday, April 16 at 1pm at St. Paul's Chapel near Ground Zero. Herbert will be performing Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata 56, "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen," one of only two solo cantatas for baritone written by the German baroque master.

Also on the program is mezzo Luthen Brackett performing Bach's Cantata 54, and organist Renée Louprette performing Bach's Fugue in Eb Major (BWV 551b). Click HERE for additional information. The concert will be broadcast live on WWFM.

Seattle's Best: Joseph Lattanzi & David Krohn

Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" is generally not a barihunk opera, but the Seattle Opera is featuring two of its hottest young artists in a free simulcast on Saturday, May 5th. David Krohn will sing Prince Yamadori and Joseph Lattanzi will sing the Registrar in the opening night performance that includes the Cio-Cio-San of Patricia Racette.

The live HD simulcast from McCaw Hall will be broadcast onto a 50' x 80' screen at KeyArena. Tickets are free, but are expected to go fast, so reserve your tickets by clicking HERE.  Door will open at 6:00 PM and the broadcast will begin at 7:30 PM.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Emerging barihunk Xavier Edgardo; NPR examines the baritone voice; Verdi's Attila in Seattle

Puerto Rican barihunk Xavier Edgardo

We just had to share emerging barihunk Xavier Edgardo, who is simply adorable. The 22-year-old singer has been studying at the University of Puerto Rico, where he also sang in the choir. He honed his solo skills for two seasons at the International Vocal Arts Institute run by the esteemed Joan Dorneman, assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera.

Edgardo has participated in and won a number of vocal competitions, include many in Europe. In 2009, he was asked to participate in the prestigious Pablo Casals Festival. He has participated in masterclasses with a number of great singers, including fellow Puerto Rican Justino Diaz, Denis Sedov, Sherril Milnes, Mignon Dunn and Elaine Ortiz Arandes. He is currently a member of the Opera of Puerto Rico chorus. We plan of following the solo career of this young talent in future seasons.

Gerard Souzay: A Barihunks favorite

If you haven't heard Tom Huizenga's analysis and breakdown of the baritone voice, we recommend that you click HERE and listen to it. The article includes sound clips, including one of Gerard Souzay's beautiful rendition of Faure's "Clair de lune."

John Relyea reprising Attila in Seattle

We want to remind readers that Canadian barihunk John Relyea is returning to the Seattle Opera in the role of Attila on January 14th. This should be a huge hit and is a "must see" opera for any Verdi fan. Visit the Seattle Opera website for additional cast information and performance dates. Attila also contains two great baritone parts, including a baritone duet! We covered Relyea when he recently sang the role in a concert format this fall in Washington, D.C. Click HERE to see our previous post.

John Relyea sings Publio's "Tardi S'Avvede" from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito:



Relyea’s previous Seattle Opera credits include the title roles in Don Quichotte and Bluebeard’s Castle, and Giorgio in I puritani. He won the 2005 Seattle Opera Artist of the Year award for his Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann.

You can watch Attila in its entirety on YouTube by clicking HERE. The cast includes barihunk Samuel Ramey, Giorgio Zancanaro and soprano Cheryl Studer.

DON'T BE A SCROOGE. BUY YOUR 2012 BARIHUNKS CHARITY CALENDAR TODAY. ALL PROCEEDS GO TO BENEFIT THE PORTLAND OPERA STUDIO AND THE SEAGLE MUSIC COLONY. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOU CALENDAR TODAY.

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.

John Relyea: Attila the BariHUN

Two Great Attilas, Sam Ramey from opera (L) and Gerard Butler (R) from film. John Relyea (C)

We have a lot of favorite operas that aren't in the standard repertory and Verdi's "Attila" is at the top of the list. As our poll to the right shows, Verdi wrote the best music for bass and there aren't many juicier roles than Attila. Not only that, but the opera has another great baritone role, Ezio, which includes a duet with Attila. If you like crazy sopranos, few can match the crazed Odabella, who makes Lucia di Lammermoor and Ophelia look downright stable.

If you're in the Washington D.C. area tonight you might want to head over to the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University for John Relyea's debut in the title role. You can click HERE for tickets. If you're on the West Coast, you can catch Relyea's first staged performance of Attila at the Seattle Opera with barihunk Marco Vratogna as Ezio. If you don't know the opera, we recommend that you listen to Seattle Opera general director Speight Jenkins talk about the opera by clicking HERE. Performances will run from January 14-28. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information.

One of the greatest Verdi recordings ever is of tenor Beniamino Gigli, soprano Elisabeth Rethberg and bass Ezio Pinza singing the trio "Te Sol Quest' Anima" from Attila. If you have experienced this, it's a must hear:





 
Later this season, Relyea will portray the Four Villains in Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffman" at both the Bayerische Staatsoper and with the Canadian Opera Company. In the Spring of 2012, he will be at the Met as Leporello in "Don Giovanni" opposite Gerald Finley.

Don't forget to submit your barihunk charity calendar submissions to us at Barihunks@gmail.com. All proceeds will go to benefit young artist programs. We need all submissions by the end of next week.

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Tweet