Jiří Brückler, Simone Alberghini & Adrian Sampetrean
Placido Domingo viewed the original 1787 score of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in Prague and then proceeded to conduct the opera at the very theater at
which Mozart conducted the world premiere of his
famous
work. The performance on October 27th occurred exactly 230 years from the original performance. He will conduct one more performance on October 29th.
The original score is on loan from the Prague Conservatory and be on display at the Estates Theatre until Sunday, October 29th.
Placido Domingo with the original score of Don Giovanni
The title role of Don
Giovanni will be performed by Italian baritone Simone Alberghini, who hails from Pesaro, the same city as the Prague-based Italian operatic baritone Luigi Bassi who premiered the role. The opera was written with Bassi in mind, who did not like his aria "Finch'han dal vino," and asked Mozart to write another number where he could show off his vocal talents. Mozart wrote the duet with Zerlina "Là ci darem la mano" for Bassi, who is said to have forced five re-writes until he was satisfied.
In addition to Alberghini, the cast includes Adrian Sampetrean as Leporello, Jiří Brückler as Masetto, Jan Šťáva as the Commendatore, Irina Lungu as Donna Anna, Kateřina Kněžíková as Donna Elvira, Julia Novikova as Zerlina and Dmitry Korchak as Don Ottavio.
The performances will also be filmed by Czech Television, with a
documentary film of the project also in production.
Derek Chester and Marco Vassalli
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!
Omar Montanari, Juan Francisco Gatell and Simone Alberghini
Così fan tutte at Opera di Firenze
We introduced Italian barihunk Omar Montanari back in 2011. He specializes in comic roles, such as Dandini and Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola and Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore, and is currently singing Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Opera di Firenze through October 27. The popular new production directed by Lorenzo Mariani was sold out on opening night. It updates the action and features lots of shirtless men, as you can see from the pictures above.
The cast also includes Anna Goryachova as Dorabella, Juan Francisco Gatell as Ferrando, barihunk Simone Alberghini as Guglielmo and Giulia Semenzato as Depsina.
Omar Montanari sings Strangers in the Night in Italian (Solo piu' che mai):
Upcoming peformances for Montanari include Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia in Rome and Venice, Taddeo in Rossini's L'italiana in Algieri and Dulcamara in Venice.
Another new production, directed by Uwe Eric Laufenberg, will open in Wiesbaden on November 1st and feature American barihunk Christopher Bolduc as Guglielmo. The production is offering limited seating on a special rostrum at the back area of the stage, allowing audiences to get close to the action with the beautiful theater as the backdrop.
Christopher Bolduc and Silvia Hauer (Dorabella) in Wiesbaden
The cast includes Heather Engebretson as Fiodiligi, Silvia Hauer as Dorabella, Ioan Hotea as Ferrando, Gloria Rehm as Despina and Wolf Matthias Friedrich as Don Alfonso.
This season in Wiesbaden, Bolduc can also be seen as Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore and Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGER FROM 9 COUNTRIES.
The Teatro Massimo di Palermo will be alternating casts in Puccini's La bohème, which opens on September 18th. The cast performing on September 19, 22, 25 and 27 will feature the Italian barihunk trio of Simone Alberghini as Marcello, Dario Russo as Colline and Italo Proferisce as Schaunard. Additional information is available online.
We introduced Simone Alberghini when he appeared as Don Giovanni in a production with and "18 and older" warning at the Perm Opera. The other singers are new to this site.
Dario Russo graduated with a degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures, focusing on Russian and German. After finishing his studies, he became a member of the Opera Studio Nederland of Amsterdam and was part of the Opera Workshop as the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova. Recent performances have included
Enrico in Anna Bolena in Catania, Count Walter in Luisa Miller at the Teatro di San Carlo.Demetrio in Rossini's Demetrio e Polibio at the Teatro San Carlo of
Naples, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni at Opera Basel, Raimondo in Lucia di
Lammermoor at the Teatro San Carlo of Napoli and Colline in Trieste. He next sings in Bari where he'll perform Colline with the Marcello of fellow barihunk Giorgio Caoduro.
Naples native Italo Proferisce studied piano and voice at the Conservatorio G. Martucci in Salermo and attended the Accademia di Alta Formazione del Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He was a finalist or winner in numerous vocal competitions between 2009-2011. He made his debut as Don Perizonio in Cimarosa's L'impresario in angustie in Budrio in 2011. He performed as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro and as the father in Fortunato's Falcone e Borsellino at the Teatro Verdi di Pisa, Marcello in La Bohème with Teatro Ammitato in Florence and Deputato Flamingo in Don Carlos with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Simone Alberghini in Don Giovanni, on stage and in rehearsals
We love it when an opera is listed as appropriate for those 18 and older. That's a pretty sure sign that it's going to be a sexy production and the Don Giovanni at the Perm Opera in Russia is no exception.
This production is the final opera in their Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy and it's being promoted as "a feminine view" of the opera. The role of Don Giovanni will be alternated between two barihunks, Simone Alberghini and Andrè Schuen, who many might remember from his shirtless and sexy performance in Donizetti's Elixir of Love in Graz.
Andrè Schuen as Don Giovanni in Vienna (right)
Argentinean director Valentina Carrasco, who was behind Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen in Buenos Aires and Britten’s Turn of the Screw in Lyon, is directing this production. Carrasco plans to stylize the production in Perm in the spirit of film
noir and populate the stage with mannequins and ‘surrogate’ people,
among whom the only real person to be found is Don Giovanni. The production is the concept of the Catalan troupe “La Fura dels Baus,” which reproduces the "soul of the music in effective scenic images."
We have to raise our number one gripe with opera company websites, which is not listing casts. The Perm Opera list all of the technical staff, but not a single singer. We had to go to Operabase to find the cast. Let's hope that they fix this oversight soon.
Christoph Zadra as Agamemnon (Center & Right) in Vienna
There are certain operas that give us particular delight, as they are both musically rich and filled with roles for barihunks. Don Giovanni, The Pearl Fishers, Billy Budd, Carmen and The Rape of Lucretia come immediately to mind. When looking through our stats of our most popular posts, it dawned on us that singers who performed in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride were some of our most popular singers. Among those are Rod Gilfry, Stephane Degout, Nathan Gunn and our all-time most popular barihunk Gabriel Bermudez.
We couldn't resist posting Christoph Zadra, who is pictured above. He is 34-year-old Viennese actor who works primarily in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. He was Agamemnon in the Vienna production of Iphigénie en Tauride with Stephane Degout and showed up in a number of the publicity shots (apparently for good reason).
Stephane Degout as Oreste in Vienna
Iphigénie en Tauride premiered in Paris in 1779 and was part of his reform movement that forever changed opera. Like Beethoven's Fidelio it is filled with a message of humanity and it became Gluck's greatest success during his lifetime. It's great to see it returning to the repertory of opera houses throughout the world, as it's an amazing piece of theater and filled with some of the most beautiful music ever written. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard and is based on Euripides great story. Like any great story, it is filled with emotion and conflict which creates moral dilemmas and turmoil for the characters.
Here is an extended scene with Rod Gilfry and tenor Deon van der Walt, which ends in the great baritone aria "Dieux protecteurs de ces affreux." You can watch the entire performance on YouTube at the site of carrangel2:
The story of the opera is pretty straightforward: Iphigenia has been saved from being sacrificed by her father. She now lives on the island of the Taurians and has the task of killing any foreigner that comes to the island seeking refuge. Her dreams are plagued by memories of the bloody destruction of her family. She does not know that her brother Orestes was able to escape the massacre. Years later she sees him and his friend Pylades who have been taken prisoner by the Taurians. But brother and sister fail to recognise each other. However, the unknown prisoner reminds Iphigenia of Orestes, so she decides to save him. Orestes, though, prefers to face death instead of Pylades. During the sacrifice, brother and sister recognise each other. Just as Thoas, the king of the Scythians, is about to kill Orestes, Pylades suddenly appears and murders the king. The people sing in praise of the coming peace and the end of the wars on Tauris.
Zadra & Degout in Vienna; Bermudez in Zurich
Clearly, readers of this site love Gabriel Bermudez in this role, as you've made him our most popular singer. Unfortunately, his YouTube site does not allow embedding, so we can't post the video of his singing "Dieux protecteurs de ces affreux," but you can watch it by clicking HERE.
Lately, the great tenor Placido Domingo has been taking up baritone roles, including Orestes in Iphigénie en Tauride. His performance at The Met was a huge success and now he's taken it to the Washington National Opera in Washington D.C., where we've learned that another one of our Über-popular singers, Randal Turner, is covering for the 70-year-old conductor/singer/impresario. Certainly, Turner would be about as perfect for this role as any singer around today. For those of you who still prefer a baritone in the role, we'll make sure to let readers know if Turner is scheduled to perform. Performances run from May 6-28 with a cast that includes the great soprano Patricia Racette as Iphigenie and barihunk Simone Alberghini as Thoas. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information.
