We got some great photos of barihunks Timothy McDevitt and Corey Crider together, who are performing in Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific at Ash Lawn Opera.
McDevitt is performing the role of the courageous Lt. Cable and Crider takes on the dashing leading man Emile de Becque. They're joined by Sharin Apostolou as Nelli Forbush, Daryl Freedman as Bloody Mary and Clayton Brown as Luther Billis. The production is directed by John de los Santos and conducted by Andy Anderson.
Timothy McDevitt in South Pacific
Tickets for the remaining shows on July 29 and 30 are available at the Paramount Theater website.
Crider will reprise his role with Opera Roanoke on October 7 and 9 at the Shaftman Performance Hall.Upcoming shows for McDevitt include Vasco Mendonca's The House Taken Over at the National Sawdust from October 7-9 and Thou Swell with the New York City Ballet, where he'll sing music by Richard Rodgers.
Andrew Garland sporting his Barihunk shirt and showing off his "bari-guns"
Mozart's Così fan tutte just opened a run at the Ash Lawn Opera featuring barihunk Andrew Garland. After an opening night show at the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech, it now heads to the Paramount Theater for performances on July 10, 13, and 15.
The cast also includes Kristopher Irmiter as Don Alfonso, Mireille Asselin as Despina, Cassandra Velasco as Dorabella, Melinda Whittington as Fiordiligi and Joshua Dennis as Ferrando. The production is being directed by Andrea Dorf McGray and conducted by Steven Jarvi.
On July 16 and 17, Garland will be back in his native Massachusetts for recitals of music by Schumann, Obradors, Cole Porter and others at the Federated Church in Charlemont. He'll be joined by accompanist Estela Olevsky.
Timothy McDevitt
Barihunks Timothy McDevitt and Corey Crider will be featured in their other production, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, which will run at the Paramount from July 23-30. McDevitt will perform the role of the courageous Lt. Cable and Crider takes on the dashing leading man Emile de Becque.
Matthew Morrison sings "Younger Than Springtime" from South Pacific:
They'll be joined by Sharin Apostolou as Nelli Forbush, Daryl Freedman as Bloody Mary and Clayton Brown as Luther Billis. The production will be directed by John de los Santos and conducted by Andy Anderson.
Oscar Hammerstein II was born in New York City on July 12, 1895, to a family who worked in theater. His father, William, managed a vaudeville theater, while his grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein I, was a famed opera impresario.
In 1920, he collaborated with a Columbia undergrad named Richard Rodgers in writing a Varsity Show called Fly with Me. Not long after, Hammerstein dropped out of grad school at Columbia to concentrate his efforts entirely on musical theater. While writing Rose Marie with Otto Harbach, Hammerstein met Jerome Kern. In 1925 the duo teamed up to write Show Boat. The successful musical put Hammerstein on the map as a writer and lyricist. Kern and Hammerstein went on to write a total of eight musicals together.
Kelli O'Hara and Paulo Szot perform "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific:
He eventually dissolved his partnership with Jerome Kern to partner up exclusively with that former Columbia undergrad, Richard Rodgers. The Rodgers and Hammerstein team quickly produced a smash hit: In 1943, their first Broadway musical together, Oklahoma!, won a Pulitzer Prize.
In 1950 the duo scored a second Pulitzer with the musical South Pacific. The 1950s and early 1960s produced a string of Tony-winning works for the team, including The King and I (1951) and The Sound of Music (1960).
Sir Thomas Allen sings Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Oh,
what a beautiful morning!' from 'Oklahoma' at the Last Night of the
Proms 2004.
Lucas Meachem sings "Soliloquy" from Carousel
A number of great songs that have been performed by baritones and bass-baritones were penned by Hammerstein including, A Fellow Needs A Girl (Allegro), Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful? (Cinderella), Edelweiss (The Sound Of Music), I Have Dreamed (The King And I), If I Loved You (Carousel), Lonely Room (Oklahoma!), Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' (Oklahoma!), Soliloquy (Carousel), Some Enchanted Evening (South Pacific), Ten Minutes Ago (Cinderella), The Highest Judge Of All (Carousel), The Surrey With The Fringe On Top (Oklahoma!), This Nearly Was Mine (South Pacific) and You Are Never Away (Allegro).
While still in his professional prime, Oscar Hammerstein II lost his battle with stomach cancer on August 23, 1960. He died at his house in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In Hammerstein's memory the lights on Broadway were turned off at 9 pm that September 1.
Ezio Pinza (Fortunato Pinza) was one of the most popular and important basses of
the twentieth century. Born in Rome in 1892, he originally wanted to
make a career in sports, or perhaps engineering, but after discovering
his voice he began studies at Ravenna and Bologna. He made his debut in
the town of Spezia as Oroveso in Bellini's Norma in 1914, but his career was soon delayed by service in the Italian Army during World War I.
After the war, he sang at the Teatro Verdi in
Florence in 1919 and then the Teatro Costanzi in Rome where he sang
leading roles in Verdi's La Forza del Destino, Ponchielli's La Gioconda, Rossini's Il barbière di
Siviglia, and Aida. He made his Teatro alla Scala debut in 1921 as
Pogner in Wagner's Die Meistersinger. This and other German roles in Tristan und
Isolde and Salome were sung in Italian translations. He sang Tagellino
in the premiere of Boito's Nerone in 1924. During this time, he also sang in Naples, Turin, and other Italian opera houses.
His Metropolitan Opera debut came in 1926 as Pontifex Maximus in Spontini's La Vestale. He sang there for the next 22 years, and was greatly admired for his interpretations of leading Verdi roles in La Forza del Destino, Simon Boccanegra, Aida, and Rigoletto.
Even more important was his participation in the revivals of Mozart's
Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro; his importance to the success of
these productions cannot be overestimated, with his good looks having as
much to do with his fame as his superb vocal abilities. Pinza was
equally popular in several French operas including Gounod's Faust, Delibes' Lakme, and Bizet's Carmen. His Russian roles included King Didon in Rimsky-Korsakov's Le Coq d'Or (in French) and Boris Godunov (in Italian). Other important
roles at the Metropolian Opera were Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor,
Basilio in Il barbière di Siviglia and the Father in Louise.
Pinza also appeared regularly in Europe at Covent
Garden, the Paris Opera, Salzburg Festival, Florence, and Vienna State
Opera. He appeared every season at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires from
1925 until 1932. In the United States, he also sang in Chicago and San
Francisco. Late in his career, he appeared with his daughter, Claudia Pinza, who had a minor career singing leading soprano roles. After his retirement from the opera stage, he made a successful Broadway debut
in South Pacific and later in Fanny. He also appeared in several motion
pictures.
His voice was a rich basso cantante and had an easy elegance of phrasing, which
is exhibited in nearly all of his recordings. He was at a disadvantage
from some of his colleagues because he could not read music, but this
meant that he was more willing to follow the concept of the conductor
and, indeed, he was a favorite of Arturo Toscanini, Tullio Serafin, and Bruno Walter.
He was able to sing the baritone role of Escamillo in Carmen as easily
as most baritones. Although he had the lower notes of a bass, they did
not have the presence usually associated with the true bass voice, which
meant that his Sarastro (The Magic Flute) was not as effective as his
Figaro or Don Giovanni. He willingly undertook smaller roles such as
Ferrando in Il Trovatore and Colline in La Bohème.
Fans of Paulo Szot can catch him in an intimate setting this week, as he continues his cabaret show of music theater standards at 54 Below. The star of South Pacific an of opera stages worldwide is joined by his musical director and pianist Matthew Aucoin, along with David Fink on double bass and David Ratajczak on drums.
Szot has put together a night of mostly Broadway favorites, including Gershwin's "Summertime"
from Porgy and Bess, "Were
Thine That Special Face" from Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, "Old Devil Moon" from Finian's Rainbow, "What Kind of Fool Am I?" from Stop the World – I Want to Get Off, Bart Howard's "Fly Me to the Moon," and a medley that includes "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof, "Money" from Cabaret, and the opening number from The Lion King.
Performances are running through August 11 and tickets are available online or by calling (866) 468-7619.
Also, keep your eye out for his upcoming CD on GPRrecords called Brazil To Broadway where he will sing Brazilian
Standards in English and Broadway Standards in Portuguese.
We've been covering Teddy Tahu Rhodes' tattoos since 2008 and the three posts have all been very popular with our readers. So we were thrilled when we learned that Shane Tattoos in Melbourne is now featuring these amazing photos of the New Zealand barihunk on their homepage.
According to their website, they specialize in Maori, Ta Moko, Kirituhi, Polynesian and Japanese tattoo designs, as well as graphic body designs. They can be reached at shanetattos@gmail.com.
By the way, if you're in to opera singers with tattoos, make sure to check out our post about the extremely sexy Vasil Garvanliev. He's currently performing Kaspar in Opera Atelier's Der Freischutz.
Of course, we've been covering "Teddy Bare" a lot lately for his sizzling performance in South Pacific and his torrid and very public romance with co-star Lisa McCune. The production is currently in Melbourne and will open in Brisbane on December 27th. Tickets are available online.
Today is one of those days when we have a bunch of miscellaneous items to posts. First up is the Michigan Opera Theater, which we have a special affection for since they managed to survive an economic calamity in Detroit to open their forty-second season. During a time when many opera companies were shutting their doors, MOT managed to raise money and trim some costs to keep opera alive in the Motor City.
They also manage to put out casts which are always of interest to us at Barihunks. They are kicking off this season with Rossini's Barber of Seville. In the small, but important role of Basilio, is Tom Corbeil who returns to opera after a successful run as Lurch in the Addams Family Musical (he's been replaced by Zachary James). Roddion Pogossov and Eugene Chan will share the role of the Barber. There are two other singers that we should highlight, who you want to miss: Elizabeth DeShong as Rosina and Eleazor Rodriguez as Almaviva.
Tickets are available by calling 313-237-SING or online at the MOT website. The opening night performance will be broadcast on WRCJ 90.9 FM on October 13 beginning at 7 PM CST.
"Teddy Bare" and his co-star are in the tabloids again
We're really not an opera gossip site, there are too many great ones out there for us to compete with and we like staying focused on promoting barihunks. However, we can't stop following the Teddy Tahu Rhodes/Lisa McCune romance that's playing out in the Australian tabloids during their tour of South Pacific. It almost seems like the couple is seeking out the publicity, as they keep engaging in very public displays of affection.
Philip Kalmanovitch shirtless as the Don and with Hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock
We keep trying to wrap up the 2013 Barihunks Calendar, but seem to get distracted by pictures of the 2012 models. Here is Philip Kalmanovitch from a 2011 IVAI production of Mozart's Don Giovanni with hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock, another one of our favorite people in opera.
Perhaps this is a good time to clear up any misunderstanding about Hunkentenors. We get a lot of mail asking us why we don't post more on Hunkentenors. The simple answer is it's not our site. We focus on baritones, although we do give the occasional shout out to a few irresistible tenors like Blalock, Noah Stewart, Jonas Kaufmann and Juan Diego Flores.
Sébastien Lemoine
We post about a lot of singers and many are top of mind because the singers, their agents, their publicists or opera marketing departments make sure that we know about their every move. Other singers we chose to follow because you've shown an interest in their careers or they are particular favorites of ours. Every so often, we see someone appear in our analytics under "searches" that reminds us about our reader's interest in a singer. Recently, Sébastien Lemoine appeared near the top of our searches after a long absence from the site.
The former aviator and all-around jock, wrapped up performances in April of Bernstein's Wonderful Town and now is scheduled to perform scenes from Don Giovanni in Macon, France on November 18th. The performance is part of the Les Symphonies d’Automne Festival and tickets are available online.
For those of you who were searching for Lemoine, thanks for keeping him on our radar!
Here's one form of "gun control" that we can't support. Hunkentenor Daniel Koek challenged Barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes to an arm wrestling match and we have to admit that he's showing off a nice set of guns. However, we have no doubt that the old Barihunk rule applied: "The tenor may win in love on stage, but the baritone always prevails in real life."
Daniel Koek making a case for the Hunkentenors site
By the way, there are lots of hunky men in this production, including a shirtless Daniel Koek, who created a few sighs in the audience.
Koek, Rhodes and co-star Lisa McCune are continuing their successful tour of South Pacific throughout Australia. There are upcoming performance in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney and tickets and performance information are available on the South Pacific website.
Opera Australia's touring production of South Pacific, starring barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes has been a little distracted by tabloid headlines and photographs of an alleged affair between "Teddy Bare" and his leading lady Lisa McCune.
Fortunately for the two married co-stars, the focus is back on the show, which was filmed yesterday for a subsequent release on DVD. No release date has been announced yet.
This is the first time that the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization and Oscar Hammerstein's grandson have approved filming of South Pacific for release on DVD.
With a cast of 40 and a live orchestra, the production will play Sydney Opera House for four weeks, and then Melbourne’s Princess Theatre for a strictly limited 10-week season. For more about South Pacific's Australian tour, visit www.southpacificmusical.com.au.
Woman's Day magazine, the Daily Telegraph and the Adelaide Sunday Mail have stirred up quite a controversy with pictures of barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes and South Pacific co-star Lisa McCune sharing a passionate kiss in an alley. The two are starring and touring in Bartlett Sher's acclaimed production of South Pacific throughout Australia.
According to the Sunday Mail, "Lisa renewed her wedding vows to husband Tim only two years ago and has
not let on to family and friends that there were problems with the
marriage. She has been residing in Sydney a few days a week while
performing the stage musical. The two have three children."
Tahu Rhodes is married to mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, but it's been rumored that the couple has separated. Rhodes has been married twice and has a 3-year-old son. You can check out their wedding picture that we posted in 2009.
REMINDER that submissions for the 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar must be receieved by August 31. High Resolution pictures should be sent to Barihunks@gmail.com
You're more likely to spot a wombat while wandering around Coopracambra National Park than finding a video of Teddy Tahu Rhodes online. For some reason, the Kiwi Barihunk is one of the most underrepresented singers online, which has frustrated his legions of fans for years. He's one of the few big name baritones who doesn't have his own website or blog. It seems like the man we affectionately call "Teddy Bare" prefers his surfboard on a quiet beach to the clutter of the internet.
Now that he's touring in the popular production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific in Australia, videos are finally making their way onto the internet. Here he is singing "Some Enchanted Evening" at the Sydney Opera House.
Teddy Tahu Rhodes sings "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific"
The Tony Award-winning show, which was directed by Bartlett Sher and starred barihunk Paulo Szot at Lincoln Center will be playing for a month in Sydney begging on Thursday, August 9th. About a third of the shows are already either sold out or near capacity. Click HERE for tickets.
The production is part of Opera Australia's aggressive effort to expand their audience. It seems to be paying off, as the Guardian reports that the company's overall funding, including sponsorships, has risen from $A70m to $A100m.
Hadleigh Adams
On the other side of the globe, another Kiwi barihunk has taken San Francisco by storm. Hadleigh Adams, who is part of the 2012 Merola Opera Program, stole the show with his performance of the final scene of Act 2 of Bizet's "La Jolie Fille de Perth" at Merola's Schwabacher Summer Concert.
The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "The evening's standout was Hadleigh Adams, a formidable bass-baritone from New Zealand who in his only appearance on this program deployed a robust, beautiful tone with both flexibility and power."
Adams will return to the stage one more time on August 18 at the Merola Grand Finale where he will perform “Somnus awake! ... Leave me loathsome light … More sweet is that name” from Handel's Semele with Suzanne Rigden and Erin Johnson. A number of other barihunks will be performing in the Finale, including Seth Mease Carico as Don Giovanni and Mustafa, Joseph Lattanzi as Jupiter in Offenbach's Orphée aux Enfers, Gordon Bintner as Leporello and Belcore, and Matthew Scollin in Lully's Alceste. Visit the San Francisco Opera website for ticket information.
One final New Zealand connection will be British conductor Nicholas McGegan, who is conducting the Finale and has led the New Zealand Symphony in the past. His recording of Mozart's Piano Concerto No 24 with Robert Levin with the New Zealand Symphony is a must for any collector.
Samuel Ramey, Marilyn Horne and Sylvia McNair sing "Leave me loathsome light":
The Toronto Symphony has announced that barihunk Jonathan Estabrooks will be one of the singers featured in their upcoming "Some Enchanted Evening" concert. The evening will showcase the music of Rodgers & Hammestein. Estabrooks will be joined by soprano Ashley Brown and tenor Aaron Lazar in selections from The Sound of Music, The King and I, Oklahoma, Carousel, and South Pacific.
There will be an evening performance on October 9th and both a matinee and evening performance on October 10th. Visit their website for additional information.
You can check out some sound files of Estabrooks singing both opera and Broadway musicals at Reverbnation.
You can also follow the internet savvy singer on Twitter @estarp, on his Facebook fan page, or on YouTube where he hosts "A Singer's Life."
Another opera barihunk is about to take on the role of Emile de Becque in Rodgers & Hammerstein's timeless musical "South Pacific." Following in the successful footsteps of Ezio Pinza and Paulo Szot, New Zealand barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes will open the show in Sydney on August 8th and then in Melbourne on September 13th.
Tahu Rhodes will be joined by four-time Gold Logie award-winning actress Lisa McCune as Nellie Forbush, Kate Ceberano as Bloody Mary and Eddie Perfect as Luther Billis.
The production by Bartlett Sher, swept the 2008 Tony Awards® taking home seven statues. The show played to sold-out houses for two and a half years, making it one of the Lincoln Center Theatre’s most successful productions. Tickets for the Sydney performances are already on sale and tickets for Melbourne go on sale on Monday, May 7th. Click HERE to get more information or to purchase tickets.
The Bartlett Sher-directed production of Broadway's "South Pacific," which won seven Tony Awards in 2008 and played to sold-out housed for two years is heading to the South Pacific. The successful show, which catapulted barihunk Paulo Szot to international prominence, will feature New Zealand barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Emile de Becque in the "down under" run.
The production will open in Sydney for a four week run on August 11, 2012 and then head on a nationwide tour of Australia.
Paulo Szot sings the classic "Some Enchanted Evening":
Also, don't forget that for the next two weeks we'll be taking submissions for our first-ever charity Barihunks calendar. Send High Res photos and bio to Barihunks@gmail.com.
We thought that it would be fun to compare some versions of "Some Enchanted Evening" from the 1949 hit musical "South Pacific." Two baritones have scored huge successes as Emile de Becque almost 60 years apart, Ezio Pinza and Paulo Szot. We've mixed in emerging barihunk Rodney Clarke and the great Cesare Siepi for comparison purposes. We've also added the hit recording my Perry Como, a version by the legendary Frank Sinatra and a jazzed up version from Ray Charles.
Ezio Pinza, who made this famous with the original 1949 Broadway cast recording:
Paulo Szot, who became a mega-star barihunk with South Pacific:
Cesare Siepi, who shows he could have scored a it with this on Broadway, too:
Ray Charles, jazzing it up for TV:
Frank Sinatra in a classic version from 1949:
Rodney Clarke, one of our emerging barihunks:
Perry Como, who had a hit with this in 1949:
Giorgio Tozzi, who recorded his in 1958:
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Barihunk Rod Gilfry has been a regular on this site since it's inception. He was a major star in opera and is now making his mark as Emile De Becque in "South Pacific." He recently finished a highly acclaimed performance of the title role in Dalbavie's "Gesualdo" in Zurich opposite the Pietro of Gabriel Bermudez, who remains the most popular singer on this site of all time.
Santa Fe Apprentices Tom Corbeil, Tom Forde & Mike Nyby
Gilfry apparently has strong genes, as his daughter Carin Gilfry is now emerging on the scene as a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she grow up with a barihunk dad, but she was a participant in the Santa Fe Apprentice Artist program, which has produced a long roster of barihunks. Participants who apprenticed with Gilfry include Tom Corbeil, Mike Nyby and Tom Forde. The 2011 Santa Fe Opera schedule is out and includes Faust, La Boheme, Griselda, Wozzeck and The Last Savage.
Carin & Rod Gilfry
Fans of either Gilfry can see them perform together at the Chamber Music Sedona’s fifteenth annual "Holiday Gala Benefit - A Night at the Opera" on Sunday, December 12 at the Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa.
Let's end the weekend with a little fun. Here are barihunks Dwayne Croft and Sam Ramey joining tenor Jerry Hadley in a fun rendition of "There is nothing like a dame" from South Pacific.
We recently covered Paolo Szot's upcoming appearance in South Pacific on PBS. Now Barihunks has learned that Jason Howard has taken on the role in Toronto. The Welsh singer is returning to the city where he met his wife in 1994 after a Toronto Symphony Orchestra concert.
We first featured the big, beefy singer a little over a year ago after a long overdue absence on this site. Howard's run in the touring production of South Pacific comes after he's established himself as a great Wagnerian, including a recent run in the Ring Cycle at the Opéra National du Rhin directed by David McVicar.
Howard has also portrayed Billy Budd, Escamillo, Zurga, Jokanaan and Don Giovanni. In upcoming seasons Howard will portray Scarpia in Tosca and Jaroslav Prus in The Makropulos Case. He performs regularly with his native Welsh National Opera, as well as the English National Opera, Covent Garden, Scottish Opera and Seattle Opera.
[ILLUSTRATION: MAURICE VELLEKOOP FOR THE NEW YORKER]
Set your recorders for Wednesday, August 18, 2010 when PBS will broadcast the highly acclaimed performance of South Pacific with Kelli O'Hara and barihunk Paolo Szot. Check your local PBS listing for times.
When this revival opened on April 3, 2008, Ben Brantley wrote in the New York Times, "I know we're not supposed to expect perfection in this imperfect world, but I'm darned if I can find one serious flaw in this production."
The production went on to win five Drama Desk Awards and 11 Tony nominations, winning in seven of the categories. Paolo Szot who has alternated between opera and Broadway has undeniably been the star of this show. As we mentioned in a previous post Szot will be performing in Don Giovanni in Dallas opening in October.
This is one man that you don't want to wash right out of your hair and it promises to be some enchanted evening.
Here is a video of O'Hara and Szot performing "Some Enchanted Evening" on The View.
On May 14, 1948, Ezio Pinza sang his last "Don Giovanni" with the Metropolitan Opera on tour in Cleveland and retired from the company. The next year, the Italian basso crossed over to Broadway, creating the role of Emile de Becque in the musical "South Pacific" and becoming forever identified with the song "Some Enchanted Evening."
Nearly 62 years later, Paulo Szot is retracing Pinza's steps — backward. After two years of playing de Becque to great acclaim (and, like Pinza, a Tony award) in a revival of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, Szot is making his Met debut on March 5.
