Björn Bürger's Figaro is a box office hit at Glyndebourne; Watch live

Björn Bürger as Figaro

The big hit of the Glyndebourne season is barihunk Björn Bürger's Figaro in Rossini's Barber of Seville, which runs through July 17th with limited availability. The cast also includes Taylor Stayton as Almaviva and Danielle de Niese as Rosina. You can check for tickets HERE.

This appears to be one of those career defining moments for a young singer, as crowds and critics have responded enthusiastically. Mark Valencia in What's on Stage wrote, "The handsome young baritone exudes elegant bonhomie and fourth-wall-breaking razzle-dazzle, and he delivers Rossini's tongue-twisters with an eloquence it would be hard to better." Richard Fairman in the Financial Times wrote, "What fun there is comes from a well-chosen cast. At the top of the class is Björn Bürger’s ace Figaro, sung with brilliance, precision and a nonstop cheery grin, as if it is all no effort at all."

If you can't catch it live, you have two chances to watch in remotely. If you're in the UK, you can see it in a theatre in a live broadcast on Tuesday, June 21 at 6:30 PM. You can find screening near you by clicking HERE.

If you live elsewhere, the performance will be streamed live online on the same day HERE.

Next up at Glyndebourne is Mozart's Marriage of Figaro featuring the barihunk duo of Davide Luciano as Figaro and Gyula Orendt as Count Almaviva. It runs from July 3 to August 24.

Barihunk duo opens Opera Philadelphia's Barber of Seville

Opera Philadelphia is opening its 40th Anniversary season on September 26th with a new production of Rossini's Barber of Seville starring Jonathan Beyer in the title role and Kevin Burdette as Dr. Bartolo. Performances will run through October 5th, with a free HD broadcast on a giant screen at Independence National Historical Park on Saturday, September 27.

Beyer, made his Opera Philadelphia debut as Escamillo in a 2011 production of Bizet’s Carmen. He has performed Figaro with the Boston Lyric Opera, the Castleton Festival, the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari and at the Lyrique-en-Mer. A little trivia about Jonathan Beyer that you may not know is that he's obsessed with figure skating and knows as much about the sport as most professional commentators. 

Kevin Burdette was last seen as the Prophet/King in the 2012 East Coast Premiere of Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters. He just wrapped up a run at the Santa Fe Opera as Herr Buff/Chamberlain in the double-bill of Mozart's The Impresario and Stravinsky's Le Rossignol. He returns to Santa Fe next season as Sergeant Supice in Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment and as Stobrod/Blind Man in the world premier of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain.

They'll be joined in the cast by Jennifer Holloway as Rosina, which is her role debut and company debut. Count Almaviva will be sung by the wonderful young tenor Taylor Stayton.

Tickets may be purchased online or by calling 215.893.1018. The free tickets to Opera on the Mall broadcast are available beginning Wednesday, September 3rd at operaonthemall.org.

Steven LaBrie in Rossini's Le Comte Ory

Taylor Stayton (left) and Steven LaBrie (right)

There are still two opportunities to see one of the comic masterpieces of the operatic canon, Rossini's Le Comte Ory, which is playing tonight and on July 18th at the Des Moines Metro Opera.

Barihunk and MAC model Steven LaBrie as Raimbaud heads a brilliantly talented cast that includes tenor Taylor Stayton as Le Comte Ory, Sydney Mancasola as Comtesse Adèle, Wayne Tigges as the tutor and Margaret Lattimore as Ragonde. Tickets are available online.

"Sister" Steven LaBrie in Le Comte Ory

The opera was first performed on August 20, 1828 at the Salle Le Peletier by the Paris Opera. It's American premiere was on December 16, 1830 at the Théâtre d'Orléans in New Orleans. Often described as either a comedy or a farce, it is rapidly gaining in popularity throughout the world and is now considered one of the finest comedies in the repertory.

The story centers around Count Ory, who is determined to win the countess Adèle. He will do anything to get access to the castle where the women are, including disguising himself and his men as nuns.

The Metropolitan Opera had a huge hit with the opera in 2011 with a cast that included Juan Diego Flórez, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato and barihunk Stéphane Degout. The performance has been released on DVD. 

Sexy Don Giovanni/Leporello combo at Kentucky Opera

Fitness Buff and Barihunk Donovan Singletary

Mozart's Don Giovanni is a key ingredient in the delectable dessert we call Barihunks. It has dominated our pages more than any other opera and for good reason. The story of a sexy, irresistible, sexual predator and his love starved sidekick just seems to invite the casting of some of the hottest singers in the business.

The Kentucky Opera has stuck to that noble tradition by casting AVA graduate Ben Wager as Don Giovanni and former Lindemann Young Artist Program favorite and Metropolitan Opera National Council Grand Finals winner Donovan Singletary as Leporello. Singletary, an avid fitness buff, is living proof that you can take care of your body and your voice simultaneously. The Florida native has won numerous vocal competitions in addition to the Med Auditions, including the 2011 Vienna Prize by the George London Foundation, 2011 Vienna Prize by the George London Foundation Award, First Prize in the 2010 George London Foundation Competition and First Prize in the Heinz Rehfuss Singing Actors Competition.

Donovan Singletary sings "Deh!...ti ferma..ti placa" from Rosini's Semiramide:

Ben Wager was a 2009 graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, where he sang Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Enrico in Anna Bolena and the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, In 2009, he joined the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he sang  Zuniga in Carmen, Angelotti in Tosca and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. In 2011, he portrayed General Audebert in the world premiere of Kevin Putz' Silent Night at Minnesota Opera, which we covered extensively.

Ben Wager

The Kentucky Opera will have two performances of the Mozart classic on February 15 and 17. A couple of other young singers of note in the cast whose careers we've been watching are tenor Taylor Stayton as Don Ottavio and soprano Jan Cornelius as Donna Anna. Tickets are available online.