Barihunks in La Fenice's "Rake's Progress"

Michael Leibengut

The upcoming performances of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress at Teatro La Fenice will feature barihunks Alex Esposito as Nick Shadow and Michael Leibundgut as Father Truelove.

The versatile Swiss singer Michael Leibundgut last appeared at the venerable opera house in a very different 20th century piece, when he performed in Luigi Nono's Intolleranza in 2011. Leibundgut has established himself as an artist who is willing to push boundaries, singing everything from early music to techno mixes. Earlier this year, he made his US debut in  the world premiere of Enjott Schneider’s Robert Schumann's Traumreise at Symphony Space in New York.

Alex Esposito

Esposito has established himself as a favorite of the Venetian opera crowd, performing in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, a New Year's Day concert in 2012 that was released on DVD, Wolf-Ferraris' La Vedova Scaltra, Mozart's Don Giovanni and Mozart's La finta semplice.

Performances of The Rake's Progress are on June 27 and 29, July 1, 3 and 5 and 16. Visit the Teatro La Fenice website for tickets and additional information.

Video Wednesday: Vittorio Prato & Markus Werba

Delizioso! Vittorio Prato's new headshot

Here is Part 1 of the Italian TV show "Tutti all'Opera," which shows the making of Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" from a backstage perspective at the Teatro Petruzzelli. The clip includes some rehearsal footage and a brief interview with Italian barihunk Vittorio Prato.



Tutti all'Opera - Il Barbiere di Siviglia

You can read about Vittorio Prato's upcoming schedule at our previous post about the singer.  There are also a few additional photos at that link.

The chorus doing to Markus Werba what the rest of us are imagining.

We love live footage from operas despite the shaky cameras. It truly captures singers in their natural element without sound engineers, microphones and editing. Here is Markus Werba and Irini Kyriakidou performing "Là ci darem la mano" from Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia:



Markus Werba is wrapping up a run as Papageno in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris opposite the brilliant soprano Sandrine Piau as Pamina. Werba next heads to the Teatro la Fenice where he will perform Guglielmo in Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte."

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Markus Werba & Alex Esposito in Fenice's "Le Nozze di Figaro"

Markus Werba & Alex Esposito opening at La Fenice this week

They better have the sprinklers ready at La Fenice, because the famous theater is going to be on fire later this week. Luckily, not like the fires of 1774, 1836 and 1996, which literally burned the theater to the ground. This time the heat will be coming from Austrian barihunk Markus Werba as Count Almaviva and Italian barihunk Alex Esposito in their revival of Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro."

The two singers will share the stage in the first cast run of the opera beginning this Friday, October 14 and running through October 22. Visit the La Fenice website for additional cast and performance information. Here are Werba and Esposito singing some Mozart.

Werba singing Nozze:



Esposito singing Leporello in Don Giovanni:



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Luca Dell'Amico: Too sexy for his shirt

Luca Dall'Amico

When we saw this new photo of Italian barihunk Luca Dall'Amico we had to share it with our readers. It's too bad that his voice is suited for roles that rarely show off his physique. Luckily, we previously had the opportunity to show readers his sexy, shirtless Mustafa in Rossini's "L'italiani in algeri." His upcoming schedule is no exception.

He can next be seen this Fall at the Teatro la Fenice as Dr. Grenvil in Verdi's "La Traviata" opposite the Violetta of Patrizia Ciofi and as Don Basilio in Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia," which he has recorded on DVD. Here is the trailer:



Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com. If you haven't bought Randal Turner's new CD of American music, here is an easy way to purchase a copy or download your favorite tracks.



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Watch Opera LIVE from the Teatro la Fenice

Luca Dall'Amico

What an amazing time we live in. In the past week we've seen broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House in London (in 3D!!!). Now opera lovers can enjoy live broadcasts from the Teatro la Fenice which begin on March 8th with Puccini's La Boheme. The cast includes Barihunks regular Luca Dall'Amico as Colline. Here is a clip of Dall'Amico from another production singing "Vecchia zimarra."

We recently read that more people saw Domingo in the single telecast from the Met than saw Caruso in his lifetime.  Telecasts and opera at the movie theater have also made opera a richer and more cinematic experience, which is something that we love to promote on Barihunks. The productions from Fenice are all directed by Renzo Cerbo, who is best known for his work in film. We would like to wish the Teatro la Fenice great success in this endeavor.



Future broadcast from the Teatro la Fenice include Lucia di Lammermoor, Das Rheingold, Barber of Seville, Il Trovatore and Le Nozze di Figaro. Check out the More2Screen website for additional information.