Complete operas from La Monnaie online; Hunkentenor goes all barihunk

Charles Castronovo and Justin Hopkins

We get asked a lot about live opera broadcasts and streaming video. We probably should post more about it and encourage anyone with information about broadcasts to send it to us at Barihunks@gmail.com.

We recently learned that La Monnaie in Brussels broadcasts their productions online for a month after the performance ends. We were thrilled to find out that we could watch Barihunks calendar model Justin Hopkins in his debut from the theatre in Donizetti's Lucretia Borgia as Astolfo along with fellow barihunk Paul Gay as Don Alfonso. If you like your tenors sexy, as well, you'll be thrilled to know that Charles Castronovo is The Lucretia Borgia broadcast is available online until April.

La Monnaie's sexy ad campaign for Romeo et Juliette

Next up is Mernier's La Dispute with Stéphane Degout as the Prince and Guillaume Andrieux as Mesrin. Andrieux created quite a buzz when he recently debuted on our site rehearsing in a muscle shirt. However, the opera that we're really looking forward to is Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande which is cast with three barihunks, Stéphane Degout as Pelléas, Paul Gay as Golaud and the steamy Jérôme Varnier as Arkel. You can see more of Jérôme Varnier when the streaming video begins next week for Gounod's Romeo et Juliette where he portrays Frère Laurent.

One of our tenor crushes: Glenn Seven Allen (in Streetcar on right with Jacquelynne Fontaine)

Sometimes we shy away from it, but the truth is that we have some tenor crushes. In our "Best of 2012" feature we owned up to crushes on Ed Lyon, Noah Stewart and Glenn Seven Allen. Regular readers will probably know that today's post isn't the first time that we've snuck Charles Castronovo onto the site either.

We were pretty excited to learn that Glenn Seven Allen crossed over into baritone/barihunk territory as Carl Magnus in Sondheim's A Little Night Music with the Indiana Repertory Theater. The singer also recently made his Carnegie Hall debut in Marschner's Der Vampyr with the American Symphony. Although he was distinctly back in tenor territory, he was joined by barihunk Justin Hopkins.

Free Masterclass with Chris Carr and Joyce DiDonato

If you're in the Kansas City area on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, you can hear emerging barihunk Chris Carr for free. He'll be performing a masterclass with world-renowned mezzo Joyce DiDonato and the Kansas City Symphony at 7 p.m.

DiDonato recently won a Grammy for best classical vocal solo for her album “Diva Divo.” She will give her first Kauffman Center performance at 8 p.m. March 23-24 and at 2 p.m. March 25 with the Kansas City Symphony.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/17/3493204/songs-link-womens-passion.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/17/3493204/songs-link-womens-passion.html#storylink=cpy

The masterclass features three Kansas City-area vocal students, including University of Missouri/Kansas City student Chris Carr, who studies with famed tenor Vinson Cole. Carr was a Lyric Opera of Kansas City Artist Apprentice in the 2011–12 season. Carr will perform "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Barber of Seville.

Listen to Chris Carr performing the Tanzlied from Korngold's 

Die Tote Stadt at a Des Moines Opera masterclass:

   

Here's a more recent recording of Chris Carr singing Largo al factotum:

The event is free, but register HERE to ensure seating.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com 

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What the FACH! - Sam Roberts-Smith makes the switch

Sam Roberts-Smith

We've stopped posting a few barihunks in the past for a variety of reasons, usually it's retirement or that they've suddenly discovered deep-dish pizza with extra cheese while traveling on the road. But this is the first time that we can recall that one of the singers on our site has become a tenor.

We learned yesterday that one of the hottest future stars in opere, in looks and talent, was changing fachs. The news is somewhat surprising because the Aussie has been winning singing competitions as a baritone and has been impressing audiences at Opera Australia, where he is in the young artist program. One thing we know for sure is that this gifted and focused singer will succeed in any fach. We also have to believe that there a few sopranos who will look forward to singing with a lithe, 6' 6" tenor with movie star looks.

Barihunks would like to wish Sam Roberts-Smith great success and we hope that Hunkentenors gets revived so that we can follow him on that site.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Mariusz Kwiecien's Enrico

We thought it would be fun to showcase Mariusz Kwiecien's definitive Enrico from "Lucia di Lammermoor" with two different tenors, Piotr Beczala and Giuseppe Filianoti. We'd like to know which tenor you'd prefer to hear opposite Kwiecien, so make sure to vote in our poll. You can leave comments below. (By the way, Barihunks readers voted Don Giovanni as their favorite Mozart opera by one vote over the Marriage of Figaro).

Here he is with Beczala:



Here he is with Filianoti:



Just for fun, here is the famours sextet from "Lucia di Lammermoor" taken from the Metropolitan Opera broadcast with Anna Netrebko, Giuseppe Filianoti, Mariusz Kwiecien, Ildar Abdrazakov, Colin Lee and Micaela Martens.



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Ramin Karimloo: Baritone?

We will never pass up the opportunity to post the picture of shirtless barihunk, even if we're quibbling with some relevant fact. First, the headline of the Toronto Globe & Mail article refers to Ramin Karimloo as a baritone. We went onto his site and it was a 3-0 vote that he's a tenor. But for the moment. let's trust his agent and the Canadian press. (Listen for yourself at: http://www.raminkarimloo.net/home.html.

Then there is the small matter of this site being dedicated to opera singers. The closet Karimloo has gotten to an opera performance is a few gigs on stage singing Gilbert & Sullivan. He is currently Andrew Lloyd Webber's handpicked choice to star in his follow up to Phantom of the Opera - Love Never Dies.

We decided that we could quibble all we wanted about the facts, but at the end of the day we decided to post these delicious pictures. Barihunks readers can decide on their own if he's an operatic baritone. One thing I'm sure we can all agree on, he's one of the hottest men on stage today!

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

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Barihunk and Hunkentenor together on CD

One of Barihunks most loyal readers sent these pictures of Mariusz Kwiecien who we both have a mad crush on (despite our relationship status!). The pictures reminded me that the grossly underrecoreded Hot Pole sings the duet "Venti scudi" from Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore with the adorable tenor Juan Diego Florez on the latter's new CD.

You can purchase it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bel-Canto-Spectacular/dp/B0014QNG9G/ref=pd_bxgy_m_h__img_a