I can see Russian Barihunks from Canada; "Scream & Kill" features low voices in "Basses Loaded"

Alexander Vinogradov

Residents of Canada are in luck, as the live performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, “Symphony of a Thousand,” will be broadcast live from Caracas,Venezuela and shown in Canadian movie theaters on Saturday, February 18, at 2 p.m. PST/5 p.m. EST.

The performance under conductor Gustavo Dudamel will feature Russian barihunk Alexander Vinogradov as one of the soloists. Alexander Vinogradov made his debut at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow at the age of 21 and he is a regular guest at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin

Alexander Vinogradov sings "Confutatis maledictis" from Verdi' s Requiem 

This presentation is part of the Los Angeles Philharmoic’s Mahler Project, which features the composer’s complete symphonic cycle presented in both Los Angeles and Caracas.

Samuel Ramey & Justino Diaz

We love our opera podcasts at Barihunks and regularly feature the Texapolitan Opera Roadshow run by barihunk Michael Mayes and OperaNow! run by barihunk Michael Rice. You can catch Rice and Mayes together on the podcast by clicking HERE. Don't miss this laugh-a-minute operafest. 

 

We're also big fans of vlogger and barihunk Jonathan Estabrooks' "A Singer's Life." Not only are these sites great for opera lovers, but they're a great introduction to opera for a younger, more tech savvy generation of future opera goers. 

This month, we've been enjoying the "Scream & Kill" podcast, which is not run by a barihunk, but by the inimitable Stella Maria Krazelberg von und zu Brabant. We're particularly loving her current feature, which is cleverly entitled "Basses Loaded." Stella takes a look at some of the greatest low voices of the modern era, including barihunks Samuel Ramey and Justino Diaz. Other singers featured are Bonaldo Giaiotti, Raymend Aceto, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Adam Plachetka, Gottlieb Frick, Adrien Legros, Boris Christoff and Paul Plishka.

The podcast requires a subscription, but it's entertaining and features great topics from "Shakespearean Screamers" to "Bitchin' Bel Canto Bridezillas." You can check out the podcast at www.ScreamAndKill.com.

We regularly get asked if we feature basses on our site, despite the fact that our home page says that we do.

 

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

The "Flexin' Texan" Michael Mayes & The "Hot Pole" Mariusz Kwiecien

Michael Mayes' Barihunks Calendar Shot

We've raved about Michael Mayes' podcast, the Texapolitan Opera Roadshow podcast, for years and it remains one of the most entertaining shows on the web. His podcasts are often fueled by either heavy doses of caffeine or liberal servings of alcohol. Michael makes sure that no topic is off limits. Some of the recent topics include "Country Music is 3 chords and the truth," "The shared lexicon of opera and addiction," "Sleeping against the pole~ not the Polish guy, but the actual pole," "Singing opera in the mobile home" and "Heterosexual countertenors sure let you know."

Mayes is currently in Nashville reveling in his country roots. One thing that we can say with certainty is that Michael Mayes is an unabashed country boy and Elvis Presley fanatic. It's so refreshing to meet an opera singer who remains authentic to who he is and doesn't start talking in the "international opera accent."

Mayes is performing Silvio in Pagliacci with the Nashville Opera, which continues to be one of the most interesting and creative smaller opera companies. Mayes' Silvio has been greeted with critical acclaim and there is one more performance on Sunday, December 4th. Get your tickets HERE.

We've been eagerly awaiting to hear when Mariusz "the hot Pole" Kwiecien's new CD of "Slavic Heroes" would be released. We've now learned that it will available in the U.S. on January 10, 2012. The album includes arias by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Smetana, Dvoák, Moniusko, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Szymanovsky. Included is Apollo's Hymn from Szymanovsky's "King Roger," which he will be singing at the Santa Fe Opera this summer from July 21 to August 14.

Mariusz Kwiecien

Kwiecien is wrapping up 2011 in his native Poland with performances of Moniuszko's Halka and Mozart's "Don Giovanni." He opens 2012 at the Bavarian State Opera performing the Marquis de Posa in Verdi's Don Carlo, which we've been told is SOLD OUT. The cast is one of the best that we've seen assembled at any opera house. It includes René Pape as King Philipp II, Jonas Kaufmann as Don Carlos and Anja Harteros as Elisabeth.

If you want to enjoy photographs of talented young artists like Michael Mayes all year long, you can purchase our 2012 Barihunks Charity Calendar by clicking HERE. You'll also be assisting the next generation of young singers, as all of the proceeds will go to young artist programs. We're announcing our first two beneficiaries next week.

Please feel free to contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com with your tips, comments, praise and occasional corrections.

Zachary Gordin: Sexiest Silvio; Check out the Barihunks on-the-air

Zachary Gordin showing off his guns in a Barihunk tee

Zachary Gordin, who is featured in our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar, is taking on Silvio in "Pagliacci" with the revived Sacramento Opera. We've seen a lot of Silvio's in our day, including old historical footage and we've never seen a Silvio this buff before. We can certainly understand why Nedda would want to wrap those big arms around herself. Maybe in this production, conducted by the amazing Michael Morgan, Canio dies from a choke hold by Silvio. Then again, maybe not, this is Sacramento, not Germany.

Performances are this Saturday and Sunday. Visit the Sacramento Opera website for additional performance information or to purchase tickets.

Here is another one of our calendar models, Michael Mayes, singing the duet between Nedda and Silvio. This was recorded last year at the Kentucky Opera. Mayes went out of his way to create a very special photo for the Barihunks calendar, which you won't want to miss. He's our February feature along with fellow singers with web shows, Michael Rice of OperaNow! (who appears in shorts floating in a pool) and Jonathan Estabrooks of the YouTube feature "A Singer's Life" (who shows a little extra skin than one usually sees from a Canadian). Don't forget to subscribe to Mayes' entertaining show, the Texapolitan Opera Roadshow. His guest this week is Maestro Jerome Shannon. If you tune in to the OperaNow! podcast this week, you can double your barihunk fun, as Michael Rice's guest star is Michael Mayes. We guarantee you that there are few things in opera more entertaining than the "Two Michaels."



Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Video: Daniel Okulitch's Nude Scene from "The Fly"

Daniel Okulitch goes "The Full Okulitch" (Screenshot from Arte)

According to our Google Analytics, two of our most popular posts of all-time continue to be those of Gabriel Bermudez appearing nude in Poulenc's  "Les mamelles de Tirésias" and Daniel Okultich appearing nude in Howard Shore's "The Fly." Until now, we've only had pictures and no video. But thanks to a European broadcast of the opera, we now have some video to share of the scene that prompted fellow barihunks Michael Mayes and Michael Todd Simpson on the Texapolitan Opera podcast to coin the phrase "The Full Okulitch" to describe a full-frontal nude scene in opera.



The Canadian barihunk can next be heard in recital at the Glenn Gould Studio on December 4th in Toronto. You can check out his profile on the CBC website where you can also listen to him discuss his status as a barihunk.

We also highly recommend that you add Okulitch's wonderful recital "The New American Art Song" to your CD collection. You can purchase it at the GPR Records website. 

For the record, the only other barihunk to appear on this site other than Bermudez and Okulitch performing "The Full Okulitch" is Troy Cook. We should use this opportunity to point out that we only publish nudity if it was performed on stage. We have pictures of Leigh Melrose from "Riders to the Sea" and Laurent Alvaro from the French production of "The Fly," but felt the quality wasn't good enough to post. We also hear that there are photos of Eugene Brancoveanu from "Little Caesar," but we've never found them. 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Tweet

Michael Mayes Featured

Michael Mayes: Bourbon, Horses and French Opera

We love American barihunk Michael Mayes and have always maintained that he's one of the most entertaining people in opera. His Texapolitan Opera podcast is a must for any fan of opera and it can always be accessed at the link to the right. You can also follow his musings at mazerthehazer on Twitter.

The Elvis Presley fanatic is in Louisville performing Escamillo in Bizet's "Carmen." He was recently featured in an interview by Selana Fry from Louisville. com where he talked about a number of things including this site. [For the record, the interviewer makes it sound like he has some direct involvement with this site, which he does not. Barihunks and Texapolitan Opera are enthusiastically supportive of each other's site]. You can read the entire interview HERE, but here is what he had to say about Barihunks:

The Barihunks blog is another project you're involved with. The tagline is pretty straightforward: "The Sexiest Baritone Hunks from Opera." I here there's a pin-up calendar in the works.

The guys over there are doing a great service to us. Anytime we can get someone talking about opera, regardless of the context, is an accomplishment worthy of praise.
Will you be shooting your Barihunks calendar photo in Louisville? Most importantly, will horses and/or bourbon figure into the composition?

I am doing the shoot here, though the location is to be determined. Horses might be involved, and bourbon will definitely be a factor, whether prominently featured, or administered as a fortification against my own inhibitions about public displays of partial nudity.

Mayes' Escamillo opens at the Kentucky Opera on Friday, September 23 at 8PM, with additional performances on Sunday, September 25 at 2PM and Friday, September 30 at 8PM. Tickets have been selling fast, but are still available online  or by calling 502.584.7777.

Click HERE for the Texapolitan Opera podcast

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Tweet

Jordan Shanahan in Dead Man Walking

Elise Quagliata as Sister Helen Prejean Jordan Shanahan as Joseph De Rocher

Jordan Shanahan, who won our favorite opera couple poll along with his wife Audrey Luna, will be peforming Joseph De Rocher in Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking" with the Union Avenue Opera in Missouri. The opera is the modern-day story of Sister Helen Prejean and her journey as she undertakes the role of spiritual advisor to Joseph De Rocher, an inmate on Louisiana's death row. 

Performances will take place August 19, 20, 26, and 27 at 8:00 p.m. The real-life Sister Helen Prejean will be attending the opening night performance on August 19th. Tickets for the dinner are $250.00 per person. Additional information is available HERE.

Don't forget to listen to "Mr. Barihunks" on the Texapolitan Opera Roadshow. 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Tweet

Barihunks on the Air: Texapolitan Opera

Michael Mayes & the Texapolitan Opera

We've made no secret of our love for barihunk Michael Mayes and his always entertaining Texapolitan Opera podcasts. We were thrilled when he asked the site's founder to come on the show and talk about Barihunks and opera.

However, in Michael Mayes' inimitable fashion the show somehow got sidetracked into conversations about angry Germans, Branch Dividian strippers, Justin Bieber singing Don Giovanni, eye herpes and Ruphying tenors. You have to hear it to believe it (and this episode was NOT fueled by liquor!).

Mayes continues to be one of the most entertaining and original figures in the opera world. His podcasts are a must for anyone who loves the artform. If you don't laugh, you're probably a humorless Russian set designer. If you do laugh, subscribe and make it part of your social media ritual.

A graduate of the University of North Texas, Mayes' operatic roles include Silvio in I Pagliacci, Mercutio and Lord Capulet in Romeo et Julette, Dandini in La Cenerentola, The Librettist in Viva la Mamma!, John Proctor in The Crucible, Don Giovanni, Escamillo in Carmen, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, di Luna in Il trovatore, Marcello in La Boheme, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and many more.

In February 2012, Mayes will make his much anticipated debut as Joseph De Rocher in Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking" with the Tulsa Opera, which he discussed on the current episode. Click HERE for ticket and additional performance information.

Click HERE to listen to the podcast. You can also subscribe to the Texapolitan Opera podcast on iTunes.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Tweet

Mayes vs Mephistopheles

Michael Mayes takes on the bad guy

One of our favorite barihunks, the funny and talented Michael Mayes is headed to Birmingham to defend Marguerite's honor in Gounod's "Faust." The role of Valentin is often played by a young barihunk when cast in an age appropriate manner. He also gets what we believe is the best aria, "Avant de quitter ces lieux."

Once again, a regional opera company has assembled an impressive cast for this opera. Joining Mayes will be the wonderful soprano Mary Dunleavy, rising tenor star Bryan Hymel and the estimable Kurt Eichelberger as the devil. For anyone worried about the future of opera, casting like this at Opera Birmingham should give one renewed hope.

Mayes is also the host of the Texapolitan Opera podcast, which is a must for any opera fan. We're sure that this performance will generate a devilishly good show. His current episode already includes two of his co-stars, Eichelberger and Millinnee Bannister, who discuss such topics as "Pants that show of your junk," "Squeal like a pig," and "Only gay men look at breasts."

For your listening pleasure, here are three barihunk versions of "Avant de quitter ces lieux" from Simon Keenlyside, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Thomas Hampson:







Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Chat Live with Keith Miller

Barihunks Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Keith Miller at The Met

Barihunk Keith Miller continues to be one of the leading opera singers in utilizing social media and the internet for promoting his career. The barihunk who regularly tweets and posts on Facebook, is now offering a live chat on Ustream.

Miller will be online HERE on Thursday, January 13 at 6:30 EST/3:30 PST.

Podcasters and Barihunks Michael Mayes and Michael Rice

Don't forget that you can follow other barihunks online. Michael Rice runs the informative and entertaining OperaNow! podcast and Michael Mayes has the always hysterical Texapolitan Opera podcast.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Bantering Barihunks on Texapolitan Opera Podcast

Two Wild & Crazy Guys: Michael Mayes and Michael Todd Simpson

Two of the funniest and sexiest guys in all of opera have come together for the second podcast of the Texapolitan Opera. The podcast is the creation of Michael Mayes, who has been featured on this site with his hysterical videos. His guest Michael Todd Simpson has also been regularly featured on this site, including a popular post of him in his scivvies at the Eugene Opera.

You can hear the two talk about massage and "lady boys" in Bangkok, the taste of coconut water (funnier than it sounds), riding horses on stage and at the rodeo, Simon Keenlyside asking about speaking "Texan," MILF (look it up!) and, most importantly, going the "Full Okultich" on stage. The last bit included a discussion of caring for your willie on stage, balls, opera goers with binoculars. having a small butt, needing a fluffer and other barroom banter that you won't hear on most other opera podcasts.

Make sure to listen to the Texapolitan Opera podcast, which you can find on their website or on iTunes.

Simpson and Mayes were also wondering how Barihunks manages to get pictures in our possession so quickly for posting. The answer is that most of our pictures come from wives and boyfriends, opera staffers, fellow singers. fans and the singers themselves. Thanks to the iPhone, we often get pictures the night of a performance.

If you have pictures or barihunk tips, you can contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com