Barihunks prominent in Boston Lyric Opera's new season

Duncan Rock as Tarquinius

The Boston Lyric Opera has announced their 2018-2019, which focuses on operas about strong women, inspired by stories of women, and led by women directors. They also add a few barihunks to the mix!

The season kicks off from October 12-21 with Rossini's classic opera The Barber of Seville, directed by Rosetta Cucchi and starring barihunk Matthew Worth in the title role alongside the amazing mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as Rosina. The cast is rounded out by Jesus Garcia as Almaviva and David Crawford as Basilio.

Next up is the world premiere of Tod Machover’s and Simon Robson’s Schoenberg in Hollywood, part of the company's New Works commissioning series. The opera is about the composer’s struggle to assimilate into American culture after fleeing Nazi Europe and maintaining his artistic integrity amidst the lure of celebrity.

Brandon Cedel and David Cushing

That will be followed by Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, a timely opera for the #MeToo era, as rape and issues about male sexual aggression were not discussed when the composer wrote the piece. For that reason, the opera’s sensitivity to Lucretia’s experience, and her husband’s response is both prescient and uncomfortably familiar. The opera will feature the barihunk trio of Duncan Rock as Tarquinius, Brandon Cedel as Collatinus, and David McFerrin as Junius. They'll be joined by Kelley O’Connor as Lucretia, Nancy Maultsby as Bianca and Jesse Darden and Antonia Tamer as the Male Chorus and Female Chorus. Performances run from March 11-17, 2019.

Duncan Rock sings Tarquinius' aria from The Rape of Lucretia:

The season ends with Poul Ruders and Paul Bentley adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid’s Tale directed by Anne Bogart and with new orchestrations. The story centers around Offred, one woman out of many who were stripped of her name, identity, and personhood by a cruel and oppressive government regime. The seem also seems prescient for today's political climate.

The piece features bass-barihunk David Cushing, along with Jennifer Johnson Cano as Offred, Caroline Worra as Aunt Lydia, Maria Zifchak as Serena Joy and Matthew DiBattista as The Doctor.

Additional information about the season can be found at www.BLO.org.

Edward Laurenson to sing Tarquinius in San Francisco

Edward Laurenson

The last we featured New Zealand barihunk Edward Laurenson three years ago, he was off to London to commence his Masters in Music studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has now landed across the globe in California, where he's studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has now studied on three continents in three years!

On December 8th and December 10th, he'll be performing Tarquinius in Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia at the Conservatory. He'll be joined by fellow barihunk Jorge Ruvalcaba as Junius, Brandon Bell as Collatinus, Molly Boggess as Lucretia, Esther Tonea as the Female Chorus, Ricky Garcia as the Male Chorus, Jessie Barnett as Bianca, and Meagan Rao as Lucia. [Click on the dates for tickets].

The fully-staged production is part of the Conservatory's thematic programming surrounding the institution's centennial celebrations for the 2017-18 season, which is comprised of 20th- and 21st-century repertoire.

Jorge Ruvalcaba (left and center), Edward Laurenson and Brandon Bell

Laurenson was an Emerging Artist with The Dame Malvina Major Foundation, as well as Vocal National Young Performer of the Year at Performing Arts Competitions Association of New Zealand, won the Lieder prize at the New Zealand Aria competition, won the Guildhall School of Music & Drama Award, the Australian Opera Awards Committee’s Sheila Prior Memorial Prize, the Phoebe Patrick Award and the David Harper Award.

Mexican baritone Jorge Ruvalcaba is new to this site. He was the winner of the Coppel Prize VIII in the  Concurso Internacional de Canto Sinaloa in 2016, the Edgar Mason Kneedler Memorial Prize Opera San Miguel 2015, won special prizes for best interpretation of Mozart and for the best interpretation of aria at the XIX Maritza Alemán Singing Contest. He has performed Marcello at Opera de Oazaca, the title role of Don Giovanni a the Escuela Superior de Música and Papageno at the Teatro Alameda.

ONLY 29 DAYS LEFT TO ORDER our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!