Timothy McDevitt in Haydn rarity at Lincoln Center

Tim McDevitt

On February 23, Timothy McDevitt will will perform a semi-staged version of Haydn's L'isola disabitata (Desert Island) with the American Classical Orchestra. He'll be joined by soloists Sherezade Panthaki, Sarah Brailey and Owen McIntosh. The performance is at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and tickets are available online.

L'isola disabitata was Haydn's 10th opera and the only one with a libretto by popular 18th-century Italian poet Pietro Metastasio. The opera was first performed in 1779 and is an Enlightenment parable about the relationship between humanity's natural instincts and society. The opera was performed a few times during the composer’s life and rarely since, having only eight productions in recent years.

Tom Corbeil and Martijn Cornet in L'isola disabitata

You also may want to check out the sexy photos of barihunk Tom Corbeil that we posted from Gotham Chamber Opera back in 2009. 

Tom Corbeil live from Australia this Sunday

Tom Corbeil, music director Erin Helyard, soprano Anna Davidson, countertenor Daniel Bubeck and director Chas Rader-Shieber waiting at the airport

You can listen to barihunk Tom Corbeil sing Zoroastro in Handel's Orlando from the Hobart Baroque Festival in Australia this Sunday, April 20th at 7 PM AEST (Australian time)/2 AM PST/5 AM EST. The broadcast is on ABC Classic FM.

This is the same production by director Chas Rader-Shieber and designer David Zinn that premiered at Glimmerglass Festival and was later shown at Lincoln Centre in New York. This opera features one of Handel's most famous mad scenes sung here by the gifted countertenor Randall Scotting. The  text of the opera is derived from Ludovico Ariosto’s sixteenth century epic poem, Orlando Furioso.

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo sings Zoroastro's "Lascia amor":

The plot is the usual Baroque entanglement of love both requited and unrequited. Orlando, a great hero in Charlemagne's army, has been undone by love. Angelica, the Queen of Cathay and his former lover, now loves the African prince Medoro. Medoro, who once promised love to the shepherdess Dorinda, now requites Angelica's love. In other words, we have two spurned lovers – Dorinda, whose reaction is seriocomic, and Orlando, whose reaction is to fall into madness. Dorinda is clever enough to fend for herself, but the magician Zoroastro must put Orlando back together again. This he successfully does, and Orlando is restored to his former military glory at the end of the opera.

Canadian Opera's sexy Collines open new season

Hot Collines: Tom Corbeil and Christian Van Horn

The Canadian Opera Company in Toronto has announced their 2013-14 season, which is leading the way with a barihunk filled production of Puccini's La boheme. We often get asked if we post basses and bass-baritones, as well. We post all of the low male voices and actually love when we see roles like Colline filled with sexy bass-baritones. After all, the guys in La boheme are bunch of young, Parisian artists, so we expect them to look the part.

Phillip Addis

The Canadian Opera Company hasn't disappointed us in this regard, rotating Christian Van Horn and Tom Corbeil as Colline. Both singers have been regulars on this site. They've also cast Phillip Addis and Joshua Hopkins as the Marcellos, so barihunk fans should get their tickets now. Performances will run from October 3-30, 2012. Tickets are available online.

Tom Corbeil, who recently wrapped up a tour of the Addams Family: The Broadway Musical, returns to his operatic roots in a big way, as he'll also be singing Swallow in Benjamin Britten's masterpiece Peter Grimes. Tenor Ben Heppner will sing the title role and soprano Ileana Montalbetti will take on Ellen Orford. Peformances run from October 5-26, 2013.

Robert Gleadow

Other operas this season include Robert Gleadow as Guglielmo in Mozarts Cosi fan tutte (Jan 18-Feb 21), Verdi's Un ballo in maschera (Feb 2-22), Handel's Hercules (April 5-30), Donizetti's Roberto Deveraux (April 25- May 21) and Massenet's Don Quichotte (May 9-24).

Opera news from around the world

Tom Corbeil in opera and as Lurch

Today is one of those days when we have a bunch of miscellaneous items to posts. First up is the Michigan Opera Theater, which we have a special affection for since they managed to survive an economic calamity in Detroit to open their forty-second season. During a time when many opera companies were shutting their doors, MOT managed to raise money and trim some costs to keep opera alive in the Motor City.

They also manage to put out casts which are always of interest to us at Barihunks. They are kicking off this season with Rossini's Barber of Seville. In the small, but important role of Basilio, is Tom Corbeil who returns to opera after a successful run as Lurch in the Addams Family Musical (he's been replaced by Zachary James). Roddion Pogossov and Eugene Chan will share the role of the Barber. There are two other singers that we should highlight, who you want to miss: Elizabeth DeShong as Rosina and Eleazor Rodriguez as Almaviva.

Tickets are available by calling 313-237-SING or online at the MOT website. The opening night performance will be broadcast on WRCJ 90.9 FM on October 13 beginning at 7 PM CST.

"Teddy Bare" and his co-star are in the tabloids again

We're really not an opera gossip site, there are too many great ones out there for us to compete with and we like staying focused on promoting barihunks. However, we can't stop following the Teddy Tahu Rhodes/Lisa McCune romance that's playing out in the Australian tabloids during their tour of South Pacific. It almost seems like the couple is seeking out the publicity, as they keep engaging in very public displays of affection.

You can read the latest story in the Herald-Sun.

Philip Kalmanovitch shirtless as the Don and with Hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock

We keep trying to wrap up the 2013 Barihunks Calendar, but seem to get distracted by pictures of the 2012 models. Here is Philip Kalmanovitch from a 2011 IVAI production of Mozart's Don Giovanni with hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock, another one of our favorite people in opera.

Perhaps this is a good time to clear up any misunderstanding about Hunkentenors. We get a lot of mail asking us why we don't post more on Hunkentenors. The simple answer is it's not our site. We focus on baritones, although we do give the occasional shout out to a few irresistible tenors like Blalock, Noah Stewart, Jonas Kaufmann and Juan Diego Flores.

Sébastien Lemoine

We post about a lot of singers and many are top of mind because the singers, their agents, their publicists or opera marketing departments make sure that we know about their every move. Other singers we chose to follow because you've shown an interest in their careers or they are particular favorites of ours. Every so often, we see someone appear in our analytics under "searches" that reminds us about our reader's interest in a singer. Recently, Sébastien Lemoine appeared near the top of our searches after a long absence from the site.

The former aviator and all-around jock, wrapped up performances in April of Bernstein's Wonderful Town and now is scheduled to perform  scenes from Don Giovanni in Macon, France on November 18th. The performance is part of the Les Symphonies d’Automne Festival and tickets are available online.

For those of you who were searching for Lemoine, thanks for keeping him on our radar!

Opera Barihunks Taking on Musical Theater

Matt Worth as Curly

There is a sudden upsurge of barihunks crossing over from opera to musical theater. We recently featured Tom Corbeil, who has been a critical success in "The Addams Family" musical national tour an Teddy Tahu Rhodes, who is touring in South Pacific in Australia.

The Central City Opera has filled their roster with barihunks for their upcoming production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma." Matthew Worth will star as Curly, joined by Curt Olds as Will Parker and Paul LaRosa as Jud. Performances run from June 30th through August 3rd, with two performances in Denver on August 5th and 7th.

Hugh Jackman sings "Oh, what a beautiful mornin'" from Oklahoma:

The company will also be presenting Puccini's "La boheme" and Britten's "Turn of the Screw." The three bohemian baritones are the enviable trio of Troy Cook (who has appeared Full Monty on this site), Ryan Speedo Green and Chris Carr. Visit the Central City Opera website for additional performance and ticket information.

Gregory Gerbrandt

A month later and about 3,200 miles to the south, Gregory Gerbrandt will be taking on Riff in Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story" at the Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito, Ecuador. Performances run from July 26-29.

Visit Gerbrandt's website to hear his recent recording of Gustav Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. 

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Tom Corbeil featured in OPERA NEWS

Tom Corbeil in Opera News (Photo © Jörg Meyer 2012)

We can gauge the popularity of singers a number of ways on Barihunks, the most reliable is Google Analytics, which lets us know exactly which posts are receiving the most traffic. The other is email, which is less reliable, but a better gauge of the intensity of interest in a singer. Many famous barihunks generate a lot of traffic and email, particularly Nathan Gunn, Mariusz Kwiecien, Dmitry Hvorostovsky and, incresingly, Luca Pisaroni. It's fascinating when a younger, lesser known singer starts generating intense interest with fans, as is the case with Tom Corbeil.

Our recent post generated a lot of traffic, as well as links to older posts about the current star of the Addams Family musical. When Corbeil appeared in the recent issue of Opera News, we were inundated with emails making sure that we saw the article. The emails came from four continents, which was pretty impressive for a singer who is just beginning to make a name for himself.

Here is a highlight of the SOUND BITES feature from Opera News:

By F. Paul Driscoll

Tom Corbeil has been hitting low E-flats all over North America this season — but he hasn't been singing any opera. Explanation? Since September 2011, the thirty-four-year-old bass-baritone — who has won great notices over the past several years in Mozart, Haydn, Rossini and Puccini roles — has been on tour as Lurch, the taciturn butler in Broadway's The Addams Family. This month alone, Corbeil is scheduled to strut Lurch's stuff in Madison, Wisconsin; St. Paul, Minnesota; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and his hometown of San Diego, California. 

Although Corbeil says he has no intention of moving away from opera permanently — there are confirmed dates on his 2012–13 calendar for Rossini's Basilio at Michigan Opera Theatre and Rodolfo in Florida Grand Opera's La Sonnambula — he is enjoying his current stint as a touring actor. "I'm not singing for the entire show, so it's not as stressful as if I were doing eight Collines or eight Leporellos a week — it's more akin, from a purely vocal standpoint, to doing eight performances a week of the Marquis d'Obigny in La Traviata. That comes with its own stress, because you have a very short amount of time to make a very strong impression — or to make a very strong failure!"

[Read the entire article and Opera News HERE and, if you haven't already,  subscribe while you're there]

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Tom Corbeil Lurches Onto Broadway Tour

Tom Corbeil

We've posted some pretty hot pictures of barihunk Tom Corbeil over the years, especially the shirtless ones from Joseph Haydn’s "L’isola disabitata." He's currently put his opera career on hold to join the traveling cast of the Addams Family musical touring the country. Anyone who saw him shirtless in L'Isola disabitata would barely recognize him as the morticianly looking Lurch.

The Addams Family was created by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Drama Desk Award winner Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys), and Olivier Award-winning director/designers Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter) with production supervision by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks.

The Road Cast of the Addams Family

The show is currently in Cleveland through April 22nd. It then travels to Memphis, Madison, St. Paul, Grand Rapids, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, Kansas City and Washington D.C. Check HERE to see if the show is coming to your town. 

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

The Gilfry's: All in the family

Rod Gilfry as Gesualdo

Barihunk Rod Gilfry has been a regular on this site since it's inception. He was a major star in opera and is now making his mark as Emile De Becque in "South Pacific." He recently finished a highly acclaimed performance of the title role in Dalbavie's "Gesualdo" in Zurich opposite the Pietro of Gabriel Bermudez, who remains the most popular singer on this site of all time.

Santa Fe Apprentices Tom Corbeil, Tom Forde & Mike Nyby

Gilfry apparently has strong genes, as his daughter Carin Gilfry is now emerging on the scene as a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she grow up with a barihunk dad, but she was a participant in the Santa Fe Apprentice Artist program, which has produced a long roster of barihunks. Participants who apprenticed with Gilfry include Tom Corbeil, Mike Nyby and Tom Forde. The 2011 Santa Fe Opera schedule is out and includes Faust, La Boheme, Griselda, Wozzeck and The Last Savage.

Carin & Rod Gilfry

Fans of either Gilfry can see them perform together at the Chamber Music Sedona’s fifteenth annual "Holiday Gala Benefit - A Night at the Opera" on Sunday, December 12 at the Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa.

Tickets are available at www.ChamberMusicSedona.org or by calling (928) 204-2415.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Ft. Worth's Delectable Duo Garners Raves

[Michael Todd Simpson & Tom Corbeil, Photo; Ft. Worth Opera]


There has been a buzz about Ft. Worth Opera's Don Giovanni ever since the cast was announced. Admittedly, much of it had to do with the amazing soprano Susanna Phillips tackling the role of Donna Anna. But when opera fanatics learned that barihunk Michael Todd Simpson was being paired with the Leporello of Tom Corbeil, this literally became the hottest opera ticket around.

From all accounts, the performances and eye candy have lived up to the advance hype.

The Ft. Worth Express wrote:

Baritone Michael Todd Simpson...has probably exceeded expectations and is already a memorable Don Giovanni. His voice is strong and flexible, and his portrayal had the subtle nuances normally associated with a veteran performer.

Leporello –– handsomely sung by baritone Tom Corbeil –– was a contemporary here rather than an old retainer. The dynamic pointed up the class frictions touched on in the libretto and helped make Leporello’s impersonation of the lady-killing Don Giovanni more believable.

The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram wrote:

Michael Todd Simpson was a superb Giovanni, dashing with a sinister edge. As his servant Leporello, Tom Corbeil sang the famous "Catalogue Aria" with a fine, burly bass, woodwinds chattering like mocking laughter in the background.

[Michael Todd Simpson, Holli Harrison and Tom Corbeil. Photo by Ellen Appel]


Perhaps our favorite review came from D Magazine:

The pairing of Michael Todd Simpson in the title role with Thomas Corbeil as his faithful, ever-complaining manservant Leporella was a masterstroke on several levels. Both lean and tall, with long brunette hair, they created a visual pairing that continually emphasized their embodiment of opposite aspects of humanity. While in any decent production of Don Giovanni the tension of master and servant between these two is one of the central aspects, the physical similarities between these two singing actors emphasized Mozart and Da Ponte’s subtle dig at the rotting class structure that pervaded Europe . The ability of both to move with impressive agility across the stage added to their effectiveness as a team, and the powerful beauty of both of their voices further enhanced the magic of their performance. Along with the bounding energy the two brought to their roles, director Richard Kagey introduced numerous small but significant elements—Giovanni casually wiping the blood off of a dagger on his shirt, for instance, or Leporello’s rebuffed attempt to join Giovanni at the table for a meal—that constantly reminded the audience that Giovanni, sexy aristocrat though he may be, is still a compulsive thug of the worst sort.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Contact us at barihunks@gmail.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Michael Todd Simpson's "Don Giovanni" Promo

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Contact us at barihunks@gmail.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two Anticipated Openings in the U.K and U.S.

[Photo courtesy of Ft. Worth Opera]

Early reports from Ft. Worth Opera point to a huge success for their Don Giovanni, led by Michael Todd Simpson. Not only is he joined by the sexy barihunk Tom Corbeil as his sidekick Leporello, but we hear that the singing is going to be incredible (and isn't that what opera is all about?). Of course, we don't mind when there is a litte extra beefcake on stage, as well, and from the looks of things Michael Todd Simpson is looking good.

Don Giovanni opens Saturday, May 22 and repeats on May 30 and June 4. Visit the Ft. Worth Opera website for additional information.

[Photo by Alastair Muir]


Jacques Imbrailo finally makes his long anticipated appearance at Glyndebourne in Billy Budd today. We'll have plenty of more coverage, but we wanted to share with you the first photo, which accompanied an article in The Independent about a long-running feued between composer Bemjamin Britten and Glyndebourne.

The new production at Glyndebourne will run through June 27th. Click HERE for performance and ticket information. The website also contains musical excerpts and a fascinating podcast about the production and opera.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Contact us at barihunks@gmail.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Barihunks Showing Some Skin

At Barihunks we celebrate the beautiful men who grace our operatic stages. There is nothing sexier than Erwin Schrott or Mariusz Kwiecien ripping his shirt off in "Don Giovanni." Or who can blame Carmen for dumping Don Jose when Kyle Ketelsen struts out on the state as Escamillo. There are few things on the stage hotter than Matthew Worth in "Rape of Lucretia," Simon Keenlyside or Nathan Gunn in Billy Budd, or Daniel Okulitch baring everything in "The Fly." So we decided to showcase a bunch of the hottest barihunks around in one post.

One thing that we've noticed about our readers is that they like to see a little skin once in awhile. So here are some of the dreamiest barihunks showing off their goods onstage and offstage.

*************************************
TOM CORBEIL IN Haydn’s "L’isola disabitata AND LAURENT ALVARO IN "The Fly"

*************************************
TOM FORDE, SIMON KEENLYSIDE & MICHAEL RICE

*************************************
JONATHAN KIMPLE & PAUL LAROSA

*************************************
CALE OLSON ON THE L/R & JOHN CHEST (CENTER)

*************************************
ANDREW GARLAND & ANDREA CONCETTI

*************************************

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

*************************************

Wes Mason on "Before Night Falls"

One of our favorite opera companies in the United States is the Ft. Worth Opera. They always combine great repertoire with wonderful young singers. Once again, they've put together a great season with Don Giovanni, The Elixir of Love, and the world premiere of Before Night Falls.

Every year the opera world is abuzz about a new opera and this year it appears to be Jorge Martin's "Before Night Falls" about the gay Cuban counter-revolutionary Reinaldo Arena. They have engaged the hunky Wes Mason to take on the title role in his first leading role on a major stage. From what we've heard of Mason, he will undoubtedly be a smash hit. Here is some video of the emerging barihunk singing and talking about the role.

By the way, the other operas at Ft. Worth have their fair share of barihunks, as well. Don Giovanni has Michael Todd Simpson in the title role, fresh off his critically acclaimed performance in the Tales of Hoffman at The Met. His sidekick will be Tom Corbeil who created quite a sensation on this site when he first appeared last year. Even the Elixir of Love has the adorable Christopher Bolduc cast as Belcore.

It's HOT in Santa Fe And It's Not Just The Weather

Barihunks was partially inspired by the wonderful site Parterre Box, who entered the term into the English language. Parterre Box defined a barihunk as one who likely was an apprentice artist at Santa Fe Opera, which has undeniably produced their fair share of good looking singers.

This year is no exception, as you can see from the three barihunks features below. Another current apprentice artist, Tom Corbeil, has been featured prominently on this site.

This is Tom Forde, who has a great face and physical presence for the stage. I would hope that anyone casting the Mozart "Big 3" (Cosi, Nozze, Giovanni) would think about casting this charming young barihunk. He would be ideal. Forde has also appeared here before.



Mike Nyby also caught our eye before. He is originally from Canada and grew up in New Jersey. I can see him becoming the next great Billy Budd, as he totally looks the part. He's also be an interesting Tarquinius, which would surely guarantee a repeat appearance on this site. You can hear him sing a wonderful Escamillo excerpt on his website with the talented Kirt Pavitt on piano.




Matthew Morris is new to this site and he is absolutely adorable. He is a natural on stage, having studied some dance and already has an impressive resume outside of opera, having been a dancer in the movie "The Producers" and a performing a cameo on TV's "Law & Order." If opera doesn't work out he could easily be a star on a soap opera or a leading man on Broadway.


We're glad that Santa Fe continues to be a launching pad for barihunks.

For ticket information click here.

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Happy 4th: Celebrating American Barihunks

We can't think of a better way to celebrate the 4th of July than to celebrate our country's abundance of Barihunks. Here are some of our favorite baritones from the good old United States of America. These guys will make the fireworks go off!


David Adam Moore (above)

Tom Forde (above)

Tom Corbeil (above)

Kyle Ketelsen (above)

Randal Turner (above)

Rod Gilfry (above)

Nathan Gunn (above)

Michael Todd Simpson (above)

Chris Herbert (above)

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________

More of Hunky Tom Corbeil at Gotham Chamber Opera

[Click image to enlarge]

The posting of our hot barihunks bench continues with the stunning Tom Corbeil and some more pictures from the Gotham Chamber Opera's production of Joseph Haydn’s "L’isola disabitata (Desert Island)." You can find the earlier post at http://barihunks.blogspot.com/search?q=corbeil.

Corbeil is another in a long line of barihunks coming out of San Francisco's Merola Opera Program, like our previous barihunk Paul La Rosa.

I'm sure that all of us are grateful to the Gotham Chamber Opera for these pictures. If you're in the New York area make sure to support this company. The production continues through February 28. For more information click here: www.gothamchamberopera.org.

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________

Tom Corbeil: Another Merola Hottie

[Top three photos of Tom Corbeil courtesy of Gotham Opera, with soprano Takesha Meshé Kizart; bottom photo courtesy of SF Opera]

The most common email that I get is someone pitching a barihunk. Nine out of ten times, it's a non-starter and usually someone who belongs on BariChunks, not BariHunks.

So imagine my joy in finding Tom Corbeil in my inbox. It didn't take long for me to realize that I'd already seen him as part of San Francisco Opera's young artist program, Merola. With apologies to La Cieca and her definition of a barihunk that appears at the bottom of this blog, the Merola program seems to be pumping out more barihunks than anyone and they can actually sing! Other Merolinis on this site include fan favorite Daniel Okulitch, Lee Poulis, Ben Wager, Eugene Brancoveanu and emerging superstar John Relyea.

Tom Corbeil was not only a standout at Merola, but he has also won awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council and Musical Merit Foundation. He also studied with the great Virginia Zeani.

His current gig is with the Gotham Chamber Opera in Joseph Haydn’s "L’isola disabitata (Desert Island)." Perhaps the title explains the lusciously revealing outfit (it can't always be Pearl Fishers). The performance is staged by Mark Morris and will run from February 18-28 at John Jay College in New York City. For more information, visit www.gothamchamberopera.org.

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________________________________________