Anatoli Sivko beefs up before Bavarian Ballo

Anatoli Sivko beefing up for Bavarian Ballo

Anatoli Sivko, who is singing Naroemov in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin tonight at the Netherlands Opera, appears to have buffed up since we watched him win 1st Prize at last year's Neue Stimmen Vocal Competition and 1st Prize at International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition, Warsaw, Poland.

After he wraps up in Holland, he heads to the Bayerische Staatsoper to make his house debut as Samuel in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera in an all-star cast headed by Piotr Beczala as Riccardo and Anja Harteros as Amelia. He will return to the company to sing the Mandarin in Puccini's Turandot and Schmidt in Giordano's Andrea Chenier with Jonas Kaufmann in the title role.

Anatoli Sivko sings Borodin's "Ni sna, ni otdikha":

Other recent highlights for the Belarus native include his Royal Opera House Covent Garden debut in Un ballo in maschera, Chamberlain in Stravinsky's Le Rossignol at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Farfarello in Prokofiev's L’Amour Des Trois Oranges for Latvian National Opera, Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto in Rennes, the title role in Verdi's Attila in Tallinn, Gaspar in Donizetti's Rita in Graz and Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen in Zürich.

Other upcoming engagements include the King in Verdi's Aida with Opéra de Montréal and Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Hvorostovsky back in Met Ballo under James Levine

Dmitri Hvorostovsky in Met's Ballo (Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky returns to the Metropolitan opera as King Gustavo III's confidant Anckarström in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera with the Metropolitan Opera's Music Director James Levine on the podium. The all-star cast will also feature Piotr Beczala in his Met role debut as the ill-fated Gustavo, Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia, Dolora Zajick as the fortune-teller Ulrica, and Heidi Stober as the page Oscar.

Alexey Markov

The opera opens on April 23 and runs through May 9. The David Alden revival will mark the first time that James Levine has conducted the opera at the Met in nearly 20 years.  Russian baritone Alexey Markov, who sang Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata and Robert in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta earlier this season, will sing Anckarström in the May 6 and 9 performances.

Tickets and additional performance information is available online.

After wrapping up Ballo, Hvorostovsky leaves to perform concerts in St. Petersburg, Munich, Calistoga and Yountville, California.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky's busy Verdi schedule; Red Square broadcast with Anna Netrebko

Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Rigoletto (left)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky's anticipated reprisal of the title character of Verdi's classic operatic tragedy Rigoletto is happening on Friday, May 17 at the Teatro di San Carlo. Gilda will be sung by Desirée Rancatore and performances run through May 25. Fellow barihunk Christopher Margiera is also in the cast as Marullo.

From June 2-12, the "Siberian Hunky" joins the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia for concert performances of Verdi's Un ballo in maschera under the baton of music director Antonio Pappano. The concerts also feature Liudmyla Monastryrska and the thrilling Ulrica of Dolora Zajick.

On June 19, Dmitri will star in a spectacular open-air concert at Moscow's Red Square. Led by Constantine Orbelian, Hvorostovsky will be joined by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko for the landmark performance. The concert will be televised live on RUTV, with broadcasts scheduled on the Arte network and ZDF. We'll have additional details in a future post.

Netrebko, of course, is the wife of barihunk Erwin Schrott. They will be performing together at the Red Ribbon Celebration Concert in Vienna on May 24th.

Saturday Barihunk Fest at Met and 54 Below

Keith Miller in Anna Bolena at the Met

The Saturday, December 8th matinee performance of the Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera kicks of the new HD broadcast season with a feast for the eyes. The broadcast features not one, but two, of our favorite barihunks: the "Siberian Hunky" Dmitri Hvorostovsky and former football player Keith Miller.  

Miller will sing Count Ribbing and Hvorostovsky takes on the role of Count Anckarström (Renato). Miller will also be interviewed by Kathleen Kim during the first intermission. To find you local theater click HERE. 

If you're a fan of Keith Miller, he is easy to follow online with a Facebook Fan Page, Twitter account at @KeithMillerBass and a YouTube site. 

Tenor Charles Castronovo with the Three Barihunks: Erwin Schrott, Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Ildar Abrdazakov

We don't usually post about tenors, but when THREE barihunks show up for your performance at 54 Below we take notice. That's what happened Thursday night at the famous nightclub for a performance and celebration of his new CD Dolci Napoli. Of course, Abdrazakov and Schrott are both singing in Don Giovanni at the Met with Castronovo. Hvorostovsky is in the aforementioned Ballo.

Schrott, Hvorostovsky, Castronovo and Abdrazakov (Photo Credit: Charles Martin)

Erwin Schrott, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Ildar Abrdazakov showed up to pay hommage to the man who would be a certifiable barihunk if his voice was a little lower. Fortunately, for those who missed the show, there's a second performance at midnight on Saturday. You can order his CD online.

Readers of Barihunks should use the code "menevent10" at 54 Below to receive a special $10.00 discount. 

Of course, if you like sexy men, you'll find plenty of them in our 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar. You'll also be helping out young singers, as every penny of profit goes to young artist programs:

  

Dmitri Hvorostovsky at Met CD signing this week

Dmitri Hvorostovksy and soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, who are appearing together in the Met's "Un ballo in maschera" will be signing copies of their CDs at the Met Opera Shop this Wednesday, November 28th at 3pm. Explore Hvorostovsky's discography HERE.

There are still five performances of the David Alden production of Un ballo in maschera remaining before December 14th and tickets are available online. 

Don't forget that the Siberian Hunky will also be part of the Live from Lincoln Center: 2012 Richard Tucker Gala broadcast on Thursday, December 13, 2012. Make sure to check local listings to see when it's airing on your local PBS station.

Dmitri Hvorostovksy and Sondra Radvanovsky sing Ballo:

Hvorostovsky will be joined by fellow barihunks Erwin Schrott and Ildar Abdrazakov, as well as two other outstanding baritones - Gerald Finley and Quinn Kelsey. Other singers this year include mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina, tenor Marcello Giordani, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, tenor Stephen Costello, mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, tenor Giuseppe Filianoti, tenor Marcello Giordani, soprano Ailyn Pérez and soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska.

Established in 1975 by the family of the beloved tenor a few months after his untimely death, the Foundation offers, by way of a Competition, financial support to young opera singers on the brink of important careers.

Of course, we at Barihunks have our own very special and enjoyable way to support young artist, which is our charity calendar. It's packed with 14 of the hottest barihunks in opera, so order yours today. Give the give of music education to our next generation of singers today! 

Keith Miller: Jockera Star

Keith Miller (photo Pavel Antonov)

We have to commend American barihunk Keith Miller's public relations machine, as they've gotten unlimited mileage on his "jock to opera" story. We've even posted it a few times and figured why not post the latest Associated Press story. After all, it's another excuse to look at his amazing body. 

Miller next appears at the Metropolitan Opera in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera"alongside Dmitri Hvorostovsky, opening November 8th, followed by a global high-definition broadcast December 8th.

Keith Miller - Chest voice?

NEW YORK (Associated Press) — Keith Miller was a bruising fullback out of the University of Colorado who never quite made it to the National Football League. He has, however, become a star at the Metropolitan Opera.

How Miller made the unlikely transition from football to the pinnacle of opera is an all-American story of reinvention, made all the more amazing by the fact that he had no formal musical training when he set out to become a singer.

"This is the real thing, this is the juice," says the 38-year-old Miller. "Instead of a number, you're a character, but the spirit of competition is the same, and you do it for the love of the art versus the love of the game."

It began almost by chance in 1994, while still at Colorado, when he took his girlfriend to see a traveling production of the Broadway musical "The Phantom of the Opera." He was so enthralled that tears rolled down his face. He bought a CD and learned the songs.

[Continue reading HERE]