Barihunk quartet in Washington Opera's Don Giovanni

Andrew Bogard, Hunter Enoch, Timothy J Bruno & Michael Adams (clockwise top L)

Four barihunks, who are past or present members of the Domingo - Cafritz Young Artist Program, will be featured in a semi-staged concert performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni a the Kennedy Center on Friday,  March 17, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.

The featured barihunks are Michael Adams as Don Giovanni, Andrew Bogard as Leporello, Hunter Enoch as Masetto and Timothy J. Bruno as the Commendatore. Also in the cast will be Raquel González as Donna Anna, Ariana Wehr as Zerlina, Rexford Tester as Don Ottavio and 
Kerriann Otaño as Donna Elvira. The production will be directed Francesca Zambello, who is generally credited with coining the term "barihunk".

Tickets are available online.

Teddy Bare's Debut as Figaro

Teddy Tahu Rhodes is taking on the title role in the Marriage of Figaro at the Sydney Opera from July 23 through August 14, when he'll be replaced by Richard Anderson. Fans of Rhodes are aware that he's already established himself as a Count to be reckoned with, so there is quite a bit of buzz Down Under about his debut in the title role.

Warning: People wanting to see "Teddy Bare" should note that this is a very traditional production with no skin shots. If you can't live without the obligatory shot of Teddy Bare's chest, check out the video below from the Washington National Opera.



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Liam Bonner in Hamlet at WNO

The Baltimore Sun features barihunk Liam Bonner prominently in their article about Thomas'Hamlet at the Washington National Opera. The opera opens on Wednesday, May 19th and runs through June 4th.

The Sun wrote:

Liam Bonner, the vibrant young baritone who will alternate in the title role with Michael Chioldi (both are substitutes for the originally announced Carlos Alvarez), is another admirer of the piece. "I'm not sure why it got lost over the years," Bonner says. "I know a lot of people who are wary of it. But I love it. It's a very challenging work and complex on many levels."

Read the entire article HERE.

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Count Almaviva's Skin Shot

[Teddy Tahu Rhodes in WNO's Marriage of Figaro]


The Washington National Opera has released a preview video of their current production of "Le Nozze de Figaro" with barihunks Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Count Almaviva and Ildar Abdrazakov as Figaro. As you can see from the screen cap, "Teddy Bare" manages to give the audience a little shot of skin even when he's not singing barihunk classics such as Dead Man Walking, Don Giovanni or A Streetcar Named Desire.

There are two performances left with Rhodes and Abdrazakov and one with the alternate cast of Trevor Scheunemann and Kostas Smoriginas. Visit the Washington National Opera website for casts and times.



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Double Delight in D.C.

[Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Ildar Abradzakov]

We like the increasingly popular trend of casting multiple barihunks in a production, as with our recent posts of Opera Atelier and Michigan Opera Theater. We're eager to see the pairing of Teddy Tahu Rhodes' Count Almaviva with Ildar Abdrazakov's Figaro in Washington Opera's "Le Nozze di Figaro." The barihunk pairing in Chicago's Nozze between Mariusz Kwiecien and Kyle Ketelsen was a huge success.

The production runs from April 24-May 7 with alternating casts, so check the website.

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Mario Caria Makes U.S. Mainstage Debut in Cincinnati

You have to give the Cincinnati Opera some credit. First, their recent Le Nozze di Figaro featured Barihunks favorite Teddy Tahu Rhodes, then they follow it up with American mainstage debut of Mario Caria. Caria, by the way, also made his U.S. debut at the Cincinnati May Festival. Maybe it's Cincinnati's famous chili, but whatever is bringing the barihunks to this quaint river town, keep 'em coming!

For more information visit: http://www.cincinnatiopera.org/content.jsp?articleId=719

The 32-year-old Sardinian has studied with famed soprano Mirella Freni and has won a series of prestigious vocal awards, including the audience prize at the 2007 Operalia competition. It's easy to see why he'd be an audience favorite, with his smoky Mediterranean good looks and perfect Verdian baritone.

His next U.S. appearance will be with the Washington National Opera portraying Figaro in Rossini's classic comedy: http://www.dc-opera.org/performances/barber.asp

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Barihunks in a Fishing Village: Phares and Okulitch

[Top photos of Daniel Okulitch; Keith Phares photos by Dario Acosta]

Although Benjamin Britten operas provide this site with a plethora of barihunks, it usually doesn't come from the magnificent opera Peter Grimes. Usually, it's The Rape of Lucretia, Midsummer Night's Dream or Billy Budd that provide us with the most scintillating pictures.

One of our readers sent us a picture of Keith Phares with a note that he found him the hottest singer in the production, despite Daniel Okulitch's portrayal of Swallow [stop giggling]. Our view is that they're both hot singers, even dressed up as fishing town villagers.

Opera News profiled Keith Phares and wrote:

Keith Phares...started making music as a trumpet player in the pit orchestra of his New Jersey high school's annual musical. After the baritone and his family moved to North Carolina, Phares kept up his trumpet playing, but his senior year brought his first taste of center-stage stardom. "The school had no orchestra. They said, 'We need guys. Can you audition?' And believe it or not, I got cast as Emile de Becque in South Pacific."

Phares entered the University of Richmond as a psychology major, but a summer-stock gig in The Secret Garden set him on the path to serious vocal study and stints at New England Conservatory and Juilliard Opera Center. He made his Opera Theatre of Saint Louis debut in 1999, as the Second Noble in Paul Schoenfield's The Merchant and the Pauper, and was soon tapped by the company for two high-profile assignments that showed off his warm, supple baritone and wry, uncommonly expressive command of text — Pip in Dominick Argento's revised Miss Havisham's Fire (2001) and Charles Lindbergh in the world premiere of Loss of Eden (2002).

It was in Saint Louis that Phares's eye was caught by mezzo Patricia Risley, who sang Estella to his Pip in Miss Havisham. "When we met, I figured that she was so far out of my league, professionally and personally, that I didn't have a prayer. That changed." They were married in 2004, and they try to sing together when their schedules allow. "It's great working with her — we don't dicker about dumb things."

Phares's leading-man looks belie his affinity for off-beat, modern roles such as Charlie in the 2008 world premiere of Jake Heggie's Last Acts (Three Decembers) at Houston Grand Opera (an assignment he repeats next season at San Francisco Opera); the Pilot in The Little Prince at New York City Opera and Boston Lyric Opera (2005); Chou En-Lai in Portland Opera's 2006 Nixon in China ("I feel comfortable being the wingman"); and the barnstorming preacher in the world premiere of Robert Aldridge's Elmer Gantry at Nashville Opera (2007). "That was a great big punishing sing — it was wild. I don't think of myself as a real alpha-male type, but as Elmer, I had a blast.

You can search this site for information on Daniel Okulitch, who has been a regular feature and a fan favorite.

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Another Emerging Barihunk: Alexander Vinogradov

[Photo of Vinogradov as Escamillo from the Washington Post]

As promised, this week is dedicated to the Barihunks bench. Meet Alexander Vinogradov a 32-year-old Russian barihunk who sings regularly at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. As with many bass-baritones, his barihunk roles are limited, but he's made Escamillo his calling card and performs both Masetto and Leporello in Don Giovanni.

Vinogradov is known as a bit of a brainiac and studied at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology before embarking on a music career. In 2003, he was a finalist in Plácido Domingo's Operalia International Competition, having already won or placed in a number of vocal competitions. As you can see from this video of him in Tokyo, he has a rich, full sound that is wonderfully secure. More importantly, he's one hot bowl of barihunk borscht.

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Washington D.C. Abuzz; L.A. Disappointed

[Photos from top to bottom: Markus Werba, Nathan Gunn and Teddy Tahu Rhodes]

Washington D.C. is absolutely abuzz and the excitement is palpable. No, I'm not talking about the January 20th Presidential Inauguration. Washington D.C. was a bit gloomy when they learned that budget realities were forcing the cancellation of the planned Ring Cycle. But opera fanatics cheered up when it was announced that barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes would be singing Le Nozze di Figaro as the Count. Even the heralded Washington Post led with the tidbit in their article about the 2009-2010 season.

On the other coast, our Barihunks readers are not too thrilled about the LA Opera's revival of Zauberflote. Barihunks was playing up the fact that this opera was loaded with hunk talent, even on the tenor side. Here is a report from one of readers:

"Nathan Gunn looked like Cyndi Lauper gone mad, with a big blonde wig and a pair of tights that wouldn't have looked good on a ballet dancer. Gunther Groissboeck came out completely unrecognizable in a giant triangle (or whatever). He looked like a reject from the movie "Death to Smoochy." Matthew Polenzani looked like Heath Ledger as the Joker. What a disaster and the second act plodded along FOREVER!"

Then I got this delivered late last night from another reader:

"Is the Los Angeles Opera trying to go out of business? First Rasputin, which was the worst opera I ever saw until LA Opera's The Fly. Now they destroy the standard repertoire with a ridiculous and sometimes ghoulish Magic Flute. If Markus Werba is a barihunk the folks in LA sure didn't want you to know it. I can't wait for the Kenneth Branagh film of the opera so I can see what [tenor] Joe Kaiser really looks like. He was washed in kabuki makeup! DISASTER!"

Ouch!

I was planning to make the quick trek to La La Land for this production, but was sidelined with the flu. Sounds like the flu was more bearable than the opera.

I try to keep this site positive, so if anyone saw this production who liked it, I'd love to hear from you.

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Oh, to be one of these women...

Erwin "Hot" Schrott seems to have this effect with people on stage and off. When Leporello sings that he's seduces 1,003 women in Spain, the line usually draws a laugh. When I saw him perform the role in New York, there wasn't a peep, as if the audience was saying in unison, "That seems about right!"

Lee Poulis sings "Cruda, funesta smania" from Lucia

Kudos to one of our loyal readers for bringing Lee Poulis back to my attention with this shirtless photo. His career has rocketed in the last year with him portraying major roles in Santiago, Chemnitz, Bonn and with Washington Opera. People who have worked with him say that the Harvard graduate is the smartest guy in opera.
He also has a cameo as the Marquis on the Renee Fleming/Rolando Villazon "La Traviata" out on DVD.
We've seen pictures of him as Papageno [as seen on this site], but have heard from one reader that he was an adorable Masetto, as well. Anyone with pictures of this performance or others, please email them to MikeOpera@mac.com.