Another Opera with Two Barihunks

Back in February Barihunks raved about our latest find, the lean and beautiful Vittorio Prato (http://barihunks.blogspot.com/search?q=prato). He was performing with fellow barihunk Erwin Schrott in Faust in Valencia.

Once again, the wait for photos was well worth it as we received this photo from the dress rehearsals. Barihunks has to go on record as loving this trend to cast two hunks in a single performance, like the recent post of Schaldenbrand and Valone in Boston Lyric Opera's Don Giovanni or Alex Esposito and Mariusz Kwiecien in London's Don Giovanni: http://barihunks.blogspot.com/2008/10/don-giovanni-and-leporello.html.

Also, to our loyal readers, keep the pictures and hot tips coming!

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________

Michael Todd Simpson Showing Some Skin

[Photo by Brian Dickie]

We've already promoted the Chicago Opera Theater's production of La Tragédie de Carmen which runs through May 15, but here is one more picture from the production and a party from the opening night party. It looks like sexy Michael Todd Simpson likes to show as much skin off stage as on stage and we're not complaining! Clearly, COT is part of the "look as good you sound" movement in opera, as you can see from Simpson's co-stars tenor Noah Stewart and mezzo Sandra Eddy.

For more information visit: http://www.chicagooperatheater.org/tix/season/carmen.html#.

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________

Bevy of Barihunks at Boston Lyric Opera

[Photo of barechested Chris Schaldenbrand by Dex Woodeard; photo of Valone and Schaldenbrand by T. Charles Erickson - Both courtesy of BLO]

Once again, Mozart's Don Giovanni is providing Barihunks with a stage full of hunky baritones. Two readers fired off emails about Chris Schaldenbrand walking onstage at Boston Lyric Opera with his shirt open as the title character, so the search was on for photos. Luckily, BLO was kind enough to send us rehearsal photos.

The Don Giovanni is Chris Schaldenbrand, who has appeared on this site before. But the pictures also revealed another barihunk in the role of Masetto, Joseph Valone. You can watch them in action at: http://www.blo.org/video/donG_b_roll.html.

For more information or to buy tickets to the remaining performance on Tuesday, May 5, click here: http://www.blo.org. I've also included the banner for Don Giovanni from the BLO site, because they always have great marketing. Clearly, this image was based on Schaldenbrand who looks just as good animated. Even if you can't make the opera, it's worth visiting their site which is as interesting as some of the bigger houses.

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________

Emerging Barihunk Grzegorz Pazik

Our roster of Hot Poles continues with emerging barihunk Grzegorz Pazik. What caught our eye was the shot of his pec in the top photo. Pazik was performing Tarquinius in Britten's Rape of Lucretia at the Polish National Opera where he has been refining his craft.

Pazik graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music and went on to do well in numerous competitions. He made his North American debut as Guślarz in the Canadian premiere of Moniuszko's "Ghosts", conducted by Michael Newnham, at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto and in Hamilton.

We look forward to many more pictures of Pazik to add to our gallery of Kwiecien and Kitala.

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________

Nathan Gunn Premiers Previn Opera

Nathan Gunn is premiering his second Andre Previn opera, Brief Encounter, based on the play by Noel Coward. Top Gunn joins his colleague from Previn's Streetcar Named Desire, Elizabeth Futral at the Houston Grand Opera. According to the program notes, the opera is an honest and compassionate look at emotional infidelity with a couple that is torn between love and loyalty.

For additional information go to: http://www.houstongrandopera.org/briefencounter

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________

Big, Beefy Jason Howard

Somehow Welsh barihunk Jason Howard has eluded this site. Thanks to a reader who forwarded the three Wotan pictures from his recent performance in Strasbourg, this big, beefy singer can now be enjoyed by all of our readers.

Howard has sung a number of barihunk roles including Billy Budd [top photo]. Other roles include Escamillo, Zurga, Jokanaan and Don Giovanni. He performs regularly with his native Welsh National Opera, as well as the English National Opera, Covent Garden, Scottish Opera and Seattle Opera.

Upcoming performances include Marcello in La Bohème at Welsh National Opera, Iago in Verdi's Otello at Opera Carolina and Jokanaan in Salome at Minnesota Opera.

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________

Chris Herbert in Albert Herring

One of the best kept secrets in the opera world is Opera Vivente in Baltimore, which we've hailed as having some of the best marketing and hottest singers. They continue to hire the hottest barihunks and they've re-engaged Chris Herbert to play Sid in Britten's comic masterpiece Albert Herring.

Herbert's pictures from Opera Vivente's Orpheus in the Underworld remain some of the most popular on this site: http://barihunks.blogspot.com/search?q=herbert

But Herbert is as much brain as brawn (and that's doubly sexy). He writes insightful pieces about foreign affairs on the Huffington Post, the Foreign Policy Association, Ground Report and on his own blog. Check out: http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/author/christopherherbert/,
http://www.groundreport.com/ChrisHerbert, http://www.simpleintelligence.org/ and
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-herbert-and-victoria-kataoka-rebuffet. Herbert is not some crazy opera singer ranting about foreign policy, he earned B.A. in Music and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Yale University and an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University. [Too bad Miss California isn't this smart.]

The run of Albert Herring opens tonight and you can find out more at: http://www.operavivente.org/current.html

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________