Giorgio Caoduro as Riccardo in I Puritani

Let's face it, an opera titled The Puritans is unlikely to provide much barihunk fodder. I doubt that even Calixto Bieito could sex up this opera (http://barihunks.blogspot.com/search?q=armide). However, we've learned that Giorgio Caoduro has a way of making any role look pretty hot. Check out his booty shaking performance that we posted from the usually unsexy Il signor Bruschino by Rossini at: http://barihunks.blogspot.com/search?q=caoduro.

InstantEncore had this description of his performance of Puritani from Athens in April of this year:

Italian Barihunk Giorgio Caoduro, sang an impressive Riccardo, with his round, sonorous baritone, looked totally at ease on stage and received a storm of applause after his high A sostenuta-like-there's-no-tomorrow at "Suoni la tromba".

You can watch a clip of "Suoni la tromba" below, which unfortunately isn't the best quality.

We're glad that they dubbed him a barihunk in their review, so that he can join some of our other favorites whose reviews seldom fail mention our favorite moniker. Singers like Nathan Gunn, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Erwin Schrott. Welcome to the barihunks club Giorgio!

Caoduro's upcoming performance include Count Almaviva in Nozze and Rodrigo in Don Carlo at Bologna, and Figaro in Barber at Toulouse.

For all of you tenor fans, you can hear Bryan Hymel sing the fiendishly difficult aria
"A te, o cara" from this production with a full chest Db at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is0UUg3oH4k. Eglise Gutiérrez was the Elvira in this production.

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Peter Mattei in Onegin and Don Giovanni

This post is in response to the numerous demands for the Swedish baritone Peter Mattei. We've been reluctant to post him, but he is particularly sexy in the Onegin clip and sings quite beautifully.

Mattei studied at the Royal Music and Opera Academies in Stockholm and made his début in "La finta giardiniera" at the Drottningholm Court Theatre in 1990. He has appeared in leading rôles in The Bacchae (with Ingmar Bergman), Die Zauberflöte, The Maid of Orléans, Don Carlos, Yevgeny Onegin, Le nozze di Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Giovanni, La Bohème, Tannhäuser, and L’elisir d’amore at the Royal Swedish Opera.

He has recently sung both Giovanni and Onegin, but we're looking forward to his Billy Budd in Frankfurt in next year.

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Christopher Bolduc as Enrico

Christopher Bolduc must be a nice guy, as his colleagues at the Philadelphia Academy of Vocal Arts are always eager to apprise us of his latest conquests. Here is a video and photo of the young barihunk performing Enrico in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor." Bolduc is definitely one of the new group of singers who look as good as they sound. This video shows his enormous potential.

As usual, Ft. Worth Opera wasted no time is scooping up yet another barihunk, as he's scheduled to sing Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore in the Texas city in the near future. He will also be performong Schaunard in La Boheme at the Palm Beach Opera. Rumor has it that he's also working on Marcello in the same opera for an unveiling in the not too distant future.

We're hoping for some more barihunk roles like Zurga or Tarquinius. Any impressarios out there casting those roles?

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Another Hot Attila; Cuban Homero Pérez Miranda

This site receives a lot of requests to post singers in Verdi's Attila and they invariably come from Spanish speaking countries. This request was no different, as a reader in Argentina alerted us to this video of bass-barihunk Homero Pérez Miranda singing the title role at the Avenida Theater in Buenos Aires. We've also added the stunning duet "Avrai tu l'universo, resti l'Italia a me" which he sings with baritone Omar Carrion.

Homero Pérez Miranda studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte de La Habana in Cuba before completing his studies in Chile. Most of his career has centered around Buenos Aires and Santiago where he has had huge successes in the Verdi roles of Macbeth, Attila and Amonasro. He has recently made highly acclaimed forays into the German repertoire, singing in Salome and Flying Dutchman.

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Günter Papendell Naked

The recent production of Gluck's Armida at the Komische Oper in Berlin had lots of nudity. We couldn't tell from the attached videos if barihunk Günter Papendell exposed his schwanse as Ubaldo, but we found a picture of him in a locker room that's a delightful tease.

Pependall is a regular on the Komische stage and is also singing Schaunard in La Bohème, Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte this year. He already has a number of barihunk roles behind him, including Don Giovanni, Escamillo, and Zurga in Bizet's Les Pecheurs de Perles.

The baritone was born in Krefeld and completed his studies at the Music Academy of Munich in 2005.

Make sure to watch the videos if you want a good dose of operatic skin!

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Emerging Barihunk Christopher Temporelli

Emerging baribunk Christopher Temporelli is a gifted singer and pianist. He received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance from the University of Michigan and refined his technique at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany. He has performed on the piano at music festivals in England and Russia.

The photo above is as Neptune in Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria at Opera Atelier. He has subsequently performed at New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera and Fort Worth Opera.

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Opera News: Bass John Relyea Named as Recipient of Met's Fourth Annual Beverly Sills Award

[Photo: © Dario Acosta 2009]

The Metropolitan Opera announced today that bass John Relyea has been named as the recipient of the fourth annual Beverly Sills Award. The prize, which is presented annually to a young singer between the ages of 25 and 40 who has already appeared in a featured role with the Metropolitan Opera, carries a $50,000 award, making it the largest of its kind in the United States.

Established in 2006 with an endowment gift from Agnes Varis, managing director of the Met's board, and her husband Karl Leichtman, the award honors the late Beverly Sills by providing developing young artists with funds to help further their careers through voice lessons, vocal coaching, language lessons, related travel costs and other forms of professional assistance.

"I am profoundly honored to be receiving this award," said Relyea, who was presented with the prize in his dressing room prior to Wednesday's performance of La Cenerentola, in which he sings the role of Alidoro. "While I was never able to get to know Ms. Sills well, we did meet on a couple of occasions, and she sent me a couple of very supportive and complimentary notes before performances. It flattered and delighted me to know she was watching me, and taking the time to make such warm gestures. I would also like to give my deepest thanks to Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman, and the Metropolitan Opera for choosing me as this year's recipient. I am greatly humbled to be recognized in the presence of the legacy which Ms. Sills created for the world of opera, and the paragon of her artistry which so many of us continue to strive for throughout our singing careers.”

Relyea, who made his Met debut in 2000 as Alidoro, is the fourth recipient of the award, which was first given to baritone Nathan Gunn in 2006, and subsequently given to mezzo Joyce DiDonato in 2007 and tenor Matthew Polenzani in 2008. Over nine years, Relyea has sung a dozen roles at the Met, ranging from Méphistophélès in this season's new production of La Damnation de Faust, to Mozart's Figaro. Last season, he sang Banquo in Adrian Noble's production of Macbeth, and, during the 2006-07 season, performed the roles of Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and Giorgio (I Puritani); Relyea also assumed the role of Garibaldo in the 2004 Met premiere of Handel's Rodelinda.

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