Last Chance for Matthew Worth's "Owen Wingrave"

[Photo Credits: ALL PHOTOS BY LIZ LAUREN; Top photo inlcudes Robin Leggate, second photo includes Mason Baker (boy) and Blake Montgomery, third photo includes Kevin Anderson, bottom photo is a screen cap from WGN TV]

Today is your last chance to see Matthew Worth perform in Benjamin Britten's timely opera "Owen Wingrave." As an enticement to those of you within traveling distance of the Windy City, here are some more pictures, courtesy of the Chicago Opera Theater. If you haven't been to one of their performances, you are missing great singers and wonderful productions on a limited budget. They may not be the Chicago Lyric Opera, but they can pack the same punch as their bigger counterpart. And when was the last time you saw Owen Wingrave in a big house?

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

You can watch Matthew Worth perform "If I Loved You" from Rogers and Hammerstein's "Carousel" at: http://www.chicagooperatheater.org/news/2009previews-WGNmidday.html

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T

Christopher Maltman as Oreste

The Hamburg State Opera is home to two of our favorite barihunks, Wilhelm Schwinghammer and Alexander Tsymbalyuk. Needless to say, we keep a close eye on what's happening on their stage. We were thrilled to see that Hamburg is performing Iphigenie en Tauride with another of our favorite hunks.

Christopher Maltman is performing Oreste in Iphigenie en Tauride with hunkentenor Toby Spence as Pylade. Perhaps neither is showing us as much skin as the cast in the recent Armide in Berlin, but it's a total joy to watch Maltman onstage with his raw sexuality, especially when paired with Toby Spence.

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Matthew Worth in COT's Owen Wingrave

There are still two remaining performances of Matthew Worth in the Chicago Opera Theater's production of Britten's Owen Wingrave. If you can't make it to Chicago, then you can enjoy the trailer posted above.

For more information visit: www.chicagooperatheater.org

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Celebrating Wagner's Birthday With His Sexiest Barihunk: Gunther Groissboeck

Richard Wagner was born on May 22, 1813, so we're celebrating with the only now that we know how at Barihunks: Posting pictures of the hottest Wagnerian barihunk in the world today. That selection was pretty easy, as Gunther Groissboeck brings his teutonic good looks to thirteen Wagner roles in ten different operas.

The photo above is Groissboeck performing Landgraf Hermann in "Tannhäuser“ at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in 2008. His next Wagner roles are König Marke in Tristan at the Bregenzer Festspiele in August and then beginning in October he performs König Heinrich in Lohengrin at the Houston Grand Opera. In one of opera's most idiotic marketing oversights, HGO doesn't even feature Groissboeck on their website (http://www.houstongrandopera.org/lohengrin).

If you can think of a hotter and hunkier Wagnerian barihunk than Groissboeck, we'd like to hear from you.

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Reader Submissions: Schrott, Leibundgut and Moore

Some of our best pictures come from our readers. Your submissions are always appreciated and encouraged, because they make the site much more interesting. This week, a number of pictures were submitted that we want to share with you.

Here are two pictures of Erwin Schrott taken at the stage door in Salzburg by a fan. In one of them you can see a glimpse of his chest hair. Sexy! It's amazing how hot this guy can look after a performance. Ms. Nebrebko is one lucky woman.

Schrott's next performances are in Bari, Italy in Elixir of Love, then he's off to Vienna to portray his most famed role, Don Giovanni.

The black and white photo was discovered by a reader on www.theater.ch and it shows Michael Leibundgut in a sensuous pose that almost looks like a men's fragrance ad in Vanity Fair.

Leibundgut is in Bern singing Ballo and Midsummer Night's Dream (http://www.stadttheaterbern.ch).

The bottom photo was sent to us by a fellow barihunk (asking for anonymity), but alerting us to this smoking hot picture of David Adam Moore in Billy Budd at the New Israeli Opera.

On June 6th, Moore opens in A Midsummer Night's Dream at La Scala, in what may be one of the Top 10 operatic experiences in the world this year. The production is staged by Robert Carsen with choreography by Matthew Bourne. That alone would make this production worth it, but the dream cast includes David Daniels as Oberon, barihunk Daniel Okulitch as Theseus, Moore as Demetrius, the stunning Rosemary Joshua as Tytanie, Erin Wall as Helena and Matthew Rose as Bottom. You can find a picture of Matthew Rose in Midsummer from Glyndebourne at http://www.askonasholt.co.uk/green/green/home.nsf/0/BE1C7C604F90E47F8025742B00579C7D?OpenDocument. For more information visit: http://www.teatroallascala.org/en/stagioni/2008_2009/opera-e-balletto/a_midsummer_night_s_dream.html

Keep the pictures coming!

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Emerging Barihunk Michael Leibundgut

[Top photo by Annette Boutellier]
Our series of emerging barihunks continues with Michael Leibundgut after an email from Switzerland alerted us to a number of hot baritones performing in a country more famed for chocolate, banks and watches. Leibundgut completed his studies at the Music Academy in Basel and then further honed his craft with Samuel Ramey and Elisabeth Schwartzkopf.

Leibundgut is currently performing "Un Ballo in Maschera" and barihunk favorite "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in Bern. The top photo is from the performance of Midsummer Night's Dream with Carlos Esquival sporting a big schwanstucker [click photo to enlarge]. Leibundgut is on the far right of the picture.

He was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich which has had a number of barihunks pass through its program. So far his career has been primarily in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. Although he sings a wide range of music, he has made his mark in a number of contemporary operas. He is also featured on a CD called "20th Century Songs From Switzerland" with works by Othmar Schoeck, Meinrad Schutter and Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini.

Take a look at the guy next to Leibundgut in the Midsummer picture. He's our next post.

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Happy Birthday Ezio Pinza (May 18, 1892-May 9, 1957)

Ezio Fortunato Pinza was one of the greatest bass-baritones ever and an early barihunk. Many young singers today still mention him as an inspiration.

It is said that Pinza's father insisted that he give up civil engineering to become an opera singer. He switched careers, studying at the Conservatory of Bologna, with a three-year stint at La Scala in Milan. His New York debut at the Met was in 1926 where he sang bass until 1949. He then launched a third career, starring on Broadway in "South Pacific", leading to roles in records, radio, movies, and television.



Here he is later in life after he crossed over into movies and Broadway. Here he's singing to Lana Turner.



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