Heather Buck and Hadleigh Adams(Photo: Cory Weaver)
Bass-barihunk Hadleigh Adams is headling this year's West Edge Opera Summer Festival in Luca
Francesconi’s Quartett, directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer. The
enigmatic
and controversial opera is based on the 1982 play by the [East] German
playwright Heiner Muller (itself based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' Les Liasions dangereuses), which emphasized the author's abiding
concerns, including the inherent cruelty of human existence, the way all
relationships ultimately come down to struggles for possession and
defeat of "the other."
Elkhanah Pulitzer is directing
three performances, which opens tonight and has additional performances on August 16 and 19 at the Craneway Conference Center in Richmond, California, which is a former Ford assembly plant
on the San Francisco Bay designed by the legendary industrial architect
Albert Kahn. West Edge Opera has become renowned for their choice of
unusual and interesting locations to stage their operas.
Heather Buck and Hadleigh Adams(Photo: Cory Weaver)
Hadleigh
Adams will perform the role of the Vicomte de Valmont, joined by
soprano Heather Buck as the Marquise de Merteuil. The Marquise de
Merteuil and the Viscount de Valmont are trapped in a salon having
renounced all sense of love and play seductive mind games taking on the
roles of the lovers Tourvel and Volanges. Hence, the title Quartett.
Composer Luca Francesconi described the piece as a challenge to our
ideas of opera, of society, of the dominance of Western thinking: “Don’t
dare to come if you can't accept that you need to analyze what you do
and who you are. This piece is violent, it’s sex, it’s blasphemy, it’s
the absence of mercy.”
Heather Buck and Hadleigh Adams(Photo: Cory Weaver)
The opera was originally
commissioned
by La Scala and has since been performed at the Royal Opera in London,
Vienna, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Rouen, and at the Spoleto Festival. The
score features two orchestras: a live chamber orchestra with
electronics, and a recorded full orchestra and chorus created for the La
Scala Premiere.
The remainder of West Edge Opera's season includes Claude Debussy’s lone opera Pélleas and Mélisande,
with tenor David Blalock and Kendra Broom in the title roles, along
with Efrain Solis as Golaud, contralto Malin Fritz as Geneviéve, and
bass-baritone Philip Skinner singing the role of King Arkel. Remaining performances are on August 12 and17
Heather Buck and Hadleigh Adams(Photo: Cory Weaver)
The final offering is Matt Marks and Paul Peers’ Mata Hari, which
originally premiered at the New York’s Prototype Festival in January of
2017. The cast includes mezzo-soprano Molly Mahoney as Sister Leonide,
tenor Samuel Faustine as Vadime, and Daniel Cilli, Nikolas Nackley and
Jason Sarten as the military men that become Mata Hari’s lovers and
targets. There is one remaining performance on August 18.
After Quartett, Hadleigh Adams returns to his home base at the San Francisco Opera to sing Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca this Fall with Carmen Giannattasio in the title role and tenor Brian Jagde as her lover.
Gabriel Preisser, Hadleigh Adams and Daniel Cilli at a dress rehearsal
Regular readers of this site know that we have a particular fondness for Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias. Apparently, our readers do, as well, as the production from Barcelona remains one of our most visited posts (barihunk Gabriel Bermudez appearing in the buff may account for some of that traffic!).
San Francisco's innovative young opera company Opera Parallèle has assembled three popular and talented barihunks for their double-bill of Weill's Mahagonny Songspiel and Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias for their three performances at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from April 25 - 27 under conductor Nicole Paiement. Gabriel Preisser performs Bobby in Mahagonny and Le mari in the Poulenc, Daniel Cilli is Billy and Le directeur/Presto, and San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Hadleigh Adams sings Le gendarme.
Gabriel Preisser and Hadleigh Adams (left); Hadleigh Adams and Daniel Cilli (right)
Director Brian Staufenbiel has seamlessly combined the two works, beginning with Mahogonny set in a future where water is in scarce supply and a theater troupe dragging an old boat (that the company found in the Santa Cruz Mountains) stops to perform Les Mamelles. The Poulenc opera is about a woman who becomes a man and changes the submissive role of women in
her world, as her husband overpopulates the world by giving birth to
thousands of babies.
The Poulenc, which includes members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus to great effect, will be presented in the re-orchestration for smaller orchestra for the first time in the United States.
Hadleigh Adams and Renee Rapier
Gabriel Preisser took the opera world by storm with his portrayal of Lt. Gordon in the world premiere of Kevin Putz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night with Minnesota Opera and Opera Philadelphia. He will reprise the role this summer with the Cincinnati Opera with tenor Thomas Glenn, who is Charlie/Lacouf/Le Journaliste/Le fils in the Weill/Poulenc double-bill. He'll also be joined by fellow barihunks Joseph Lattanzi, Philip Addis, Craig Irvin and Andrew Wilkowske. Performances are on July 10 and 12 and tickets are available online.
Hadleigh Adams made his debut with the San Francisco Opera as Luther and Schlémil in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann and in several roles in the world premiere of Mark Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. He'll appear with the company again this season as the Jailer in Puccini's Tosca.
Daniel Cilli heads to the Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre this summer to sing Javert in Les Misérables. During the 2012-13 season, he performed the title role Carlo
Gesualdo in the premiere of Dante
DeSilva's Gesualdo: Prince of Madness with Opera Parallèle.
For those unfamiliar with Opera Parallèle, it's a company that you should keep an eye on, as they are doing some of the most innovative and interesting opera on the West Coast. They've produced Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in a double-bill with Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, the world premiere of Jacques Desjardins’ re-orchestration of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, the San Francisco Bay Area premiere of Philip Glass’ Orphée, the first West Coast performances of John Rea’s chamber version of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, the world premiere of Lou Harrison’s opera Young Caesar with a nude scene featuring barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu, Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts and the world premiere of Luciano Chessa’s A Heavenly Act.
We've always wondered why some opera companies don't use their singers in their marketing materials, particularly when they have marketable appearances. We were thrilled to see that Pinchgut Opera in Australia has Hadleigh Adams' notoriously handsome face prominently featured on their marketing materials for Vivaldi's Bajazet.
The performances will be the Southern Hemisphere premiere of the opera. Hadleigh Adams is wrapping up
his second season as a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and
returning to Pinchgut after a successful run as Pollux in their
production of Rameau's Castor & Pollux in 2012.
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in
1735 and is a pastiche of Vivaldi's own arias, as well as those by
Johann Adolph Hasse,
Geminiano Giacomelli, Nicola Porpora and Riccardo Broschi. The opera is
also known as Il Tamerlano and the story was also successfully set to music by Handel.
Hadleigh Adams in Pinchgut Opera's Castor & Pollux
Vivaldi wove into the opera an underlying tale of power struggles and
invasion, reflective of the ones going on at the time, when Neopolitan
operas were trouncing their local Venetian counterparts in popularity.
Music associated with Neapolitan composers is thus cleverly designated
to the invaders Tamerlano, Irene and Andronico.
Vivaldi’s
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in
1735. An opera of romantic entanglement and love triangles, Bajazet
tells the tale of a struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the
Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars. When Bajazet’s daughter
Asteria is threatened with marriage to the invading ruler, she conspires
to murder him. The plot thickens after Tamerlano’s former betrothed,
Irene, turns up to reveal the scheme, having taken issue with being
pushed aside onto Tamerlano’s Greek ally (Andronico) who, unfairly, is
also in love with Asteria - See more at:
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/news/pinchgut-opera-launches-2015-season#sthash.jSqY461i.dpuf
Vivaldi’s
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in
1735. An opera of romantic entanglement and love triangles, Bajazet
tells the tale of a struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the
Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars. When Bajazet’s daughter
Asteria is threatened with marriage to the invading ruler, she conspires
to murder him. The plot thickens after Tamerlano’s former betrothed,
Irene, turns up to reveal the scheme, having taken issue with being
pushed aside onto Tamerlano’s Greek ally (Andronico) who, unfairly, is
also in love with Asteria - See more at:
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/news/pinchgut-opera-launches-2015-season#sthash.jSqY461i.dpuf
Adams has maintained a busy schedule this season while a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, having sung Schaunard in La boheme, the Marquis in La Traviata, Grand commissioner in Madame Butterfly and Jailer in Tosca. He also performed Gendarme inPoulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias with San Francisco's innovative young company Opera Parallèle.
Performances are on July 4, 5, 7 & 8 2015 at City Recital Hall Angel Place in Sydney. Tickets go on sale on February 9th, so mark your calendars. Also in the cast is
Christopher Lowrey as Tamerlano, Helen Sherman as Irene, Emily Edmonds
as Asteria and Russell Harcourt as Andronicus.
Zachary Gordin in our Barihunks Charity Calendar
Only 48 hours left to buy your Barihunks Charity calendar. Click below to purchase your copy now. It's a great gift, too!
Bass-barihunk Hadleigh Adams will make his long overdue European debut in a staged performance of an opera. The San Francisco-based singer will appear in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music at the Nederlandse Reisopera from March 16th through April 9th. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.
Adams will be performing the role of the buffoonish, hypocritical, yet charming Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, who sings the popular piece "In Praise of Women." The most famous piece from the opera is Desiree's "Send in the Clowns," which has been popularized by numerous singers, including Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan.
Adams has previously performed in Europe, but not in a professionally staged operatic production. He attended the Guildhall School of Music in London, where he sang Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, and also performed Bach's St Matthew Passion at the Royal National Theatre in London, as well as Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex in a concert performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since its premiere in 1973, A Little Night Music has become a staple of Broadway musical theaters and opera companies, toeing the lines between a musical, operetta and opera. Numerous writers and critics have argued whether the piece should be categorized as a musical or an operetta/opera. Although the piece is best known for its runs on Broadway and London's West End, a number of opera companies have produced the piece, including the New York City Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Australia and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler were inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night,
which involves the romantic lives of several couples. A film of the
musical was released in 1977 featuring Elizabeth Taylor, Len Cariou, Lesley-Anne Down, and Diana Rigg.
On June 4th, Adams returns to California to join the San Francisco Symphony on June 4th for Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. He then performs in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at both the Cincinnati Opera and the San Francisco Opera.
Hadleigh Adams at SF Opera's Lab Pop-Up Opera in San Francisco
For years, opera companies have been trying innovative ways to attract younger audiences to the artform. The San Francisco Opera may have figured out the formula, as their Pop-Up concert at The Chapel, an old mortuary converted into a 1914 nightclub, drew a packed audience of 500 rowdy attendees to the heart of San Francisco's hip Mission District.
Hadleigh Adams sings "Come un'ape ne'giorni d'aprile" from La Cenerentola:
Barihunk Hadleigh Adams was the perfect emcee, eliciting shouts from men
and women to take off his shirt (which he didn't do!). He was joined by
fellow barihunks Anthony Reed and Brad Walker, tenor Pene Pati, mezzo
Laura Krumm and soprano Amina Edris. All are alums of the prestigious
Merola Opera Program, who went on to become Adler Fellows with the San
Francisco Opera. They were joined by Ronny Michael Greenberg at the
piano, who recently accompanied barihunk Marco Vassalli for his U.S.
debut recital.
The SF Opera Lab explores innovative programming that celebrates the
power of the human voice theatrically in intimate spaces beyond the War
Memorial Opera House. They are also intended to be informal and drinks
are allowed at the performance.
Hadleigh Adams & Laura Krumm sing "Dunque io son" from The Barber of Seville:
The next SF Opera Lab production opens tonight with seven performances
running through APril 10th. Michael Cavanagh will direct Ana Sokolović's
Svadba-Wedding and audience members will be part of the action with
actual champagne served at the wedding. Additional information is
available online.
Hadleigh Adams will be performing Falke in Die Fledermaus with the Cincinnati Opera in June. Anthony Reed can be seen this season at the San Francisco Opera in Jenufa, Andrea Chenier, Aida and Madama Butterfly. Brad Walker will be appearing with the San Francisco Opera this season in Carmen, Andrea Chenier and The Makropulos Case.
Hadleigh Adams and Heather Buck(photo: Cory Weaver)
Bass-barihunk Hadleigh Adams will headline this year's West Edge Opera Summer Festival in Luca
Francesconi’s Quartett, directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer. The enigmatic
and controversial opera is based on the play by the [East] German playwright Heiner Muller, which emphasized the author's abiding concerns, including the inherent cruelty of human existence, the way all relationships ultimately come down to struggles for possession and defeat of "the other."
Elkhanah Pulitzer will direct three performances of the opera on August 11, 16 and 19 at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, California, which is a former Ford assembly plant on the San Francisco Bay designed by the legendary industrial architect Albert Kahn. West Edge Opera has become renowned for their choice of unusual and interesting locations to stage their operas.
Hadleigh Adams will perform the role of the Vicomte de Valmont, joined by soprano Heather Buck as the Marquise de Merteuil. The Marquise de Merteuil and the Viscount de Valmont are trapped in a salon having renounced all sense of love and play seductive mind games taking on the roles of the lovers Tourvel and Volanges. Hence, the title Quartett.
The Seduction Scene from Quartett at La scala:
Composer Luca Francesconi described the piece as a challenge to our ideas of opera, of society, of the dominance of Western thinking: “Don’t dare to come if you can't accept that you need to analyze what you do and who you are. This piece is violent, it’s sex, it’s blasphemy, it’s the absence of mercy.”
The opera was originally commissioned
by La Scala and has since been performed at the Royal Opera in London, Vienna, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Rouen, and at the Spoleto Festival. The score features two orchestras: a live chamber orchestra with
electronics, and a recorded full orchestra and chorus created for the La
Scala Premiere.
The remainder of the season includes Claude Debussy’s lone opera Pélleas and Mélisande, with tenor David Blalock and Kendra Broom in the title roles, along with Efrain Solis as Golaud, contralto Malin Fritz as Geneviéve, and bass-baritone Philip Skinner singing the role of King Arkel. Performances are on August 4, 12 and17
The final offering is Matt Marks and Paul Peers’ Mata Hari, which originally premiered at the New York’s Prototype Festival in January of 2017. The cast includes mezzo-soprano Molly Mahoney as Sister Leonide, tenor Samuel Faustine as Vadime, and Daniel Cilli, Nikolas Nackley and Jason Sarten as the military men that become Mata Hari’s lovers and targets. Performances are on August 5, 10 and 18.
After Quartett, Hadleigh Adams returns to his home base at the San Francisco Opera to sing Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca this Fall with Carmen Giannattasio in the title role and tenor Brian Jagde as her lover.
You're more likely to spot a wombat while wandering around Coopracambra National Park than finding a video of Teddy Tahu Rhodes online. For some reason, the Kiwi Barihunk is one of the most underrepresented singers online, which has frustrated his legions of fans for years. He's one of the few big name baritones who doesn't have his own website or blog. It seems like the man we affectionately call "Teddy Bare" prefers his surfboard on a quiet beach to the clutter of the internet.
Now that he's touring in the popular production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific in Australia, videos are finally making their way onto the internet. Here he is singing "Some Enchanted Evening" at the Sydney Opera House.
Teddy Tahu Rhodes sings "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific"
The Tony Award-winning show, which was directed by Bartlett Sher and starred barihunk Paulo Szot at Lincoln Center will be playing for a month in Sydney begging on Thursday, August 9th. About a third of the shows are already either sold out or near capacity. Click HERE for tickets.
The production is part of Opera Australia's aggressive effort to expand their audience. It seems to be paying off, as the Guardian reports that the company's overall funding, including sponsorships, has risen from $A70m to $A100m.
Hadleigh Adams
On the other side of the globe, another Kiwi barihunk has taken San Francisco by storm. Hadleigh Adams, who is part of the 2012 Merola Opera Program, stole the show with his performance of the final scene of Act 2 of Bizet's "La Jolie Fille de Perth" at Merola's Schwabacher Summer Concert.
The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "The evening's standout was Hadleigh Adams, a formidable bass-baritone from New Zealand who in his only appearance on this program deployed a robust, beautiful tone with both flexibility and power."
Adams will return to the stage one more time on August 18 at the Merola Grand Finale where he will perform “Somnus awake! ... Leave me loathsome light … More sweet is that name” from Handel's Semele with Suzanne Rigden and Erin Johnson. A number of other barihunks will be performing in the Finale, including Seth Mease Carico as Don Giovanni and Mustafa, Joseph Lattanzi as Jupiter in Offenbach's Orphée aux Enfers, Gordon Bintner as Leporello and Belcore, and Matthew Scollin in Lully's Alceste. Visit the San Francisco Opera website for ticket information.
One final New Zealand connection will be British conductor Nicholas McGegan, who is conducting the Finale and has led the New Zealand Symphony in the past. His recording of Mozart's Piano Concerto No 24 with Robert Levin with the New Zealand Symphony is a must for any collector.
Samuel Ramey, Marilyn Horne and Sylvia McNair sing "Leave me loathsome light":
If web traffic to our site is any indication, then readers are clearly enjoying the posts about Hadleigh Adams preparing for the Southern Hemisphere premiere of Vivaldi's Bajazet at Australia's Pinchgut Opera. Earlier today, we posted an amazing rehearsal video of him singing "Dov'e la figlia?," which shows why he's more than just a pretty face...the man can SING! We figured that we're share a few photos, as well, because he's clearly as easy on the eyes as the ears.
Adams is returning to Pinchgut after a successful run as Pollux in their production of Rameau's Castor & Pollux in 2012. The company clearly recognizes his marketability, as he's part of their recent advertising campaign, which includes online banners, print ads and outdoor advertising.
Hadleigh Adams in rehearsal as Bajazet
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in 1735 and is a pastiche of Vivaldi's own arias, as well as those by Johann Adolph Hasse, Geminiano Giacomelli, Nicola Porpora and Riccardo Broschi. The opera is also known as Il Tamerlano and the story was also successfully set to music by Handel. The libretto revolves around romantic entanglements and love triangles and the struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars.
Performances of Vivaldi’s Bajazet will be on July 4, 5, 7 and 8 at City
Recital Hall Angel Place in Sydney. Also in the cast is Christopher
Lowrey as Tamerlano, Helen Sherman as Irene, Emily Edmonds as Asteria
and Russell Harcourt as Andronicus. Tickets and additional production
information is available online.
Barihunk Hadleigh Adams is the featured artist on the San Francisco Opera's website this week. There's a nice shout out to Barihunks, which we always appreciate. Make sure to add the San Francisco Opera to your musical travel itinerary. Here is the profile and interview in its entirety:
Hadleigh Adams is a bass-baritone and in
his first-year of the Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera. He is
originally from New Zealand where he completed his Bachelor of Music
degree at the University of Auckland and Masters of Music at New Zealand
School of Music. After completing his studies in New Zealand he was a
resident artist at the Opera Studio in Melbourne, Australia. He was a
participant in the Merola Opera Program in the summer of 2012 and
recently finished his post-graduate studies at the Guildhall School of
Music & Drama in London, England. He has performed with the Royal
National Theatre and Pinchgut Opera in the United Kingdom and was a
winner of the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Scholarship in
2010. He will be seen this summer season in San Francisco Opera's
production of Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann as Schlemil and in the world-premiere production of Mark Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene.
When
did you start singing? What is your earliest performance experience
and at what point did you decide to pursue a career as a performer?
I had started piano at age six. I knew I wanted to be an opera singer when I was ten years old after first hearing Tosca on
a vinyl record I had found at a garage sale in my hometown. The music
made sense to me and I knew that making that music was what I wanted to
spend my life doing. My earliest performance was actually playing a
pohutakawa - a native New Zealand tree - in my primary-school play 'The
Pine and the Pohutakawa' when I was six years old. I was amazing! I
always knew my career would be on the stage somehow -- it's where I feel
most at home.
What are some of your greatest musical influences?
Hard to list really! To narrow it down, operatically, the four guys I
most look up to are Samuel Ramey, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Bryn Terfel,
and Rod Gilfry (all bass-baritones!). Like all classical singers, I have
been influenced heavily by the great artists of the 'Golden Age' from
the 50's and 60's but these four men are those who I find most
inspiring.
You've
been heavily featured on a local blog called 'Barihunks' which
highlights young low-voiced male singers with a special emphasis on
'good looks' - how do you keep in shape? How important do you think it
is to not only keep your voice in top form but also your body as an
opera performer?
I can only answer for myself, but, I think keeping in shape is
crucial. For me, running and going to the gym gives me a freedom on
stage to know that I can play around and that I'll have the stamina and
strength to try things out. I run four times a week and head to the gym
most days. I also have a really healthy diet... except when I can't
resist the vending machines in the green room. On top of the health
aspects, I feel amazing after I've exercised. It keeps me positive.
Hadleigh Adams
What
are some of your favorite areas of San Francisco? Do you have any
specific places you like to frequent or locales you're really excited to
explore?
It would have to be Noe Valley. It's just got such a fantastic feel;
people are smiling and there's a Whole Foods - that makes me happy! I'm
really looking forward to getting to know more of California while I'm
here as well. It seems like such a diverse state and I can't wait to
explore some of the smaller towns. Also, I'll freely admit that I'm a
massive coffee snob. I tend to navigate a city by where I can get good
coffee. So far, Four Barrel is definitely my favorite with Ritual and
Blue Bottle in a close tie for second.
What
are some of the biggest culture shocks for you living in the United
States? What are some of the major differences you've noticed between
Americans, Brits, and Aussies?
Ha! Well, that's a dangerous question! I'm bound to offend someone! As a
Kiwi, I feel lucky to have been able to live in so many different
places by the age I am now. I will say though that I have loved every
country I've lived in. Settling in can take a while. Some cultures are
more welcoming than others but that just means you have to wait until
you're a part of the furniture, as it were, and then it's easy. It can
be tough riding out that Nigel-No-Friends period though.
When you're not singing what are some hobbies or activites you can be found doing?
Coffee - so much coffee! But I can be found at the gym, running, biking, or drinking single-malt whiskey!
What are you most looking forward to in the year ahead as you begin your first year in the Adler Fellowship?
Definitely the opportunity to sit, watch and get to work alongside some
of the greatest names in the industry today as well as being surrounded
by the other Adlers and learning from each other is huge. It can often
sound like a cliché answer, I know, but it's the truth! I'm here to
learn and I couldn't' be happier about it.
Australia's Pinchgut Opera just announced that they will be presenting the Southern Hemisphere premiere of Vivaldi's Bajazet. Starring in the title role will be barihunk Hadleigh Adams, who is wrapping up his second season as a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow. Adams is returning to Pinchgut after a successful run as Pollux in their production of Rameau's Castor & Pollux in 2012.
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in 1735 and is a pastiche of Vivaldi's own arias, as well as those by Johann Adolph Hasse,
Geminiano Giacomelli, Nicola Porpora and Riccardo Broschi. The opera is also known as Il Tamerlano and the story was also successfully set to music by Handel.
Vivaldi’s
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in
1735. An opera of romantic entanglement and love triangles, Bajazet
tells the tale of a struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the
Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars. When Bajazet’s daughter
Asteria is threatened with marriage to the invading ruler, she conspires
to murder him. The plot thickens after Tamerlano’s former betrothed,
Irene, turns up to reveal the scheme, having taken issue with being
pushed aside onto Tamerlano’s Greek ally (Andronico) who, unfairly, is
also in love with Asteria />
Vivaldi’s
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in
1735. An opera of romantic entanglement and love triangles, Bajazet
tells the tale of a struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the
Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars. When Bajazet’s daughter
Asteria is threatened with marriage to the invading ruler, she conspires
to murder him. The plot thickens after Tamerlano’s former betrothed,
Irene, turns up to reveal the scheme, having taken issue with being
pushed aside onto Tamerlano’s Greek ally (Andronico) who, unfairly, is
also in love with Asteria />
Vivaldi’s
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in
1735. An opera of romantic entanglement and love triangles, Bajazet
tells the tale of a struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the
Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars. When Bajazet’s daughter
Asteria is threatened with marriage to the invading ruler, she conspires
to murder him. The plot thickens after Tamerlano’s former betrothed,
Irene, turns up to reveal the scheme, having taken issue with being
pushed aside onto Tamerlano’s Greek ally (Andronico) who, unfairly, is
also in love with Asteria - See more at:
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/news/pinchgut-opera-launches-2015-season#sthash.jSqY461i.dpuf
Vivaldi’s
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in
1735. An opera of romantic entanglement and love triangles, Bajazet
tells the tale of a struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the
Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars. When Bajazet’s daughter
Asteria is threatened with marriage to the invading ruler, she conspires
to murder him. The plot thickens after Tamerlano’s former betrothed,
Irene, turns up to reveal the scheme, having taken issue with being
pushed aside onto Tamerlano’s Greek ally (Andronico) who, unfairly, is
also in love with Asteria - See more at:
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/news/pinchgut-opera-launches-2015-season#sthash.jSqY461i.dpuf
The libretto revolves around romantic entanglements and love triangles and the struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars. When Bajazet’s daughter Asteria is threatened with marriage to the invading ruler, she conspires to murder him. The plot thickens after Tamerlano’s former betrothed, Irene, turns up to reveal the scheme, having taken issue with being pushed aside onto Andronico, Tamerlano’s Greek ally, who is also in love with Asteria.
Hadleigh Adams as the Marquis in San Francisco Opera'sLa traviata (left)
Vivaldi wove into the opera an underlying tale of power struggles and invasion, reflective of the ones going on at the time, when Neopolitan operas were trouncing their local Venetian counterparts in popularity. Music associated with Neapolitan composers is thus cleverly designated to the invaders Tamerlano, Irene and Andronico.
Vivaldi’s
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in
1735. An opera of romantic entanglement and love triangles, Bajazet
tells the tale of a struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the
Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars. When Bajazet’s daughter
Asteria is threatened with marriage to the invading ruler, she conspires
to murder him. The plot thickens after Tamerlano’s former betrothed,
Irene, turns up to reveal the scheme, having taken issue with being
pushed aside onto Tamerlano’s Greek ally (Andronico) who, unfairly, is
also in love with Asteria - See more at:
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/news/pinchgut-opera-launches-2015-season#sthash.jSqY461i.dpuf
Vivaldi’s
Bajazet, a rarely performed operatic tragedy, premiered in Verona in
1735. An opera of romantic entanglement and love triangles, Bajazet
tells the tale of a struggle for power between Bajazet, ruler of the
Turks, and Tamerlano, ruler of the Tartars. When Bajazet’s daughter
Asteria is threatened with marriage to the invading ruler, she conspires
to murder him. The plot thickens after Tamerlano’s former betrothed,
Irene, turns up to reveal the scheme, having taken issue with being
pushed aside onto Tamerlano’s Greek ally (Andronico) who, unfairly, is
also in love with Asteria - See more at:
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/news/pinchgut-opera-launches-2015-season#sthash.jSqY461i.dpuf
Performances of Vivaldi’s Bajazet will be on July 4, 5, 7 and 8 at City Recital Hall Angel Place in Sydney. Also in the cast is Christopher Lowrey as Tamerlano, Helen Sherman as Irene, Emily Edmonds as Asteria and Russell Harcourt as Andronicus.
Adams has maintained a busy schedule this season while a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, having sung the Marquis in La Traviata, Grand commissioner in Madame Butterfly and Jailer in Tosca. He also performed Gendarme inPoulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias with San Francisco's innovative young company Opera Parallèle.
Hadleigh Adams at Pinchgut Opera in Castor & Pollux and Bajazet
Kiwi barihunk Hadleigh Adams has written a 90-minute show that combines songs and arias he has sung throughout
his life, along with anecdotes (both PG and R rated) to illustrate why he
chose this most absurd of careers and why he knows he'll never leave. Adams traces his journey from small town New Zealand to the San
Francisco Opera, the oh-so-garish lights of San Francisco's Castro District, and the
thrilling and frightening experience of starting a major international
career.
We saw a private performance of the program and it's an absolute "must see" for any fan of opera.
Adams is going to perform the show publicly at San Francisco's Martuni's bar on Wednesday, March 4th at 7
pm.
Tickets are $10 each and support the Merola Opera Program, from which he graduated before becoming a San
Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and beginning his international career. Seating is very limited. To order tickets, call Merola at (415) 565-6427, visit Merola.org or click here for tickets.
Adams has become a fan favorite in the Bay Area, where he has been acclaimed for his roles in San Francisco Opera's Les Contes
d'Hoffmann, Dolores Claiborne, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Madama
Butterfly, and Schaunard in last winter's La Bohème. He will perform in Vivaldi's Bajazet this summer with Pinchgut Opera in Australia.
Our recent post about entitles "Hottest Cast in Opera Assembled in Omaha for Handel's Agrippina" drew a disproportionate amount of traffic to our site. It proves once again that with great programming and singers who interest the public, opera can flourish anywhere. After all, Omaha is better known for Warren Buffet than Leonard Warren.
They also hired the 29-year-old director James Darrah, who didn't shy away from the more sexual aspects of the story, keeping it current and fresh. Fidelity to the music was preserved under the direction of early opera specialist Stephen Stubbs. [By the way Darrah is some pretty serious eye candy, as well].
Hadleigh Adams
The performance received a rave review from the Omaha Tribune Herald. They said of Hadleigh Adams, who played Claudio, "...Hadleigh Adams had a delivery that was impressively full-bodied and bold. He has a gorgeous voice and performed with a confidence befitting an emperor. Moreover, he had a physical presence that was commanding and powerful and conveyed that, like Agrippina, Claudius is used to getting what he wants."
Doug Williams
Of Doug Williams they wrote, "Bass-baritone Doug Williams and tenor Zachary Wilder perfectly complemented each other as Pallante and Narciso, and their standout scene featured each being pseudo-seduced by Agrippina in her bedchamber. While the action produced many laughs, it was the delivery that demonstrated their abilities to smoothly control their voices, even amid semi-steamy action."
Of course, even the music critic Kim Carpenter couldn't help but notice the attractiveness of this talented cast, giving us our favorite lines of the review: "As a side note, I feel compelled to mention that the entire ensemble is impossibly pretty. While it's the voices and acting that matter, of course, having a gorgeous line-up of performers makes the over three hour production all the more enjoyable."
Doug Williams
Opera Omaha, which began in 1958 as the Omaha Civic Opera Society, is the only professional opera company in Nebraska, It became a fully professional opera company by 1970 and is known for highlighting gifted young singers from the area as well as nationwide. The company is known for both its innovation and educational outreach programs. They had produced eight world premieres and four American premieres.
Although Agrippina ends today, they have performances of Rossini's La Cenerentola coming up in April with two singers familiar to readers of this site, Daniel Belcher and Levi Hernandez. Belcher will be singing Dandini and Hernandez is taking on Don Magnifico. The talented young tenor Andrew Bidlack will be Ramiro, joining soprano Lauren McNeese who is singing Angelina. Performances are April 25 and 27. Tickets are available online.
It seems like every season, one of New York's innovative smaller companies produces a show that sets the international opera world on fire. Last season it was Gregory Spears' Paul's Case that Beth Morrison produced and starred barihunk Keith Phares.
This season, the buzz is surrounding R.B. Schlather's innovative opera/art installation of Handel's Alcina at the Whitebox Art
Center starring barihunk Hadleigh Adams. The opera, which wrapped up tonight, also included soprano Kiera Duffy and the countertenor Drew Minter in the cast. Last season Schlater scored a huge success with another Handel opera, when he produced Alcina in the same
space.
Hadleigh Adams in Orlando
The innovative director has opened up these rehearsals to the public and live streamed the rehearsals. The rehearsals have become NY mini-social scenes, even attracting Yoko Ono, Justin Vivian Bond and rapper Big Dipper.
Word is that is only the second part of a trilogy, so there will be another chance to catch his latest work next season.
New Zealand barihunk Hadleigh Adams is profiled by Jason Victor Serinus in this week in San Francisco's Bay Area Reporter:
Tall, rugged baritone Hadleigh Adams, 29, must be one of the straightest spined and proudest bearinged singers on the planet. Both his appearance and his lower-pitched, resonant voice make it hard to believe that during his youth in a small New Zealand farm town, two decades before he journeyed to San Francisco and was chosen for San Francisco Opera's prestigious Adler Fellow apprentice program, he was teased mercilessly for being gay.
"I acted very different," he explained during an hour-long chat in a cafe near the War Memorial Opera House. "I acted very effeminately. Not by choice; it's just how I was."
This didn't make life easy for him at an all-boys school.
"I wanted to fit in," he says. "I was two years ahead in my academic work because I was a smart kid. I played hockey and tennis, which were the gayer sports from a high-school boy point of view. I also did a lot of music, and I loved music. If you loved music, that meant you were gay.
"So it was horrible. I was teased a lot, and had very few friends. But I didn't really mind it or care, because while I loved my family and my country, which is the most beautiful place in the world, I always knew I was destined for more than a lot of my classmates. Not to say that more is better, or being on the stage or escaping is better, but I knew, from the age of 12 or 13, that I was destined for more in my life."
Earlier this year, San Franciscans got to witness first-hand barihunk Hadleigh Adams' gifts as an exponent of early music when he brought the house down with “Somnus awake! ... Leave me loathsome light … More sweet is that name”
from Handel's Semele at the Merola Grand Finale. The City by the Bay will be welcoming back the popular Kiwi singer as an Adler Fellow early next year. But Adams is making waves again in early music on the other side of the globe.
Adams is currently performing early music again as Pollux in Rameu's Castor & Pollux with Pinchgut Opera in Australia. For our fans Down Under, there are still three performances of the opera left between now and December 10th. Many people in the business are predicting stardom for the charismatic singer, so now is the time to catch a rising star. Tickets are available online.
Also, don't wait for Santa Claus, order your 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar today:
Thank you again to our readers, who keep this site alive and thriving. Your purchases of our calendars and tee shirts goes to supporting young artists and opera projects.
BEST NEW OPERA (tie): Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's Breaking the Waves
John Moore, Kiera Duffy and the cast of Breaking the Waves
Barihunk John Moore performed in the premiere of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's Breaking the Waves at Opera Philadelphia and then reprised his role at the PROTOTYPE Festival along
with co-star Kiera Duffy.
The
opera is based on the Oscar-nominated 1996 film by Lars von Trier and tells of the story of a woman's sexual desires and confessions after her husband becomes paralyzed. The opera was performed with a "mature audience" warning in Philadelphia, as it involved nudity from the leads. More importantly, the opera is a riveting piece of theater.
BEST NEW OPERA (tie): JFK at Forth Worth Opera
Daniel Okulitch as LBJ and Matt Worth as JFK
The Fort Worth Opera, in
collaboration with the American Lyric Theater, debuted David T. Little and Royce Vavrek's JFK in April to rave reviews. The opera, which starred barihunks Matthew Worth as JFK and Daniel Okulitch as LBJ, tells of the final twelve hours of President John F. Kennedy's life. Okulitch performed a memorable and scene stealing, comic piece stripped down to his Texas flag inspired underwear.
Fort Worth was a fitting setting for the opera, as it was the last place that the
President slept before being gunned down in Dallas. JFK left the Hotel
Texas (now the Fort Worth Hilton) on the rain-soaked morning of November
22, 1963, and spoke to thousands who had waited in the rain to hear him
speak. Those remarks were to be his final public speech.
HOTTEST NEW BARIHUNK TO THE SITE: Basque Barihunk Vincent Simonet
Basque barihunk Vincent Simonet
Our hearts starting racing when we saw these pictures of Basque barihunk Vincent Simonet by photographer and fellow barihunk JF l'Oiseleur des Longchamps. Simonet is a decendent of the famous 19th century baritone Paul Barroilhet (aka
Paolo Barroilhet), whose bust still graces the Opera Garnier in Paris.
This summer he performed Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola at the Centre Européen de Musique. He was asked by French composer Philippe Mazé to sing at the 100-year anniversary of the Cathedral of Monaco (Saint Nicholas Cathedral). The cathedral is home to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Monaco where many of the Grimaldis are buried, including Prince Rainier III and his wife Grace Kelly.
Simonet is also one of the initiators of the charity recital "Ensemble pour les Enfants Malades" (Recital for the Sick Children) which is a benefit for the Pediatric Immuno-Hematology Department at the Hôpital Necker de Paris. We love a barihunk who does charity work!
HOTTEST PERFORMANCE: Hadleigh Adams in Powder Her Face at West Edge Opera
Hadleigh Adams as The Duke in Powder Her Face
West Edge Opera, situated across the Bay from it's big budget sister San Francisco Opera, continues to make waves with the most innovative and thrilling productions anywhere. Under the inspired leadership of Mark Streshinsky they have made the Top 10 lists of virtually every music critic on the West Coast. Their productions, which take place in old abandoned train station (where portions of the movie RENT were filmed), are so popular that they often have to add performances.
Such was the case with Thomas Adès' provocative Powder Her Face starring barihunk Hadleigh Adams, hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock and sexy soprano Emma McNairy, who previously made waves with her sizzling Lulu with the company. Adams sang the roles of the vapid Duke (for which he strips down completely!), the condescending hotel manager, and the hypocritical judge who condemns the Duchess.
The opera was brilliantly directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer, which the Financial Times dubbed "buoyant" and "exhilirating."
Upcoming performance for Adams include Jonathan Dove's Flight with Opera Parallèle and Puccini's La fanciulla del West with the Michigan Opera Theater.
Ryan McKinny as Amfortas
We have to give a close runner-up mention to Ryan McKinny as Amfortas in Bayreuth's Parsifal. If you can look this sexy in a "man diaper" then you deserve some credit.
BEST BARIHUNK CHARITY WORK: Michael Hewitt/Cancer Research
Michael Hewitt (from our calendar and buffing up for charity work!)
Barihunk Michael Hewitt took to crowd sourcing to raise $3000 for The Decath10n, which raised money for pediatric cancer research at the University of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston. (Full disclosure: Barihunks contributed to the effort).
Michael is also featured in July in our 2017 "Barihunks in Bed" calendar. He will make his company debut with the Glimmerglass Opera in 2017 in the role of Jud Fry in Oklahoma!
Hewitt also has a fitness website and he says that consistency is the key to staying in shape and that you can't outwork a poor diet.
BEST NEW SOLO WORK FOR BARITONE: Clint Borzoni's Two German Songs for Baritone and String Quartet, sung by Marco Vassalli
Composer Clint Borzoni and barihunk Marco Vassalli worked on this commission over Skype after the German singer chose Hermann Hesse's Stufen and Hilde Domin's Margere Kost for his text. Musica Marin presented the works, which were inspired by adding something other than Samuel Barber's Dover Beach to the repertory for baritone and string quartet. Vassalli performed all three pieces at two sold out concerts in the former home of Ansel Adams in San Francisco.
Borzoni, one of the most talented young composers on the scene is now Musica Marin's "Composer-in-Residence." Barihunk Edward Nelson will perform the composer's new arrangement of his aria "Two Nooses" from his opera When Adonis Calls, arranged for baritone, viola, cello and piano. Borzoni's opera The Copper Queen won the Arizona Opera's award for best new opera.
BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERETTA: Dominik Köninger in Oscar Straus' The Pearls of Cleopatra
Dominik Köninger
What would a Barihunk "Best of..." list be without German barihunk Dominik Köninger? He made our list again by giving the funniest performance of the year as the Roman Officer in Oscar Straus' The Pearls of Cleopatra(Die Perlen der Cleopatra) at the Komische Oper in Berlin.
The operetta has been on the shelves for more than eighty
years and was written before the composer fled the Nazi Anschluss in 1939. As the Roman Officer, Köninger is shown in some pretty sexy situations and there also plenty of scantily clad,
energetic performers on stage, adding to the lively Cabaret feel of the
pre-Nazi Weimar Republic.
The operetta is viewable on the OperaPlatform. We sure hope that someone else produces this work using this Barrie Kosky production, which is perfect in every way.
BEST "OVERNIGHT SENSATION": Björn Bürger
Björn Bürger as Don Giovanni and the Barber
We've been keeping our eye on German barihunk Björn Bürger since 2014, when he caught our eyes and ears at the Mirjam Helin Competition. We continued to be impressed by him as an ensemble member at the Frankfurt Oper, where he performed Pelléas, Schaunard, Plunkett in Martha, Curio in Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Frank and Fritz in Die Tote Stadt. Count Almaviva, Masetto and Owen Wingrave. But we really began to take note with his sexy portrayal in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni at Den Norske Opera.
There is no such thing as an overnight sensation, as years of coaching, training and performing goes into any singer's career, but Bürger may have had just such a moment this year. His performance in the title role of Rossini's Barber of Seville at the Glyndebourne Festival was the talk of the town, where his cast mates included Taylor Stayton as Almaviva and Danielle de Niese as Rosina.
The Guardian said that Bürger "dominates with singing of great bravado and warmth," while The Express wrote that he sang "beautifully...and acted with impressive energy.' Mark
Valencia in What's on Stage wrote, "The handsome young baritone exudes
elegant bonhomie and fourth-wall-breaking razzle-dazzle, and he delivers
Rossini's tongue-twisters with an eloquence it would be hard to
better."
BEST APPEARANCE IN AN ADULT MAGAZINE: Edward Miskie in Britain's Mascular Magazine
Edward Miskie (right) in Mascular Magazine
Edward Miskie, who has appeared in our Barihunks Calendar for the last two years, was asked to pose for the UK's erotic art magazine Mascular Magazine. The
magazine is geared toward those who love bears (and we have a ton of readers who fit that category!)
However, Miskie shows more skin in our new calendar than he did in his photoshoot with Brooklyn-based photographer Ron Amato for the magazine's feature entitled "Pride." Whether in a suit or staring out shirtless from his bed, this is one sexy man who holds his own with any of the models in Mascular Magazine. Check it out for yourself.
BEST JOKE THAT WE PLAYED ON READERS: Nathan Gunn and Anna Netrebko appearing in Wagner's Ring at the MET
Nathan Gunn would make one sexy Wotan. Check out that spear.
Barihunk Zachary Luchetti penned an April Fool's Day joke for us claiming that Nathan Gunn and Anna Netrebko would be appearing the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Wagner's Ring as Brünnhilde and Wotan. Luchetti is one of the most entertaining and original personalities in the industry and we loved running with this gag. It was worth it just for the emails from people outraged that this duo would take on role "obviously ill-suited to their voices," as one reader wrote. This is why one should read every post to the end (especially on April 1st).
BEST INTERVIEW: Malte Roesner discussing fitness routineand his fach change
Malte Roesner
When we first met Malte Roesner in France last year, he was singing as a
baritone and wrapping up a decade long run at the Staatstheater
Braunschweig (State Theater of Brunswick). Since that time, he has gone
through a fach change to bass and recently came to California for a series of auditions. We will have an exciting update about his upcoming U.S. debut(s) in a future post. (Yes, debut may be plural).
He is featured prominently in both our 2016 calendar and our "2017 Barihunks in Bed" calendar.Roesner, who is one of the most intelligent singers on the scene, also translates operas, having translated both Jake Heggie's For a Look or a Touch and Jonathan Dove's Mansfield Park from English to German.
In our interview with him, the always fascinating singer discussed his recent fach change from baritone to bass, his workout routine, his month-long audition tour in the US and why it's “all about the bass.” You can read the entire interview HERE.
BEST WEIGHT LOSS: Lucas Meachem
Lucas Meachem
When we posted an interview with barihunk Lucas Meachem about his recent weight loss it went viral and jumped to one of our ten most viewed posts ever (and the top post that didn't reveal any "skin")!!!
Prompted by being forced to deal with high cholesterol and the new age of HD opera broadcasts, Meachem took his wife's advice and switched to a plant-based diet, which led to an amazing physical transformation.
When he took the stage as Doctor Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale at the San Francisco Opera, Meachem had slimmed down a remarkable 45 pounds (20.4 kilos). He also sounded as luxurious and resonant as ever.
He told us, "I used to rail against the system for it's
unfairness that weight is even an issue when it came to my voice. For me
vocal prowess should be the main determining factor of an opera singer
but I realized that I couldn't play by those rules anymore. The fact is
it's easier to change yourself than the system. So instead of resisting,
I decided to change myself."
On an unrelated note, Meachem won the San Francisco Opera's inaugural "Emerging Star of the Year" competition, whose goal is to engage the community in
the thrill of experiencing artists on the cusp of greatness, and to
build awareness among the broader opera-going public of San Francisco
Opera's leadership in nurturing and showcasing new talent.
BEST GATHERING OF A BARIHUNK SEXTET IN ONE PLACE (tie): A Midsummer Night's Dream atTeatro Amilcare Ponchielli Cremona and Lakes Area Music Festival
Prior to 2016, the most barihunks that we had ever featured on one stage at the same time was four. It seemed like this year at least two companies decided to blow that number out of the water, as both the Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli Cremona and the Lakes Area Music Festival decided to present operas with SIX barihunks performing together.
Zachary Altman and Nicholas Masters (top); Dario Shikhmiri, Rocco Cavalluzzi, Federico Benetti and Paolo Ingrasciotta (bottom l-r)
The cast list for Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream
at the Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli Cremona, included Zachary Altman as Bottom, Nicholas Masters
as Quince, Dario Shikhmiri as Starveling, Rocco Cavalluzzi as Snug,
Federico Benetti as Theseus and Paolo Ingrasciotta as Demetrius.
Eric Broker, Andrew Lovato, Sam Parkinson, John Taylor Ward, Rodolfo Nieto and Benjamin Sieverding
Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe the Lakes Area Music Festival's production of the same opera included John Taylor Ward as Bottom, Andrew Lovato as
Demetrius, Rodolfo Nieto as Theseus, Benjamin Sieverding as Quince, Eric
Broker as Starveling and Sam Parkinson as Snug. John Taylor Ward not
only performed in the opera, but he serves as Associate Artistic Director
of the company and wrote the program notes.
All we have to say for 2017, is bring us more performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
BEST SHIRTLESS APPEARANCE: Alessio Arduini in Così fan tutte
Alessio Arduini in Così fan tutte
We don't know how this site could survive without streaming video from opera houses around the world, as it continues to be an endless source of content and visual and audio excitement.
Imagine our reaction when we watched the BBC Radio 3 broadcast of the Royal Opera House production of Mozart's Così fan tutte with a shirtless Alessio Arduni asGuglielmo. German director Jan Philipp Gloger made his house debut with the new production using librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte’s alternative title for the opera: "The School for Lovers." The ROH cast a vocally and visually impressive cast to live up to the title, which included Corinne Winters as Fiordiligi, Angela Brower as Dorabella, Daniele Behle as Ferrando, Johannes Martin Kränzle as Don Alfonso and Sabina Puértolas as Despina.
Arduini is currently performing Marcello at the Metropolitan Opera on Januray 6,11 and 14.
SEXIEST SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT: Zachary Gordin on Instagram
Zachary Gordin on Instagram
If you're not one of Zachary Gordin's 1,450 followers on Instagram (zgordin) then you're missing out on some of the best barihunk shots on the internet. Gordin's site alternates personal posts with images from performances and his brutal gym workouts.
The fitness buff also serves on the voice faculty of Sonoma State University and operates a private vocal studio in the San Francisco Bay Area. Upcoming performances include "Mozart at the Opera" with the Youth Orchestra of San Antonio on January 22 and a recital with accompanist Brian Nies at the Green Music Center in Sonoma.
We particularly love him because he includes us in his bio, "Gordin is also widely recognized as the face of the website Barihunks, which celebrates physically fit and vocally-talented operatic baritones from around the globe."
THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL OF OUR READERS, AS 2017 WILL MARK OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY. WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO PROMOTING SINGERS IN THE BARITONE TO BASS RANGE AND ENCOURAGING AND FUNDING NEW REPERTORY FOR THOSE VOICES.
