David Adam Moore appearing in fitness book, The New Yorker and world premiere.

David Adam Moore from Complete Vocal Fitness

American barihunk David Adam Moore, who just scored a huge triumph in Thomas Adés' The Exterminating Angel, is featured in a Kickstarter campaign for the book Complete Vocal Fitness: A Singer's Guide to Physical Training, Anatomy & Biomechanics. The book, authored by vocal coach Claudia Friedlander, offers the same tools that fitness trainers use to train elite athletes to assist singers in developing their instrument to perform at peak performance.

The book will be a guide on learning how the vocal instrument functions, offering descriptions of the fundamental components of vocal anatomy – laryngeal function, articulation and resonance – explaining their movements, their interaction with one another, and their integration with the anatomy of breathing and alignment. You can learn more about the book and Kickstarter campaign online.
 

David Adam Moore in the 2014 Barihunks Calendar

Moore has been a regularly featured singer on Barihunks and appeared in our 2012 and 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendars. He was also recently featured in The New Yorker, which included a picture by noted photographer Andres Serrano. Check it out here.

We have featured him in a number of classic, sexy baritone roles, including Joseph de Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, Stanley Kowalksi in Andre Previn's Streetcar Named Desire and his famous portrayal David T. Little's Soldier Songs.

Moore will next appear in the world premiere of David T. Little's electroacoustic song cycle Book of Dreams: Chapter Sand at the National Sawdust on December 17th. Tickets and additional information is online. 

2018 Barihunks Calendar

ONLY 25 DAYS LEFT TO ORDER our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think.

Edwin Crossley-Mercer featured in Opera News and new Barihunks Calendar

The Opera News feature on Edwin Crossley-Mercer

We've been following barihunk Edwin Crossley-Mercer since early in his career, mesmerized by his good looks, dark creamy voice and charming stage presence. The singer, who is Northern Irish on his father's side and French Alsatian–Jewish on his mother's side, has rapidly emerged as a major talent in the world of opera.

He is currently featured in the October 2016 issue of Opera News, where he talks about his career, which has focused mostly on lieder and Mozart operas, as well as his desire to sing Handel. Remarkably, he claims that no one has asked him. Opera News also recognized the attention that he's received from fans of Barihunks, where he has an enthusiastic following [see quote below]'

"THOUGH NOT YET A HOUSEHOLD NAME in the opera world, Edwin Crossley-Mercer is certainly well known where it matters. All kinds of connoisseurs—from devotees of some quite recherché song repertoire to barihunk fans—admire this French lyric baritone; more crucially, so do those in charge of casting at several of the best opera house addresses." - OPERA NEWS

He is so popular with our readers that we asked him to appear in our upcoming 2017 "Barihunks in Bed" calendar, which he graciously agreed to do. We hired a photographer in France to take a photo and made him our December feature, since his stunning prematurely gray hair evoked a perfect wintry night. You can purchase a copy online.

Glenn Seven Allen & Edwin Crossley-Mercer in 2017 Barihunks in Bed calendar

He next appears as Polydorus with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ on October 20 in Edinburgh and October 21 in Glasgow. He'll be joined by bass-barihunk Jérôme Varnier as Herod (who also appears in this year's calendar in April).The performance is conducted by Emmanuel Krivine and tickets are available online.

On November 5th, he'll appear at the Deutsche Oper Berlin's 22nd Grand Opera Gala in support of the AIDS Foundation. The event also features fellow barihunk Andrea Mastroni, Patrizia Ciofi, Gregory Kunde and a host of other operatic luminaries. Tickets are available online.

Barihunk trio in Michigan Opera's Carmen, including calendar model Brent Michael Smith

Harry Greenleaf and Luis Alejandro Orozco

The Michigan Opera has assembled a stunning barihunk trio for their upcoming Carmen, that includes Luis Alejandro Orozco making his role debut as Escamillo, Barihunks calendar model Brent Michael Smith as Zuniga and Harry Greenleaf as Morales. The cast also includes Ginger Costa-Jackson and Sandrea Eddy as Carmen, Marcelo Puente and Alok Kumar as Don Josè and Cecilia Violetta Lopez as Micaela.

The opera will be performed on October 15, 19, 22 and 23. Tickets are available online.

Other engagements for baritone Luis Alejandro Orozco this season include the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni at Bar Harbor Music Festival, Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia in his house début with Florentine Opera in May 2017, and a reprisal of his signature role, El Payador, in María de Buenos Aires with the Atlanta Opera.

Brent Michael Smith, Jérôme Varnier & Brad Baron

Bass-barihunk Brent Smith is featured in the month of April in our "2017 Barihunks in Bed" calendar which is on sale now. As a Young Artist at the Michigan Opera, he has sung Colline in Puccini's La bohème, the Second S.S. Officer in Weinberg's The Passenger, the Doctor in Verdi's Macbeth and The Speaker in Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Last year he was an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, where his performance as Billy Jackrabbit in Puccini's La fanciulla del West received critical acclaim by Opera News as a “standout.”

Baritone Harry Greenleaf was a Studio Aritist with the Wolf Trap Opera Company in 2012 and 2013, where he sang the role of Baron Douphol in Verdi's La traviata and Monsieur Barbu in Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirésias. He made his debut with Michigan Opera Theatre in 2016, singing the role of Top in Copland's The Tender Land, as well as Jake Wallace in La fanciulla del West, and Le Bret in Dr. David DiChiera’s Cyrano.

 

Barihunks Calendar Model Marco Vassalli to make US Debut

Marco Vassalli and Clint Borzoni

Italian-German barihunk Marco Vassalli is making his much anticipated U.S. debut with Musica Marin in a concert that includes the world premiere of two Clint Borzoni songs. The texts of these songs were selected by and written for the singer and are written for string quartet and baritone. Vassalli chose Hermann Hesse's Stufen and Hilde Domin's Margere Kost.

Borzoni and Vassalli have never met in person and worked on the songs together over Facebook video and Skype. San Francisco's Bay Area Reporter broke the news in a recent article, which you can read HERE.

Borzoni recently completed his fourth opera, When Adonis Calls, based on the poetry of Gavin Dillard. The opera was presented at Fort Worth Opera’s 2015 Frontiers Showcase. He is currently working on his fifth opera, The Copper Queen, with librettist John de los Santos for Arizona Opera’s program, Arizona Spark.

Marco Vassalli

The premiere is being funded with an Indiegogo campaign that launched today. Some of the perks include having one of the songs dedicated to you, a signed page from the compoer's notebook, copies of Vassalli's CD of Italian songs and access to numerous private events and concerts. Vassalli also posed for a provocative new calendar that is now available for sale HERE. All of those proceeds will also be used to fund the world premiere of the Borzoni songs. We encourage our readers to help out with one of the two campaigns.

Vassalli is currently performing in Leonard Bernstein's Candide at the Staatsoper Hannover. A German singer born of Italian roots, he grew up on Lake Constance and began his studies at the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, where he studied with the famed soprano Edda Moser.

Calendar model Patrick Egersborg as Zuniga in Norway

Patrick Egersborg in Carmen (left); Photo on right by Kjell-Ruben Strøm

Patrick Egersborg, who we've featured in this year's Barihunks Charity Calendar, was featured as Zuniga in Ringsaker Opera's production of Bizet's Carmen that opened last night in Brumunddal, Norway. The cast also includes Anna Otervik as Carmen, Hallvar Djupvik as Don José, Aleksander Nohr as Escamillo and Tanja Leine as Micaela.

There are seven more performance, which run through November 22. Tickets are available online.

Egersborg is featured in both March and November in our calendar, which you can order by clicking the LULU button below. This year's calendar will fund the creation of the Foundation for the Advancement of Baritones (F.A.B.), which will fund programs to benefit baritones and basses. FAB will commission new music, provide prize money for vocal competitions and financially support other endeavors promoting the baritone and bass voice. Composer Clint Borzoni is working on the first commission, which are two songs for baritone and string quartet based on poems by Hermann Hesse and Hilde Domin.

Tristan Hambleton, Seth Carico and Patric Egersborg

Watch Dmitri Hvorostovsky's triumphant return to Russia

Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Dmitri Hvorostovsky is back performing regularly after undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. He briefly returned to the stage on September 25, 29 and October 3 to sing some of his scheduled performances of Count di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore at The Met. The outpouring of love for the Siberian barihunk has been universal, as he's been met with thunderous applause wherever he's gone and social media was filled with "get well" wishes.

On October 12, Russian president Vladimir Putin awarded him the Order of Alexander Nevsky, one of the country's highest honors.

On October 29th he made a triumphant return to the concert stage joined by mezzo Elīna Garanča at the Kremlin Palace. which they repeated on November 2. They sang selections from Carmen, Cavalleria Rusticana, Il trovatore, La favorita, The Merry Widow and Don Giovanni. You can watch the concert below. You won't want to miss his encore, which was so moving that Elīna Garanča had to wipe away her tears.

On November 18th, he joins fellow barihunk Ildar Abdrazakov at the Bashkir Opera. He returns to the stage on December 19, when he appears in the title role of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the Royal Opera House in London.

He returns to the US stage on February 3rd as Count di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera. This is a reprise of the role he first performed after cancer treatment at The Met on September 25, 29 and October 3 of this year.

MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGER FROM 9 COUNTRIES.

Marco Vassalli & Malte Roesner

 ORDER HERE:

Live Stream of Dead Man Walking from Indiana University

Eric Smedsrud and Angela Yoon  (left) in The Last Savage at IU; Reuben Walker (right) in Dead Man Wallking

The Indiana University Opera Theater opened Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking last night in a production directed by Jose Maria Condemi. Reuben Walker starred as the accused killer Joseph de Rocher and he will reprise his performance on Saturday, October 24. Performing tonight will be barihunk Eric Smedsrud, who will also perform the role on Friday, October 23. 

Tonight's performance will be available for viewing on Indiana University's live stream at 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST by clicking HERE.

Minnesota native Eric Smedsrud is in his second year at Indiana University, where he is pursuing a Master of Music in Voice Performance and is in the studio of Carol Vaness. He was seen last year on the Indian University Opera stage as Abdul in Menotti's The Last Savage. Other opera roles include Frank Maurrant in Weill's Street Scene and Sam in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti.

Reuben Walker is a second-year doctoral student at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He has been seen on the Indiana University Opera Theater stage in the roles of Mr. Scattergood in Menotti’s The Last Savage, Captain Corcoran in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, Le Bailli in Massenet’s Werther, and Pandolfe in Massenet’s Cendrillon. With New Voices Opera, he premiered the role of Captain Keeney in Ezra Donner's Ile and the role of Richard Nixon in Chappell Kingsland’s Intoxication: America’s Love Affair with Oil. Walker has toured with IU’s outreach program, Reimagining Opera for Kids.

MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGER FROM 9 COUNTRIES.

 

Baritones (secret) winners at Gerda Lissner Competition

Sean Michael Plumb, Josh Quinn, Anthony Schneider and Erik Larson.

What if you held a song competition and no one knew about it? That seems to be the case with this year's Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition. They held a competition last week and haven't posted the results, nor sent out a press release. We have an inquiry pending with them to find out the results and will update this post, as over $200,000 in prizes were handed out for lied, opera and a special Wagner division.

Fortunately, thanks to social media we've learned that barihunk Sean Michael Plumb won one of the top prizes, Josh Quinn took Third Prize and Anthony Schneider and Erik Larson both won Encouragement Awards.

Last year baritones won a number of prizes, including Reginald Smith Jr. who won the Gerda Lissner Foundation Top Prize and first prize honorees Michael Adams, Jared Bybee, Patrick Guetti, Sol Jin and John Viscardi.

ORDER YOUR BARIHUNKS CALENDAR TODAY AND SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A FOUNDATION SUPPORTING LOW VOICES AND RELATED PROJECTS!

 

Samuel Jarrick naked in La traviata

Samuel Jarrick in La traviata at Folkoperan ***

Folkoperan is the small opera company in Stockholm that performs opera in Swedish. Their current production of Verdi's La traviata features a lot of nudity...A LOT OF NUDITY. Fortunately, one of nude performers is barihunk Samuel Jarrick, who we've featured before in a state of semi-undress in the Mälmo Opera's production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking (which also featured nudity).

 Jesper Säll as Alfredo in La traviata (photo by Markus Gårder)

Folkoperan prides itself of pushing the boundaries of operatic convention and this production will certainly do that. Their concept with La traviata was to challenge both the work and the audience in the traditional concepts of male and female sexuality. The production features drag queens, body builders, models, children and, did we mention, lots of nudity.

The opera will be performed three times a week until November 29th. Tickets and additional performance information is available online.

*** A reminder that our nudity policy is that we only show pictures with nudity if it is from a staged production. This site does not contain gratuitous nudity. 

ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR TODAY!!! Click on the Lulu button below.  

Barihunks Calendar Model Profile: Malte Roesner

Malte Roesner

Barihunk Malte Roesner only came to our attention about 10 months ago, but we instantly realized that he was a pretty special artist and human being. That belief was confirmed when he showed up this summer in the Loire Valley for our Barihunks Calendar photo shoot.

Not only is he an absolute natural in front of the camera, but he is as intelligent as he is charming and attractive. He is an avid reader who reads science and medical periodicals in his spare time, can discuss almost any topic with great insight, and translates librettos on the side. He recently starred in Jake Heggie's Holocaust themed opera For a Look or a Touch in Braunschweig, for which he also did the translation.

He also balances his mind and his body, practicing martial arts and yoga, as well as staying in shape with kettle bell training. 

Malte Roesner

Roesner began his musical education when he was five years old and took violin lessons. He performed with the Hanover Boy’s Choir in Germany, before continuing his studies at the University of Hamburg and at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, where he majored in both musicology and in opera performance. He was awarded scholarships from both the German National Academic Foundation and the Richard-Wagner-Foundation.

Roesner, who is German but born in America, has recently decided to move to Vienna and pursue and independent career after being a member of the ensemble at the Staatstheatre Braunschweig since 2006. He'll be returning to Braunschweig next season to sing in the revival of Werner Egk's Peer Gynt and in the new production of Jonathan Dove's Mansfield Park. In the latter, he will be singing the male lead Edmund in his own translation.

During his time at the Staatstheatre Braunschweig he performed more than fifty roles. In addition to most of the major baritone Mozart roles, his operatic repertoire includes Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Pasquale in Haydn’s Orlando Paladino, Ping in Puccini's Turandot, Schaunard in Puccini's La Bohème and Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Dr. Falke in Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Paolo in Simone Boccanegra, Heerrufer in Lohengrin, Masaniello in the German premiere of Carlos Gomes’ Salvator Rosa and in the world premiere of the operatic version of Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle.

Malte Roesner is featured on the cover, as well as in January, June & December

Roesner is the most featured calendar model this year, appearing on our cover, as well as in January, June and December. This year's calendar will fund the creation of the Foundation for the Advancement of Baritones (F.A.B.), which will fund programs to benefit baritones and basses. FAB will commission new music, provide prize money for vocal competitions and financially support other endeavors promoting the baritone and bass voice. Composer Clint Borzoni is working on the first commission, which are two songs for baritone and string quartet based on poems by Hermann Hesse and Hilde Domin.

"I'm pleased to be part of a project that will fund the creation of FAB, which will actively support select young singers beyond the significant promotional value of Barihunks," stated Malte Roesner.

ORDER YOUR BARIHUNKS CHARITY CALENDAR NOW!!!

Calendar Model Profile: Jason Chandler Duika

Jason Duika far left, right (and with Romain Dayez in the Barihunks calendar, center)

We featured Jason Chandler Duika in the months of January and May in our new Barihunks charity calendar. He was an instant sensation with readers, so we figured that we're share a few more photos, video and biographical information about the emerging American baritone. 

After a solid first year at Palm Beach Opera in 2015, he was invited back to sing the roles of Dancairo, and cover Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, sing the family performance and cover Dr. Malatesta in Donizettis Don Pasquale, sing Paquiro in Goyescas, by Granados, and cover Harlequin, and sing the Wigmaker in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. In early April, he will return to his alma mater, Alma College in Michigan to sing the title role of Saul in Handel's oratorio.

Jason Duika sings Hamlet's "Ô vin dissipe la tristesse":

Jason entertains ambitions of singing throughout the world, particularly the repertoire of Donizetti, Mozart, Puccini, and eventually Verdi, whom he enjoys most.

"I am greatly honored to be featured as a part of the barihunks mission, to help, support, and maintain young operatic artists in their continuing journey to success."

The 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar is now on sale and available online. For the past four years, the calendar has raised money for young artist programs and young artist projects. Proceeds from this year's calendar will fund the creation of the Foundation for the Advancement of Baritones (FAB), which will fund baritone and bass cash prizes at song competitions, commission music for baritones and basses, and be used to fund other projects featuring low male voices.

New York-based composer Clint Borzoni has already been commissioned to write two songs for string quartet and baritone, which will be performed by calendar model Marco Vassalli in January.

BUY YOUR CALENDAR NOW BY CLICKING BELOW

Zachary Gordin makes SF Symphony debut with Soundbox

Zachary Gordin: Mr January in the 2015 Barihunk Calendar

Barihunks calendar model Zachary Gordin is making his San Francisco Symphony debut with SoundBox, the orchestra’s new experimental performance venue and late-night live music series taking place backstage at Davies Symphony Hall on Saturday, December 13. The program,  spans over ten centuries of music from around the world, will be led by Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas. SoundBox is a new initiative aimed at attracting culturally-adventurous listeners to evenings of eclectic musical exploration and discovery, all in a nightclub-like setting.

"I’m thrilled to be one of the guest soloists for the inaugural performance of Soundbox. It’s an exciting new venture, bringing world class musicians from the San Francisco Symphony and Symphony Chorus together in an unconventional performance space, while creating a totally immersive experience for the senses," Gordin told Barihunks. "The acoustical environment will be altered for each piece of music by the wizards at Meyer Sound Laboratories, so the audience will be able to hear each piece in the acoustical environment it was meant for. There will be changing lights and projected art on huge screen panels, as well as an interesting menu of bites and cocktails, in a rehearsal hall that’s been transformed into a swanky night club. I’m most excited that this is my first time singing with Michael Tilson Thomas, and working with SF Symphony. He’s such a generous and collaborative Maestro, and an immensely gifted artist. I’m honored to be part of this project, and have loved watching it take shape."

Zachary Gordin (left) and Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek and Ramon Balderas

At the December 13 opening, Tilson Thomas will take listeners through a “musical tasting menu” that showcases the venue’s sound system which can alter the space’s acoustics to mimic a variety of different environments. Visual components of this opening show include Steina’s 1986 video Voice Windows, featuring the voice of Joan La Barbara. Voice Windows is co-presented at SoundBox by the SF Symphony and SFMOMA. Prior to the show’s start, guests will experience a soundscape installation derived from John Cage’s Branches (music for amplified plants), accompanied by plant-based imagery from video designer Adam Larsen.

The program includes “Stella splendens in monte” from the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat by Anonymous(arranged by Mason Bates), Plainchant and Kyrie from Missa Pange lingua by Josquin des Prez, Te Deum from Play of Daniel by Anonymous, Panda Chant II by Meredith Monk, Music for Pieces of Wood by Steve Reich, Introduction and Allegro by Maurice Ravel, Voice Windows, Integrales by Varèse and Magnificat from Vespro della Beata Vergine by Monteverdi.

The concert is SOLD OUT. Click HERE for information and tickets on upcoming Soundbox events.

You can enjoy Zachary Gordin and 18 other of opera's sexiest men in our 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar by clicking on the LULU button below. Only 3 weeks left to order.

Colorado native Keith Miller returns home for free concert

Donovan Singletary, Christopher Temporelli and Keith Miller

Sterling, Colorado probably doesn't get many Metropolitan Opera stars performing in their town of 18,000 people. The city, which was a stop on the Overland Trail during the mass migration to California after the Gold Rush is a good two hour drive northeast of Denver on the way to rural Nebraska. But fortunately for the good citizens of Sterling, Met star Keith Miller grew up a little further down the road in Ovid, Colorado.

On Saturday, November 22, he will perform at First Presbyterian Church in Sterling at 2 PM. The concert is free with a suggested offering to the church. He will be joined by soprano Melissa Zapin and pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski in a program of holiday standards, as well as music from Gounod's Faust, Puccini's La boheme and Gianni Schicchi, and Mozart's Don Giovanni and Le nozze de Figaro. 

Miller, has deep roots in the area, having played fullback for the University of Colorado and being drafted into the NFL. It's also no coincidence that Sterling would want someone with his background in sports and music, as the Valley School District has won awards for having some of the best music and athletic programs in Colorado.

Miller is featured in our Barihunk calendar for the second year in a row. This year as part of our Viva, Italia! theme, he was part of a photo shoot in New York City's Little Italy with fellow barihunks Donovan Singletary and Christopher Temporelli. You can order you calendar by clicking below.

Pick our best Italian Themed Photo: $250 to winning barihunk

Now that we've wrapped up our Sexiest Photo Submission, which resulted in a virtual tie between Ernesto Petti and Kasey Yeargain, we've off to the best Italian Themed Photo.

Our calendar this year is titled "VIVA, ITALIA!" and we asked singers to submit photos that fit that theme. Our five judges couldn't narrow it down to just five singers, so we have six to choose from. We're also reducing the voting period from seven days to three days, so cast those votes. We'll also let you vote for multiple singers. The winning singer will receive $250 in prize money.

Here are the selections (and vote in the right sidebar, not in the comments section):

Donovan Singletary: Italian Ice Cream

David Adam Moore: Mozart's Guglielmo

Doug Carpenter: Italian Cooking

L'Oiseleur des Longchamps: Monteverdi's Orfeo

Richard Alexandre Rittlemann: Pizza Delivery

Xavier Rivera: Rossini's Barber

You can order your own calendar by clicking below. You'll enjoy 19 of opera's hottest men for the entire year.

Who submitted the sexiest photo?

This year much of the money raised from our Barihunks Charity Calendar is going directly to the singers who participated. Our first prize is for the Sexiest Photo. We had an expert panel of five people from the music industry pick the top five for you to vote for.

The nominees are #1 Craig Verm in his Italian countryside pose, #2 Christian Smith-Kotlarek in his Rome themed photo, #3 Ernesto Petti swimming off the coast of Italy, #4 Zachary Gordin in his Tribute to Verdi and #5 Kasey Yeargain in his Tribute to Michelangelo.

You can vote to the left of this post. The winner will receive $100. Upcoming prizes will be for Best Photo ($500) and Best Italian Theme ($250).

You can order you own calendar by clicking below.

Calgary Opera highlights barihunk Vasil Garvanliev

 THE FOLLOWING WAS POSTED BY THE CALGARY OPERA:

Vasil Garvanliev

Ladies and gentlemen, we don’t want to alarm you, but we have some deliciously shocking news from the cast of Silent Night. You might not be aware, but there is famous BARIHUNK amongst our cast! Vasil Garvanliev is known for many notable attributes, he was a child star in his home country, Macedonia, a talented opera baritone and a hunk-tastic image that is easy on the eyes who has attracted the attention of opera fans far and wide since a risqué photo was captured with Opera Atelier in 2012.

Vasil Garvanliev

When first confronted with his Barihunk status, Vasil said he was confused and flattered. “A picture of me during my performance where I was topless all of a sudden was posted online and boom! It went everywhere, I was shocked and flattered.”

We spoke with Vasil about the reactions his fellow cast members have, and true to form, the rehearsal hall mirrors the locker room, with a lot of poking fun.

“People make fun of me, they yell 'Take your shirt off!' It’s just a joke. I’m the young guy on stage with this group of baritones, so that’s my role.”

Vasil Garvanliev

What can Barihunk fans look forward to most about Vasil’s character in Silent Night? “I’m the comic relief that is also going to break your heart in this story.” Vasil said. “This is my third time performing in Calgary. I consider this city home as I studied with Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Program here. I always love coming back and performing for the Calgary audience.”

Look for Vasil as a hunky French man in uniform in the upcoming Canadian Premiere of Silent Night. Tickets are available Nov. 8, 12 & 14 by going online at www.calgaryopera.com or calling the box office at 403.262.7286
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Daniel Okulitch as Lt. Horstmayer

We should also mention that the opera features another popular barihunk, Daniel Okulitch, who portrays Lt. Horstmayer. 
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Don't forget to order your 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar now that our link is working! Click HERE to order now.