Barihunk quartet in Paris Opera's Don Giovanni

Alessio Arduini (left) & Fernaando Radó (center, right)

Four of the the hottest men in opera are performing together at the Paris Opera's Don Giovanni. Artur Ruciñski sings the title role, with Alessio Arduini singing Leporello, Fernando Radó performing Masetto and Alexander Tsymbalyuk as the Commendatore. Arduini and Radó have both created mini-sensations with their shirtless pictures on this site.

The all-star cast also includes Maria Bengtsson as Donna Anna, Karine Deshayes as Donna Elvira, Matthew Polenzani as Don Ottavio and Nadine Sierra and Gaëlle Arquez rotating as Zerlina. Performances run through October 18th and tickets are available online.

Joanna Jakubas & Artur Ruciński sing Là ci darem la mano:

After Paris, Alessio Arduini will head to the Vienna State Opera where he will appear as Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola, Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, the title role in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and Marcello in La bohème. Tsymbalyuk will head to The Met to sing Timur in Puccini's Turandot and then to Munich for Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto. Radó will next sing Monterone in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Teatro Real in Madrid and then return to Masetto as the Dutch National Opera. Ruciñski will also head to The Met to sing Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and then Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor an the Royal Opera in London.

Celebrating the anniversary of Carmen's premiere

Nmon Ford as Escamillo in Szeged

Georges Bizet's popular opera Carmen debuted on March 3, 1875 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. The opera was only mildly successful and the composer died almost three months to the day after the premiere. It's another one of those operas that we love for having three barihunk roles, the major role of the torreador Escamillo, the Lieutenant of Dragoons Zuniga, and the Corporal of Dragoons Moralès.

Escamillo arrives in Act 2 with his famous aria "Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre" (a.k.a. the Torreador Song). Bizet was reportedly contemptuous of the music that he wrote for Escamillo, remarking of the Torreador Song, "Well, they asked for ordure, and they've got it." We've had many baritones remark to us that it's a fiendishly and deceptively difficult aria to sing.

In the original play by Prosper Mérimée, Escamillo is a peripheral character, a picador named Lucas who is only briefly Carmen's grand passion. At the premiere, Escamillo was sung by the Belgian-born baritone Jacques Bouhy, who had already made a name for himself singing Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust and as Mozart's Figaro.

Kyle Ketelsen as Escamillo

Escamillo is a perfect barihunk role, as he's often portrayed as dashing and debonair, decked out in a uniform or other sexy costume, making him a particularly striking and attractive character. Some of the sexiest singers in the world today have Escamillo in their repertory, including Michael Todd Simpson, Mariusz Kwiecien, Nmon Ford, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Ildar Abdrazakov, Kyle Ketelsen, Alexander Vinogradov and Fernando Radó.

Lee Poulis sings Escamillo