Barihunk duo in Komische Oper's Don Giovanni

Evan Hughes as Leporello in Don Giovanni

Last night, bass-barihunk Evan Hughes made his Komische Oper debut as Leporello in Herbert Fritsch's colorful, whimsical and provocative production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. He'll be singing along side Günter Papendell, who is singing the title role. Performances with the barihunk duo run through June 4th when Philipp Meierhöfer takes over as Leporello.

Fritsch has drawn on the core of Don Juan story by bringing him to life as a malicious harlequin – a loser, audacious, side-splittingly funny and irresistible all at once.

Günter Papendell as Don Giovanni

Papendell, who has become a fan favorite at the Komische Oper, has been with the company since 2007 scored a huge success in this production last year. He can be see this season  as Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, Pollux in Rameau's Castor and Pollux, Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, the title role in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Jason in Cherubini's Medea and Fritz in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. You can watch his Onegin performance online for free by clicking HERE. 

Hughes is currently a fest member at the Semperoper Dresden where he can be seen as the Marchese d'Obigny in Verdi's La Traviata, Masetto and Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème, Cesare Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca and Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte. 

Günter Papendell back in Berlin's colorful Don Giovanni

German barihunk Günter Papendell seems to live on the stage of he Komische Oper in Berlin in a tank top or shirtless (and we're not complaining!). He's returning to the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni on November 30th in the colorful, whimsical and provocative production by Herbert Fritsch. You might recall we posted about him the last time he sang the role in Berlin, so you may have guessed that it's a favorite performance of ours.

Günter Papendell at the Komische Oper in Berlin

Papendell has been with the Komische Oper since 2007, appearing as Marcello in La Bohème, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Kothner in Meistersinger, Jeletzky in Pique Dame, Förster in Schlaues Füchslein, Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, Odysseus in the Monteverdi trilogy, Demetrius in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pollux in Castor et Pollux by Rameau, Mary in Die Soldaten by Zimmermann and Marquis Posa in Don Carlo.

Next year, Papendell sings the title role in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Achilla in Handel's Giulio Cesare and a return as Odysseus in the Monteverdi trilogy. 

Doug Carpenter & Richard Alexandre Rittelmann

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