Thomas Weinhappel from Boy's Choir to Barihunks Calendar model
Austrian barihunk Thomas Weinhappel is a new and welcome addition to our Barihunks calendar for 2018 (and he's also featured in our new Barihunks photo book). He provided us some stunning photos shot with a horse, which appear in the calendar and book.
Thomas Weinhappel feature on Austrian television:
He was also recently featured on Austrian television, tracing his career from the Vienna Boy's Choir to winning a prestigious European opera award for his portrayal in the title role of Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet in Ostrava. The Thalia Award goes to the"Best Opera Singer" for a performance at a Czech opera company. Judges praised him for "...finding the detailed
meanings of words and music, and their allusions to express the complexity
of the character the young man crushed by dark family relations."
He is currently performing as the Prince in Paul Lincke's Frau Luna at the Niederösterreich Operettenfestival, which runs through October 29th. He returns to the role of Hamlet in Ostrava on November 4th.
Thomas Weinhappel and Sam Roberts-Smith from the Barihunks calendar
Our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchaseHERE.
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 thatHERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!
Barihunks has released its 2018 calendar, which includes nineteen of opera's hottest singers, hailing from seven countries. Baritones and basses include Alexander Elliot, Brad Baron, Marco Vassalli, Malte Roesner, Cody Quattlebaum, Gianluca Margheri, Jason Duika, Joa Helgesson, Ken Mattice, Règis Mengus, Robert Brouwer, Sam Roberts-Smith, Thomas Weinhappel, Zacharias Niedzwiecki, Zachary James and Zachary Gordin. Most of our calendar ahave included one honorary hunkentenor, but we added three this year, including Derek Chester, Daniel Lopez and John Tibbetts. The calendar is available HERE.
Zacharias Niedzwiecki
Due to requests from our readers, we've added a Barihunks Photo Book, which includes numerous additional photos not included in the calendar. The 20-page photo book is available HERE.
All proceeds will go to promote baritones and musical commissions for low voice.
Thomas Weinhappel in a Barihunk t-shirt and with his Thalia Award
Austrian barihunk Thomas Weinhappel became the first Austrian to win the Thalia Award for his portrayal of the title role in Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet at the National Opera of Ostrava. Weinhappel won in the category "Best Opera Singer" for a performance at a Czech opera company in 2016.
Judges praised him for "...finding the detailed
meanings of words and music, and their allusions to express the complexity
of the character the young man crushed by dark family relations."
The Thalia Awards are presented by the Czech Actors' Association and are named after the muse of comedy. Awards are given out for theater, opera, musicals and ballet. Past winners have included Eva Urbanová, Dagmar Pecková and Kate Aldrich. The award ceremony was broadcast live on Czech television and radio from the Czech National State Opera.
Thomas Weinhappel and Lukáš Bařák in The Rape of Lucretia
He can be seen as Tarquinius with fellow barihunk Lukáš Bařák as Junius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia through April 19th in Ostrava. Tickets and additional performance information is available online.
Austrian barihunk Thomas Weinhappel was nominated for a Thalia Award for his portrayal of the title role in Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet at the National Opera of Ostrava. Weinhappel was nominated in the category "Best Opera Singer" for a performance at a Czech opera company in 2016.
The Thalia Awards are presented by the Czech Actors' Association and are named after the muse of comedy. Awards are given out for theater, opera, musicals and ballet. Past winners have inlcuded Eva Urbanová, Dagmar Pecková and Kate Aldrich.
The award ceremony will be broadcast on Czech television and radio from the Czech National State Opera on March 25.
Thomas Weinhappel as Joseph Calicot in Madame Pompadour
He also took some pictures for us in his Barihunk tee shirt during rehearsals for Britten's The Rape of Lucretia at the National Opera of Ostrava. He will be performing the role of Tarquinius with fellow barihunk Lukas Barak as Junius. Performances run from February 16-April 19. During March, he'll also be singing the role of Joseph Calicot in Leo Fall's Madame Pompadour in Baden.
Thomas Weinhappel is back in Ostrava in the Czech Republic singing the title role in Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet on April 16, May 10 and 17, and June 2 and 15. Performances are at the Antonín Dvořák Theatre and tickets are available online.
In between performances of Hamlet, Weinhappel heads to the Opéra Massy in Paris to sing Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte
on March 31, and April 1,2 and 3, which then plays at the Théâtre
Montansier in Versailles on April 5, at the Théâtre Alain Joneman in Le
Vésinet on April 6 and at the Théâtre Alexandre Dumas in Saint Germain
on April 8. He'll return to Ostrava in the Fall for more performances of
Hamlet.
Thomas Weinhappel as Hamlet
Thomas Oliemans as Hamlet
Barihunk Thomas Oliemans is also performing the role at the Göteborgs Opera through May 21 with fellow barihunk Paul Whelan as Claudius. In this production, on different nights they will present the two alternate endings that Ambroise Thomas wrote. At the very first
performance in Paris the opera concluded with Hamlet being crowned King,
and Queen Gertrud entering a nunnery. For the premiere at Covent Garden
in England, Thomas composed a more Shakespearean ending in which Hamlet
takes his own life. Tickets are available online.
Weinappel and Oliemans join an illustrious group of baritones who have sung the title role in recent years, including Sherrill Milnes, Thomas Allen, Thomas Hampson, Bo Skovhus, Simon Keenlyside, Liam Bonner, Wes Mason, Franco Pomponi and Stéphane Degout.
Thomas Weinhappel sings Hamlet's Drinking Song:
When Ambroise Thomas chose Shakespeare’s Hamlet as the subject of his new opera, France had been under the spell of the English bard for many years, and Ophelia had inspired romantic artists. The librettists Carré and Barbier distilled a straightforward story from Shakespeare’s abundant characters and situations. Many Anglo-Saxon critics have dismissed the opera because the libretto is so far removed from the original, despite Thomas having created a musical masterpiece.
The opera is played out between the opposite poles of real and feigned madness, love and avenge. After the murder of his father, Hamlet opposes the marriage of his mother and his uncle, at the expense of his beloved and himself.
Austrian barihunk Thomas Weinhappel will sing music from Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet at a gala concert with the Ostrava Nationalorchester in the Czech Republic on September 6th. He will then debut the complete role in March and April next year at the Nationaltheater Ostrava, which is just a 3 hour drive from Vienna.
He joins an illustrious group of baritone who have sung the title role in recent years, including Sherrill Milnes, Thomas Allen, Thomas Hampson, Bo Skovhus, Simon Keenlyside, Liam Bonner, Wes Mason, and Franco Pomponi and Stéphane Degout (with their famous nude scenes).
Thomas Weinhappel sings "Her die Hand es muß ja sein" from Johann Strauß's Zigeunerbaron:
When Ambroise Thomas chose Shakespeare’s Hamlet as the subject of his new opera, France had been under the spell of the English bard for many years, and Ophelia had inspired romantic artists. The librettists Carré and Barbier distilled a straightforward story from Shakespeare’s abundant characters and situations. Many Anglo-Saxon critics have dismissed the opera because the libretto is so far removed from the original, despite Thomas having created a musical masterpiece.
The opera is played out between the opposite poles of real and feigned madness, love and avenge. After the murder of his father, Hamlet opposes the marriage of his mother and his uncle, at the expense of his beloved and himself
Austrian barihunk Thomas Weinhappel was suggested to us by a reader who saw him in Mozart's Don Giovanni last year. We thought that we had posted about him, but were surprised to learn that we've actually not featured him before. We've now been informed that he'll be singing Papageno at the 900-seat outdoor theater Burgarena in Reinsberg, Austria where opera has been performed since 2002. Performances are on August 20 and 21. The nearby castle was built around 1000 AD to prevent attack from the Slavs.
Weinhappel began his singing career with the famed Vienna Boys’ Choir at the age of eight. As alto soloist he traveled with the Choir to the United States, South America, Canada, Germany, England and Sweden. He graduated with honors in voice from the Vienna Conservatorium and subsequently graduated magna cum laude from the Conservatorium in Vienna.
Thomas Weinhappel and Elisabeth Pratscher
Upcoming roles include Marullo in Verdi's Rigoletto with Oper Klosterneuburg starring Paolo Rumetz as Rigoletto and Daniela Fally as Gilda, Papageno with Stadttheater Baden from December 18-February 7, and the title role in Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet at the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre, which opens March 3, 2016.
You may recognize Weinhappel as the singer performing Schubert's Winterreise in Michael Haneke's award-winning film The Piano Teacher, which won three Palme d'Or Awards at the Cannes Film Festival.
He has appeared throughout Europe, including performances at the Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Baden State Theatre Bregenz, Neue Oper Wien, Vienna Burgtheater and Stadttheater Bern. His repertory includes the Mozart roles of Don Giovanni, Guglielmo, Papageno and Count Almavivia, as well as Count Danilo in Lehar's The Merry Widow and Master Ford in Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor.
