Aaron Sørensen back as Sparafucile

Bass-barihunk Aaron Sørensen

Bass-barihunk calendar model Aaron Sørensen will show off his amazing low F as Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Charlottesville Opera (formerly Ash Lawn Opera). Sørensen recently performed the role to great acclaim with the Mississippi Opera. The Charlottesville cast will include Eglise Gutiérrez as Gilda, Matthew Vickers as the Duke of Mantua and Hyung Yun as the ill-fated father Rigoletto.

The opera opens on July 9th at the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre at Virginia Tech University and then heads to the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia for performances on July 14, 16 and 19. Tickets are available online.

Aaron Sørensen pitches Sparafucile on Midday Mississippi

Aaron Sørensen from the Barihunks calendar

Barihunk calendar model Aaron Sorensen appeared on Midday Mississippi on WLBT Channel 3 in Jackson along with soprano Rachel Arky. The duo were were pitching their "one night only" performance of Verdi's Rigoletto in which they perform the brother and sister duo of Sparafucile and Maddalena.

The rest of the cast includes barihunk Corey Crider, Hanna Brammer as Gilda, Cody Laun as the Duke of Mantua and Taylor Hightower as Monterone.

There is a single performance on April 22 at the Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson at 7:30 PM. You won't want to miss Sørensen's glorious Low F! Tickets are available online.

Andrea Mastroni sings bass lead in new opera Aquagranda

Andrea Mastroni (photo: Nicodemo Luca Lucà)

Italian bass Andrea Mastroni will open the new season at La Fenice on November 4th  with the world premiere of Filippo Perocco's new opera Aquagranda. The opera recalls the 1966 tragedy when the sea level rose 194 cm (6.4 feet) and flooded Venice.

Librettists Roberto Bianchin and Luigi Cerantola set the opera on the island Pellestrina, which was hit the hardest by the rains and winds. The opera marks the 50th anniversary of the floods that caused 3,000 people to flee the city.

Mastroni sings the lead role of Fortunato in the opera, which was written for a true bass. It includes a madrigal for Fortunato, Acque, atroci acque, which is one of the emotional highlights of the piece. Mastroni's character also has a scene where he tells his son Ernesto that people cannot escape due to the rising tides.

Venice, as city of canals, has regularly been affected by rising sea levels, known as Acqua alta, but the 1966 levels were almost unprecedented and devastated much of the city. The flood left thousands of residents without homes and caused over six million dollars worth of damage to the various art throughout Venice. The city remained isolated for 24 hours with more than 75% of businesses, shops, and artisans' studios either seriously damaged or destroyed completely.

Performance run until November 13 and tickets are available online.

Mastroni returns to the Metropolitcan Opera after his run in Venice, where he will sing Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto. Performances are on January 20, 26, 30 and February 4th and tickets and cast information is available online.

The 2017 Barihunks in Bed calendar is now on sale. Purchase your copy here. 

Barihunk trio in Palm Beach's free waterfront concert

Andrew Bogard, Jason Duika and Michael Chioldi

On December 12th, the Palm Beach Opera will present their annual Opera@The Waterfront at the Meyer Amphitheater. The free concert on the Intracoastal Waterway is a chance to hear arias and ensembles performed by a combination of international opera singers and the Palm Beach Opera Young Artists, orchestra and chorus.

One of this year's featured stars is barihunk Michael Chioldi, who will sing "Si può?..." from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, "Io morro ma lieto in core" from Verdi's Don Carlo,  "This nearly was mine" from South Pacific and the famous quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto. Next season, Chioldi will sing Count di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore with fellow barihunk Brandon Coleman, who is singing Ferrando.

He'll be joined by Jason Duika, who is a Palm Beach Opera Young Artist and is featured in the 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar. He'll be singing "Ò vin, dissipe la tristesse" from Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet and the Ice Cream Sextet from Kurt Weill's Street Scene. This season with Palm Beach Opera he'll perform Dancairo in Bizet's Carmen and Dr. Malatesta in the family performance of Don Pasquale.

Joining them will be bass-barihunk Andrew Bogart, who is celebrating a birthday today and who is also a Palm Beach Opera Young Artist this season. He will be sing "La calunnia" from Rossini's Barber of Seville, the trio "O suave il vento" from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte and "Signorina in tanta fretta" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale.  This season with Palm Beach Opera, he will sing Lakai/Truffaldino in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and a family performance as the title character in Don Pasquale.

Enjoy Jason Duika and 17 more of the world's hottest opera singers in this year's Barihunk Charity Calendar. Order before the holiday rush!!!

Romain Dayez & Jason Duika 

ORDER HERE:

Reader Submission: CrossFit barihunk Cody Monta'

Cody Monta'

Our latest reader submission is barihunk and CrossFit enthusiast Cody Monta'. He is currently a fellow at the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC.  He will be making his professional debut in the role of Marullo in Piedmont Opera’s production of Verdi's Rigoletto in Winston-Salem, NC on October 23, 25, 27, 2015. The cast includes tenor Rene Barbera as the Duke of Mantua. Barbera also graduated from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute. Tickets are available online.

Cody Monta sings "Questo amor vergogna mia" from Puccini's Edgar:  

The Maryland native holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. His 2015-16 season includes performing the role of Emilio in Nino Rota's Il cappello di paglia di Firenze in February 2016 and Escamillo in Peter Brook's La tragédie de Carmen in April 2016 at the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute. 

He recently appeared as Mr. Gideon March in Northwestern University Opera Theatre’s recent production of Little Women.  Last summer, Monta' attended the Aspen Music Festival and School as a New Horizon’s fellow where he covered the role of James Vane (The Picture of Dorian Gray). He currently lives in Winston Salem, NC with his fiancée, Brandi and two dogs, Thriller and Vibrant.

Laurence Meikle pulls an Opolais in Germany

Laurence Meikle in last night's La bohème in Wiemar (right)

Australian barihunk was a last minute replacement last night in Puccini's La bohème at the Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar. The singer is no stranger to the opera having performed four roles: Marcello, Schaunard, Benoit and Alcindoro. What's amazing is that he's scheduled to sing Marullo in Verdi's Rigoletto tonight at the Theater Nordhausen.

The story is reminiscent of soprano Kristine Opolais, who stepped into the Met's La bohème a night on April 5, 2014 a night after having performed Madama Butterfly. What makes Meikle's back-to-back performances so amazing is that it's not in the same opera house, but 90 minutes down the road.

When he's done with Rigoletto, he heads back to Wiemar to take on Baron Douphol in Verdi's La traviata beginning on January 24.