Barihunk duo in French double-bill

Ben Connor (far left & right) with Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod and Julian Henao Gonzalez

The Theater an der Wien is presenting a double-bill of Ravel's L'heure espagnole with American barihunk Tobias Greenhalgh as Ramiro and Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tiresias with Australian barihunk as Ben Connor as Marì. Performances run through June 23.

Maurice Ravel and Francis Poulenc wrote their respective works with the hope that they would revive the genre of Italian opera buffa in the French language again. Although both operas failed initially at the Opéra Comique in Paris, both became staples of the standard repertory in the 20th century.

Tobias Greenhalgh in L'heure espagnole

Later this year at Theater an der Wien, Greenhalgh performs two roles in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea and Ned Keene in Britten's Peter Grimes. On June 25 and 27, Ben Connor performs the baritone solo in Orff's Carmina Burana at the Wiener Volksoper.

More great photos of Ben Connor (and a recital)

Ben Connor (all photos by Lukas Beck)

We had to share these pictures of Australian barihunk Ben Connor, who originally created quite a sensation on this site when he appeared in Puccini's La boheme in his skivvies. Connor has been a member of the young artist program at the Theater an der Wien, where in addition to La boheme, he performed in Rossini's La cambiale de matrimonio, the opening night concert and was featured in his own recital. These photos are by the Lukas Beck and are part of a series of the entire young artist program.

Recital excerpts from Ben Connor on Vimeo.

Connor has been on the opera world's radar for some time, having won the Art Song Prize of the Australian National Eisteddfod and the Welse Singing Competition, as well as a grant from the Australian Britain Society, which brought him to Europe. After entering the young artist program he immediately was singled out as a star performer, with his beautiful lyric baritone and natural acting style.

You can hear Ben Connor live on October 1st in a recital with accompanist Tomasz Kamieniak at the Kammeroper in Vienna. In November, he will be starring as Dandini in the company's production of Rossini's La cenerentola.

Ben Connor in skivvies for updated La boheme

Andrew Owens (left) and Ben Connor (right)

Australian baritone Ben Connor stripped down to his skivvies for the Kammeroper of Vienna's production of La boheme. This isn't the usual La boheme, as it's the chamber version of the opera by composer Jonathan Dove, with electronic interludes by Sinem Altan. Dove's version reduces the the big Puccini orchestra to just fourteen musicians.

The characters are a cast of bored pseudo-artists set in a penthouse, department store and hospital death chamber. Purists may be shocked by Mimi dying bald behind the glass wall of a hospital. Critics have praised the work for its originality and humor.

Remaining performances are on January 23, 26. and 30, as well as February 1, 10, 15, 17, 21. and 24.

The Australian baritone Ben Connor graduated with a Masters of Music in voice from the Australian National University where he was the recipient of the Harmony Endowment scholarship. After furthering his studies at the Universität für Musik und darstellende kunst in Vienna, he is now a member of the inaugural “Junges Ensemble” at the Theater an der Wien. Ben won the 2010 Aria Competition at the “National Eisteddfod”(Canberra, Australia) and in 2011 was the recipient of the Richard Wagner Stipendium Bayreuth prize from “Klassik Mania”(Vienna).