Reader Submission: Jason Forbach

Jason Forbach

We've said it so many times, but it bears repeating: We love our reader submissions of new talent. We still seem to remind people that this site is dedicated to baritones, bass-baritones and basses. In January, we received four tenor submissions, four countertenor submissions, two directors and a mezzo soprano!

Our latest submissions come from the United States where a reader saw Jason Forbach on stage.

Jason Forbach is a former Metropolitan Opera National Council regional semifinalist, who has been perfoming the role of Enjorlas in the national tour of the 25th Anniversary production of "Les Miserables." Previously he appeared in a Las Vegas production of "The Phantom of the Opera."

Jason Forbach sings Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere":

Forbach was classically trained in opera as a lyric baritone and performed at The New York Festival of Song tribute to Hal Prince at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. He has also performed with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Abilene Philharmonic and Boston Lyric Opera. He holds a bachelor's degree in vocal performance from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master's in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Jason Forbach

Forbach was also an apprentice artist with the Central City Opera and studied with John Moriarty.  He was named the Spencer Penrose Artist for 2003.

He recently self-produced his first solo album, "A New Leading Man" and a collection featuring his songwriting debut, "Remembering To Dream."

Tom Corbeil Lurches Onto Broadway Tour

Tom Corbeil

We've posted some pretty hot pictures of barihunk Tom Corbeil over the years, especially the shirtless ones from Joseph Haydn’s "L’isola disabitata." He's currently put his opera career on hold to join the traveling cast of the Addams Family musical touring the country. Anyone who saw him shirtless in L'Isola disabitata would barely recognize him as the morticianly looking Lurch.

The Addams Family was created by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Drama Desk Award winner Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys), and Olivier Award-winning director/designers Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter) with production supervision by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks.

The Road Cast of the Addams Family

The show is currently in Cleveland through April 22nd. It then travels to Memphis, Madison, St. Paul, Grand Rapids, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, Kansas City and Washington D.C. Check HERE to see if the show is coming to your town. 

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"South Pacific" Heads to the South Pacific

Teddy Tahu Rhodes to perform Emile de Becque

The Bartlett Sher-directed production of Broadway's "South Pacific," which won seven Tony Awards in 2008 and played to sold-out housed for two years is heading to the South Pacific. The successful show, which catapulted barihunk Paulo Szot to international prominence, will feature New Zealand barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Emile de Becque in the "down under" run.

The production will open in Sydney for a four week run on August 11, 2012 and then head on a nationwide tour of Australia.

Paulo Szot sings the classic "Some Enchanted Evening":

Also, don't forget that for the next two weeks we'll be taking submissions for our first-ever charity Barihunks calendar. Send High Res photos and bio to Barihunks@gmail.com.

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"Some Enchanted Evening"

Paulo Szot & Rodney Clarke

We thought that it would be fun to compare some versions of "Some Enchanted Evening" from the 1949 hit musical "South Pacific." Two baritones have scored huge successes as Emile de Becque almost 60 years apart, Ezio Pinza and Paulo Szot. We've mixed in emerging barihunk Rodney Clarke and the great Cesare Siepi for comparison purposes. We've also added the hit recording my Perry Como, a version by the legendary Frank Sinatra and a jazzed up version from Ray Charles.

Ezio Pinza, who made this famous with the original 1949 Broadway cast recording:



Paulo Szot, who became a mega-star barihunk with South Pacific:



Cesare Siepi, who shows he could have scored a it with this on Broadway, too:



Ray Charles, jazzing it up for TV:



Frank Sinatra in a classic version from 1949:



Rodney Clarke, one of our emerging barihunks: Perry Como, who had a hit with this in 1949:



Giorgio Tozzi, who recorded his in 1958:


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Matthew Morris & Betty Buckley Team Up to Battle Gay Teen Suicide

Benefit Poster & Matthew Morris

We love it when barihunks do community work and we have promoted Chris Herbert and Erwin Schrott for their recent efforts. Add barihunk Matthew Morris to the mix, as he will be joining Broadway legend Betty Buckley in a benefit for The Trevor Project. The gala will be on Monday, November 22nd at 8 p.m. at St. Paul the Apostle Church at West 60th and Columbus in New York City.

“This concert is for those kids who feel that they have no one to talk to, no one who can understand, no one who cares," said Matthew Morris, who is also one of the producers of the event. "There are many people out there who care deeply. This night is about showing that care in a concrete way by gathering people from all walks of life: artists, members of the faith community, business people, straight people, gay people, men, women, old, and young who will show up and say, ‘You are not alone.'"

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. The organization was founded in 1998 by three filmmakers whose film, “Trevor,” a comedy/drama about a gay teenager who attempts suicide, received the 1994 Academy Award® for Best Short Film (Live Action).

Along with the concert, a silent auction will offer items from Tom Ford, Hermes of Paris, and Zac Posen, as well as special items from Gary Beach, Christine Brewer, Chelsea Handler, Scott Nevins, Billy Porter, and other Broadway performers.

General Admission tickets are $25, and premium seats are $100. Tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting You are Not Alone.

Here is a clip of Morris performing "I think it's going to rain today." 



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Paulo Szot at Cafe Carlyle

Paulo Szot; Richard Termine for The New York Times

Barihunk Paulo Szot is scaling things down and performing at the famed Cafe Carlyle in New York. He is performing music of his native Brazil, as well as some Broadway standards. Tickets range from $40-$100 and dinner is required.

Visit the Cafe Carlyle website for information. You can read the New York Times review of his performance HERE. Don't miss this opportunity to see one of the sexiest men in opera up close and personal.

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Jason Howard Crosses Over

We recently covered Paolo Szot's upcoming appearance in South Pacific on PBS. Now Barihunks has learned that Jason Howard has taken on the role in Toronto. The Welsh singer is returning to the city where he met his wife in 1994 after a Toronto Symphony Orchestra concert.

We first featured the big, beefy singer a little over a year ago after a long overdue absence on this site. Howard's run in the touring production of South Pacific comes after he's established himself as a great Wagnerian, including a recent run in the Ring Cycle at the Opéra National du Rhin directed by David McVicar.

Howard has also portrayed Billy Budd, Escamillo, Zurga, Jokanaan and Don Giovanni. In upcoming seasons Howard will portray Scarpia in Tosca and Jaroslav Prus in The Makropulos Case. He performs regularly with his native Welsh National Opera, as well as the English National Opera, Covent Garden, Scottish Opera and Seattle Opera.

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Rod Gilfry Continues Move From Opera To Broadway Musicals

Barihunk Rod Gilfry, who is currently starring in the national tour of South Pacific, will play Captain Georg von Trapp in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France from December 6 to January 3.

The cast also includes fellow barihunk Laurent Alvaro as Mad Detweiler. Alvaro appeared nude on this site in December 2008 when he was in the second cast of The Fly at Théâtre du Châtelet.

For more information, click here: Théâtre du Châtelet.

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Paulo Szot is an out gay man

http://www.afterelton.com/blog/brianjuergens/tony-winner-paulo-szot-indeed-out-gay-man

http://parterre.com/

Barihunk readers should be reminded that we noticed barihunk Paulo Szot long before he took Broadway by storm. It's nice to see the world catching up. Here is the text from the blog www.AfterElton.com:

Here's some great news for theater lovers, supporters of LGBT visibility, and anyone with a weakness for a hot Brazilian gay hunk with a body carved from marble and a voice that could melt glass:

Gorgeous and talented Paulo Szot, who last week won the Best Actor in a Musical Tony for his performance in South Pacific, is an out gay man.

There had been some speculation about Szot (who was rumored to be openly gay in his native Brazil, where he is a celebrated opera singer), but not much was known about him in the States before he took the stage in Pacific. And of course the sight of him and sound of his pipes set tongues wagging and Internet speculation afire the day after the Awards. We contacted his publicist and were told that yes, he is gay, and we're welcome to say as much.

It is of course wonderful to have yet another openly gay actor winning the Best Actor trophy (last year, newly-out David Hyde Pierce took the prize in an upset win over bisexual actor Raul Esparza), a trend that we hope to see continue ... especially in stereotype-breaking, traditionally masculine roles like the one Szot plays in South Pacific. And folks hoping to snag Szot for themselves, you might be out of luck, as the handsome man who accompanied him is rumored to be the "Eduardo" that he thanked in his acceptance speech, and he may be spoken for.

Paulo Szot

Barihunk Paulo Szot won Best Actor in a Musical at the Tony Awards for his performance in South Pacific. One can find more pictures on this blog.