Barihunks in opera based on legendary football coach

Anlami Shaw and Gary Ramsey

We've seen all types of topics covered in this age of POPera and "CNN opera," from serious subjects like John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer to the somewhat outrageous like Mark- Anthony Turnage's Anna Nicole and Richard Thomas' Jerry Springer: The Opera. Now we have an opera based on NFL coach Bum Phillips, who just died last year at the age of ninety.

Bum Phillips All-American Opera opens today at La MaMa in the New York City's East Village and runs through March 30. Tickets are available online. It then travels to Austin for performances at the Texas State History Museum.

Much like Anna Nicole, it mixes tragedy and comedy as it tells the story of the legendary coach with an oversized personality who led the now defunct Houston Oilers to a 55-35 record in the late 1970s, but never progressing beyond the AFC title game. Like Yogi Berra in baseball he was known for always delivering a memorable quote to the press, such as "There's two kinds of coaches, them that's fired and them that's gonna be fired."

The opera will star barihunk Gary Ramsey as Bum Phillips. Ramsey performs regularly with the DiCapo Opera in New York where he has performed in Hansel und Gretel, God Bless Us Everyone, Marriage of Figaro, Mr. Fantastic Fox, Turandot, La Centerentola and Carmen.

But what really caught our eye in a production that billed itself as not being the usual opera fare, was the aspiring baritone Anlami Shaw as running back Earl Campbell. A former pro track athlete who has done some modeling, he's been trying to develop a career in music. He's performed some musical theater, as well as appearing in the ensemble of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

We'd like to encourage him to continue his studies, as we'd love to see lots more of him in the future.

Barihunk Gustavo Feulein joins Hunkentenor Joel Prieto in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore

Our nifty "Eyes on the Island" in Puerto Rico spotted barihunk Gustavo Feulien, who will be starring as Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore at the Centro De Bellas Artes De Santurce in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 28th. We first introduced him to readers in 2011. Also starring in the performance will be hunkentenor Joel Prieto, one of the most gifted young singers to emerge on the scene in recent years. Tickets are available online. 

Tenor Joel Prieto sings "Una furtiva lagrima" from L'elisir d'amore:

Feulien is an Argentine native who made his operatic debut in 2006 as Don Giovanni in his home country, where he also performed Germont in Verdi's La Traviata and Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. A first-prize winner at the Il Trovatore International Competition in Argentina, he was also a semifinalist in the Hans Gabor Belvedere International and the Francisco Viñas competitions, and a finalist in Caballé's International Vocal Competition.

In 2007-08 he sung the roles Haly in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri for Buenos Aires Lírica, Di Luna in Verdi's Il Trovatore and Il Marito in Menotti's Amelia al ballo. He has performed the leading roles in La Traviata and Rigoletto in several performances in Buenos Aires as well as many cities throughout Argentina as part of the Teatro Colon's Institute. He also performed in Monserrat Caballé's "Voices Concert" in Spain and in the 100th Anniversary of Teatro Colón`s celebration gala. 

Coach Joan Dornemann works with Gustavo Feulein on Escamillo's aria:

Now based in New York City, he made his debut there with America's Society with scenes from Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Le Nozze di Figaro. He recently appeared with the DiCapo Opera in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. He has sung a number of roles at DiCapo, including
Robert in Iolanta and Silvio in I Pagliacci.

In 2011, he was awarded the Argentinian Music Critics Association Award for his performances in Wagner's Lohengrin and Mario Perusso's Fedra.