Barihunk trio in Opera Parallèle Double-Bill

Gabriel Preisser, Hadleigh Adams and Daniel Cilli at a dress rehearsal

Regular readers of this site know that we have a particular fondness for Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias. Apparently, our readers do, as well, as the production from Barcelona remains one of our most visited posts (barihunk Gabriel Bermudez appearing in the buff may account for some of that traffic!).

San Francisco's innovative young opera company Opera Parallèle has assembled three popular and talented barihunks for their double-bill of Weill's Mahagonny Songspiel and Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias for their three performances at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from April 25 - 27 under conductor Nicole Paiement. Gabriel Preisser performs Bobby in Mahagonny and Le mari in the Poulenc, Daniel Cilli is Billy and Le directeur/Presto, and San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Hadleigh Adams sings Le gendarme.

Gabriel Preisser and Hadleigh Adams (left); Hadleigh Adams and Daniel Cilli (right)

Director Brian Staufenbiel has seamlessly combined the two works, beginning with Mahogonny set in a future where water is in scarce supply and a theater troupe dragging an old boat (that the company found in the Santa Cruz Mountains) stops to perform Les Mamelles. The Poulenc opera is about a woman who becomes a man and changes the submissive role of women in her world, as her husband overpopulates the world by giving birth to thousands of babies.

The Poulenc, which includes members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus to great effect, will be presented in the re-orchestration for smaller orchestra for the first time in the United States.

Hadleigh Adams and Renee Rapier

Gabriel Preisser took the opera world by storm with his portrayal of Lt. Gordon in the world premiere of Kevin Putz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night with Minnesota Opera and Opera Philadelphia. He will reprise the role this summer with the Cincinnati Opera with tenor Thomas Glenn, who is Charlie/Lacouf/Le Journaliste/Le fils in the Weill/Poulenc double-bill. He'll also be joined by fellow barihunks Joseph Lattanzi, Philip Addis, Craig Irvin and Andrew Wilkowske. Performances are on July 10 and 12 and tickets are available online.

Hadleigh Adams made his debut with the San Francisco Opera as Luther and Schlémil in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann and in several roles in the world premiere of Mark Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. He'll appear with the company again this season as the Jailer in Puccini's Tosca.

Daniel Cilli heads to the Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre this summer to sing Javert in Les Misérables. During the 2012-13 season, he performed the title role Carlo Gesualdo in the premiere of  Dante DeSilva's Gesualdo: Prince of Madness with Opera Parallèle.

For those unfamiliar with Opera Parallèle, it's a company that you should keep an eye on, as they are doing some of the most innovative and interesting opera on the West Coast. They've produced Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in a double-bill with Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, the world premiere of Jacques Desjardins’ re-orchestration of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, the San Francisco Bay Area premiere of Philip Glass’ Orphée, the first West Coast performances of John Rea’s chamber version of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, the world premiere of Lou Harrison’s opera Young Caesar with a nude scene featuring barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu, Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts and the world premiere of Luciano Chessa’s A Heavenly Act.

Sexy Don Giovanni with Zach Altman in San José

Cecilia Violetta Lopez as Donna Anna & Zach Altman as Don Giovanni

Every so often there's a Don Giovanni that comes along where one can actually believe the sexual conquests listed in Leoporello's catalog aria. (In Italy, six hundred and forty; In Germany, two hundred and thirty-one; A hundred in France; in Turkey, ninety-one; But in Spain already one thousand and three).

Such is the case with Zach Altman's sexy and shirtless portrayal at the San José Opera. Regular readers will recall a photo of Altman in a towel that we ran, which for almost a year was one of our most clicked on photos. That photo ran four years ago and Altman still looks great, but he has also emerged into one of the most compelling entertainers and singers on stage.

By the way, the catalog aria in this production is sung by Eugene Brancoveanu, who has also appeared shirtless on this site. There are two casts for Don Giovanni, and Altman can be seen on April 19, 24, 27 and May 2. Tickets and additional cast information are available online.

He was also featured in this article from the San José Mercury News where he discusses the role and his time on the roster at the San José Opera. 

Altman has been a resident artist at the San José Opera for the last two years, where he has sung Zurga in Bizet's Pearl Fishers, Dr. Falke Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Count Di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore, and the title role in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi.

Altman can next be seen this summer at the Caramoor Festival as Astolfo in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia opposite soprano Angela Meade and Marullo in Verdi's Rigoletto.

Scott Conner wins Loren L. Zachary Competition

Scott Conner

Baritones and basses continue to dominate vocal competitions, as bass Scott Conner took away the top prize at the Loren L. Zachary Vocal Competition over the weekend. Earlier this year, Conner won the Gerda Lissner Foundation Competition. A District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Conner has been a finalist in the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, and was named a Gold Winner in Voice by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA).

He is an Artist in Residence at the Academy of Vocal Arts where he has performed the title role in Don Giovanni, Colline in La bohème, La Roche in Capriccio, Oroveso in Norma, First Man in the world premiere of Scarlet Letter. the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann, the title role in Verdi's Oberto, and Dulcamara in L'elsir d'amore.

Two other barihunks walked away with top prizes, as Eugene Brancoveanu and Wes Mason also won prizes. Brandon Cedel, who was an early favorite to win the competition, had to withdraw due to illness. Other winners this year included, mezzo Olivia Vote, soprano Chloe Moore, soprano Anush Avetisyan, tenor Viktor Antipenko, tenor Benjamin Bliss and soprano Anna-Lisa Hackett.

Scott Conner sings "Fin ch'han dal vino" from Don Giovanni:

A number of barihunks have walked away with top prizes at the Loren L. Zachary competition in past years, including Zachary Nelson and Brandon Cedel in 2011, Donovan Singletary and Jonathan Beter in 2010, Kelly Markgraf in 2009 and Matt Trevino in 2007.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Eugene Brancoveanu singing "Vi menr lebn" from The Thomashefsky's

Eugene Brancoveanu

When we saw Eugene Brancoveanu's latest post on YouTube of the title song from Joseph Rumshinsky's "Vi mener libn" (The Way Men Love), we figured it was worthy of its own post.

The piece is featured in the show "The Thomashefskys," which has been a project of conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. "The Thomasefsky's" features the Yiddish music of shows that played in the theater houses of the Lower East Side in New York and other American cities to which the Thomashefsky troupe traveled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Michael Tilson Thomas, rescued, researched, edited and arranged countless old scores. Much of it had to be restored according to his memory of how his grandmother Bessie Thomashefsky, father Ted Thomas and uncle Harry Thomashefsky performed the numbers in the living room of his North Hollywood family home in the 1950s.

To learn more about this project, click HERE. 

Here is Eugene Brancoveanu singing "Vi menr lebn":

Our best material comes from you! Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Eugene Brancoveanu on PBS' "The Thomashefskys" Tonight

Eugene Brancoveanu in The Machine at The Crucible

Barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu will be on PBS tonight as part of "The Thomashefskys: Music & Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater," which was written, hosted and conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas of the San Francisco Symphony.

It’s the story of Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, two kids from little shtetls of the Ukraine who came to America and became the founders and pioneers of the American Yiddish Theater. The broadcast is scheduled on the Great Performances series on PBS on Thursday, March 29 at 8:00 p.m. (check local listings). If you forget to program your DVR, don't worry because the complete show will be released on DVD and digitally on April 24.

The Thomashefskys

Recorded in April 2011 at the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center in Miami Beach, the performance of The Thomashefskys for the March 29 broadcast. In addition to Brancoveanu, the performance features Judy Blazer. Gary Halvorson, Ronit Widmann-Levy and Shuler Hensley as Boris Thomashefsky.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

SF Lyric Opera returns with Eugene Brancoveanu in "the little match girl passion"

Eugene Brancoveanu in Machine at The Crucible earlier this year

The San Francisco Lyric Opera vanished from the scene for awhile, but they're back with David Lang's "the little match girl passion." The production features Barihunks regular Eugene Brancoveanu.

Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story and influenced by Bach's St. Matthew Passion, the Pulitzer Prize-winning "the little match girl passion" has become one of the most heralded compositions since its premiere at Carnegie Hall.

Anastazia Louise of Bad Unkl Sista will create costumes and choreography for the production, the first West Coast production to include movement. Anastazia's fusion of Butoh-style dance with Western music focuses on creative, proactive human development.

Performances run from March 23-25 at the ODC Theater in San Francisco. Visit their website for additional information. 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Eugene Brancoveanu is Papageno in Re-imagined Magic Flute

Eugene Brancoveanu as Papageno and in The Machine

Some of you may remember West Edge Opera as the Berkeley Opera. They rebranded, but continue to produce some of the most interesting productions in the opera-rich San Francisco Bay Area. They re-imagine  opera classics with the goal of appealing to regular opera goers, as well as newer, younger audiences.

Their latest productions is Mozart's The Magic Flute by Mozart re-imagined as The Manga Flute. They commissioned David Scott Marley to create both a new English translation and new story inspired by the Japanese manga films of Hayao Miazaki, the noted creator of many popular films including Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. They also commissioned artist Megan Willis to create new manga art to be projected as scenery. 

 

Barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu, who we recently featured on this site in Machine at Oakland's Crucible, will be singing Papageno. The former Merola Opera student and Adler Fellow always brings 100% to every performance, whether dressed as a bird catcher or undressed in Machine.

There are performances remaining on Friday, March 9 and Sunday, March 11. You can click HERE for tickets or click HERE to make a donation to support this exciting company.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

NY Times says go to Oakland in 2012: "HOT" opera at the Crucible; Zachary Gordin with East Bay Symphony

Been to Oakland lately? We have three reasons to go: Great food and drinks, amazing music and barihunks.

Friday's travel section of the New York Times named Oakland, California as one of the 45 places to visit in 2012. Northern Californians have long known that Oakland is San Francisco's fog-free counterpart across the Bay, where young people have been moving in droves to open restaurants and bars, art galleries, buy homes and dubbing it the "Brooklyn of the West."

The New York Times wrote, "The historic Fox Theater reopened in 2009 and quickly cemented its status as one of the Bay Area's top music venues, drawing acts like Wilco and the Decemberists. Meanwhile, the city's ever more sophisticated restaurants are now being joined by upscale cocktail bars, turning once-gritty Oakland into an increasingly appealing place to be after dark."

Oakland resident Zachary Gordin as he appears in the 2012 Barihunks Calendar

Classical music fans have long known that some of the most innovative programming occurs under conductor Michael Morgan with his Oakland/East Bay Symphony Orchestra. His upcoming Carmina Burana will feature barihunk Zachary Gordin and it will be paired with Glazunov's rarely performed Saxophone Concerto from 1934. There is one performance on Friday, January 27th and tickets are available HERE. The performance is at the historic Paramount Theater, which is walking distance away from the recently restored Fox Theater (pictured above).

Eugene Brancoveanu

If you're looking for the really "hot" show in town, then head over to West Oakland's "The Crucible," where they have pioneered the concept of "fire operas." And we're literally talking about opera with real fire. A performance of a fire opera at The Crucible will make Brunnhilde's "Immolation Scene" look like a burning match. The Crucible is actually an industrial training center where people learn a variety of fire skills. Their current offering, "Machine," will feature molten metal pours, fire performers, glass blowers and blacksmiths.

MACHINE was written, conceived and directed by innovative director Mark Streshinsky. The music is by Clark Suprynowicz, who is known for his jazz and rock infused compositions of operatic and symphonic works.

The plot is based on a short story by science fiction author Derek J. Goodman, MACHINE is set in a fiery industrial universe in which workers have sold themselves into a lifetime of servitude. When one worker regains his power of self-determination, the story ignites into an explosive brew of escape plots, alliances and unlikely love interests

Performances are on January 11-14 and 18-21. Tickets are available HERE.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Firey Hot Opera Coming to Oakland with Eugene Branconveanu

Eugene Brancoveanu

This January, The Crucible in Oakland, California, will celebrate its 13th anniversary with a World Premiere Fire Opera, "MACHINE." 

The production was conceived and directed by the brilliant and innovate director Mark Streshinsky and features music by Clark Suprynowicz. The performance will be conducted by Barnaby Palmer and sung by barihunk regular Eugene Brancoveanu.

The Romanian baritone will be shirtless and from the looks of things, giving Nathan Gunn, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Erwin Schrott, Christoper Maltmann and other bare-chested barihunks a run for their money.

Eugene Brancoveanu

Based on a short story by science fiction author Derek J. Goodman, MACHINE is set in a fiery industrial universe in which workers have sold themselves into a lifetime of servitude. When one worker regains his power of self-determination, the story ignites into an explosive brew of escape plots, alliances, and unlikely love interests. This spectacular performance features two opera singers, a rock singer and percussionists that “play” the scaffolding-like set. Visual effects including a molten metal pour, fire performers and industrial artists such as glass blowers and blacksmiths. MACHINE will deliver the kind of awe-inspiring performance that Crucible audiences have come to expect.

MACHINE runs January 11-14 and 18-21, 2012 with tickets ranging $45-$65 and $150 for the Closing Night Gala on January 21. You can find more information and purchase tickets online at www.thecrucible.org.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Tweet

Miscellaneous News

We've fallen a little behind with our posts as our Barihunks team is enjoying opera at Glyndebourne, Santa Fe and Bayreuth. We appreciate the emails encouraging us to maintain daily posts, so here are some quick updates from the opera world. Please help us keep us to date by submitting news and photos to Barihunks@gmail.com, which continues to be our best source of barihunk activity.

Eugene Brancoveanu

Opera fans on the West Coast can see the gifted Romanian barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu in three upcoming performances. He will be at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton, California on September 11 at 3 PM. Brancoveanu’s performing selections from opera. On Sunday, November 13^th, he travels north to Brookings, Oregon to perform An Afternoon of Opera and Musical Theater with tenor Thomas Glenn and soprano Ronit Widmann-Levy joined by the gifted accompanist Peter Gruenberg.  In April 2012, he will be a soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the underrated Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra in Central California.

Christopher Theofanidis & Thomas Hampson in Vanity Fair

We've previously covered American barihunk Thomas Hampson's upcoming performances as 9/11 hero Rick Rescorla in Christopher Theofanidis’ “Heart of a Soldier,” which opens September 10 at the San Francisco Opera. We thought that readers would enjoy this article from the San Francisco Examiner. Also, make sure to check out the September 2012 issue of Vanity Fair, which features a wonderful profile on the Hampson and "Heart of the Soldier." [Page 202]

Matthias Hausmann

The Austrian Cultural Forum NYC will Present “From Austria With Love,” sung by Mathias Hausmann and accompanied by pianist Craig Rutenberg on Thursday, October 6 at 7:30 PM. The program will feature songs by Austrian composters who lived in American including Mahler, Korngold, Zeisl, Krenek, Stolz and Kalman. Admission is free but tickets must be reserved by calling 212-319-5300 ext. 222. 

Michael Leibengut

On September 16, 2001, Michael Leibengut will make his debut with the Luzerne Festival in the premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas' "Nacht," a chamber opera in 24 scenes. For additional information, visit the Luzerne Festival website. 

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Tweet

Reader Submission: Sean Sullivan

Sean Sullivan

Our reader submissions continue with, Sean Sullivan who began singing at age nine with the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, and was subsequently invited to sing in the Children’s Chorus of the Los Angeles Opera, where he decided to pursue an opera career.

He made his solo operatic debut as Young Prince Hrothgar in the world premiere of Elliott Goldenthal’s Grendel at the Los Angeles Opera. He reprised this role in New York at The New York State Theater for the East Coast Premiere. Sean attended L.A. County High School for the Arts where he sang several roles including Mr. Peachum in Britten’s The Beggar’s Opera and Carl Olsen in Weill’s Street Scene. At CSUN, Sean played Antonio in Mozart’s Le Nozze de Figaro, David in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge and The Mysterious Man in Sondheim’s Into the Woods.

You can read an interview with Sean Sullivan HERE.

Sullivan can next be heard in an abbreviated concert version of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" at the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco on May 26 & 27. For reservations, call (415) 447-6274. Sullivan will perform Masetto opposite the Don Giovanni of his voice coach and fellow barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Brancoveanu in Glass' Orphee

Brancoveanu (L & C) & Kness (R)

The creative young opera company Ensemble Parallele is mounting Philip Glass' opera Orphee. Romanian barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu is singing the title role opposite the Eurydice of Susannah Biller, who happens to be married to barihunk Austin Kness, who is also in the cast. For additional cast and performance information, visit the Ensemble Parallele website.

There will be an evening performance on February 26 and a matinee on February 27 at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco. Last year, this young opera company mounted a Wozzeck that was one of the most compelling operatic experiences in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2007, Brancoveanu made a stunning debut with the company in Lou Harrison's "Young Caesar." He was one of the first barihunks to show off more than his vocal acumen on stage when he appeared nude in the Rape of Lucretia with the Merola Opera Program.

Here is some rehearsal footage of the upcoming production:



Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Tweet

Eugene Brancoveanu: "Velcome to my house..."

A week ago, we ran a post about barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu playing Dracula in the straight theater. Here is a video of him discussing the role and even providing us with a preview of the famous line, "Velcome to my house..." Brancoveanu was cast after he was seen in a very "carnal" production of Don Giovanni at the Berkeley Opera.



The production is currently running at the Center Repertory Company through November 20 at the Lesher Center for the Performing Arts in Walnut Creek, California (a short drive from San Francisco).

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Romanian Barihunk to Play Dracula

 What better news as Halloween approaches than to report that Romanian barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu has been cast as Dracula. This role is non-operatic and will introduce the dramatically intense and insightful singer to a whole new audience. Brancoveanu took the San Francisco Bay Area by storm with his edgy and original portrayal of Don Giovanni with the Berkeley Opera and the Livermore Valley Opera.

The performances with the Center Repertory Company will run from October 22 through November 20 at the Lesher Center for the Performing Arts.

Here's a highlight from an article about the production in the Walnut Creek Patch:

At least temporarily. Butler said he has found his ideal Dracula in Brancoveanu, whom he first saw in the title role in Berkeley Opera's production of Don Giovanni.


He's one of the hunky baritones tracked on barihunks.blogspot.com.


"I'd never seen a performance like that, especially in an opera," Butler recalls. "It was like a rock star performance, wildly creative. In the Dracula rehearsals, Eugene has been fantastic. He's a maniac, fearless. He comes up with great ideas, he's very bold, and he's got the physicality to pull them off."


In the Bay Area, Brancoveanu has sung the Pilot in The Little Prince and Belcore in L'elisir d'amore for San Francisco Opera and the Count in Livermore Valley Opera's Marriage of Figaro. He also sang the role of Marcello in Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme on Broadway. And he took many leading roles with the Romanian State Opera.


"Eugene told me that as a Romanian, he just had to play Dracula," Butler recalls. "He said, 'He's our national hero!' "

You can read the entire article HERE.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Don Giovanni Hits the Streets

Eugene Brancoveanu in Livernore Opera's Don Giovanni

 

If there's one thing that we love at Barihunks it's great marketing. Often it's the smaller companies who come up with the greatest ad campaigns as they compete for attention with the major companies. We've generally found that the Ft. Worth Opera and Dallas Opera have much more interesting marketing campaigns than Lyric Opera of Chicago or the Vienna State Opera. We particularly love when the little regional companies really step up their game and show what's possible in the world of opera marketing.

Livermore Valley Opera in Northern California is one of those companies. Their marketing campaign for their upcoming Don Giovanni is sheer genius. The campaign appeals to both opera lovers and the person on the street. And that's exactly who they went after, the person on the street. Watch the video of barihunk Eugene Brancoveanu as he takes Don Giovanni's rakish ways to the streets of Livermore.



Opening night of Don Giovanni is Saturday, October 2 at 8 PM, with additional performances on Sunday, October 3 at 2 PM and Sunday, October 10 at 2 PM. For more information, please visit the Livermore Valley Opera website. The opening night performance will be preceded by a gala beginning at 5 PM.

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Email us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Eugene Brancoveanu Triumphs in Carmina Burana; SF Recital Next

Eugene Brancoveanu, who we are certain is one of the next operatic superstars, recently scored a major triumph singing Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote:

Outstanding guest vocalists filled the three solo rolls. Eugene Brancoveanu, baritone, displayed amazing versatility in his extensive solos. He exuded a calm earnestness in his "Omnia sol temperat" "The sun warms everything"; his powerful voice exploded vigorously in "Estuans interius" Burning inside. In "Dies, nox et omina" "Day, night and everything", Brancoveanu seamlessly traversed over three octaves as he described the various pains of love.

The former Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera now returns to the Bay Area to perform a song recital at the SF Conservatory of Music on Sunday, May 16th. Readers can get two for one tickets by visiting the City Box Office website and entering the promo code EB50.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subscribe to Barihunks by Email

Contact us at barihunks@gmail.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Catalogue Aria" as seen by the iPhone

[Photo of Eugene Brancoveanu]


It is rare that we feature a video that doesn't show a barihunk, but this latest promo video from Berkeley Opera is so ingenious that we couldn't resist. The aria is sung by Igor Vieira, who sings Leporello in the production. The Don Giovanni is being sung by Eugene Brancoveanu, a major talent on the operatic horizon who has previously appeared on this site. The video was created by Jeremy Knight and follows the famous catalogue aria on iPhone apps. This is the type of stuff that opera companies need to do in order to make the art form relevant to younger audiences.



Don Giovanni is running until February 28 and tickets can be purchased at the Berkeley Opera website. If you plan on going, order now, as some performances are almost completely sold out.
*************************************
Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
*************************************

Tom Corbeil: Another Merola Hottie

[Top three photos of Tom Corbeil courtesy of Gotham Opera, with soprano Takesha Meshé Kizart; bottom photo courtesy of SF Opera]

The most common email that I get is someone pitching a barihunk. Nine out of ten times, it's a non-starter and usually someone who belongs on BariChunks, not BariHunks.

So imagine my joy in finding Tom Corbeil in my inbox. It didn't take long for me to realize that I'd already seen him as part of San Francisco Opera's young artist program, Merola. With apologies to La Cieca and her definition of a barihunk that appears at the bottom of this blog, the Merola program seems to be pumping out more barihunks than anyone and they can actually sing! Other Merolinis on this site include fan favorite Daniel Okulitch, Lee Poulis, Ben Wager, Eugene Brancoveanu and emerging superstar John Relyea.

Tom Corbeil was not only a standout at Merola, but he has also won awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council and Musical Merit Foundation. He also studied with the great Virginia Zeani.

His current gig is with the Gotham Chamber Opera in Joseph Haydn’s "L’isola disabitata (Desert Island)." Perhaps the title explains the lusciously revealing outfit (it can't always be Pearl Fishers). The performance is staged by Mark Morris and will run from February 18-28 at John Jay College in New York City. For more information, visit www.gothamchamberopera.org.

This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com

Subscribe to Barihunks by Email
___________________________________________________________________________________