Jonathan Beyer to appear on "Worst Cooks in America"

Jonathan Beyer

Barihunk Jonathan Beyer will appear as a "recruit" on the Food Network's popular show "Worst Cooks in America." You can begin watching the latest challenge on August 4th.

The show takes 12 to 16 contestants (aka recruits) with very poor cooking skills through a culinary boot camp, to earn a cash prize of $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set. The recruits are trained on the various basic cooking techniques including: baking, knife skills, temperature, seasoning and preparation. The final challenge is to cook a restaurant quality three-course meal for three food critics.

Beyer is currently at the University of British Columbia Summer Vocal Workshop, where he is teaching and performing.

A bit of trivia: Beyer appeared in our very first Barihunks Charity Calendar.

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of "Nixon in China"

 Franco Pomponi as Richard Nixon & Kyung Chun Kim as Chou En-Lai (Photo: Marie-Noëlle Robert)

Today is the 30th anniversary of the great American opera Nixon in China by composer John Adams and librettist Alice Goodman.  The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris.

The three act opera was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972.  When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1985, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.

The work had been commissioned jointly by the Houston Grand Opera, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Netherlands Opera and the Washington Opera, all of which were to mount early productions of the opera. Fearful that the work might be challenged as defamatory or not in the public domain, Houston Grand Opera obtained insurance to cover such an eventuality. Before its stage premiere, the opera was presented in concert form in May 1987 in San Francisco, with intermission discussions led by John Adams.

Jonathan Beyer sings "News has a kind of mystery" from Nixon in China:

In June 1988, the opera received its European premiere at the Muziektheater in Amsterdam followed by its first German performance later that year at the Bielefeld Opera and its UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival.

For the Los Angeles production in 1990, Sellars made revisions to darken the opera in the wake of the Tiananmen Square protests. The original production had not had an intermission between Acts 2 and 3; one was inserted, and Sellars authorized supertitles, which he had forbidden in Houston. Adams conducted the original cast in the French premiere, at the Maison de la Culture de Bobigny, Paris, on December 14, 1991. Despite their love for Western music, the opera has never been performed in China.

Remarkably, a number of barihunks have performed the role of Richard Nixon, beginning with James Maddalena at the premiere, followed notably by Franco Pomponi, Brian Mulligan and Ola Eliasson. A number of baritones have used the Act 1 aria "News has a kind of mystery" as an audition piece or in competitions to great effect, most notably Jonathan Beyer.   

Nixon in China contains elements of minimalism., which originated in the United States in the 1960s and is characterized by stasis and repetition in place of the melodic development associated with conventional music. The opera is scored for an orchestra without bassoons, French horns, and tuba, but augmented by saxophones, pianos, and electronic synthesizer. The percussion section incorporates numerous special effects, including a wood block, sandpaper blocks, slapsticks and sleigh bells.

The next scheduled performance is at the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg in Germany in May 2018. Houston reprised the opera in January with Scott Hendricks in the title role.

Joa Helgesson and Derek Chester from the Barihunks photo book

Our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!

Watch Barihunk trio online in Salome from Detroit

Vartan Gabrielan, Jonathan Beyer and Corey Crider (L-R)

The barihunk trio of Corey Crider, Jonathan Beyer and Vartan Gabrielan will be in the cast of Richard Strauss' Salome with will be broadcast live over the internet. You can watch it on Livestream from Orchestra Hall in Detroit at 3 PM EST/Noon PST. The cast of the concert version of Salome also includes the remarkable Lise Lindstrom in the title role, Chris Merritt as Herod and Jane Henschel as Herodias.

Jonathan Beyer can next be seen at the Castleton Festival where he will sing the Count in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro from July 2-10. He'll be joined onstage by his real life husband Brandon Cedel as Figaro.

Brandon Cedel featured in Opera News

Barihunk Brandon Cedel, who appeared in our 2011 Barihunks calendar with his husband Jonathan Beyer, is featured in Opera News this month in their Sound Bites feature:

Brandon Cedel, who is in his third and final season as a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, is the Sergeant in the company’s new production of Manon Lescaut this month. Cedel started at the Met in 2013, fresh from seven years at the Curtis Institute and a win in the company’s National Council Auditions. “The Met is like Disneyland for a young opera singer—literally everything you could possibly want is there. You see how to act onstage, how to act offstage. And you are surrounded by the best of the best every minute.” 

Continue reading at Opera News online.

Barihunks Top 10 Best Dressed List

The World's 10 Best Dressed Barihunks

Our beloved friends at CBC Classical just came out with a list of the 10 best dressed classical musicians, which you can view online.

Imagine our horror when we noticed that not a single stylishly attired barihunk made the list. We were told by the CBC that Ildar Abdrazakov ALMOST made the list. We certainly don't take issue with any of the ten who did make the final cut, but we thought we'd ask our readers to come up with ten of the best dressed barihunks and took less than an hour to compile this list from social media. We couldn't have compiled a better list than our readers, so here they are with a few thoughts (in no particular order).

In the photo from left to right, clockwise from the top left.

• Ildar Abdrazakov - He's known to wear John Varvatos, Giorgio Armani and Diesel, and have his tuxedos made by Ermenegildo Zegna. That's style!
• Nathan Gunn - The Toronto Star once wrote that he'd look as comfortable on a "fashion runway as on a musical stage." We agree. 
• Thomas Hampson - He's set the standard for elegance in the world of opera for years. He looks like the James Bond of opera when he steps onto a recital stage. 
• Alessio Arduini - He's super hot shirtless, but equally as hot in formal wear. Now that' sexy. 
• Cameron McPhail - This sexy Canadian showed up in tux in Fashion magazine. If you have to wear clothes in chilly Canada, you might as well as look this good!
• Matthew Worth - We've seen him dressed as a soldier, a cowboy, a priest, in a tee shirt and in a tux and he's smoking hot in any outfit. 
• Leon Košavić first caught our eye when he walked onstage at an international singing competition. We love a guy who can sing in a white tie and tuxedo and no one pulls it off like him. 
• Peter Brathwaite - There is a reason that he was tapped as one of Dockers® Men of Style and appears on Men's Style Fashion. He look sexy dressed casually or formally (and everything in between). 
• Krešimir Stražanac - No one looks better with an open tux shirt and his gym-toned body teasing the buttons halfway down his shirt. 
• Jonathan Beyer - He's currently covering Thomas Hampson as Danilo in Chicago's Merry Widow. He's lost 50 pounds and looks Gold Coast, penthouse sexy in a tuxedo.

If you want to enjoy sexy men (slightly more undressed) for the entire year, then check out our 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar! On sale for just 3 more weeks. 

Vittorio Prato, Malte Roesner and Cyril Rovery

 

Barihunk trio in Boston's La bohème

Andrew Garland and Brandon Cedel (left), Jonathan Beyer and Cedel (center) and a rehearsal break

The Boston Lyric Opera kicked off their new season with a production of Puccini's La bohème. The cast features the barihunk trio of Jonathan Beyer as Marcello, Brandon Cedel as Colline and Andrew Garland as Schaunard. Beyer and Cedel are a couple offstage, making one wonder what is really going on in that Parisian garret.

Directed by Rosetta Cucchi, the opera is updated to the 1968 Paris student revolts that reflected generational unrest and supported strikes that brought the city to its knees, this production is influenced by the spirit of defiance embodied in French New Wave films (particularly Jean-Luc Godard’s “Masculin Féminin”) and the mod clothing inspired by London fashion that upended the city’s haute couture reputation.  Boston Lyric Opera's new La Bohème places Puccini’s familiar story of bohemian artists fuled by idealism and passionate love in a graffiti-laden student flat, the revolutionaries’ gathering place Café Momus, and alongside a barricade erected during the student riots.  Audio recordings from the era and from the riots are an integral part of the production’s sound design.

Beyer is returning to the company after having performed Figaro in their 2012 production of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Garland sang Schaunard in the company's 2007 production of La bohème and Cedel is making his company debut. Also in the cast are Jesus Garcia as Rodolfo and the stunning Kelly Kaduce as Mimì.

There are remaining performances on October 4, 7, 9 and 11. Tickets and addition production information is available online.

Our 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar is now on sale. Order today by clicking below. All proceeds will go to the creation of the Foundation for the Advancement of Baritones (FAB).

 

Barihunk Trio in Dallas Opera's La boheme

Steven LaBrie

Today is über-barihunk Steven LaBrie's birthday, which reminded us that he's about to open in Dallas Opera's production of Puccini's La boheme with a barihunk trio that also includs Alexander Vinogradov and Jonathan Beyer. LaBrie will be singing Schaunard, Vinogradov takes on Colline and Beyer sings Marcello. Performances run from March 13-29 and tickets are available online.

After Dallas, Labrie heads off to Washington D.C. to sing the fiendishly difficult baritone part in Orff's Carmina Burana at the Kennedy Center on April 12th. The performance celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at Catholic University and features their symphony orchestra and chorus.  

Alexander Vinogradov and Jonathan Beyer

We originally featured Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov back in 2009. After this performance, he heads off to Geneva where he'll charm the Carmen of Sonia Ganassi from May 8-17th.

Jonathan Beyer will grab some scissors as he takes on Figaro in The Barber of Seville with the Opera Theater of Saint Louis form  May 23-June 27th. You can check out Beyer's la la la-ing his way through Largo al factotum on his website, along with many other great sound clips.

The Dallas Opera season wraps up with Tchaikovsky's Iolanta. Tickets and additional cast information is available on the Dallas Opera website. 

Support a singer and attend your local Handel's Messiah

 

Handel's Messiah has become a full-time employment act for opera singers around the world. It's often much needed work for singers during the holidays, so we encourage you to attend a Messiah near you. We asked singers and orchestras to notify us of upcoming performances of the holiday classic and we've compiled this handy list for you. 

 

Friday, DECEMBER 5:
Jacksonville Symphony with Evan Boyer, bass, Twyla Robinson, soprano, Elise Quagliata, mezzo-soprano, Jason Slayden, tenor and Michael Butterman, conductor. Click HERE for tickets. 

Friday, DECEMBER 5:
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Richard Eaton Singers with Cameron McPhail, baritone,
Mireille Asselin, soprano, Lauren Segal, mezzo-soprano, Lawrence Wiliford, tenor and
Ragnar Bohlin, conductor. Click HERE for tickets.

Friday, DECEMBER 5 and Sunday, DECEMBER 7:
Atlanta Symphony with Gerard Sundberg, Jeanine De Bique, Kelley O’Connor and Thomas Glenn 
Click HERE for tickets.

Sunday, DECEMBER 7:
Chicago Symphony and the Apollo Chorus with Jonathan Beyer baritone, Kiri Deonarine soprano, Tracy Watson mezzo-soprano, Samuel Levine tenor  and conductor Stephen Alltop
Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 10-14:
The Phoenix Symphony & Chorus with Rod Gilfy, baritone, Celena Shafer, soprano, Carin Gilfry, mezzo-soprano, Norman Shankle, tenor and Tito Muñoz, conductor.   Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 12 & 13: 
Boston Baroque with Dashon Burton, bass-baritone, Sherezade Panthaki, soprano, Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano  and William Burden, tenor Click HERE for tickets:

DECEMBER 13 & 14:
Colorado Symphony & Chorus in Denver with Kyle Ketelsen, bass, Kiera Duffy, soprano Jamie van Eyck, alto and Sean Panikkar, tenor. Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 13:
The Bach Choir and Mozart Festival Orchestra in full 18th century costumes with Charles Rice baritone, Keri Fuge, soprano, Catherine Hopper, mezzo, Nico Darmanin, tenor  and Oliver Gooch conductor. Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 14:
Detroit Symphony Orchestra & the Michigan State University Chorale at the Seligman Performing Arts Center with Josh Hopkins, baritone, Dominique Labelle, soprano, Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor and Jean-Marie Zeitouni, conductor. Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 15:
Orfeo 55 and the Chœur de Chambre de Namur at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with Andrew Foster-Williams, bass, Susan Gritton  soprano, Sara Mingardo, alto and Benjamin Bernheim  tenor, Under the direction of Nathalie Stutzmann. Click HERE for tickets.  

DECEMBER 16-20:
New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall with James Westman, Baritone, Camilla Tilling, Soprano, Iestyn Davies, Countertenor and Michael Slattery, Tenor. Click HERE for tickets.          ,

DECEMBER 16-19:
American Bach Soloists at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco with Jesse Blumberg, baritone, Mary Wilson, soprano, Eric Jurenas, countertenor, Wesley Rogers, tenor and Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 18-21:
Houston Symphony & Chorus with Derek Welton, bass-baritone, Anna Devin, soprano, Lawrence Zazzo, countertenor,  Barry Banks, tenor and Christopher Warren Green, conductor.  Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 18-21:
San Francisco Symphony & Chorus with Troy Cook, baritone, Yulia van Doren, soprano, Leah Wool, mezzo-soprano,  Nicholas Phan  tenor and Jane Glover, conductor. Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 19 & 20 SOLD OUT:
Belmont Ensemble of London and English Chamber Choir at St Martin in the Fields by candlelight with Philip Tebb, Bass, Elizabeth Weisberg, Soprano, Ciara Hendrick, Mezzo-Soprano, Peter Davoren Tenor and Peter G Dyson, Conductor.

DECEMBER 19-21:
Seattle Symphony & Chorale with Kevin Burdette, bass, Amanda Forsythe, soprano, Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano, Andrew Stenson, tenor  and Gary Thor Wedow, conductor. Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 20:
Valencia Orchestra and Coral Catedralicia with Josep Miquel Ramón, bass-baritone, Raquel Lojendio, soprano, Cristina Faus, mezzosoprano,  Agustín Prunell-Friend, tenor and  José María Moreno, conductor Click HERE for tickets. 

DECEMBER 21:
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Petruzzelli (Bari) with bass Christian Senn, Roberta Invernizzi, Romina Boscolo, Robin Tritschler and conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini. Click HERE for tickets.

DECEMBER 21:
Cincinnati Symphony and the May Festival Chorus with Dashon Burton, bass-baritone, Abigail Santos, soprano, Abigail Levis, mezzo soprano, Rufus Müller, tenor and James Bagwell, conductor. Click HERE for tickets.   

DECEMBER 21:
Philharmonischer Chor and the Berlin Batzdorfer Hofkapelle under the baton of Jörg-Peter Weigle with Markus Butter, Baritone, Sibylla Rubens, Soprano, Kai Wessel, Countertenor and Andreas Weller, Tenor. Click HERE for tickets. 

Brandon Cedel discusses barihunks on WQXR

Brandon Cedel in a lovely tee shirt

Barihunk Brandon Cedel, whose career is on the steady ascent, joined some operatic royalty on WQXR's show with Naomi Lewin. The AVA graduate and winner of the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions joined legendary soprano Renata Scotto, superstar tenor Michael Fabiano and fellow Richard Tucker Grant award winner Jennifer Johnson Cano for a discussion and selection of music.

Watch the video HERE. At 16:30 you can hear him discuss being in the 2012 Barihunks Charity Calendar.

He'll be performing at the Metropolitan Opera in Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk opening on November 10 and Verdi's Don Carlos next March.  In the Summer of 2015, he heads to the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where he will be performing in Handel's rarely produced Richard the Lionhearted. Fans on the West Coast can catch him with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas on January 9 and 10.

Dallas Opera's Upcoming Barihunky Season

Craig Verm

The Dallas Opera is under new leadership this season, but fortunately some of our favorite barihunks are still on the roster.

The season is kicking off with one of Italy's best exports, bass-barihunk Mirco Palazzi who debuted with the company in 2010 as Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni. That performance was also his U.S. debut and the cast for that John Pascoe production featured three barihunks, with Paulo Szot as the Don and Ben Wager as Masetto.

We're thrilled that Dallas is bring him back to sing Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in an all-star cast that features Joshua Hopkins, Nicole Car,  Emily Fons, Diana Montague and Kevin Langan. Performances will run from October 24 through November 9th.

On October 30th, bass-barihunk Greer Grimsley will make his company debut opposite the Salome of Deborah Voigt in Richard Strauss' masterpiece. The production in being directed by the queen mother of barihunks, Francesca Zambello.

That production will be followed by a double-bill of Catalani's rarely performed opera La Wally and the world premiere of Joby Talbot's Everest. We did an extensive feature on Everest, which featured barihunk calendar model Craig Verm.

Jonathan Beyer, Steven LaBrie and Alexander Vinogradov (L-R)

In March, the company brings another barihunk trio to the stage, when they present Puccini's La boheme with Alexander Vinogradov, Jonathan Beyer and Steven LaBrie.  We featured Alexander Vinogradov back in 2009 when we identified him as an emerging talent to watch.

The season wraps up with Tchaikovsky's Iolanta. Tickets and additional cast information is available on the Dallas Opera website. 

Barihunk duo opens Opera Philadelphia's Barber of Seville

Opera Philadelphia is opening its 40th Anniversary season on September 26th with a new production of Rossini's Barber of Seville starring Jonathan Beyer in the title role and Kevin Burdette as Dr. Bartolo. Performances will run through October 5th, with a free HD broadcast on a giant screen at Independence National Historical Park on Saturday, September 27.

Beyer, made his Opera Philadelphia debut as Escamillo in a 2011 production of Bizet’s Carmen. He has performed Figaro with the Boston Lyric Opera, the Castleton Festival, the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari and at the Lyrique-en-Mer. A little trivia about Jonathan Beyer that you may not know is that he's obsessed with figure skating and knows as much about the sport as most professional commentators. 

Kevin Burdette was last seen as the Prophet/King in the 2012 East Coast Premiere of Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters. He just wrapped up a run at the Santa Fe Opera as Herr Buff/Chamberlain in the double-bill of Mozart's The Impresario and Stravinsky's Le Rossignol. He returns to Santa Fe next season as Sergeant Supice in Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment and as Stobrod/Blind Man in the world premier of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain.

They'll be joined in the cast by Jennifer Holloway as Rosina, which is her role debut and company debut. Count Almaviva will be sung by the wonderful young tenor Taylor Stayton.

Tickets may be purchased online or by calling 215.893.1018. The free tickets to Opera on the Mall broadcast are available beginning Wednesday, September 3rd at operaonthemall.org.

Baritones Advance in Paris Opera Awards

Jonathan Beyer

On January 4th, baritones Dmitry Lavrov and Jonathan Beyer, who has been featured on this site, will attempt to keep the baritone winning streak alive at major competitions at the Paris Opera Awards. Beyer, of course, has become famous for his ability to win major competitions across the globe. This time he'll have to impress judges soprano Martina Arroya, baritone Sherrill Milnes and artistic administrator Daniel Lipton. The trio will select winners from the final ten competitors.

The judges will choose sex laureates, three female singers and three male singers who will receive diplomas. The January 4th Gala Performance ends with the awards and trophies attribution ceremony in the presence of media and press.

Dmitry Lavrov sings "Voyna i Mir" from Prokofiev's War and Peace:

The 10 winners will all perform selections in honor of the late soprano Maria Callas in the presence of the Grand Jury, sponsors, media, press and artists’ agents. The contestants will be accompanied by an orchestra.

The Maria Callas Prize will be awarded to two singers by the Callas Foundation for the best artistic performance.

The Audience Prize will be awarded to one singer by the main sponsor.

To request tickets, please visit the Paris Opera Awards website.

Beyer sings John Adams' "News has a kind of mystery" from Nixon in China:

If you're near Chicago tonight Beyer will be performing at the Presbyterian Church in suburban Orland Park at 7:30 p.m. The first half of the concert will be operatic and musical theater. The second half will be Christmas music. The concert will include guest mezzo-soprano soloist Joanna Wernette. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors. Information: (708) 448-8142.

You can help support young artists like Beyer and Lavrov by purchasing our 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar. There are only two weeks left to purchase this stunning collection of 14 of opera's hottest and most talented singers! PURCHASE ONE NOW BY CLICKING ON THE LULU BUTTON:

Keep the Barihunk Winning Streak Alive: Vote for Jonathan Beyer Online at the Paris Opera Awards

Barihunk couple

We've given extensive coverage to the winning streak that barihunks (and baritones) are having in vocal competitions across the globe. If you've ever fantasized about being a judge in one of those competitions you now have your chance.

The Paris Opera Awards, in honor of Maria Callas, are holding an online vocal competition. One of the contestants is Jonathan Beyer, who may have the most amazing winning record of any singer in vocal competitions. We know of at least eighteen competitions where he's taken the top prize.

You can register online to vote and if you register as a premium member you'll be entered into a drawing for a deluxe trip to Paris for two or a brand new car. Once the online voting is complete, the top 100 singers with the highest ranking will compete before a panel of judges. Ten of the top 50, five female and five male, will then be announced will participate in a gala performance.    

Jonathan Beyer has selected "Ah, per sempre" from Bellini's I puritani, which was an opera in which Maria Callas had one of her most triumphant successes.

This competition is loaded with sopranos and has very few baritones, so show your support for the low voices and vote at the Paris Opera Awards website.

Barihunks featured on NBC Channel 5 in Dallas

Donovan Singletary takes on the title role in the Marriage of Figaro

The local NBC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth ran a feature on the upcoming opera festival, which included a nice mention of Barihunks.

Barihunk Donovan Singletary, who is singing the title role in the Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" is prominently featured on the news segment. The cast includes fellow barihunk Jonathan Beyer as Count Almaviva, Andrea Carroll as Susanna, Jan Cornelius as Countess Almaviva, Rod Nelman as Dr. Bartolo, Kathryn Cowdrick as Marcellina and Wallis Giunta as Cherubino. The opera will be performed on May 19, 27 and June 1st.

View the news segment HERE.

Tom Forde as Angelotti in Tosca

Visit the Fort Worth Opera Festival website for additional information and tickets. They are also performing Mark Adamo's Lysistrata, Puccini's Tosca and Jake Heggie's Three Decembers. 

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

BREAKING NEWS: McCammon Winners Announced

Andrew Garland & Norman Garrett

The winners of the 2012 McCammon Voice Competition have just been announced and two of the award winners were barihunks who have been featured on our site. Congratulations to Norman Garrett who won 3rd Prize and to Andrew Garland who won the coveted Audience Favorite Award.

Since its debut in 1985, the McCammon Voice Competition has grown into one of the world's most important operatic events. Every two years, the contest showcases the most compelling young singers of our time. After several rounds of reviews and eliminations, the McCammon finalists engage in two days of intense competition. Many of the winners are catapulted onto major opera stages.

Previous barihunk winners include Jonathan Beyer and Donovan Singletary. Both men are appearing at the upcoming Ft. Worth Opera Festival in Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro."

Donovan Singletary

Andrew Garland can next be seen as Mercutio in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Annapolis Opera.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Fort Worth Opera's Plethora of Pulchritude

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It's not often that we feature Tosca and it's not that we don't love the opera. It's just that Scarpia hasn't been the quintessential barihunk role. Fort Worth Opera performed Tosca with the dashing Michael Chioldi in 2005, which brought a whole different tension to the rape scene. For a moment, one wondered, "Well, maybe Scarpia wouldn't be such a bad hook-up." Of course, then Puccini's music said otherwise. Fort Worth is bringing Chioldi back to reprise his successful portrayal of the evil police chief.

But who really caught our eye was Angelotti, who will be sung by the gifted young baritone Tom Forde, who we first discovered as a Santa Fe Apprentice Young Artist and who we featured in our charity calendar. Forde has taken his fitness routine as serious as his singing...and it shows. Forde, who has always had a great face for the stage - expressive, with big features - now has the body to match.

We are kind of wondering if Tosca will dump Mario and run off with Angelotti.

Donovan Singletary

Forde, will have a little of barihunk competition at the Fort Worth Opera Festival, as Donovan Singletary is returning to take on Figaro in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" opposite fellow barihunk Jonathan Beyer, who is singing Count Almaviva. Singletary, a rising vocal talent who excelled in the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in New York, also happens to have one of the greatest bodies in opera.

We hate to rewrite Mozart, but if we were the Countess, we'd turn the tables on the philandering Count and run off into the garden with Figaro.

Seth Mease Carico (L) & Michael Mayes (R)

If you haven't hadn't enough beefcake after Tosca and Figaro, make sure to grab a ticket for Mark Adamo's comic, yet racy Lysistrata. Another singer who has recently hit the gym, Michael Mayes, will be performing Kinesias. His new abs went viral on the internet when we posted his picture performing in Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking" at the Tulsa Opera.

Patrons who last saw Seth Mease Carico in Fort Worth's "Before Night Falls" may not recognize the singer, who has a body and new look that makes him look more like Adam Levine than Leonard Warren. Carico and Mayes are both great singers AND actors, which makes us think that Lysistrata could be the surprise hit of the festival. Few opera companies perform non-standard repertory as well as Fort Worth. Last season, Philip Glass' "Hydrogen Jukebox" played to enthusiastic, sold out houses. In fact, we named it our "Best Opera of 2011" in our annual year end feature.

Matt Worth

Last on the agenda, is Jake Heggie's amazingly moving opera "Three Decembers," which will feature one of our favorite singers, Matthew Worth.

Worth sang the role of Charlie with the Chicago Opera Theater in 2010 to great critical acclaim. Mark Thomas Ketterson wrote in Opera News, "Matthew Worth's warmly youthful baritone is intrinsically appealing, and he shaded Charlie's music with intelligence and great sensitivity."

Jake Heggie talks about his opera: 

The Fort Worth Opera Festival should be a stop on any opera lover's travel calendar. This year's festival runs from May 12-June 3 and tickets can be purchased online.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

BREAKING NEWS: Brandon Cedel wins George London Competition

Brandon Cedel & Jonathan Beyer as seen in the Barihunks calendar

Brandon Cedel, who appears in our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar with his partner fellow barihunk Jonathan Beyer, has won the 2012 George London Foundation Competition. Jonathan Beyer won the competition last year with his rendition of  “News has a kind of mystery” from John Adams’s “Nixon in China.” Cedel won this year's competition singing a piece written 150 years earlier, "Vi ravviso o luoghi ameni" from La Sonnambula.

Beyer shot to fame after winning a series of vocal competitions, which we covered on our site. Cedel seems to be following the same path, as he also won the The Canstatter Foundation prize at the Liederkranz Foundation Vocal Competition last month.

Past winners of the George London competition have included mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, soprano Renée Fleming and tenor Matthew Polenzani.

 Cedel can next be seen performing the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Granada Theater with Opera Santa Barbara.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Four-Time Emmy Award-Winner Glen Roven's Barihunk Concert and CD's

Branch Fields

The Winter Rhythms Festival, which runs from December 1-11 in New York City is a series of concerts that includes Cabaret, Jazz, Hip Hop, Broadway and Classical Music. On December 5th, the festival will include "I Hate Music: The Songs and Music of Glen Roven" with barihunks Chris Herbert and Branch Fields. The baritones will be joined by opera diva Lauren Flanigan, the Broadway Youth Ensemble, TV actor and Broadway star Jeff McCarthy, OBIE Award-winner Donna Lynne Champlin, jazz vocalist Luba Mason, award-winning singer Nikolas King and opera tenor Matthew Garrett.

Christopher Herbert

Christopher Herbert will be performing one of Roven's most beautiful songs, "Upon Westminster Bridge" with words by William Wordsworth. Branch Fields will be performing Mozart's "Là ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni. For tickets call (212) 868-4444 or visit Smarttix.com. Urban Stages is located at 259 West 30th Street in Manhattan.

Fans of Christopher Herbert can also catch him with New York Polyphony, which will be performing in Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Minnesota during December. Check out their website for touring information. We can assure you that this is an ensemble that you won't want to miss.

Glen Roven has also recently wrapped up an innovative new CD of viola songs with barihunk and winner of numerous vocal competitions, Jonathan Beyer, (with a special guest appearance by his partner Brandon Cedel) on the GPR label. The CD is available for pre-order at the GPR website. GPR also has barihunk Daniel Okulitch's CD of great American composers available for sale. There is a special discount if you order both CDs.

Also, Christopher Herbert, Jonathan Beyer and Brandon Cedel are all featured in our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar, with all proceeds going to benefit young artist programs. Buy yours today by clicking HERE!

Desert Heat in Arizona: Kaduce & Gregory; Jonathan Beyer Broadcast Tonight

Lee Gregory & Kelly Kaduce Gregory

The "opera couple" phenomenon is getting increasingly popular, especially in Europe where photographers follow around Erwin Schrott and Anna Netrebko like the U.S. press follows around Paris Hilton. One of our favorite opera couples is barihunk Lee Gregory and his equally beautiful and glamorous wife Kelly Kaduce Gregory. Fans in the Great Southwest are in luck, as they are appearing together at the Arizona Opera on October 7 & 9 in Phoenix. Tickets and additional cast information can be found on the company's website.

Jonathan Beyer (photo by David Bachman)

If you're craving some great baritone singing today, check out Jonathan Beyer's recital Sibelius, Rimsky-Korsakov, Dvorak, and American songs, which we be broadcast live at WUOT radio in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you're a connoisseur of great singing  make sure to catch this broadcast tonight.

Beyer has taken the opera world by storm by winning opera competitions and delivering excellent recital programs. Check out his record of winning competitions.

• National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition
• 1st Place Winner at the Marian Anderson Prize for Emerging Classical Artists
• Won the George London Foundation Competition
• Won the McCammon Competition
• Won the Sullivan Foundation Grant
• Won the Irma M. Cooper Competition
• Wont the Violetta DuPont Competition
• Won the Rochester's Classical Idol
• Won the New Jersey Verismo Competition
• Won the Philadelphia Orchestra's Greenfield Competition
• Won the Astral Artist Auditions
• Won the Pittsburgh Concert Society Auditions
• Won the SAI Competition
• Won the American Opera Society Competition
• Won the San Antonio Opera Competition
• Won the American Prize in Art Song and Opera
• Won the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Competition
• Won the Bel Canto Foundation
• And he's received these additional awards: Gerda Lissner Foundation, Jensen Foundation, Solti Foundation, Charles Lynam Competition, Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, National Opera Association, Anna Sosenko Foundation, George Solti Foundation, Mario Lanza Foundation, Dresden Opera Competition, NATS, Giulio Gari Foundation, Palm Beach Opera, Jose Iturbi Foundation, Shreveport Singer of the Year, Liederkranz, Orpheus Competition, the Loren L. Zachary, Irene Dalis, Connecticut Opera Guild, and Neue Stimmen competitions.

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Jonathan Beyer takes on the other John Adams

Johnathan Beyer and the Adams Family

Composer Patricia Leonard's “My Dearest Friend,” a musical work based on the letters between John and Abigail Adams, will have its world premier at 4 p.m. Sunday, September 25th at Harvard University’s Sanders Theater. American barihunk Jonathan Beyer, will portray President Adams and soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer will portray his wife.


Beyer, you may recall, has made a name or himself with another John Adams, who is the modern day composer. The young baritone has been winning singing competition performing "News has a kind of mystery" from "Nixon in China." You can find audio samples on Beyer's website.
 
John and Abigail Adams exchanged more than 1,100 letters between 1762 and 1801. Their personal accounts touch on some of the most significant events in American history, but they also cover domestic life in Boston and the sacrifice Abigail made to support her husband’s  career. The music scored to the letters evokes feelings of patriotism and the quest for freedom, contrasted with the sorrows of personal family sacrifice.

The concert will also include Leonard Bernstein's “Kaddish” Symphony No. 3, dedicated to President John F. Kennedy.
 
Tickets are $10 and $15. For more information, call the box office at 617-496-2222.

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