Craig Verm to take over remaining Don Giovanni's from Mariusz Kwiecien

Craig Verm as Don Giovanni

The Dallas Opera has announced that American barihunk Craig Verm will take over the title role in the remaining performances of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, after having replaced Mariusz Kwiecien to great acclaim on opening night. Verm will sing the final three performances, beginning with today's performance and running through April 29. Tickets are available online.  
Verm was originally scheduled to sing the role of Masetto, which will be sung by barihunk André Courville, who is making his Dallas Opera debut. Leporello will be sung by Kyle Ketelsen, who has made the role of Don Giovanni's sidekick a signature role.

Kyle Ketelsen in concert in Russia:

The all-star cast also includes Laura Claycomb, Katie Van Kooten, David Portillo, and Virginie Verrez with Emmanuel Villaume conducting.

Upcoming performances for Verm this year include Haly in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri at the Santa Fe Opera, Lieutenant Gordon in Kevin Puts' Silent Night with the Austin Lyric Opera and Marcello in Puccini's La bohème at the Pittsburgh Opera.

In October, Kyle Ketelsen will sing another signature role, when he reprises his highly acclaimed portrayal of Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera.

Alex Esposito's sexy Mustafà at Rossini Festival

Alex Esposite as Mustafà

One of our favorite Mozart singers just wrapped a stunningly sexy turn in an opera by another composer. Alex Esposito caused a lot of opera glasses to be raised with his shirtless Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeri at the Rossini Opera Festival. The performances, which ended on Thursday night, were also broadcast live on Rai Radio 3.

The cast also included Anna Goryachova as Isabella, Yijie Shi as Lindoro and the delightful Mario Cassi as Taddeo. The singers were a hit with audiences, but so was the production, which was directed by Davide Livermore. The whimisical costumes were by designer Gianluca Falaschi and the scenes and lighting were by designer Nicolas Bovey.

Yijie Shi, Alex Esposito and Mario Cassi

Esposito now returns to Mozart with a turn as Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera and Publio in La clemenza di Tito at Monnaie in Brussels. However, the performance that we're looking forward to is his turn as Nick Shadow in Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress in Venice next summer.