Tobias Greenhalgh latest Tirésias barihunk

Tobias Greenhalgh in Les mamelles de Tirésias (right)

Few operas seem to attract barihunk casting more than Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirésias and the latest production at the Wolf Trap Opera doesn't disappoint. They've cast barihunk and part-time super hero Tobias Greenhalgh in the role of Le mari, the husband of the title character.

Les Mamelles de Tirésias was Poulenc’s first opera and was composed during World War II. It is based on a surrealist play of the same name by Guillaume Apollinaire. The musical world of this opera is irresistible, referencing as it does not only music hall but also the composers of the time such as Chabrier and Satie.

Tobias Greenhalgh in Les Mamelles de Tirésias

Wolf Trap is performing the opera in a double-bill with Milhaud's Le pauvre matelot (The poor sailor). Although the lead role is sung by a tenor, two singers who have appeared on this site appear in the opera. Norman Garrett plays the sailor's friend and Ryan Speedo Greene plays his father-in-law.

The double-bill will be conducted by Timothy Myers with performances on August 8, 10 and 16. Tickets are available online.

Matthew Morris the latest hot Le Mari in Les Mamelles de Tiresias

Matthew Morris (center) with members of the Britten-Pears Young Artists Program

Once again, Poulenc's one-act opera-bouffe Les Mamelles de Tiresias is providing us great material for the site. This time it's 2012 Barihunks calendar model Matthew Morris in the pivotal role of Le Mari. He's performing the opera at the Aldeburgh Festival in a piano arrangement by Benjamin Britten and performed by the Britten-Pears Young Artists. Two of the greatest living accompanists, Malcolm Martineau and Roger Vignoles, are featured at the piano.

There is one remaining performance on Sunday, October 21 remaining and tickets are available HERE. 

Morris can next be seen at Le théâtre de Caen in France this November where he will be performing in a double bill of Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti and Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges. Visit their website for additional cast and performance information.

Click HERE to listen to Morris sing "My Melancholy Baby."

Introducing Ivan Ludlow

Ivan Ludlow in Les Mamelles de Tirésias (L) and Don Giovanni (R)

Anyone who followed us in 2010 knows that the hottest opera that we featured was Poulenc's "Les Mamelles de Tirésias" with barihunk Gabriel Bermudez. We subsequently featured Troy Cook in the same opera and now along comes Ivan Ludlow from a production at Opéra de Lyon. Although he doesn't perform the "Full Okulitch" like Bermudez, Ludlow is still extremely sexy in this increasingly popular opera.

Ludlow studied at the Guildhall School of Music and the National Opera Studio. In addition to performing with some of the leading opera companies in Europe, he is a founding member of the London Bridge Ensemble. His repertory stretches from Cavalli to Maxwell-Davies, with a good deal of Britten and Mozart.



Here is Ludlow performing Schumann's Liederkreis with the London Bridge Ensemble:



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Tim McDevitt: Latest "Les mamelles de Tirésias" Sensation

Tim McDevitt backstage during "Les mamelles de Tirésias." What's the young lady looking at so intently?

If you were to look at which opera is most popular on Barihunks based on page views by readers it might surprise some to learn that Poulenc's "Les mamelles de Tirésias" edges out Mozart's "Don Giovanni." A good reason might be that barihunks tend to bare more in this opera than in Don Giovanni, Rape of Lucretia or Pearl Fishers. Gabriel Bermudez's nude scene remains the runaway leader in terms of page views on this site.

Perhaps only "The Fly," which we presume has seen its last performance, guarantees more skin. If "The Fly" didn't provide a good night of theater, it did provide us with the term "the Full Okulitch"for a baritone who bares all. Barihunk Michael Mayes, who is one of the most entertaining people in all of opera, says that barihunk Michael Todd Simpson coined the phrase on Maye's TexapolitanOpera.com podcast. In a subsequent episode, barihunk David Adam Moore used the term and we're pretty sure it's going to stick. Hopefully, we'll have plenty of more opportunities to use the phrase.

Tim McDevitt

Tim McDevitt didn't go the Full Okulitch in his recent performance of "Les mamelles de Tirésias"  with the Julliard Opera, but his appearance in his scivvies was enough to activate our inbox. One reader told us that the performances were free, making the four night run the "hottest" ticket in town. and the best bargain. McDevitt, who was recently featured on this site, played Le Mari, the same role that made Gabriel Bermudez an internet sensation. 

We look forward to seeing more of this talented young singer in the future.

For more information about performances at Julliard, please visit their website.

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Gabriel Bermudez sings "Dieux protecteurs" from Gluck's "Iphigénie en Tauride"

The posts of Gabriel Bermudez and Troy Cook taking "full monty" showers in a production of Poulenc's "Les mamelles de Tirésias" has created quite a bit of extra traffic to Barihunks. It also has generated a lot of email asking for more. We have some additional photos that we'll post in the future of both singers. In the meantime, here is an amazing video of Gabriel Bermudez singing one of the most beautiful arias in the baritone repertoire (and showing some skin!).

...and one last teaser of the hottest backside in opera.

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Troy Cook's Revealing Debut

We can't think of a better way for a singer to debut on Barihunks than to reveal his total package. In the case of Troy Cook, we literally mean the total package. We always comment that Don Giovanni is the opera that just keeps cranking out the barihunks, but perhaps for those of you want to see ALL of your barihunks, Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirésias might be the opera of choice. 

After we posted Gabriel Bermudez's full monty a reader alerted us to the fact that Troy Cook performed in the same production. He was also gracious enough to dig up this amazing photo. When Bermudez's photos were posted on our site, traffic increased 500% and rivaled the photos of Daniel Okulitch from The Fly in total hits. 

However, this site is dedicated to great singing, as well as pulchritudinous men. Clearly, Cook and Bermudez both fit the bill. 

American baritone Troy Cook is a former apprentice artist the Santa Fe Opera, student at the  Florida Grand Opera Studio and holds a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. He also studied voice with Bill Schuman.

We've included a couple of clips of Cook, including a performance of Marcello at the Florida Grand Opera’s La Boheme and a duet from Pagliacci with soprano Lotania Moore. Cook has also performed in a few Barihunks favorites, portraying Zurga in the Pearl Fishers and Mr. Flint in Billy Budd.






Cook is scheduled to perform Figaro in Kansas City and Zurga in Philadelphia in upcoming seasons. He is also scheduled to do a recording of Donizetti's music with Opera Rara in 2011. We look forward to seeing a lot more of this talented young singer in the future.

Gabriel Bermudez Nude

Gabriel Bermudez, who we have featured on Barihunks before showing off his stunning upper body, has now given us the full monty.  The hunky Spaniard showed his stuff during two performances of Francis Poulenc's rarely performed farce Les mamelles de Tirésias.

Unfortunately, there are no remaining performances, but at least we have these images and this amazing video.




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