Martin Achrainer (shirtless) in another Philip Glass premiere

Martin Achrainer in Spuren der Verirrten

Tyrolian barihunk Martin Achrainer is making quite a name for himself as an exponent of new works by American minimalist composer Philip Glass. An alert reader spotted these pictures from Glass' new German language opera Spuren der Verirrten (“Footprints of the Lost”)," which is based on the play by Peter Handke. We've previously seen Achrainer in Glass' Orphée and in the world premiere of Kepler.

Much of this is attributable to the fact that Achrainer is in the ensemble at the Landestheater Linz, where the music director and principal conductor is long-time Philip Glass collaborator and champion Dennis Russell Davies.  Glass wrote “Spuren der Verirrten” for the opening of the new Musiktheater am Volksgarten, a state-of-the-art opera house that Davies was instrumental in getting built.

Martin Achrainer in Spuren der Verirrten

Although the world premiere of Spuren der Verirrten was in April of this year, the opera is being perfromed again beginning on November 9 and running into January 2014. Tickets are available online. 

Achrainer's character is called "F' and the rest of the cast includes A, B, C, D...you get the picture. Although the opera has many of the typical characteristics of the composer's works, including repetitiveness and minimalism, he has added alphorns and zithers to give it an Austrian flavor. The text is typical Glass, as well, with singers often repeating the question “Where are we?”

The joke at the opera house has been that this work is “Two Notes, One Opera.”

Happy Birthday, Philip Glass; Matthew Worth Excels in Glass' Orphee at Virginia Opera

Philip Glass, Martina Arroyo, Joyce DiDonato and Gerald Finley at 2009 Opera News awards. [Photo by Dario Acost]

Was there any doubt that we'd be celebrating the 75th birthday today of the great American composer Philip Glass? We regularly feature his work on this site, including the recent production of "Les Enfants Terribles" with barihunk Timothy McDevitt and soprano Jessica Cates showing off their bodies after training at the gym for the ballet/opera; Barihunks Matthew Worth and Christopher Temporelli in Orphée at the Virginia Opera (more on that below); Lots of coverage of Hydrogen Jukebox at the Ft. Worth Opera including some great shirtless pictures of barihunks Dan Kempson and Justin Hopkins; Lots of video of his operas, including the ability to watch Kepler in its entirety with Austrian barihunk Martin Achrainer.

Profile (born Jan. 31, 1937, Baltimore, Md., U.S.) American composer of innovative instrumental, vocal, and operatic music.  Glass studied flute as a boy and enrolled at age 15 at the University of Chicago, where he studied mathematics and philosophy and graduated in 1956. 

Philip Glass is a prolific and widely-respected American composer of innovative,  vocal and operatic music. He work consistently uses repetitive structures and is often minimalistic. Glass studied math and philosophy before pursuing music at the Julliard School. His opera Satyagraha (1980) tells the story of Mahatma Gandhi's life. The Metropolitan Opera commissioned The Voyage in 1992.

Barihunk Philip Cutlip recorded Orphee

His interest in atonal music drew him on to study composition at the Juilliard School of Music (M.S., 1962) in New York City and then to Paris to study under Nadia Boulanger. His acquaintance there with the Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar decisively affected Glass's compositional style, and he temporarily jettisoned such traditional formal qualities as harmony, tempo, and melody in his music. Instead he began creating ensemble pieces in a monotonous and repetitive style; these works consisted of a series of syncopated rhythms ingeniously contracted or extended within a stable diatonic structure. Such minimalist music, played by a small ensemble using electronically amplified keyboard and wind instruments, earned Glass a small but enthusiastic following in New York City by the late 1960s.

Glass's opera Einstein on the Beach (1976), composed in collaboration with Robert Wilson, earned him broader acclaim; this work showed a renewed interest in classical Western harmonic elements, though his interest in startling rhythmic and melodic changes remained the work's most dramatic feature. Glass's opera Satyagraha (1980) was a more authentically “operatic” portrayal of incidents from the early life of Mohandas K. Gandhi. In this work, the dronelike repetition of symmetrical sequences of chords attained a haunting and hypnotic power well attuned to the religio-spiritual themes of the libretto, adapted from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavadgt. The opera The Voyage (1992) had mixed reviews, but the fact that it had been commissioned by the New York Metropolitan Opera (to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas) confirmed Glass's growing acceptance by the classical-music establishment.

[Excerpted from  © Encyclopædia Britannica]

Matthew Worth (L) as Orphée at Virginia Opera; Jeffrey Lentz (R) as Heurtebise (Preston Gannaway,The Virginian-Pilot)

One of the best Glass productions that is currently running is Orphée at the Virginia Opera with American barihunks Matthew Worth and Christopher Temporelli (and the very adorable tenor Jonathan Blalock, who also appeared in the aforementioned Hydrogen Jukebox). Here is what the Virginian-Pilot had to say:

The large cast had no weaknesses. First among equals was Matthew Worth as Orphée, using a powerful and rich baritone to great effect as the tormented poet who struggles to find meaning in his life and art. His performance conveyed both the strengths and weaknesses of the character, and did so in a sympathetic manner that carried the audience along on Orphée’s journey.

Remaining Norfolk performances are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 623-1223 or 866-673-7282; www.vaopera.org

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Barihunks Matthew Worth, Christopher Temporelli in Virginia Opera's "Orphée"

Matthew Worth as Orphée

We've been big proponents of Philip Glass' operas, so we were thrilled to see that the Virginia Opera will be staging his opera Orphée this month. We've posted about this opera in the past featuring barihunks Eugene Brancoveanu in San Francisco, Philip Cutlip in Portland and Martin Achrainer in Linz, Austria.

Martin Achrainer as Orphée in Linz

Not to be outdone in the barihunk department, the Virginia Opera has cast Matthew Worth in the title role. We've featured Worth in a number of his roles on this site, including a somewhat related role in "Orpheus in the Underworld" at Central City Opera. Virginia Opera fans will also remember him for his 2010 appearance as Don Giovanni, which created a bit of a sensation.

Of course, we think his sexiest role to date is as Tarquinius in Britten's "Rape of Lucretia," but that discussion is for another post.

Christopher Temporelli as seen in the 2012 Barihunks Calendar

We're excited about the Virginia Opera's production because even the small role of the Judge features one of our calendar models, Christopher Temporelli. We should also add that tenor Jonathan Blalock who plays Cégeste is a bit of eye candy himself. We've seen the opera and can certainly recommend it as wonderful theater, but if you need a nudge, then seeing Worth, Temporelli and Blalock on stage together should be sufficient motivation.

Performances run from January 28 through February 12 and will be performed in Norfolk, Richmond and Fairfax, Virginia. For additional cast and performance information visit the Virginia Opera website.

On an unrelated note, it's come to our attention that you can listen to barihunk Luca Pisaroni in "The Enchanted Island" from the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday, January 17th at 8 EST/5 PST by clicking on this LINK.

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CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Boston Early Music Festival Serves Up Tall Order of Barihunks

Barihunks Michael Kelly & Douglas Williams (L); Douglas Williams behind tenor Aaron Sheehan (R) - 
photos by Kathy Wittman

If you like your barihunks like your redwood trees, which is tall and awe-inspiring, then head to the Boston Early Music Festival. The group is performing Charpentier's glorious Orphée with three statuesque barihunks, Michael Kelly at 6'2", Douglas Williams at 6'4" and Olivier Laquerre at 6'7". [By the way, we featured two post on who might be the world's tallest barihunk, which you can read HERE and HERE].

The opera tells the famous story of Orphée who decends into the underworld to rescue his beloved Euridice using his musical charms. La Couronne de Fleurs, based on a text by Molière, depicts a musical contest in tribute to Louis XIV as shepherds vie for a crown of flowers from the goddess Flora for the most beautiful and eloquent aria.  

There will be two performances of the opera at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall in Boston on Saturday evening, November 26th and Sunday afternoon, November 27th. The Boston Early Music Festival not only features singers who are easy on the eyes, but they produce some of the most wonderful baroque opera to listen to in the world. You can click HERE to watch one of our favorite singers, Jesse Blumberg, perform Polifierno in Agostino Steffani’s opera, Niobe, Regina di Tebe.



Douglas Williams is also part of our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. He's our July feature of "All-American Boys" along with Jonathan Boehr and Christopher Temporelli. You won't want to miss it! Shopping season is officially kicking off tomorrow so order your calendar today by clicking HERE. Please remember that all proceeds are going to benefit young artist programs.

Michael Kelly was supposed to be part of the calendar, but a reprinting error inadvertently left him out. We promise to feature plenty of this gifted young singer in 2012!. You can watch Kelly's recital from the Trinity Wall Street Church, which we featured earlier this year, by clicking HERE.

If you know of a barihunk singing in Handel's Messiah this year, please email us the information at Barihunks@gmail.com.

Martin Achrainer: Germany's Nathan Gunn

German Barihunk Martin Achrainer

Martin Achrainer is one of the most creative and compelling baritones on stage today. He's part of the ensemble at the Landestheater Linz, where he caught the eye of Philip Glass who cast him in Kepler, which we covered on this site. He is capable of mastering everything from song and dance numbers in Broadway musicals, to Mozart to contemporary music. Not surprisingly, he has become a fan favorite in Linz. Achrainer has become a younger, European version of Nathan Gunn, as he frequently performs in roles that shows of his physique.

Achrainer is once again tackling a wide array of roles this season, portraying Konrad in Meistersinger, Cornelius in Hello, Dolly!, Dandini in La Cenerentola and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly.

There are two wonderful videos below. The first is a short piece on his portrayal of Orphee in the Philip Glass opera. The latter is a wonderful biographical piece on the singer (in German). Even if you don't speak German, you can't miss the incredible charm that emanates from this 32-year-old singer.

Philip Cutlip in new Philip Glass Recording

Philip Glass continues to gain a presence on Barihunks, most recently for the performances of Kepler with Martin Achrainer at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Previously, we posted about Philip Cutlip performing in Glass' Orphée in Portland.

Now Orphée is back in the news, as the Orange Mountain Music label has announced that they are releasing a recording of the Portland Opera Company production, which featured Cutlip. Orphée (1993) was the first of a trilogy of operas that Glass composed on subjects by Jean Cocteau, which also comprises La Belle et la Bête (1994) and Les Enfants Terribles (1996). Orphée was made from a series of live performances that took place between November 6-14, 2009 at Portland Opera. The recording includes a full libretto in French and English, color production photos and cast and performer biographies.


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Philip Cutlip in Glass' Orphée

[Photo from Portland Opera by Cory Weaver]

The hunky Philip Cutlip performs the title role in Philip Glass' opera Orphée. For more information visit the Portland Opera website.

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