Barihunks galore in Rome's "Billy Budd" led by Phillip Addis

Phillip Addis as Billy Budd in Rome

Benjamin Britten's opera Billy Budd has long been a favorite of readers of this site. After all, who wouldn't like an opera that features a cast of sailors with some homoerotic undertones? The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma is opening a run of the opera tonight laden with barihunks, starting with Phillip Addis in the title role. Also in the cast is John Relyea as the evil John Claggart, Thomas Oliemans as Mr. Redburn, Zach Altman as Mr. Flint and Jonathan Michie as Donald.

Performances will run through May 15th and tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Phillip Addis made his debut in the title role in 2015 at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. John Relyea will return to the role in January at Den Norske Opera with Jacques Imbrailo in the title role.

Phillip Addis as Billy Budd in Rome

Billy Budd had its world premier at London’s Royal Opera House on December 1, 1951 conducted by the composer with the role of Captain Vere sung by Britten’s partner Peter Pears. In 1966, in preparation for a television broadcast, Britten cut the score from four acts to two with a prologue and epilogue, which has become the standard version for the opera. 

The libretto was written by the English novelist E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier, and is based on the short novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville. The book was first published posthumously in London in 1924. Melville began writing the work in November 1888, but left it unfinished at his death in 1891. The novella was discovered in manuscript form in 1919 by Raymond M. Weaver, who was studying Melville's papers as his first biographer.

The first production of the opera Billy Budd in Russia occurred 100 years after the birth of Britten at St. Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre in 2013. Billy Budd received its United States premiere in 1952 at the Indiana University Opera Company with Jack Gillaspy in the title role.

Phillip Addis as Billy Budd in Rome

Britten originally intended the title role for Sir Geraint Evans, but he felt that the role sat to high for his voice, so he switched to the role of Mr. Flint. Britten then opted for barihunk Theodor Uppman to replace Evans in the title role.

The performance launched Uppman's international career and he went on to become one of the definitive Billy Budd's off all-time. Uppman sang in an acclaimed performance in 1970 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which included Sir Geraint Evans as Claggart and Richard Lewis as Vere. 

A number of famous barihunks have sung the role of Billy Budd, who many believe was secretly desired by the evil Claggart. Famous barihunk Billy Budd's include John Chest, Simon Keenlyside, Richard Stilwell, Nathan Gunn, Rod Gilfry, Bo Skovhus, Thomas Hampson, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Peter Mattei, Lauri Vasar, Lucas Meachem, Jacques Imbrailo, Daniel Belcher, Roderick Williams, Iurii Samoilov and Liam Bonner.

German barihunk Björn Bürger will add his name to the roster, when he takes on the title role beginning May 19th at the Frankfurt Oper.

BARIHUNKS featured in Canada's National Post

Malte Roesner and Marco Vassalli as seen in the National Post and the Barihunks Calendar

Canada's National Post has written a feature on the barihunk phenomenon, which includes extensive comments from site co-founder Jack Michaels. Canadian barihunks Philippe Sly and Phillip Addis are mentioned, along with Italian bass-barihunk Luca Pisaroni and Germans Marco Vassalli and Malte Roesner.

"Look at what we watch on television. Police detectives look like supermodels! We live in a culture where aesthetics are important. I don’t want to ever say it’s more important – voice is always the most important – but it’s become an important factor." - Barihunks co-founder Jack Michaels

The article mentions our charity calendar, which has funded numerous projects for low voices, including the West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's opera "Green Sneakers" and Marco Vassalli's U.S. debut. 2017 will mark the tenth anniversary of the site, which was originally conceived as a fan site for Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Mariusz Kwiecien.

“It’s about the music first – that’s why I got into this. Any fitness things that are related, I do try to deliver them, but only as much as they serve the actual work. I’m definitely not thinking, ‘How will this pose look on Barihunks?'" -Barihunk Phillip Addis

Author Catherine Kustanczy does a great job of explaining that the "hunks in opera" phenomenon predates the creation of Barihunks almost a decade ago. She cites such historic opera figures as Cesare Siepi, Theodor Uppman, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Samuel Ramey, who all were operatic "pin up boys" decades ago.

You can read the entire article online.

Glenn Seven Allen and Edwin Crossley-Mercer in the 2017 Barihunks calendar

THE 2017 BARIHUNKS IN BED CALENDAR IS NOW ON SALE BY CLICKING BELOW

Barihunk trio in Billy Budd and Carmen at Teatro Carlo Felice

Billy Budd at Teatro Carlo Felice with barihunks Ricardo Crampton, John Paul Huckle and Valdis Jansons       (Photo on left ©MarcelloOrselli)

We managed to get the three barihunks appearing in Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd at the Teatro Carlo Felice to pose for a backstage photo before a recent performance. Valdis Jansons is rotating the title role with Phillip Addis, while Ricardo Crampton performs the role of A Novice and John Paul Huckle sings Dansker for the entire run.

The production directed by Davide Livermore has been praised for turning the stage into a ship and lowering and rising the sets to create a sense of navigation. There is one remaining performance left on April 23. You can also watch a video of Phillip Addis discussing the role of Billy Budd.

If you can't make it to Billy Budd, you can still catch the barihunk trio in the Teatro Carlo Felice's upcoming production of Carmen, where Jansons will sing Escamillo, Huckle performs Zuniga and Crampton takes on Morales. Jansons will be rotating the matador's role with another barihunk, Mattia Olivieri, who proved quite popular with our readers when we first posted about him. He was even featured in our Best of 2014 post as one of our hottest newcomers to the site.

Carmen will be rotated between Sonia Ganassi and Anna Malavasi. The opera opens on May 8th and runs through May 17.

Silent Night to make European debut at Wexford; Canadian debut in Montreal; Continues in U.S. in Cincinnati

Ian Beadle (right)

Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night is getting its long-awaited European debut at the Wexford Opera Festival from October 24-November 2. The cast is a mix of Europeans and Americans, with two singers who have been featured on this site, Matthew Worth as Lieutenant Audebart and Quirijn de Lang as the lovable Poncel. There are also a few singers in the cast new to this site. 

Ian Beadle, a graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, performs William Dale on the Scottish side of the war. He recently finished a year in the English National Opera’s Opera Works program and performed as part of The Big Barber Bash at the London Coliseum.

His operatic roles have includes Belcore in Donizetti's Elisir d’amore at the Wexford Festival Opera, the Imperial Commissioner in Puccini's Madama Butterfly at Opera Holland Park, Crébillon in Puccini's La Rondine at Go Opera, Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Sinfonia D’amici, Guccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi at Opera Holland Park and Morales in Bizet's Carmen with Co-Opera Co.

Jamie Rock

Irish baritone Jamie Rock sings the role of Gueusselin on the French side of the war. He has performed the roles of Figaro in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Sid in Britten's Albert Herring, Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Schaunard in Puccini's La Boheme, Dancaire in Bizet's Carmen, Tarquinius in Britten's Rape of Lucretia and General Belliard in the world premiere of the original version of Prokofiev's epic masterpiece War and Peace. He has performed with the Wexford Festival Opera, Opera Theatre Company, Opera Ireland, Opera North, Grange Park Opera, Opera de Bauge and British Youth Opera.

He is also a member of the vocal ensemble Quartet. The group, under the patronage of Malcolm Martineau, is made up of graduates from the Alexander Gibson Opera School who draw on years of conservatoire training to explore a range of music and look for new ways of presenting the vocal repertoire.

Jamie began his studies at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama . He is an alumnus of the OTC Young Artist Programme (Dublin), Wexford Festival Opera Young Artist Programme, Leeds Lieder+ Young Artists, Oxford Lieder Young Artists and Josephine Baker Trust. 

Tickets are available online.

Daniel Okulitch (left) and Joseph Lattanzi (right)

Silent Night, which has been performed to great acclaim in Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Fort Worth, now heads to the Cincinnati Opera and north of the border for its Canadian debut.

The Cincinnati cast includes many singers familiar to the piece, including the powerful voice of Craig Irvin as Lt. Horstmayer, Gabriel Preisser as Lt. Gordon and Andrew Wilkowske as Ponchel. New to the cast are Joseph Lattanzi as Gueusselin and Phillip Addis as Lt. Audebert. There are only two performances of the opera on July 10 and July 12. Tickets are available online.

Addis also will be performing Lt. Audebert in the Canadian premiere from May 16-23 at the Opéra de Montréal. The cast includes a barihunk favorite in the Lieutenant Horstmayer of Canadian Daniel Okulitch. Tickets go on sale in August 2014, so mark your calendars.

Gueusselin

Gueusselin and Phil

NEWS FLASH: L.A. Opera to present U.S. premiere of stunning "1927"/Barrie Kosky "Magic Flute"

Anyone who reads this site knows that we're completely enamored with the "Magic Flute" from the Komische Oper in Berlin directed by Barrie Kosky and designed by the innovative London theater group "1927." Inspired by the silent movies, this production makes Mozart's 222-year-old opera seem like a new hit musical. Loaded with stunning animation and digital effects this production is a "must see" for any opera aficionado.

Imagine our excitement when the Los Angeles Opera announced that it was shelving its 20-year-old Gerald Scarfe/Peter Hall production for the Komische Oper production.

The baritone roles will be filled by Russian Rodion Pogossov as Papageno, Canadian Phillip Addis as The Speaker and American Morris Robinson as Sarastro. The young lovers Tamino and Pamina will be sung by Lawrence Brownlee and Janai Brugger. The scene stealing role of the Queen of the Night is being sung by Erika Miklosa.

Canadian Opera's sexy Collines open new season

Hot Collines: Tom Corbeil and Christian Van Horn

The Canadian Opera Company in Toronto has announced their 2013-14 season, which is leading the way with a barihunk filled production of Puccini's La boheme. We often get asked if we post basses and bass-baritones, as well. We post all of the low male voices and actually love when we see roles like Colline filled with sexy bass-baritones. After all, the guys in La boheme are bunch of young, Parisian artists, so we expect them to look the part.

Phillip Addis

The Canadian Opera Company hasn't disappointed us in this regard, rotating Christian Van Horn and Tom Corbeil as Colline. Both singers have been regulars on this site. They've also cast Phillip Addis and Joshua Hopkins as the Marcellos, so barihunk fans should get their tickets now. Performances will run from October 3-30, 2012. Tickets are available online.

Tom Corbeil, who recently wrapped up a tour of the Addams Family: The Broadway Musical, returns to his operatic roots in a big way, as he'll also be singing Swallow in Benjamin Britten's masterpiece Peter Grimes. Tenor Ben Heppner will sing the title role and soprano Ileana Montalbetti will take on Ellen Orford. Peformances run from October 5-26, 2013.

Robert Gleadow

Other operas this season include Robert Gleadow as Guglielmo in Mozarts Cosi fan tutte (Jan 18-Feb 21), Verdi's Un ballo in maschera (Feb 2-22), Handel's Hercules (April 5-30), Donizetti's Roberto Deveraux (April 25- May 21) and Massenet's Don Quichotte (May 9-24).

Benjamin Britten's Centenary Will Keep Barihunks Busy

Duncan Rock: Hugely popular with our readers

When we flip over the December 2012 Barihunks calendar in twelve days, we will enter the centenary of Benjamin Britten's birth. It will prove to be a busy year, as along with Mozart, his operas have provided the most eye candy to our readers.

Britain's The Independent takes a look at the upcoming year and lists their Top 10 performances of 2013 (listed at the end of this post). We have our own list of performances that we're looking forward to since certain operas like Billy Budd and The Rape of Lucretia have provided us with some of our favorite posts.

On August 10th, the Glyndebourne Festival will present Billy Budd with three barihunks who have appeared on this site: Jacques Imbrailo as Billy Budd, Christian Van Horn as Lieutenant Ratcliffe and the mega-popular Duncan Rock as The Novice’s Friend. We should also mention that the sublimely gifted tenor Mark Padmore will be Captain Vere. Visit the Glyndebourne website for additional information.

Dae-Hee Shin als Tarquinius und Carolina Krogius als Lucretia in Eisenach

Although many schedules and much casting has not been announced yet, here are some of the notable performances that we're watching. The Rape of Lucretia will be performed in Eisenach, Florence, Oslo and Trieste. Jacques Imbrailo will take his Britten on the road as Tarquinius in Florence in May. Peter Grimes is scheduled in Berlin, Karlsruhe and Stockholm. Albert Herring will be performed in Milwaukee, Sydney, Toulouse and Victoria with barihunk Sam Dundas taking on the role of Sid in Sydney,  Barihunks Calendar cover model Craig Verm taking on the same role in Toulouse and Phillip Addis as Sid in Victoria. The Pacific Opera in Victoria is also having a mini-Britten festival that will also include his rarely performed opera Noye's Fludde and Let's Make an Opera/The Little Sweep. There will be plenty more of these being announced and we'll make sure to keep you apprised.

The Turn of the Screw may end up being the most performed of Britten's operas in 2013, with performances already announced for Bologna, Istanbul, Kassel, Cologne, Mannheim, New York City Opera, Saarbrucken, Tel Aviv and West Palm Beach. 

Sam Dundas

10 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS from The Independent:
• Brazilian premiere of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', São Paolo (March 2013)
• 'Peter Grimes' performed on the beach during the Aldeburgh Festival (June 2013)
• Royal Opera House: 'Gloriana', new production by Richard Jones (June 2013)
• Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics give joint performance of the 'War Requiem' in Berlin conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (June 2013)
• Choir of London tours the Palestinian Territories (August 2013)
• Israeli premiere of 'Curlew River', Tel Aviv (September 2013)
• Focus on Britten at Tanglewood and Aspen Festivals, USA (August 2013)
• Opera North devotes entire season to Britten operas (from September 2013)
• Moscow Festival of Britten includes Russian premiere of 'Death in Venice' at Moscow Conservatoire and an exhibition at the Pushkin Museum (November 2013)
• 75,000 schoolchildren in the UK sing 'Friday Afternoons' simultaneously on Britten's centenary (22 November 2013)

ONLY 11 DAYS LEFT TO BUY YOUR 2013 BARIHUNKS CHARITY CALENDAR FEATURING DUNCAN ROCK AND 13 OTHER STUNNING MEN!:

Men in Shorts

Ryan McKinny (lying down) with Agneta Eichenholz and Marko Spehar (Photo: Monika Rittershaus)

We get all kinds of mail, but the "barihunk in his skivvies" is a regular item in our inbox. There seems to be a lot of it lately, especially coming from the European houses.  The picture above is from the world premiere of Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini’s Der Sandmann at Theater Basel in a Christof Loy production. The opera is based on an E.T.A. Hoffmann story and there are still eight performances remaining. Visit the Theater Basel website for additional information.

On Janauary 29, 2013, McKinny opens as Melot in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto.

James McOran-Campbell in Ghost Patrol (Photo: Jane Hobson)

James McOran-Campbell is currently touring in a Scottish Opera/Music Theatre Wales joint commission of the world premiere of Stuart MacRae's Ghost Patrol, which has scheduled performances in Glasgow, the Edinburgh Festival, the Linbury Studio, ROH and a national tour. They are currently performing in Aberystwyth and are headed to Cardiff, Manchester and finally Mold on November 11. Check out the McOran-Campbell's website for additional information.

Phillip Addis as Demetrius and Ellie Dehn as Helena (Photo Silvia Lelli, Rome Opera)

This summer, Canadian barihunk Phillip Addis appeared as Demetrius in the Rome Opera production of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. We're certainly used to seeing some skin in this opera, but it's usually from Puck. In this production, Demetrius and Lysander were also asked to bare some skin and it drew a comment in a review from Seen & Heard International:

Still, there were some fun touches in the staging too. Having the boys strip down to their underpants for the failed mock fight was a fun touch, but to make it work rightly, Mr Curran would have needed more say in the casting. While Demetrius (Phillip Addis) looked as though he was comfortable as a model for underpants, Lysander (Shawn Mathey) did not.

John Allen Nelson

Finally, we have American John Allen Nelson, who is new to this site.

Nelson was a participant in Opera Colorado's young artist program in 2011-2012, where he performed Father in Hansel and Gretel, Zuniga in Carmen, Old Gypsy in Il Trovatore, and Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. He spent the summer at the Des Moines Metro Opera where he covered the title role in Don Giovanni.     

This season he can be seen singing the role of The Mandarin in Minnesota Opera's production of Turandot.

Vasil Garvanliev gets a new tattoo

Vasil Garvanliev (© Shalan & Paul)

There are few singers who photograph better than Vasil Garvanliev, who we discovered while he was singing at Opera Atelier. Of course, Opera Atelier has become famous for their sexy, provocative marketing campaigns that often features models in various states of undress. Even though they use models, they seem to hire singers who could double as models in their ad campaigns. In addition to Garvanliev, we've featured Olivier Laquerre, Curtis Sullivan, Phillip Addis and João Fernandes from the company roster. 

Although most of our news is about singing, we couldn't resist telling readers about Garvanliev's new tattoo which he had placed on his arm above the LOVE tattoo that appears on the back of his wrist. The photo below shows the design, the procedure and the final tattoo. We think it's pretty HOT. 

The Macedonian barihunk is a young artist at the Glimmerglass Festival this summer, which of course is run by the "Mother of Barihunks," director Francesca Zambello. Future appearances include Caspar in Weber's Der Freischütz with Opera Atelier and Pistola in Verdi's Falstaff with Calgary Opera.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

A "Rape of Lucretia" Photo Tribute

Heather Jewson & David Krohn in Aspen

Perhaps only Mozart's "Don Giovanni" has provided more material for Barihunks than Benjamin Britten's "Rape of Lucretia." The opera contains three roles that are often cast with barihunks - Junius, Collatinus and Tarquinius. Because the opera revolves around young soldiers it is usually cast with young, buff singers. Rather than bore readers with a lot of text, here is a photo tribute to one of the sexiest operas in the repertory.

Nathan Gunn in Vienna

Dan Kempson in Pittsburgh

The Rape of Lucretia revolves around a bet made between three Roman officers, Collatinus, Junius, and Prince Tarquinius, while they are at war with Greece. The three men bet on which of their wives will be faithful. As it turns out, only Lucretia, the wife of Collatinus remains true to her man. In a jealous rage, Prince Tarquinius rides back to Rome and rapes Lucretia. Overcome by shame, Lucretia commits suicide.

Robyn Rocklein & Seth Kershinik at Arizona Opera Theater

Benjamin Britten (November 22, 1913 – December 4, 1976) composed The Rape of Lucretia, a two-act English tragic drama based on the play "Le Viol de Lucrèce" by André Obey. The opera was premiered at Glyndebourne on July 12, 1946. The setting is in Rome in 500 BC.

 

Phillip Addis in Victoria; Colin Clarke at ENO

Grant Doyle at ROH; Kiera Duffy & Philip Cutlip in Toledo

Christopher Maltman sings "Within this frail crucible of light," where Tarquinius pauses to collect his courage before doing the dreadful deed.

Matt Worth in Berkeley

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Baritone Version of Werther in Montreal

Phillip Addis

Opera de Montreal will perform the increasingly popular baritone version of Massenet's opera "Werther."

They have cast Phillip Addis as Werther, who actually looks the part of the young, forlorn poet. Although the title role has generally been played by tenors, two recordings came out in 2004 featuring baritones in the lead. Both Luca Grassi and Thomas Hampson recorded the role with great success.

Performance begin on Saturday and run through February 3rd. You can visit the Place des Arts website or the Opera de Montreal website for additional cast and performance information. The opera company's website also included highlight footage of the performance and other multimedia features.

Here is Thomas Hampson singing the famous aria "Pourquoi me reveiller.":



Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Opera Atelier's Quartet of Barihunks

[Garvanliev, Laquerre, Sullivan and Addis & the Opera Atelier banner for Figaro]

Toronto's Opera Atelier is known for cutting edge baroque performances, sexy marketing and even sexier singers. The boutique opera company's latest offering is Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" with four certifiable barihunks, Phillip Addis, Curtis Sullivan, Olivier Laquerre and Vasil Garvanliev. All of them have appeared on this site before except for the youngest of three, Garvanliev. The Macedonian singer now resides in Toronto where he is wrapping up his graduate studies at the University of Toronto.

Garvanliev has been a child star in native country since the age of seven singing pop songs. He was a finalist in the Macedonian Eurosong Festival with his own original composition in February 2007. Here is a video of him from Macedonian TV:



The "Marriage of Figaro will run from April 24-May 1. Visit the Opera Atelier's wonderful website for more information.

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