Edwin Crossley-Mercer poses for Karl Lagerfeld

Edwin Crossley-Mercer in a Dior trenchcoat (Photo: Karl Lagerfeld)

We posted about barihunk Edwin Crossley-Mercer in Robert Carsen's production of Rameau’s Platée set at 31 Rue Cambon, birthplace of the Chanel fashion empire. Crossley-Mercer's Jupiter was styled as a Karl Lagerfeld lookalike with white ponytail and dark glasses. Juno, the queen of the gods, was decked out as Coco Chanel.

Karl Lagerfeld and Edwin Crossley-Mercer

Lagerfeld, an opera fan in his own right, attended a performance at the Opéra Comique and even greeted the singer backstage. The production also played at the Theater an der Wien and at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. Lagerfeld must have been quite impressed with what he saw, because he followed up with a photo shoot of the popular baritone shooting him in a variety of couture.

Beginning on April 17, 2015, Crossley-Mercer will appear in another Robert Carsen production when he sings Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Paris Opera.

Edwin Crossley-Mercer and Marc Mauillon in fun-filled Platée in Paris; New York City up next

Edwin Crossley-Mercer (left) and Marc Mauillon

Director Robert Carsen and conductor William Christie have moved their co-production of Rameau's Platée from the Theater an der Wien to the Opéra Comique. The innovate and lively production is set in the world of fashion-driven high society. Jupiter, played by barihunk Edwin Crossley-Mercer is fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who parades around with his  fluffy, white cat. La Folie, sung by the amazing Simone Kermes,  morphs from Lady Gaga into a series of entertainingly unique incarnations. Marc Mauillon, who somehow had been overlooked by our European barihunk "scouts" until now, plays Cithéron.

Performances run through March 30 and tickets are available online. The production then will move to New York City for a single performance at the Alice Tully Hall on April 2. TIckets are still available, but are extremely limited. It is suggested that you call 212.721.6500 for tickets. 

Promo video released for Edwin Crossley-Mercer's NY debut

Edwin Crossley-Mercer finally makes NY debut

It's no secret that like much of the opera world has been eagerly anticipating Edwin Crossley-Mercer's long-awaited New York debut on March 3, 2014 at the Weill Concert Hall. He will be performing Carmina Catulli, a 17-movement song cycle by Michael Linton based on the poems of Catullus, the Latin poet of the late Roman Republic. The song cycle comes with the warning, "Because the poems of Catullus deal with issues of sex in a frank manner, some members of the public might find them objectionable. "

We've certainly been curious about the music for his Big Apple debut and now the following promo video is available for the recital. Let's just say that it's not exactly Schubert's Winterreise. Michael Linton’s music is notorious for its emotional ferocity and extraordinary technical difficulty. The rest of the program will include Linton's Seven Franchetti Songs, settings of poetry by the Italian-American polymath Cody Franchetti. They will be performed by tenor H. Stephen Smith. The accompanist for the concert is Jason Paul Peterson.

Tickets are on sale now at the Carnegie Hall website, but we recommend buying now as the theater only holds 268 people. If you can't make it to the show, the songs were recently recorded in Nashville, Tennessee for release around the time of the recital. We will keep you posted. 

If you're in Europe, you can catch Crossley-Mercer as Jupiter in Rameau's Platée at the Theater an der Wien from February 17-28 and again at the Opéra Comique from March 20-30. His next European recital is April 10th at the Auditorium du Musée d’Orsay.