Barihunk Duncan Rock returning to Glyndebourne

Barihunk Duncan Rock

Duncan Rock will be returning to the Glyndebourne Festival this Summer and Fall, where he previously scored a career-changing success as Tarquinius in Fiona Shaw's production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia.      

From August 11-28, he'll perform the role of Demetrius in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream with an all-star cast that includes Tim Mead as Oberon, Elizabeth DeShong as Hermia and Kate Royal as Helena. From October 15 to December 9, he travels around the U.K. with Glyndebourne on Tour portraying the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni with fellow barihunk Brandon Cedel as his sidekick Leporello.

On Wednesday, June 1st he'll be performing with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under the spirited conducting of Nic McGegan. The program includes songs by Thomas Arne, Ralph Vaughan Williams' In Windsor Forest , highlights from Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, highlights from Henry Purcell's The Fairy Queen and the duet from Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict. He'll be joined by soprano Fflur Wyn, tenor Andrew Henley and mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy.

Barihunk afficionados won't want to miss him as Donald in Deborah Warner's new production of Britten's Billy Budd at the Teatro Real in Madrid, where he will be joined by barihunks Jacques Imbrailo in the title role, Borja Quiza as Novice's Friend and Thomas Oliemans as Mr. Redburn.

He is also slated to make his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in an upcoming season as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème.

LoftOpera sets Rape of Lucretian in Brooklyn auto restoration shop

Kevin Wetzel (L) and Adrian Rosas (R) (Center photo by Paulina Jurzec, Right photo by Vanessa Rosas)

The always innovative LoftOpera is presenting Benjamin Britten's chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia at 501 Union, a former car restoration shop in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Of course, we love the opera as it features three baritones in lead roles and they've cast some major young talent in those roles, all of whom who have appeared our site, Adrian Rosas who will sing the Roman general Collatinus, Kyle Oliver who is taking on Junius. and Kevin Wetzel is singing the critical role of Tarquinius.

The rest of the cast includes Michael Kuhn as the Male Chorus, Katy Lindhart as the Female Chorus, Kristin Gornstein as Lucretia, Toby Newman as Bianca, Melanie Leinbach as Lucia and Alexis Kelley as a Supernumerary. Performances run from December 2-12 and tickets are available online.

Kevin Wetzel  earned his Master’s degree in 2006  and his graduate  performance  diploma in 2008  at  The Peabody Institute. After graduating from The Peabody Institute, he became a member of the Virginia Opera Association’s Spectrum Resident Artist program.  Most recently, he was a resident artist with the Arizona Opera Company. He has appeared with Chesapeake Chamber Opera, Opera  in the Heights,  Virginia Opera  Association,  Glimmerglass  Opera,  Baltimore Opera Company,  Central City Opera  and Peabody Opera. 

In February, he'll perform The Silver Age of Russian Poetry in Music with the Russian Chamber Art Society.

501 Union, the site of LoftOpera's The Rape of Lucretia

Texas native Kyle Oliver is an alumnus of the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Training program, he appeared with the Pittsburgh Opera in numerous productions including singing Zurga in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, Count Robinson in Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto and Dandini in Rossini's La cenerentola. He was a winner of the Grand Prize at the Bel Canto Foundation Competition, the Jeanette Rohatyn “Great Promise” award with the Metropolitan Opera National Council, as well as a career grant from the Sullivan Foundation. He is featured on an album entitled “New Voices” a compilation of art songs by contemporary American composers produced by Glen Roven Records and The Brooklyn Art Song Society. He earned his Master’s degree from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, both in Opera Performance.

Adrian Rosas has performed with the Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Houston’s Opera in the Heights, and Michigan Opera Theatre. He made his Seattle Opera debut as the Sergeant in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and as part of Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program performed the roles of  Procolo in Viva la Mamma, Masetto and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni. He made his Carnegie Hall/Stern Auditorium debut as the Angel Gabriel in the premiere of Oh My Son, an opera by Spanish composer Marcos Galvany. Rosas is on Voice Faculty of the California State Summer School for the Arts. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Western Michigan University, and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School.                                                     

Romain Dayez and Jason Duika

There is only one month left to purchase your 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar, which you can order HERE. This year the proceeds will be used to fund the creation of the Foundation for the Advancement of Baritones (F.A.B.), which will fund baritone and bass cash prizes at song competitions, commission music for baritones and basses, and be used to fund other projects featuring low male voices. 

New York-based composer Clint Borzoni has already been commissioned to write two songs for string quartet and baritone, which will be performed by Marco Vassalli in January. Give the gift of music by supporting the Indiegogo campaign for this effort by clicking HERE. Even if you can't attend, there are exciting rewards, like Marco's CD of Italian songs or having a song dedicated to you by the composer.                                                 

Last chance to watch Duncan Rock's shirtless Tarquinius

Duncan Rock in The Rape of Lucretia

This is your last chance to watch the broadcast of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera's production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, as it ends at midnight GST on August 16th. The opera stars über-barihunk Duncan Rock as Tarquinius, who sings are ravishing "Within this frail crucible of light." He also gets a chance to show off his amazing gym-toned body! Richard Fairman in the Financial Times described Duncan Rock's Tarquinius as "Schwarzenegger-like."

Duncan Rock in The Rape of Lucretia

The Rape of Lucretia was first performed at Glyndebourne in 1946. It tells the story of Lucretia, who is raped by the tyrant Tarquinius Superbus, ruler of Rome. Unable to live with the shame, Lucretia  commits suicide. The action of the opera is commented on throughout by a Male and Female Chorus who occupy another dimension, at times narrating the story and at times voicing the thoughts of the different characters.

The opera was not particularly well received by audiences or critics at the time, but the chamber opera has grown in popularity in recent years, with Glyndebourne bringing it back just two years after they performed it for the Benjamin Britten centenary in 2013.  The broadcast also stars Kate Royal as the Female Chorus, Allan Clayton as the Male Chorus, Matthew Rose as Collatinus, Michael Sumuel as Junius, Christine Rice as Lucretia, Catherine Wyn-Rogers as Bianca and Louise Alder as Lucia.

Duncan Rock in The Rape of Lucretia

Duncan Rock can next be seen at the English National Opera singing Marcello in Puccini's La bohème from October 16-November 10. He's returning to the U.S. in April to sing Billy Bigelow in Carousel at the Houston Grand Opera with Stephanie Blythe as Nettie Fowler and Andrea Caroll as Julie.

Did you know that Duncan Rock started his musical career playing the bagpipes, and that he also played basketball as well as the bass?

The final Glyndebourne stream on the Telegraph website for 2015 will be the new production of Donizetti's Poliuto beginning on Sunday, August 16th with tenor Michael Fabiano (and it's not to be missed!). 

Duncan Rock returns as "Schwarzenegger-like" Tarquinius

It's amazing to think that was in July 1946 that the Glyndebourne Festival first performed Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. The opera was not particularly well received by audiences or critics at the time, but the chamber opera has grown in popularity in recent years, with Glyndebourne bringing it back just two years after they performed it for the Benjamin Britten centenary.

With England all in a twist about a rape scene and some nudity at the Royal Opera House's production of Rossini's William Tell, it's probably good that they brought back director Fiona Shaw’s  non-sensational, straightforward production. Of course, we love the opera for it's trio of low voices and Glyndebourne has brought in three of the best. Barihunk Duncan Rock is back as Tarquinius with Matthew Rose as Collatinus and Michael Sumuel as Junius. Richard Fairman in the Financial Times described Duncan Rock's Tarquinius as "Schwarzenegger-like."

There are additional performances on July 17, 24 and 30, and August 4, 9, 14 and 19. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Zachary Altman shirtless again in Basel

Zachary Altman in The Rape of Lucretia in Basel

We're beginning to wonder whether the costume department should only be paid half of the wages when working with Zachary Altman, as no one seems to have make him a shirt or jacket (which we're certainly OK with!). We've recently posted about him shirtless as Don Giovanni in San Jose and shirtless in Daphne in Basel.

Director Ulrike Jühe decided to keep the trend going in Basel, as she has Altman shirtless as Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. Of course, considering the subject matter, having a shirtless Tarquinius makes directorial sense. We've featured countless shirtless barihunks as Tarquinius, including Duncan Rock, David Krohn, Christopher Maltman, Matthew Worth, David Krohn, Grzegorz Pazik, Nathan Gunn, Scott Beasley, Philip Cutlip, Michael Krzankowski  and Phillip Addis.

Zachary Altman shirtless in Don Giovanni and Daphne

The opera opened last night with Basel's studio artists and runs through April 25th. The cast also includes Jose Coca Loza as Collatinus, Jason Cox as Junius, Aidan Ferguson as Lucretia, Maria Carla Pino Cury as Lucia, Kang Wang as the Male Chorus and Meike Hartman as the Female Chorus. Tickets and additional information is available online.

Cameron McPhail's beefy Rape of Lucretia

Cameron McPhail in The Rape of Lucretia at Yale

We recently included Cameron McPhail in a post about the nine baritones performing in the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions at Merkin Hall in New York City on November 18 and 19. After the post went up, we were told about some sexy pictures of him as Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia at Yale during the 2011-12 season. 

Of course, we had to find them and provide a better introduction to this fast rising Canadian baritone, who holds both an Artist Diploma in Voice and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from The University of British Columbia. He spent the 2011-12 season completing his Masters of Music at the Yale Opera Studio where he studied with American bass Richard Cross.

A 2014 winner of the George London Foundation Competition, McPhail joined the Canadian Opera Company for the 2012-13 season as a member of the Ensemble Studio where he made his company debut as the Premiere Officer in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites. During the 2013-14 season he returned to Canadian Opera Company with mainstage appearances as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème, Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte, and Silvano in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.

He just finished four performances of Orff's Carmina Burana with the Florida Orchestra under the baton of Danail Rachev. He returns to his native Canada on December 5th for Handel's Messiah with the Edmonton Symphony. On February 25, 2015, he'll create the role of Reverend Colgate in a world premiere concert staging of Gregory Vajda’s comic opera Georgia Bottoms with the Huntsville Symphony. The opera about the modern South, is based on the national best-seller by Alabama author Mark Childress.

If you want to enjoy 19 of opera's sexiest and most talented singers all year, make sure to order your own copy of the 2015 Barihunks Calendar by clicking below.

Bass-Barihunk Colin Ramsey to make Seattle Opera debut

Colin Ramsey in L'incoronazione de Poppea at Opera NEO

We introduced bass-barihunk Colin Ramsey last summer as one of the guys on the Operaticus fitness site on Facebook. He just finished a run yesterday as Collatinus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia with Vespertine Opera in Seattle. We didn't have any pictures from the production, which is a shame, as it's one of our favorite operas to showcase barihunk talent. If some emerge, we promise to post them.

However, we did find a few amazing pictures of Colin Ramsey as Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Opera NEO, the summer opera festival and young artist workshop in San Diego, California.

Colin Ramsey & Alyssa Packard in L’incoronazione di Poppea:

If you missed this emerging barihunk, you'll have another shot when Ramsey makes his debut with the Seattle Opera as Mr. Kofner in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul. The opera runs from February 22-March 7. If you attend operas based on the Barihunk Quotient, then The Consul is a "must see" production, as it features barihunks Michael Todd Simpson as John Sorel, Steven LaBrie as the Secret Police Agent and Joseph Lattanzi as Assan.

Ramsey will reprise the role of Mr. Kofner in a different production of The Consul with Opera Santa Barbara on March 25 and 27.  That production will feature barihunk Joshua Jeremiah as John Sorel. In May, he moves back a few centuries to portray Somnus and Cadmus in the Pacific Musicworks's production of Handel's Semele in cooperation with the University of Washington.

Colin Ramsey in The Marriage Tango (L) and
L'incoronazione de Poppea (R)

Ramsey graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in 2011, where he received the Hugh Ross Award, awarded to singers with "unusual promise." An award winner with the Pasadena Opera Guild, he went on to become a studio artist at Opera Santa Barbara and the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program.

He made his debut with Opera Santa Barbara singing the Doganiere in La Boheme. At Wolf Trap Opera he was featured as Hermann in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann, Jonas Fogg in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and as Figaro and Alidoro in a program of scenes.

A stunning Duncan Rock as Tarquinius at Glyndebourne

Duncan Rock in The Rape of Lucretia (Photo: Richard Hubert Smith)

We've been following the amazing career of barihunk Duncan Rock and watched with great delight how quickly he's developed a devoted following amongst opera goers. We love his willingness to push his artistic boundaries, appearing in everything from Billy Budd at Glynebourne to an updated, gender bending Don Giovanni: The Opera at London's famous nightclub Heaven.

We received more mail about him after he appeared in last year's Barihunks calendar, than any other singer. He has quickly become the perfect example of what opera companies are often looking for today: Great voice, great appearance and great acting. In the pantheon of young baritone talent, he has more people talking than almost any other singer.

Duncan Rock in The Rape of Lucretia (Photo: Richard Hubert Smith)

He's currently turning heads and receiving rave reviews for his portrayal as an often shirtless Tarquinius in Benjmain Britten's The Rape of Lucretia at Glyndebourne. In this production, he is being directed by the great Irish actress and theatre and opera director Fiona Shaw, who is undoubtedly pushing him to even higher artistic standards. Tim Ashley, of the Guardian commented, "Rock undercuts Tarquinius's raffish allure with unnerving intimations of psychotic violence."

The Rape of Lucretia was first performed at Glyndebourne in 1946. It tells the story of Lucretia, who is raped by the tyrant Tarquinius Superbus, ruler of Rome. Unable to live with the shame, Lucretia  commits suicide. The action of the opera is commented on throughout by a Male and Female Chorus who occupy another dimension, at times narrating the story and at times voicing the thoughts of the different characters.

Duncan Rock in The Rape of Lucretia (Photo: Richard Hubert Smith)

There are three remaining performances at Glyndebourne on October 22, 25 and November 28, as well as a tour to Woking, Norwich, Canterbury and Plymouth. A recording of this production will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on December 28th.

For tickets, call 01273 815000 or visit the Glyndebourne website.

Merola Opera to present The Rape of Lucretia

Chris Carr and Kate Allen

The Merola Opera program in San Francisco will be presenting Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" on July 11 and 13. Performing the critical role of Tarquinius will be Chris Carr, who we've featured on this site for his amazing physical transformation after taking up the Sparticus workout. He was also featured in our "Top 25 of 2012" for his transformation.

Of course, "The Rape of Lucretia" is one of our favorite operas, since it features three major baritone roles. In this performance, directed by Peter Kazaras, Carr will be joined by Efrain Solís as Junius and David Weigel as Collatinus. Solís was as a finalist in the most recent Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions as well as this year's Eleanor McCollum Competition. Weigel was recently a member of the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center, where he sang Colline in Puccini's La bohème and Don Basilio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia.

The cast of "The Rape of Lucretia" also includes tenor Robert Watson as the Male Chorus, soprano Linda Barnett as the Female Chorus, mezzo Kate Hannigan as Bianca and soprano Alisa Jordheim as Lucia. Tickets are available online.

Don't forget to check out our popular Rape of Lucretia photo tribute.

Reader Submission: Scott Beasley gets in shape for Tarquinius in Rape of Lucretia

Scott Beasley onstage and prepariing for Tarquinius at the gym

A colleague of barihunk Scott Beasley was mighty impressed with the singer's dedication to his CrossFit routine in preparation for performing Tarquinius in Benjamin Britten's The Rape Of Lucretia at the University of Tennessee Opera Theater.  The production was double cast with Beasley alternation the role with Ryan Olson.

Beasley is currently studying voice at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and singing as a baritone soloist at the First Presbyterian Church.

Scott Beasley prepariing for Tarquinius at the gym and as Tarquinius

Unfortunately, the performances all wrapped up last weekend, but we'll be keeping an eye on this emerging talent. The local reviewer commented on Beasley's "marvelous physical strength," so all that CrossFit training seemed to pay off.

Other singers in the production included Aaron Dunn as Junius, and Ian Richardson and Peter Johnson alternating as Collatinus.

Book Reveals that "Rape of Lucretia" was Censored

Christopher Maltman (L) and Nathan Gunn (R) in Rape of Lucretia

Censorship in opera is not a 20th century phenomenon, as masters like Giuseppe Verdi saw some of their greatest operas altered by the moralists and political watchdogs of the day. Verdi ran afoul of both the religious and political entities of his time, perhaps most famously in Un Ballo in Maschera, with the offense being the assassination of a king.

Rigoletto would never have been produced had Verdi not changed the prostitute-loving King Francis I of Victor Hugo’s Le roi s’amuse to the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. Rather than the Duke being killed, Verdi ends up killing Gilda.

La Forza del Destino, Luisa Miller and La Traviata were all famously altered after the censors weighed in.

Michael Krzankowski in Seattle

It should come as no surprise that Benjamin Britten was also the victim of the censors. He not only dealt with issues like the injustices of war, but dealt with homosexuality and even pedophilia, topics that were taboo in England at the time. Don't forget that it wasn't much earlier that Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for "gross indecency" and for being a sodomite.

A new book on Benjamin Britten by Paul Kildea, a conductor and expert on the composer, has now revealed that his opera "The Rape of Lucretia" was altered by the censors. The most notable line was the changing of the following lines:

Male Chorus: “He takes her hand/And places it upon his unsheathed sword.”

Female Chorus: “Thus wounding her with an equal lust/A wound only his sword can heal”.

These lines were changed to the far less poetic:

“Tarquinius – 'Poised like a dart’/Lucretia – 'At the heart of woman’/Male Chorus – 'Man climbs towards his God’/ Female Chorus: 'Then falls to his lonely hell’.” 

Amazingly, Britten's "Peter Grimes," which deals with the mysterious disappearance of young boys at the hands of a sailor, made it past the censors. However, the censors did make this comment:

“It is all very wafty and nebulous and I don’t pretend I can make sense of the plot from the verses, but there is no offence in them or in the production. Perhaps Benjamin Britten’s music will carry it through.” 

You can read more at the the Telegraph. You can also check out our photo tribute to Rape of Lucretia, which has provided us with some of our favorite pictures over the years.

Don't forget that there are only eight days left to purchase your 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar:

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!:

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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"Castleton West" A Critical Success

Michael Weyandt & Matthew Worth

Loren Maazel took his Castleton Festival west to California from Virginia, where it was met with the same critical acclaim that it received back East. Many of the same singers returned to reprise their roles, but we found a new addition to the barihunk family in Michael Weyandt, who was a sexy Junius. Cal Performance in Berkeley mounted both the "Rape of Lucretia" and "Albert Herring."

Joshua Kosman, the respected and brutally honest reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle, gave "The Rape of Lucretia" a great review, saying this about the trio of barihunks:

Tarquinius was embodied with sonorous menace by baritone Matthew Worth, and bass-baritone Michael Rice brought a gorgeous warmth of tone to the role of Collatinus, Lucretia's ostentatiously virtuous husband. Michael Weyandt did a muscular turn as the ambitious Junius...

We learned during the performance run that Michael Rice plans on making this his final performance on the opera stage. Luckily, we'll still be able to enjoy him on his wonderful OperaNow! podcast, one of the most enjoyable shows about classical music around. We wish him well in his future endeavors. He's one of our favorite people in opera!

Michael Rice Sailing Off Into the Operatic Sunset

"Albert Herring" featured barihunk Adrian Kramer, who stole the show in the critical role of Sid. You can listen to this talented young Canadian at InstantEncore performing songs by Rorem, Barber and Danielpour.

The opera world should be grateful to Loren Maazel, whose Castleton Festival has reintroduced important operas to the repertory as well as talented young singers.

Adrian Kramer

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More "Hot Schrott" & "Top Gunn" from Vienna

Hot Shrott Shots: Onstage & Backstage in Vienna

 If you're a lover of barihunks, then you should be in Vienna. We've posted recently about Luca Pisaroni's critically acclaimed debut as Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Vienna State Opera. He is performing opposite the always hot and sexy Count of Erwin Schrott. Here are some additional photos of Schrott, who we didn't provide the same degree of coverage in our previous post. If Mae West were still alive she'd certainly be asking, "Is that a pistol in your pocket..." [Yes, the picture enlarges if you click on it].

Nathan proves he really is a "Top Gunn" in Vienna

Head down the Opernring and onto Friedrichstrasse to get to the Theater an der Wien where Nathan Gunn is in the best shape of his life as Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia. He made a woman faint in New York and we suspect that he's having the same effect on audiences in Austria. By the way, the lucky soprano is the gifted Angela Kirschschlager.

Matt Worth reprises his sexy Tarquinius in California

Fans of The Rape of Lucretia in Northern California will be delighted to know that Loren Maazel is bringing his highly acclaimed production to Berkeley on March 24 and 25 at Cal Performances. The production includes two of our favorite singers, who both appeared on our Barihunks Best of 2010 list. Matt Worth will take on the role of Tarquinius, while OperaNow blogger and hunk Michael Rice plays Collatinus. On the following two nights, Maazel will perform Albert Herring with barihunk Adrian Kramer.

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"Top Gunn" is still "Top Tarquinius"

Gunn heats up the stage in Vienna

We posted earlier this week about Nathan Gunn returning to his signature role of Tarquinius in Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" at the Theater an der Wien.  We posted some pictures from Philadelphia and were wondering if he was still as sexy as ever for this role. From these pictures, it looks like he can keep this role in his repertory for years to come.

Top Gunn

We also learned that Gunn will be performing the title role in Billy Budd next season at the Metropolitan Opera. If he looks this good and continues to own the role vocally, it should be the hit of the season.

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Nathan Gunn Returns to Tarquinius

Nathan Gunn as Tarquinius in Philadelphia

The role of Tarquinius in in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia is usually cast with young barihunks, so it's impressive that the 40-year-old Nathan Gunn has been able to keep it in his repertory and still look great. He revisits the role from February 17-27 at the Theater an der Wien. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information.

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A Barber Well "Worth" Attending

Matthew Worth (r) as Figaro (photo by

David Bachman - Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette)

One of our favorites barihunks, Matthew Worth, is in Pittsburgh where he is being lauded for his wonderful stage presence. We fell in love with the budding young star when he rose to the difficult challenge of singing in Benjamin Britten's "Rape of Lucretia," where he practically stole the show. Worth has also scored major successes with two other Britten operas, Owen Wingrave and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Californians will get the opportunity to see him reprise his definitive portrayal as Tarquinius with fellow barihunk Michael Rice with Cal Performances in Berkeley on March 24 and 25.

Barihunk Michael Rice coming to Berkeley

Readers of this site might also recall that he created a bit of a sensation as Don Giovanni at the Virginia Opera, so it appears that he's equally adept at drama, comedy and portraying seductive rakes.

Matthew Worth: Sexy in a tee

Fans of Matthew Worth in the Pittsburgh area can see him in the Barber again tonight, Friday, October 15 or Sunday, October 17. Visit the Pittsburgh Opera website for ticket information.

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Pittsburgh Opera's Barihunk Tradition Continues

[Top photo: Barihunks Dan Kempson, Craig Verm & Liam Moran; bottom photo Liam Moran; photos courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera]

In January and February of this year the Pittsburgh Opera performed Benjamin Britten's opera "Rape of Lucretia" with their young artists. As always, Lucretia seems to attract the hunkiest singers around and Pittsburgh's production was no exception. Craig Verm cut a dashing figure as Junius, Dan Kempson a matinee idol Tarquinius and Liam Moran was a total stud as Collatinus.

If you missed this performance, the Pittsburgh Opera has some barihunks on their upcoming schedule. Matthew Worth will perform Figaro in the "Barber of Seville," Denis Sedov will portray Raimondo in "Lucia di Lammermoor," and Craig Verm will be back as Ping in "Turandot."
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