Christopher Maltman takes on Don Giovanni and Wotan

Christopher Maltman

Barihunk Christopher Maltman will be making his Ravinia operatic debut in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni. The performance will be at the Martin Theatre with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of James Conlon. Performances will be on Thursday, August 14 and Saturday, August 16.

The cast includes Tamara Wilson as Donna Anna, David Bižic as Leporello, Kristinn Sigmundsson as the Commendatore, Saimir Pirgu as Don Ottavio, Aga Mikolaj as Donna Elvira, Ailyn Pérez as Zerlina and Yohan Yi as Masetto.

Visit the Ravinia website for more information or to purchase tickets.

Next up for Maltman will be a somewhat surprising foray into the music of Richard Wagner, as he takes on Wotan in Das Rheingold in Seoul, Korea. The performance will be the kickoff of conductor Myung-Whun Chung and the Seoul Philharmonic's concert version of the Ring of the Nibelungen. The performance is on September 26 and includes fellow barihunk Alexander Tsymbalyuk as Fafner, as well as Michelle DeYoung as Fricka, Catherine Wyn-Rogers as Erda,  Malin Christensson as Woglinde & Freia, and Yuri Vorobiev as Fasolt.

Miscellaenous Barihunk News

Usually when we're covering anything in Ft. Worth it involves our beloved Ft. Worth Opera. But tonight the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra is opening their season with American barihunk Jonathan Beyer singing selections from Aaron Copland's "Old American Songs." If you're in the area, you won't want to miss Beyer, who is establishing a reputation as a leading interpreter of American music. Click HERE for concert and ticket information.

Andrew Garland & Liam Moran

The Annapolis Opera will be featuring two barihunks in their first-ever production of Gounod's "Romeo & Juliet." Andrew Garland will sing his first ever Mercutio and Liam Moran will be featured as Friar Lawrence. In the tenor role of Romeo is the equally adorable and talented Eric Margiore. There will be two performance on May 18 and 20 of next year. Click HERE for tickets and additional cast information.

Nathan Gunn

On August 31, barihunk Nathan Gunn will be teaming up with Broadway legend Mandy Patinkin at the Ravinia Festival for an evening of music from Broadway, opera, Americana, Yiddish and rock selections. Rumor has it that one of them will even appear in a bathtub. Click HERE for tickets.

Lastly, here is British barihunk Christopher Maltman talking about his recent live recording sessions of Schubert at Wigmore Hall and a clip of him at the 1997 "Cardiff Singer of the World" competition performing Schubert's "Ständchen." We think he's gotten sexier since his standout performance 14  years ago.





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Chicago Tribune Coverage of Barihunk Nozze

[John Relyea & Nathan Gunn]

We provided some advance coverage for Ravinia's current festival, including the recent cast changes to Le Nozze di Figaro. Ravinia is always a wonderful place to enjoy great music with family and friends and this year is no exception.

We were pleased to see that the Chicago Tribune's respected music critic John von Rhein not only enjoyed the performance where John Relyea replaced Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, but he referred to two of the singers as "barihunks" in his review:

I was even more taken with Oropesa, the bright-voiced, very musical singer who played the chambermaid Susanna. Her sharpwitted and beautifully sung portrayal was a smooth fit with John Relyea's amused and amusing manservant, Figaro. A big man with a deep, sonorous bass-baritone, he was a pillar of vocal and dramatic strength in a role completely different from the sardonic devil he played in Berlioz's "Damnation of Faust" last season at Lyric. One would never have guessed he was a late replacement for the indisposed Ildebrando D'Arcangelo.

The show's other "barihunk," Illinois baritone Nathan Gunn, brought manly elegance to Almaviva's music, playing the wayward aristocrat as a handsome seducer who realizes his days of aristocratic privilege in the bedroom are numbered.

We don't have any video or photos yet from Ravinia, but here is a selection from YouTube of Nathan Gunn singing from the Barber of Seville with tenor John Osborn. Gunn remains one of the most viewed barihunks on our site and appears to have what amounts to a cult following.



The Ravinia Festival runs through September 7th and you can still see Annie Get Your Gun, Kiri te Kanawa, Nelly Furtado, Counting Crows, the Beach Boy and Train.

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Relyea to Replace D'Arcangelo at Ravinia

[Photo © Marty Sohl, Marriage of Figaro, Metropolitan Opera]

There is yet another barihunk swap happening in the world of opera. The Ravinia Festival just announced that John Relyea will replace Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as Figaro in their upcoming production of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro." The performances are scheduled for Friday, Aug. 6, and Sunday, Aug. 8 at the Martin Theatre.

Relyea is a regular at Ravinia, having performed Verdi's Requiem in 2001, and Mahler's Eighth Symphony in 2004 and 2008. Earlier this season, Chicago audiences also delighted in Relyea's debut in "La Damnation de Faust" at the Lyric Opera.

Relyea has recently performed Figaro in the "Marriage of Figaro" at Bayerische Staatsoper and the Metropolitan Opera.

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Nathan Gunn Discusses Future Plans

  [Nathan Gunn]

Nathan Gunn remains one of the most popular singers in opera today. His good looks, attractive voice and easy manner appeals to virtually everyone who attends the opera. His Billy Budd and Papageno are considered definitive portrayals by both critics and audiences.

Gunn was interviewed by MusicalCriticism.com and discussed his favorite roles and future plans. You can read the entire interview at the MusicalCriticism.com website.

"With the numerous roles he has portrayed, Gunn confesses that Britten's Billy Budd is the character he likes to embody the most: 'I love him. He brings out the best in me.'"

You can catch Nathan Gunn at Chicago's Ravinia on August 6th and 8th performing Le Nozze di Figaro with fellow barihunk Ildebrando d'Arcangelo.
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Barihunks At Ravinia Celebration

Chicago's famed Ravinia Festival has announced a performance of Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" which will celebrate conductor James Conlon's 60th birthday.

The performance will feature barihunks Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as Figaro and Nathan Gunn as the Count. Conlon will conduct the magnificent Chicago Symphony Orchestra and lead a cast that also includes Rebecca Evans as the Countess.

Performances are on August 6th and 8th. Order early, as this promises to be one hottest tickets of the festival

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