Barihunk duo in Opera Santa Barbara's “The Crucible”

Wayne Tigges and Colin Ramsey

Bass-barihunks Wayne Tigges and Colin Ramsey will close out the Opera Santa Barbara season in Robert Ward's operatic rendition of “The Crucible.”

Tigges joins mezzo-soprano Audrey Babcock as the husband and wife John and Elizabeth Proctor, who are at the center of the story. Colin Ramsey sings the role of doctrinaire, calculating witch hunter Reverend John Hale.

Robert Ward composed the English language opera based on Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. The opera won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Music and was originally commissioned by the New York City Opera.

Barihunk Peter Bording in The Crucible:

Miller was involved in selecting Ward to adapt the play for an opera. The Crucible is a classic American drama written as an allegory for McCarthyism and the US Government’s persecution of suspected communists inspired by the 17th century Salem witch trials. Miller himself had been questioned by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Un-American Activities. The story is about a community confronting mass hysteria and dangerous ideology and the repercussions and costs of reputation and integrity.

Performances are on April 26 and April 28 at the Lobero Theatre Opera, with an additional performance on April 29 for middle and high-school age students. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

"There's something about that bad boy that's so hard to resist."

Lee Poulis as Belcore (L)

Lee Poulis who is honing his formidable operatic skills at the Theater Bonn in Germany is back in the United States and performing the title role in the current production of Don Giovanni at the Sarasota Opera. We think Sarasota might have him a bit over-costumed after we saw this picture of him performing in L'elisir d'amore in Germany (although he looks pretty hot in leather).

There is a performance tonight and three more in March. Check out the Sarasota Opera website for additional details.

Christina Pier as Donna Anna & Lee Poulis as "bad boy" Don Giovanni

Check out the video of Poulis and his castmates discussing the opera. We particularly loved soprano Christina Pier's assessment of the title character, which pretty much sums up our fascination with the role, as well. 

"There's something about that bad boy

that's so hard to resist."

We also found a couple of other barihunks on the Sarasota Opera website that we're going to have to keep and eye on. Grant Clarke is the Marcello in their current production of La Boheme and Bradley Smoak performs Francis Nurse in Robert Ward's The Crucible, both of which run through March 19. Smoak we actually spotted as Zuniga with the Palm Beach Opera last April, where he was a bit revealing in some tight white pants.

Grant Clarke

Bradley Smoak

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