Barihunks Rodolfo Nieto and Andrew Lovato join hunkentenor Leonardo Capalbo for major role debut

Leonardo Capalbo, Andrew Lovato and Rodolfo Nieto (l-r)

When hunkentenor Leonardo makes his role debut on March 12th as Mario Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca with the Minnesota Opera, he'll be joined by two barihunks on stage. Andrew Lovato will be singing Angelotti and Rodolfo Nieto will take on Sciarrone. Tosca will be sung by the riveting Kelly Kaduce. Capalbo and Kaduce also perform together on March 17, 19, 24 and 26. The alternate cast will feature Dominick Chenes as Mario and Alexandra LoBianco as Tosca. Lovato and Nieto are featured in all performances.

A shirtless Leonardo Capalbo in La traviata from Geneva:

Lovato made his Minnesota Opera debut as the role of Sonora in La fanciulla del West and subsequently performed Young Raymond in the world premiere of The Manchurian Candidate by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell and Le Dancaïre in Carmen.

Andrew Lovato sings the Father's Entrance Aria from Hansel und Gretel:

On March 20th, he performs "A Taste of Opera: Tosca" with the company. It's a a pre-show brunch and informal conversation with experts from the world of opera which also includes Leonardo Capalbo an Stephen Powell. On April 2, he joins resident artists from the Minnesota Opera at the Metropolitan Ballroom for a 1930’s Cabaret. You can register online.

Rodolfo Nieto sings Non più andrai from Le nozze di Figaro:

Bass-barihunk Rodolfo Nieto has been featured frequently with the Minnesota Opera in various roles including Castro in La fanciulla del West, Horatio in Hamlet, Johann in Werther, Scottish Soldier #1 in the world premiere of Silent Night, Joseph in Wuthering Heights and Colline in La bohème. Nieto will also be part of both "A Taste of Opera: Tosca"and the 1930s Cabaret.

Rodolfo Nieto in free night of love songs

Rodolfo Nieto

American barihunk Rodolfo Nieto, who we introduced to readers during his run as Jose Castro in Minnesota Opera's La Fanciulla del West two months ago, will be giving a free recital on Friday, November 21st. The free concert at Bemis Rehearsal Hall will include love songs by Richard Strauss, Schubert, Chausson, Fauré, and Tosti.

The concert is free, but an RSVP is requested.  If you can't make the recital, you can listen to him HERE singing some Schubert songs.

Make sure to order your Barihunks Charity calendar by clicking below and enjoy 19 of opera's hottest men all year.

Xavier Rivera

Barihunk quartet in Minnesota Opera's Girl of the Golden West

Christian Zaremba as Ashby and Andrew Lovato as Sonora (Photo: Michal Daniel)

Apparently, Don Giovanni isn't the only opera that deliver barihunks in bunches. We recently posted about a barihunk duo in Puccini's La fanciulla del West (Girl of the Golden West), only to find out that the Minnesota Opera has doubled the eye candy and presented a barihunk quartet in their current production.

Led my the amazing and ageless Greer Grimsley in the critical role of Jack Rance, the opera also features Andrew Lovato as Sonora, Rodolfo Nieto as Castro and Christian Zaremba as Ashby. We recently featured Lovato when he was part of the Santa Fe Apprentice Artist Program. Zaremba and Nieto are new to this site and have both somehow managed to sneak below our radar.

Greer Grimsley as Jack Rance (Photo: Michal Daniel)

Zaremba made his debut this summer at the Glimmerglass Festival as the bass soloist in David Lang’s Little Match Girl Passion and appeared as Pistola in Verdi's Falstaff with the Martina Arroyo Foundation. Other credits include Il Commendatore in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen and Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca, as well as Don Basilio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia with Long Island Opera and Capitol Heights Opera. This past season, he was the bass soloist in Handel's Messiah with the Annapolis Chorale and Mozart's Requiem with the St. Cloud Orchestra.

He made his debut with Minnesota Opera last season as Sarastro in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Lamoral in Richard Strauss' Arabella and the Innkeeper in Puccini's Manon Lescaut). He returns to the Minnesota Opera next season as Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen.

Rodolfo Nieto

Rodolfo Nieto has appeared with the Minnesota Opera in various roles including Horatio in Thomas' Hamlet, Johann in Massenet's Werther, Scottish Soldier #1 in the world premier of Puts' Silent Night, Joseph in Wuthering Heights, and Colline in Puccini's La bohème. Other roles include Alidoro in Rossini's La cenerentola with Lakes Area Music Festival, Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte with Green Mountain Opera Festival, and Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte with Cedar Rapids Opera Theater. 

There are additional performances of La fanciulla del West on September 25, 27 and 28. Tickets and additional cast information are available online.

Nicholas Nelson

UPDATE: We've just learned that it's actually a quintet of barihunks, but the Minnesota Opera didn't list the complete cast, so we missed Nicholas Nelson as Jim Larkens. (SHAME ON THEM!!!)