Firey Hot Opera Coming to Oakland with Eugene Branconveanu

Eugene Brancoveanu

This January, The Crucible in Oakland, California, will celebrate its 13th anniversary with a World Premiere Fire Opera, "MACHINE." 

The production was conceived and directed by the brilliant and innovate director Mark Streshinsky and features music by Clark Suprynowicz. The performance will be conducted by Barnaby Palmer and sung by barihunk regular Eugene Brancoveanu.

The Romanian baritone will be shirtless and from the looks of things, giving Nathan Gunn, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Erwin Schrott, Christoper Maltmann and other bare-chested barihunks a run for their money.

Eugene Brancoveanu

Based on a short story by science fiction author Derek J. Goodman, MACHINE is set in a fiery industrial universe in which workers have sold themselves into a lifetime of servitude. When one worker regains his power of self-determination, the story ignites into an explosive brew of escape plots, alliances, and unlikely love interests. This spectacular performance features two opera singers, a rock singer and percussionists that “play” the scaffolding-like set. Visual effects including a molten metal pour, fire performers and industrial artists such as glass blowers and blacksmiths. MACHINE will deliver the kind of awe-inspiring performance that Crucible audiences have come to expect.

MACHINE runs January 11-14 and 18-21, 2012 with tickets ranging $45-$65 and $150 for the Closing Night Gala on January 21. You can find more information and purchase tickets online at www.thecrucible.org.

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Menotti's "The Last Savage" at Santa Fe Opera

Daniel Okulitch as the Last Savage

Daniel Okulitch seems to be shirtless more than Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Nathan Gunn combined. It appears that the bass-baritone has recovered from the serious car accident that he was involved in earlier this year. We're thrilled that he's back on stage. He is part of the revival of Gian Carlo Menotti's virtually forgotten comic masterpiece "The Last Savage."

Here is the review from the Santa Fe New Mexican:

From the moment Santa Fe Opera announced its 2011 lineup more than a year ago, one wondered if The Last Savage, a featherweight comic opera by Gian Carlo Menotti, just might be the sleeper hit of the season — and, by golly, it turned out to be precisely that. [Read the entire review HERE].

Tickets are still available at the Santa Fe Opera box office. You can also find video and audio clips at the site.

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Rub-a-dub-dub, a barihunk in a tub

Robin Adams shirtless as Onegin

The last time we featured English barihunk Robin Adams on the site, he was performing a shirtless Eugene Onegin in Bern, Switzerland. Adam's Onegin stalked Tatiana around the stage like a crazed sexual predator. His performance was critically acclaimed and added a thrilling element to the opera, which is usually conservatively costumed and staged.

Robin Adams shirtless as Giovanni

It appears that opergoers in the Swiss capital are in luck again, as Adams is shedding his threads for the new production of Don Giovanni at the Stadt Theatre Bern which opens on Thursday, February 24. The opera company, which sits in the large shadow that is cast by the opera in Zurich two hours down the road, always manages to put on an interesting show. They were also smart enough to use the sexy singer in their marketing materials, which caught the attention of one of our Zurich-based readers.

For additional cast and performance information, visit the Stadt Theatre Bern website.

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