Watch Erwin Schrott as Offenbach's four villains from DNO

Erwin Schrott as 2 of 4 Offenbach villains (Images: Dutch National Opera)

Conductor Carlo Rizzi and German director Tobias Kratzer have created a revised version of Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, which may upset some purists. Using a variety of versions of the opera, the duo reduced some of the spoken dialogue and left out some popular numbers, including the villain’s aria “Scintille, diamant” and the septet.

This means that you won't get to hear barihunk Erwin Schrott sing the famous aria in his Dutch National Opera debut, as well his first staged performance of the four villains.

You can watch the complete broadcast HERE. And so you don't miss out on hearing Schrott sing Dapertutto's famous aria, here is the version from his album.

Schrott can currently be seen as Escamillo at the Arena di Verona in Bizet's Carmen from August 9-25. He then takes the torreador to the Vienna State Opera, where he'll perform the role from Septemeber 6-12.

Watch Nicolas Courjal's role debut live as four villains in Tales of Hoffmann

Nicolas Courjal as the Four Villains (photos by Alain Hanel)

On January 22nd, the internet opera site Mezzo.tv will feature bass-barihunk Nicolas Courjal making his role debut as the four villains- Lindorf, Coppelius, Miracle and Dapertutto - in Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann).

The live broadcast is from the Opera of Monte-Carlo and features and all-star cast led by Juan Diego Flórez in the title role and Olga Peretyatko as the the four women he's enchanted with. Both singers are also making their role debuts. The broadcast begins at 8 PM Monte Carlo time on Mezzo.tv (2 PM EST/11 AM PST. Click HERE to watch the broadcast.

Nicolas Courjal sings "Elle ne m'aime pas" from Don Carlos: 

The production is being staged by Jean-Louis Grinda and conducted by Jacques Lacombe. There will be additional performances on January 25, 28 and 31.

Upcoming performance for the 44-year-old French singer include the role of Rodolfo in Bellini's La Sonnambla in Lausanne on February 9th and 11th and Phanuel in Massenet's Hérodiade in Marseilles in March with Béatrice Uria-Monzon in the title role.

Villainous drama at the Los Angeles Opera

Los Angeles Opera this weekend.
The French bass-baritone Nicolas Testé lost his voice in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman and no instant sub was available. He had to mime the role on stage while an understudy sang from the pit.
Nicolas Testé’s wife, the German soprano Diana Damrau, was able only to sing one-third of her part.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2017/03/in-la-a-singing-couple-comes-unstuck/#sthash.3NcRpX1C.dpuf

Los Angeles Opera this weekend.
The French bass-baritone Nicolas Testé lost his voice in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman and no instant sub was available. He had to mime the role on stage while an understudy sang from the pit.
Nicolas Testé’s wife, the German soprano Diana Damrau, was able only to sing one-third of her part.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2017/03/in-la-a-singing-couple-comes-unstuck/#sthash.3NcRpX1C.dpuf

Los Angeles Opera this weekend.
The French bass-baritone Nicolas Testé lost his voice in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman and no instant sub was available. He had to mime the role on stage while an understudy sang from the pit.
Nicolas Testé’s wife, the German soprano Diana Damrau, was able only to sing one-third of her part.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2017/03/in-la-a-singing-couple-comes-unstuck/#sthash.3NcRpX1C.dpuf

Barihunks Wayne Tigges and Steven Labrie

There was a bit of drama at the Los Angeles Opera this weekend when French bass-baritone Nicolas Testé lost his voice. He was scheduled to sing the Four Villains in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman along with his wife soprano Diana Damrau.

Unfortunately, no substitute was available, so the company called barihunk Wayne Tigges in Chicago and asked him to sing the role. Tigges would only agree if he could use a score, which was accommodated when Testé agreed to lip synch the role from the stage. Tigges hopped on a plane and from our accounts in Los Angeles, Tigges was a huge success with the audience.

The regular cast also includes barihunk Theo Hoffman as Hermann (no relation to the title character).

Additional performances are on April 2, 6, 9 and 15.

Daniel Schmutzhard creates sensation in The Sandman

Daniel Schmutzhard

Austrian barihunk Daniel Schmutzhard has been creating a sensation as Nathanael in composer Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini's Der Sandmann at Opera Frankfurt, which has additional performances on October 3, 8, 13 and 23. The psychologically troubled character is a difficult vocal feat, accompanied by virtuoso orchestration and powerful choruses. He also has to sing much of the role clad in his scivvies

Based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's well known story The Sandman (1815), Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini and the librettist Thomas Jonigk combined essential elements from the story with creepy, romantic motifs for their opera. Nathanael's state of being, a psychotic trip in the homelessness of one's own self, is depicted in ten scenes. To him the sinister seems, in a Freudian sense, a chimera which shines light upon the known and surpressed. Jonigk's figures are our contemporaries: they speak our language, know the feelings of self doubt.

Daniel Schmutzhard

The story of E.T.A. Hoffmann and his conflict between artistic dreams and reality is not new to opera goers, with Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann and Hindemith's Cardillac being the best known. Other adaptations include Busoni's Die Brautwahl, Alfred Thompson's The Girl with the Glass Eyes, Adolphe Adam's La poupée de Nuremberg, Walter Braunfels' Prinzessin Brambilla and Jacques Offenbach's Le roi Carotte.

The cast also includes barihunk Daniel Miroslaw, who appears as Lothar. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Our 10th Anniversary "Barihunks in Bed 2017" calendar is now on sale. It's available by clicking the Lulu button below.

Dominik Köninger catching birds and debuting baritone Hoffmann

Dominik Köninger as Papageno in the Barrie Kosky production

German barihunk Dominik Köninger is at the Edinburgh Festival reprising his highly-acclaimed Papageno in Barrie Kosky's magical production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, which has performances remaining on August 29 and 30.

The innovative Barrie Kosky production of Die Zauberflöte is a collaboration with the amazing British theater group “1927," who put together a production that mixes silent movies, Weimar era cabaret, David Lynch and a touch of the Grimm's Fairy Tales.

The oft-shirtless Dominik Köninger

If you can't catch Köninger as Papageno in the U.K., you'll have plenty of additional opportunities as he's singing the role in the same production at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein beginning on September 19th, then again in Barcelona next summer at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

We've been huge fans of Dominik Köninger since he won the 2011 Wigmore Hall Song Competition and have been enjoying his regular appearances at the Komische Oper Berlin, where he's sung in Monteverdi's Orpheus, Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte, Pantalone in Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges, Oreste in Gluck's Iphigenie en Tauride and Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.  

 Dominik Köninger sings Hai gia vinta la causa from the Marriage of Figaro:

He returns to Berlin on September 11th to sing the title role in Handel's Giulio Cesare with fellow barihunk Günter Papendell as Achilla. On October 2nd, he'll open in Barrie Kosky's new production of Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann. For the first time in the opera's 132-year performance history, the role of Hoffmann will be sung by a baritone, which was Offenbach's original intention.

Christian Van Horn's breakout performance as Four Villains

Christian Van Horn in SF Opera's Tales of Hoffmann

Bass-Barihunk Christian Van Horn is about to have a major breakout performance in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann opening on June 5th at the San Francisco Opera. People who have sat through the dress rehearsals tell us that the American singer may steal the show in a star-studded cast that includes Natalie Dessay and Matthew Polenzani.

Van Horn who previously has only sung the minor role of Crespel in Tales of Hoffmann, has been assigned the task of singing the four villains: Lindorf, Coppélius, Miracle, and Dapertutto. Offenbach intended all four roles to be performed by one singers, as they are all various manifestations of evil.

The San Francisco Opera is presenting nine performances of the opera from June 5-July 6. There is still seating available for most performances and tickets can be purchased online. As a bonus, barihunk Hadleigh Adams can be seen in the roles of Luther and Schlemil.

Christian Van Horn sings Non piu andrai from Le Nozze di Figaro

Keep an eye out for Van Horn's new recording of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro recorded under the baton of Theodor Currentzis on Sony Classical.

He can next be seen at the Canadian Opera Company this Fall as Colline in Puccini's La boheme.

Daniel Okulitch gets villainous in Edmonton

Daniel Okulitch famous naked in "The Fly" and in Tales of Hoffmann

Canadian barihunk Daniel Okulitch has remained one of our most popular singers since we first posted him in . He's opening tonight as all four villains in Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann." Performances are running through February 7th and tickets are available online.

Samuel Ramey sings "Scintille, diamanti" from The Tales of Hoffmann:

Okulitch, who has made a name for himself as a great exponent of Mozart, will take on both baritone roles in Le nozze di Figaro after wrapping up in Edmonton. He heads to the Arizona Opera in April for three performances of the Figaro and three more at the Komische Oper in Berlin, before switching to the Count in the same opera at the Santa Fe Opera in June.

Benjamin Covey

Another emerging Canadian barihunk will be in the cast of The Tales of Hoffmann. Benjamin Covey, who received his master’s in opera at University of Toronto and honed his skills San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Program, returns to being a student (at least on stage) playing Hermann. Covey can next be seen at the Toronto Masque Theatre in "The Lessons of Love," an operatic double bill of John Blow’s Venus and Adonis and the premiere of Alice Ping Yee Ho's The Lesson of Da Ji.

John Relyea in COC's Tales of Hoffmann

John Relyea

We somehow forgot to mention that the great John Relyea opened on Tuesday night in "The Tales of Hoffmann" at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. We've seen video of the rehearsals and the production and singing are magical. See for yourself in the trailer below. Relyea plays all four villains in the opera, in a cast that also features fellow barihunks Philippe Sly and Gregory Dahl.

Performances will run through May 14 and additional information can be found on the Canadian Opera Company's website.

John Relyea in The Tales of Hoffmann in Munich:

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A Tribute to Samuel Ramey on his 70th Birthday

Samuel Ramey as Attila

Today we celebrate the 70th birthday of Samuel Ramey, who was one of the early pioneers of the shirtless male opera singer. His video of Boito's Mefistofele from the San Francisco Opera has become a cult classic with opera aficionados. He continued his sexy shirtless portrayals with an Attila that was not only sexy, but set the vocal standard to this day.

Samuel Ramey has been a leading interpreter of the bass and bass-baritone operatic repertoire for thirty years. His amazing vocal flexibility and range has allowed his to sing roles ranging from Argante in Handel’s Rinaldo to the title role in Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle. His repertoire includes the florid pasages of Handel, the bel canto roles of Bellini and Donizetti, the great baritone roles of Verdi and Puccini, great American operas and even many of the great Russian and French bass roles.

 Samuel Ramey sings Attila's "Mentre gonfiarsi l'anima":

If he sang nothing else, he would be famous for his interpretation of Boito’s Mefistofele,which has included  seventy performances in the Robert Carsen production of the opera specifically created for  him. In fact, devilish roles have dominated his stage performances, including Berlioz's devil in La damnation de Faust; the sinister Nick Shadow in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress; and the tour de force of all four villains in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. In 1992 Mr. Ramey sang all of Offenbach’s villains for the Metropolitan Opera’s opening night, prompting one critic to write, “[It was] the best interpretation of the four villains I can remember in the last 25 years. This is the stuff of which operatic legends are made.” In 1996 Mr. Ramey presented a sold-out concert at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall titled A Date with the Devil in which he sang fourteen arias representing the core of this repertoire, and he continues to tour this program throughout the world.

Samuel Ramey sings Argante's "Sibilar gli angui d'Aletto" from Rinaldo:

Samuel Ramey holds the distinction of being the most recorded bass in history. His more than eighty recordings include complete operas, recordings of arias, symphonic works, solo recital programs, and popular crossover albums on every major label. His recordings have garnered nearly every major award including three Grammy Awards, Gran Prix du Disc Awards, and “Best of the Year” citations from journals including Stereo Review and Opera News. His exposure on television and video is no less impressive, with video recordings of the Metropolitan Opera’s Carmen, Bluebeard’s Castle, Semiramide, Nabucco, and the compilation “The Met Celebrates Verdi;” San Francisco Opera’s Mefistofele; The Rake’s Progress from the Glyndebourne Festival; Attila from La Scala; and the Salzburg Festival’s Don Giovanni. Ramey is seen frequently on television in appearances with “Live from the Met” and “Live from Lincoln Center” as well as other productions taped for PBS.
Following his phenomenal success in opera, concert, and recordings, Samuel Ramey’s sold-out Carnegie Hall recital in 1987 added a fourth dimension to his spectacular career. His returns to New York’s Carnegie Hall for solo recitals in February 1995 and November 1998 were the culmination of extensive, critically-acclaimed North American tours which had taken Mr. Ramey from Alaska to Alabama, with appearances on America's finest vocal series. His European recital career is equally notable, with sold-out appearances in all the music capitals.

 Samuel Ramey sings "Fin ch'han dal vino" from Don Giovanni:

A native of Colby, Kansas, Samuel Ramey was active in music throughout high school and college. In 1995 he was named “Kansan of the Year,” and in 1998 the French Ministry of Culture awarded him the rank of Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters.

He is still actively performing, although in less demanding roles. In April, he performs the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi's Don Carlos at the Houston Grand Opera. In June, he trades in the title role in Verid's Attila at San Francisco Opera for the less demanding role of Leone. In September, he returns to the Met to sing Timur in Puccini's Turandot.

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Opera News features Christian Van Horn

Christian Van Horn (Photo © Brian Kuhlmann 2012)

Christian Van Horn has a leading man's energetic charm and dashing good looks — virtues that were kept somewhat under wraps this past fall, when he was singing Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Crespel in Les Contes d'Hoffmann at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Turandot's Timur at San Francisco Opera. "When I show up for a job and go to have a wig fitting, I can always spot mine — it's the gray one, and it usually has a long, gray beard to go with it." Van Horn has a fair amount of practice playing older men: during his two full seasons as a contract artist at Bayerische Staatsoper, his seventeen roles included a run as Edita Gruberova's father in Norma, an experience he says was "kind of like singing with Angelina Jolie, because [Gruberova] is so wildly famous there. The applause after the show would last for an hour sometimes, and the crowds of people waiting for her outside the theater were unbelievable."

[Read the entire feature at the Opera News website]


F. PAUL DRISCOLL

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Don't forget to buy Randal Turner's CD. He's currently starring in Rufus Wainwright's "Prima Donna" at 

New York City Opera

Michael Todd Simpson Coming to The Met

Michael Todd Simpson will perform in the Met's "Tales of Hoffmann" directed by Bartlett Sher and conducted by James Levine.

For ticket and production information visit the Metropolitan Opera website.

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