Carmen's barihunk trio being broadcast twice (with alternating Escamillos)

Carmen's barihunk trio: Valdis Jansons, Ricardo Crampton & John Paul Huckle

There will be two free, live streaming broadcast of Bizet's Carmen from the Teatro Carlo Felice, with alternating Escamillos. The first one is on Friday, May 8th at 8 PM CET/2 PM EST featuring Mattia Olivieri as Escamillo, John Paul Huckle as Zuniga and Ricardo Crampton as Morales. The second broadcast will be on Tuesday, May 12th at 3 PM CET/9 AM EST. In the second broadcast Valdis Jansons will sing Escamillo. Click HERE to watch the live stream.

Carmen will be rotated between Sonia Ganassi on May 8th and Anna Malavasi on May 12th. You can see the opera live until May 17th.

WatchTeatro Carlo Felice's "Barihunk Trio" live online

John Paul Huckle and the Teatro Carlo Felice "Barihunk Trio"

We recently posted about the barihunk trio in the Teatro Carlo Felice's production of Billy Budd and mentioned that they will be reuniting for Bizet's Carmen. We've now learned that you can watch them live online for FREE on May 8 and 6 PM (GMT) and May 12 at 1 PM (GMT) on their new livestream.

Valdis Jansons will sing Escamillo, John Paul Huckle is perfoming  Zuniga and Ricardo Crampton is taking on Morales. Jansons will be rotating the matador's role with another barihunk, Mattia Olivieri, who proved quite popular with our readers when we first posted about him.

Carmen will be rotated between Sonia Ganassi and Anna Malavasi. The opera opens on May 8th and runs through May 17.

Barihunk trio in Billy Budd and Carmen at Teatro Carlo Felice

Billy Budd at Teatro Carlo Felice with barihunks Ricardo Crampton, John Paul Huckle and Valdis Jansons       (Photo on left ©MarcelloOrselli)

We managed to get the three barihunks appearing in Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd at the Teatro Carlo Felice to pose for a backstage photo before a recent performance. Valdis Jansons is rotating the title role with Phillip Addis, while Ricardo Crampton performs the role of A Novice and John Paul Huckle sings Dansker for the entire run.

The production directed by Davide Livermore has been praised for turning the stage into a ship and lowering and rising the sets to create a sense of navigation. There is one remaining performance left on April 23. You can also watch a video of Phillip Addis discussing the role of Billy Budd.

If you can't make it to Billy Budd, you can still catch the barihunk trio in the Teatro Carlo Felice's upcoming production of Carmen, where Jansons will sing Escamillo, Huckle performs Zuniga and Crampton takes on Morales. Jansons will be rotating the matador's role with another barihunk, Mattia Olivieri, who proved quite popular with our readers when we first posted about him. He was even featured in our Best of 2014 post as one of our hottest newcomers to the site.

Carmen will be rotated between Sonia Ganassi and Anna Malavasi. The opera opens on May 8th and runs through May 17.

Introducing bass-barihunk John Paul Huckle

Bass-barihunk John Paul Huckle

It's not often that Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca catches our eye, but that was the case with American bass-barihunk John Paul Huckle, who looked pretty damn sexy with his open shirt at the Teatro Carlo Fenice in Genoa, Italy. He was performing in a rotating cast opposite the Tosca of Susanna Branchini, the Scarpia of Elia Fabbian, and Rubens Pelizzari and Rudy Park alternating as Mario Cavaradossi.

Huckle hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and looks like he could play fullback for the Steelers. He studied at Boston University Opera before completing his Master of Music at the Indiana Univerisity where he studied with the legendary bass Giorgio Tozzi. At Indiana University he performed the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Pistola in Falstaff, Friar Laurence in Roméo et Juliette, Hobson in Peter Grimes, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro and the Count Des Grieux in Manon.

He went on to hone his skills at young artist programs at the Central City Opera, Tulsa Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Opera North, Brevard Music Center, and the Sarasota Opera. While at Sarasota Opera, he received the distinguished Leo Rogers Outstanding Apprentice award.

John Paul Huckle (right) and Tosca at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa (Photo: Marcello Orselli)

In 2007, he made his professional debut as Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto with the Cleveland Opera.
Since the 2010-2011 season, he has been singing in major European houses including the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Verdi in Pisa and the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.

John Paul Huckle sings Il lacerato spirito from Verdi's Simon Boccanegra:

He has become a regular at the Teatro Carlo Felice where he has performed Simone in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi opposite Rolando Panerai, the Second Guard in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Colline in Puccini's La bohème and Friar Laurence in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette opposite tenor Andrea Bocelli.