Reader Submission: Joe Eletto

Joe Eletto

Our latest Reader Submission is American barihunk Joe Eletto, who will be performing at Opera in the Park on August 29 and September 13 with the Virginia Opera. Eletto is a participant in Virginia Opera's Herndon Foundation Emerging Artist Program, where he will cover the roles of John Styx in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld and Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème, and beginning in January 2016 will tour with their school outreach production of Little Red Riding Hood.

Eletto completed his Bachelor of Music with Distinction in Research and Creative Works at Rice University and earned his master of music from The Juilliard School and participated in Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute as a Vocal Fellow, Houston Grand Opera's Young Artists Vocal Academy and Aspen Music Festival and School. He won an Encouragement Award from the Opera Index Vocal Competition, first-prize in Classical Singer Magazine’s 2013 competition in the University Division, and second-prize in the inaugural Hal Leonard Vocal Competition in the College/University Voices Division.

Joe Eletto

In March 2016, he will sing his first Fauré Requiem with the Symphony Orchestra Augusta, Georgia. He recently made his debut with the Crested Butte Music Festival singing Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale and returned to the Bard Music Festival for their musical survey of Mexican composer Carlos Chávez, having sung Schubert’s Partsongs the previous year. He created the role of Felix Mendelssohn in Victoria Bond’s new opera Clara with Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival and sang with the New York Festival of Song in a performance curated by composer Mark Adamo.

Opera in the Park is free to the public and will be held at Dogwood Dell Amphitheatre in Richmond, Virginia. The park opens at 6 PM and the concert starts at 7:30 PM on both nights.

David Adam Moore as Stanley Kowalski at Virginia Opera & Lyric Opera of Chicago

David Adam Moore as Stanley Kowalski (photo David Beloff)

American barihunk David Adam Moore looks like he'll be making a name for himself as Stanley Kowalski in André Previn’s opera A Streetcar Named Desire, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tennessee Williams. He opened in the role on February 16th with the Virginia Opera with performances running through March in Norfolk, Richmond and Fairfax. Click on the highlighted links for tickets.

He then takes the role to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for a performance on April 5th. The single performance is a special night for high school and college students, who can buy tickets for $20. The remaining performances will feature barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Stanley Kowalski.

David Adam Moore in Virginia Opera's A Streetcar Named Desire
(photo David Beloff)

After his performance in Streetcar in Chicago, Moore will remain in the Windy Cindy to portray Jud Fry in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! Performances run from May 4-19 and tickets are available online.

Happy Birthday, Philip Glass; Matthew Worth Excels in Glass' Orphee at Virginia Opera

Philip Glass, Martina Arroyo, Joyce DiDonato and Gerald Finley at 2009 Opera News awards. [Photo by Dario Acost]

Was there any doubt that we'd be celebrating the 75th birthday today of the great American composer Philip Glass? We regularly feature his work on this site, including the recent production of "Les Enfants Terribles" with barihunk Timothy McDevitt and soprano Jessica Cates showing off their bodies after training at the gym for the ballet/opera; Barihunks Matthew Worth and Christopher Temporelli in Orphée at the Virginia Opera (more on that below); Lots of coverage of Hydrogen Jukebox at the Ft. Worth Opera including some great shirtless pictures of barihunks Dan Kempson and Justin Hopkins; Lots of video of his operas, including the ability to watch Kepler in its entirety with Austrian barihunk Martin Achrainer.

Profile (born Jan. 31, 1937, Baltimore, Md., U.S.) American composer of innovative instrumental, vocal, and operatic music.  Glass studied flute as a boy and enrolled at age 15 at the University of Chicago, where he studied mathematics and philosophy and graduated in 1956. 

Philip Glass is a prolific and widely-respected American composer of innovative,  vocal and operatic music. He work consistently uses repetitive structures and is often minimalistic. Glass studied math and philosophy before pursuing music at the Julliard School. His opera Satyagraha (1980) tells the story of Mahatma Gandhi's life. The Metropolitan Opera commissioned The Voyage in 1992.

Barihunk Philip Cutlip recorded Orphee

His interest in atonal music drew him on to study composition at the Juilliard School of Music (M.S., 1962) in New York City and then to Paris to study under Nadia Boulanger. His acquaintance there with the Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar decisively affected Glass's compositional style, and he temporarily jettisoned such traditional formal qualities as harmony, tempo, and melody in his music. Instead he began creating ensemble pieces in a monotonous and repetitive style; these works consisted of a series of syncopated rhythms ingeniously contracted or extended within a stable diatonic structure. Such minimalist music, played by a small ensemble using electronically amplified keyboard and wind instruments, earned Glass a small but enthusiastic following in New York City by the late 1960s.

Glass's opera Einstein on the Beach (1976), composed in collaboration with Robert Wilson, earned him broader acclaim; this work showed a renewed interest in classical Western harmonic elements, though his interest in startling rhythmic and melodic changes remained the work's most dramatic feature. Glass's opera Satyagraha (1980) was a more authentically “operatic” portrayal of incidents from the early life of Mohandas K. Gandhi. In this work, the dronelike repetition of symmetrical sequences of chords attained a haunting and hypnotic power well attuned to the religio-spiritual themes of the libretto, adapted from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavadgt. The opera The Voyage (1992) had mixed reviews, but the fact that it had been commissioned by the New York Metropolitan Opera (to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas) confirmed Glass's growing acceptance by the classical-music establishment.

[Excerpted from  © Encyclopædia Britannica]

Matthew Worth (L) as Orphée at Virginia Opera; Jeffrey Lentz (R) as Heurtebise (Preston Gannaway,The Virginian-Pilot)

One of the best Glass productions that is currently running is Orphée at the Virginia Opera with American barihunks Matthew Worth and Christopher Temporelli (and the very adorable tenor Jonathan Blalock, who also appeared in the aforementioned Hydrogen Jukebox). Here is what the Virginian-Pilot had to say:

The large cast had no weaknesses. First among equals was Matthew Worth as Orphée, using a powerful and rich baritone to great effect as the tormented poet who struggles to find meaning in his life and art. His performance conveyed both the strengths and weaknesses of the character, and did so in a sympathetic manner that carried the audience along on Orphée’s journey.

Remaining Norfolk performances are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 623-1223 or 866-673-7282; www.vaopera.org

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Barihunks Matthew Worth, Christopher Temporelli in Virginia Opera's "Orphée"

Matthew Worth as Orphée

We've been big proponents of Philip Glass' operas, so we were thrilled to see that the Virginia Opera will be staging his opera Orphée this month. We've posted about this opera in the past featuring barihunks Eugene Brancoveanu in San Francisco, Philip Cutlip in Portland and Martin Achrainer in Linz, Austria.

Martin Achrainer as Orphée in Linz

Not to be outdone in the barihunk department, the Virginia Opera has cast Matthew Worth in the title role. We've featured Worth in a number of his roles on this site, including a somewhat related role in "Orpheus in the Underworld" at Central City Opera. Virginia Opera fans will also remember him for his 2010 appearance as Don Giovanni, which created a bit of a sensation.

Of course, we think his sexiest role to date is as Tarquinius in Britten's "Rape of Lucretia," but that discussion is for another post.

Christopher Temporelli as seen in the 2012 Barihunks Calendar

We're excited about the Virginia Opera's production because even the small role of the Judge features one of our calendar models, Christopher Temporelli. We should also add that tenor Jonathan Blalock who plays Cégeste is a bit of eye candy himself. We've seen the opera and can certainly recommend it as wonderful theater, but if you need a nudge, then seeing Worth, Temporelli and Blalock on stage together should be sufficient motivation.

Performances run from January 28 through February 12 and will be performed in Norfolk, Richmond and Fairfax, Virginia. For additional cast and performance information visit the Virginia Opera website.

On an unrelated note, it's come to our attention that you can listen to barihunk Luca Pisaroni in "The Enchanted Island" from the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday, January 17th at 8 EST/5 PST by clicking on this LINK.

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CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Matthew Worth Triumphs as Don Giovanni

We had no doubt that barihunk Matthew Worth would look good as Don Giovanni in the Virginia Opera production of the Mozart standard, but from all accounts his portrayal was a complete success.

Of course, at Barihunks we love a singer who looks as good as he sounds and Matthew Worth fits the bill like few others. The Daily Press wrote, "At 6-foot-3, the handsome baritone strikes a confident presence in this commanding role that has him onstage much of the time." Read the entire review at the Newport News Daily Press.

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Matthew Worth asked about Barihunks

[Matthew Worth photos from Virginia Opera]




Barihunk Matthew Worth, who is performing the title role in Don Giovanni with the Virginia Opera, was recently featured in the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. The reporter asked him about his thoughts on being featured on Barihunks.

The 31-year-old hunk told the reporter, "I take it for better or worse. It's a reality in our business, and that's sort of how I take it. When going to see 'La Boheme,' audiences don't want to see a Rodolfo who's 50 years old and 350 pounds. Same with Mimi."

We couldn't agree more.

Worth is appearing in the Mozart opera with fellow barihunks Daniel Mobbs and David Krohn.

Don't forget to vote in our poll, which is featured in the following post. We're looking for the "best sung" barihunk-tenor duet from Pearl Fishers. So far, Simon Keenlyside and Matthew Polenzani are running well ahead of the pack.

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A Barihunks Don Giovanni at Virginia Opera

Once again, an opera company has had the good sense to cast a Don Giovanni with three barihunks. Who wouldn't want to see Mozart's classic with the barihunk trio of Matthew Worth as Don Giovanni, Daniel Mobbs as Leporello and David Krohn as Masetto? The three baritones will appear in the Virginia Opera production opening on February 13 and running through March 7.

All three singers have appeared on this site before.

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