It's time to start recruiting singers for our 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar. This year we have a theme - VIVA, ITALIA! - so we're looking for singers with and Italian pedigree or photos with an Italian theme (i.e. - drinking some Chianti while studying Verdi, enjoying a pizza while shirtless, you name it!!! Use your imagination).
Anthony Reed from the 2014 Barihunks Calendar
Zachary Gordin from the 2014 Barihunks Calendar
As always, every penny of our calendar sales will go to support young artists. Last year, our two largest grants went to pay for students to participate in master classes at Center Stage Opera in the Los Angeles area with barihunk Zachary Gordin, and an innovative concert featuring bass-barihunk Aaron Sørensen and hunkentenor Jonathan Blalock at a jazz club. We also bought music for singers, paid for some voice lessons and bought a tuxedo for an impoverished singer making his U.S. concert debut.
As important it is for people to buy the calendars, we have nothing to sell if singers don't participate. Submissions should be sent to Barihunks@gmail.com.
After a huge success singing the Mozart Requiem Puerto Rican barihunk Xavier Edgardo will be sticking with Mozart, as he takes on Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte on April 26 and 27 at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico. We've heard him sing Guglielmo's aria "Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo" and it's worth a lot more than the meager $10.00 price of admission.
The Puerto Rican native is headed to San Francisco to complete his Masters in Voice at the Conservatory of Music under tutelage of the famed tenor and professor César Ulloa. He'll return to Puerto Rico in November to sing Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème at the Teatro de la Ópera. In 2013, he debuted with the company in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and participated
in the world premiere of the Carlos
Vázquez opera La mina de oro.
In between, he'll be headed to Opera on the Avalon in St. John's, Newfoundland, where he's also slated to appear in La bohème. Our main mission at Barihunks is to assist young singers in their careers and we're part of the campaign to help send Xavier Edgardo to this important training program. Please join us in making a pledge of any amount, as it will go a long way in supporting this talented young artist. Click HERE to give today.
He has already participated in training programs such as the International Institute of Vocal Arts (IIVA) and the International Vocal Arts Institute (LRI) in Tel Aviv, where he has sung and taken masterclasses with artists such as Justino Díaz, Joan Dornemann, Denis Sedov, Sherrill Milnes, Mignon Dunn, Carlos Conde and Joel Prieto.
He is also a longtime member of the award-winning ensemble Coralia.
Xavier Edgardo, one of the most exciting and gifted young singers to emerge onto the scene in recent years will be performing Mozart's Requiem with the Orquestra Sinfònica de Puerto Rico on April 16th. He'll be joined by mezzo soprano Patricia Cay, soprano Zulimar Lopez and tenor José Daniel Mojica. You can contact the Luis Ferrè Performing Arts Center at 787-620-4444 for tickets and additional information.
Mozart’s Requiem was unfinished at the time of his death and most of the completed portions are attributed to his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr. There was much confusion about the completion of the work when Mozart died. This was due to Mozart's wife Constanze having to hide certain details in order to guarantee payment for the work.
Fellow Puerto Rican Justino Diaz sings Guglielmo's aria "Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo":
Xavier Edgardo will be sticking with Mozart, as he takes on Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte on April 26 & 27 at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico. We've heard him sing Guglielmo's aria "Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo" and it's worth a lot more than the meager $10.00 price of admission. The Puerto Rican native is headed to San Francisco to complete his Masters in Voice at the Conservatory of Music under tutelage of the famed tenor and professor César Ulloa. He'll return to Puerto Rico in November to sing Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème at the Teatro de la Ópera.
In between, he'll be headed to Opera on the Avalon in St. John's, Newfoundland, where he's also slated to appear in La bohème. Our main mission at Barihunks is to assist young singers in their careers and we're part of the campaign to help send Xavier Edgardo to this important training program. Please join us in making a pledge of any amount, as it will go a
long way in supporting this talented young artist. Click HERE to give today.
The wait is over! The 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar is not available for purchase and it's HOTTER than ever.
This year's calendar features sixteen of the sexiest men in opera from five countries. And we mean it when we say SEXIEST. American barihunks include Aaron Sorensen, Anthony Reed, Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek, Christopher Temporelli, Craig Verm, David Adam Moore, Doug Carpenter, Michael Mayes, Keith Miller, Timothy McDevitt, Wes Mason and Zachary Gordin. Also appearing are Jonathan Estabrooks from Canada, Gianluca Margheri from Italy, Xavier Edgardo from Puerto Rico and Vasil Garvanliev from Macedonia.
Once again, every penny raised from the calendars will go to support young artists and young artist programs. This year, we used only a handful of photographers, giving the calendar a more cohesive look.
Denis Sedov (Photo of left by Bogdan Tache) & studying the Verdi Requiem
Russian barihunk Denis Sedov is creating the role of Ledo Jiménez in the world premiere of Carlos Vázquez’s La mina de oro in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 6 and 7. The towering bass, who honed his skills in the Lindemann Young Artists Program at the Met, is not new to the music of Vázquez. He previously premiered his Requiem Domesticus at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico and one of the composer's song cycles.
La Mina de Oro is a 3-act opera with a libretto by José Luis Ramos Escobar, based on an original story by the composer. The story deals with contemporary issues of drug violence, corruption, ambition, greed and love. For tickets call 787-792-5000 or visit TicketCenter online.
Xavier Edgardo
Also in the cast is Xavier Edgardo, a young artist who many people are keeping an eye on and who coached with Denis Sedov. He is wrapping up his studies at the Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico where he was encouraged to hone his skills after being a standout choral performer. He spent two seasons at the International Vocal Arts
Institute run by the esteemed Joan Dorneman, assistant conductor at the
Metropolitan Opera. He is expected to continue his studies in the United States next year.
He has participated in and won a number of vocal competitions, include
many in Europe. This led to him being invited to perform as a soloist
with the Mundus Cantat Festival in Gdansk, Poland. He has also performed
Mahler's Symphony no. 2 in C minor (Resurrection) with the Simón
Bolívar Youth under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel. He has
participated in masterclasses with a number of great singers, including
fellow Puerto Rican Justino Diaz, Sherril Milnes, Mignon
Dunn and Elaine Ortiz Arandes.
Keep an eye on this site for information about his upcoming recital.
Barihunks calendar model Xavier Edgardo Rivera will be joining soprano Daniela Yurrita and accompanist Pedro Juan Jiménez for his third year student recital at the Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico in Miramar on April 24 at 7 PM. The recital is free, so if you in or near Miramar, make sure to go see this exciting young artist, who also performs as an actor.
Edgardo and Yurrita will perform works by Mozart, Satie, Ravel, Bellini, Donizetti, Duchesne, Spohr, Puccini, Bizet, Schubert, Delano, Debussy, Guastavino, Bernstein and others.
The 23-year-old singer studied at the University of Puerto Rico and was encouraged to pursue studies as a soloist after being a standout participant in the choir. He honed his solo skills for two seasons at the International Vocal Arts Institute run by the esteemed Joan Dorneman, assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera.
Edgardo has participated in and won a number of vocal competitions, include many in Europe. This led to him being invited to perform as a soloist with the Mundus Cantat Festival in Gdansk, Poland. He has also performed Mahler's Symphony no. 2 in C minor (Resurrection) with the Simón Bolívar Youth under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel. He has participated in masterclasses with a number of great singers, including fellow Puerto Rican Justino Diaz, Denis Sedov, Sherril Milnes, Mignon Dunn and Elaine Ortiz Arandes.
Barihunks will be featured in the upcoming January 2013 issue of MÄNNER magazine, Germany's leading LGBT lifestyle periodical. The feature is called "Zeig mir deinen sixpack!" (Show me your sixpack).
The feature provides a look how opera and sexuality are naturally linked, as well as the gay obsession with the art form. The feature is only available in German, but there are two pages of delicious photos to enjoy. Featured in photos are John Chest, Dan Kempson, Zach Altman, Justin Hopkins, Xavier Edgardo, Zachary Gordin, Randal Turner, Jonathan Estabrooks and Duncan Rock.
Also mentioned in the article is our beloved fellow opera site Parterre.com, who we are eternally grateful to for being an early inspiration to create Barihunks. The article also ties in Lucas Kazan's operatically inspired adult movie "The School for Lovers," which features character names that might be vaguely familiar to opera lovers: Ferrando, Guglielmo, Alfonso, Dorino and Fiorino. [NSFW link to The School for Lovers].
The magazine is available for download through iTunes for your iPad and iPhone, so you can carry these operatic beauties around with you everywhere. The issue will be available on December 18th. Of course, you can also hang them on your wall year around with our calendar:
We just had to share emerging barihunk Xavier Edgardo, who is simply adorable. The 22-year-old singer has been studying at the University of Puerto Rico, where he also sang in the choir. He honed his solo skills for two seasons at the International Vocal Arts Institute run by the esteemed Joan Dorneman, assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera.
Edgardo has participated in and won a number of vocal competitions, include many in Europe. In 2009, he was asked to participate in the prestigious Pablo Casals Festival. He has participated in masterclasses with a number of great singers, including fellow Puerto Rican Justino Diaz, Denis Sedov, Sherril Milnes, Mignon Dunn and Elaine Ortiz Arandes. He is currently a member of the Opera of Puerto Rico chorus. We plan of following the solo career of this young talent in future seasons.
Gerard Souzay: A Barihunks favorite
If you haven't heard Tom Huizenga's analysis and breakdown of the baritone voice, we recommend that you click HERE and listen to it. The article includes sound clips, including one of Gerard Souzay's beautiful rendition of Faure's "Clair de lune."
John Relyea reprising Attila in Seattle
We want to remind readers that Canadian barihunk John Relyea is returning to the Seattle Opera in the role of Attila on January 14th. This should be a huge hit and is a "must see" opera for any Verdi fan. Visit the Seattle Opera website for additional cast information and performance dates. Attila also contains two great baritone parts, including a baritone duet! We covered Relyea when he recently sang the role in a concert format this fall in Washington, D.C. Click HERE to see our previous post.
John Relyea sings Publio's "Tardi S'Avvede" from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito:
Relyea’s previous Seattle Opera credits include the title roles in Don Quichotte and Bluebeard’s Castle, and Giorgio in I puritani. He won the 2005 Seattle Opera Artist of the Year award for his Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann.
You can watch Attila in its entirety on YouTube by clicking HERE. The cast includes barihunk Samuel Ramey, Giorgio Zancanaro and soprano Cheryl Studer.
DON'T BE A SCROOGE. BUY YOUR 2012 BARIHUNKS CHARITY CALENDAR TODAY. ALL PROCEEDS GO TO BENEFIT THE PORTLAND OPERA STUDIO AND THE SEAGLE MUSIC COLONY. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOU CALENDAR TODAY.
