Peter Mattei's Barber of Seville

Mattei, DiDonato and Florez

Perhaps the only downside of a site dedicated to baritones is that we sometimes need to find an excuse to showcase other great singers. We love Peter Mattei and we've featured him often on this site. He is certainly a great Onegin and Billy Budd, but we usually don't think of him as a Rossini specialist. So when we rewatched these 2006 clips of him with two of the greatest Rossini singers of our time, Joyce di Donato and Juan Diego Florez, we had to post them. From his solo Largo to his work duets and ensemble work, Mattei shows why he remains one of the most sought after baritones in the world while revealing his penchant for comedy. Met fans will recognize some of these clips from the Live from the Met telecasts. Beginning March 11, Mattei will be performing in Tchaikovksy's "Queen of Spades" at the Metropolitan Opera. Visit their website for additional cast and performance information.

It's a great way to start a 3-day weekend. When you're done with these clips, we suggest that you check out Joyce DiDonato's Yankee Diva blog, which is one of the best in all of opera.







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Watch "Kurt Weill Uncovered: In Cabaret" today

Ross Benoliel

Tonight will be the second night of Kurt Weill Uncovered: In Cabaret from the Gershwin Hotel in New York. If you're not in the Big Apple, once again you can watch it live on Barihunks by clicking below. Barihunk Ross Bonoliel will perform "Unforgettable" by Weill and Ira Gershwin and barihunk Liam Bonner will sing the title song from Weill's "Lost in the Stars."The performance begins at 8 PM/EST.


Live Broadcasting by Ustream

If you missed last week's wonderful concert, you can watch it here:

PART ONE:

Video streaming by Ustream
PART TWO:

Video streaming by Ustream

For those interested in some historical footage, here is a clip of Todd Duncan who sang the first performance of Weill's "Lost in the Stars." He also created the role of Porgy in Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess."



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"Top Gunn" is still "Top Tarquinius"

Gunn heats up the stage in Vienna

We posted earlier this week about Nathan Gunn returning to his signature role of Tarquinius in Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" at the Theater an der Wien.  We posted some pictures from Philadelphia and were wondering if he was still as sexy as ever for this role. From these pictures, it looks like he can keep this role in his repertory for years to come.

Top Gunn

We also learned that Gunn will be performing the title role in Billy Budd next season at the Metropolitan Opera. If he looks this good and continues to own the role vocally, it should be the hit of the season.

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Blumberg Back in Bay Area

Jesse Blumberg

Barihunk Jesse Blumberg makes his much anticipated return to the San Francisco Bay Area next week in a program of early music with the American Bach Soloists. Blumberg joins countertenors Clifton Massey and Ian Howell, tenor Aaron Sheehan and soprano Elizabeth Weigle in a program that includes Purcell's "Come, ye Sons of Art" and "Now Does the Glorious Day Appear," as well as Handel's "Te Deum in D Major" and "Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne."


For additional concert information visit the American Bach Soloists website. 


Readers of this site will recall that Blumberg performed the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's heartfelt and emotional song cycle "Green Sneakers." The American baritone is also the founder of the Five Buroughs Music Festival in New York. 


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Photos from Vienna

Luca Pisaroni as Figaro; Erwin Schrott as the Count

We've posted extensively about Luca Pisaroni's debut at the Vienna State Opera opposite barihunk Erwin Schrott, so we thought that we'd share a few pictures. Performances of Le Nozze di Figaro run through February 26.


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"Hot Schrott" & Luca Pisaroni Live TODAY

Erwin Schrott

The opening night performance of Le Nozze di Figaro from the Vienna State Opera can be heard live today by clicking HERE. The broadcast begins at 7 PM in Vienna (1 PM/EST- 10:00 AM/PST).

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Our Hottest Aussie Barihunks

Laurence Meikle

We recently ran a pole asking readers who they thought was the hottest Aussie barihunk. Laurence Meikle and Sam Roberts-Smith led the pack. Here are some videos for you to enjoy.

First is a profile of Meikle as he prepares to sing for Queen Elizbeth and a clip of him performing La Boheme in English at the Soho Theater in London.





Here is Sam Roberts-Smith performing "O Carlos, ascolta" from Verdi's Don Carlo and a profile on him where he discusses his career and future plans. The first video is from the 2009 Australian Singing Competition Finals Concert in Perth, Australia.

Sam Roberts-Smith