Erwin Schrott has been acting a bit devilish lately and it has nothing to do with his wife Anna Netrebko. He recently wrapped up a run at the budget strapped Liceu opera in Barcelona where they performed a "semi-staged" version of Gounod's "Faust" to save money. The press dubbed it "champagne singers and a beer bottle budget," as he was joined by tenor Piotr Beczala, soprano Krassimira Stoyanova and baritone Ludovic Tezier.
He's now keeping in character as the devil, but switching composers, as he's performing Boito's "Mefistofele" at l'Opéra de Monte Carlo on November 13 and 16. Visit their website for additional information.
Here he is singing "Le veau d’or" from Faust in Barcelona:
Here is the Act 1 duet with Piotr Beczala, also from Barcelona:
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If you missed Steven Blier's insightful and entertaining "Manning the Canon: Songs of Gay Life" last year, you're in luck because they are reprising the show in Maryland and New York City. The first performance will be at the Joseph & Alma Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland in College Park on November 15th. On November 17, the show returns to Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. The show includes two barihunks who have appeared regularly on this site, Tim McDevitt and fan favorite Jesse Blumberg (whose posts often shows up in our top ten site visits). Not only are these guys eye candy, but they are amazing singers and worth hearing. They will be joined by Scott Murphree and Matt Boehler.
Jesse Blumberg
The program includes a number of songs that might be familiar to you, as well as some that you'll want to experience. They include Marc Blitzstein’s “Purest Kind of a Guy," Christopher Berg’s "Is It Dirty?," Lutvak and Campbell's "Exit Right," Schubert's quartet for four male voices “Auflösung," Tchaikovsky’s “At the Ball," Poulenc’s “Montparnasse," Griffes’s “Evening Song,” John Wallowich’s “Bruce.” Bolcom’s “Piano Walk” and “I’ll Be By,” Camille Saint Saëns’s “Si vous n’avez rien à me dire,” Benjamin Britten’s “Night covers up the rigid land,” Manuel de Falla’s “Polo," Cy Coleman's "Tennis Duet," Chris DeBlasio’s “Walt Whitman in 1989,”Bernstein's “To What You Said,” and Cole Porter's "You're the Top."
Don't be fooled by the title, as this show isn't just for gay audiences. Like all of Steven Blier's shows they are an entertaining and thoughtful exploration of a canon of work. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times: "Such programs can easily fall into the trap of social politics and turn maudin, agenda driven and campy. This one was insightful and imaginative, touching and funny."
For tickets to either show, please visit the New York Festival of Song website.
Jesse Blumberg and Martin Katz working on Schubert last year:
We also want to remind fans of Jesse Blumberg on the West Coast that he will be performing Handel's "Messiah" with the American Bach Soloists on December 15, 16 and 18.
Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com
Don't forget to order your 2012 Barihunks calendar. Click HERE to order. All proceeds go to support young artists and young artist programs. It's a great gift and an easy way to support our next generation of baritones. You can read more about our calendar at this previous post.
We love the combination of a world premiere plus a new barihunk for the site. That's what happened when British composer Tarik O’Regan's new opera "Heart of Darkness" premiered at the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House in London.
The opera is based on Joseph Conrad’s novel, which explores themes of obsession and brutality in the oppressive atmosphere of the African Congo, as the riverboat captain Marlow searches for a notorious ivory trader. The role of the mysterious and obsessed character of Kurtz is played by the Danish bass Moren Lassenius Kramp. Our source in London said that Kurtz looked "extremely hot and very fit" on stage.
The 39-year-old singer graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen in 1999 and has established himself in both recitals and on stage. He has sung primarily at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen and throughout Europe, singing roles like Masetto in Mozart's "Don Giovanni," Count Dominik in Richard Strauss' "Arabella" and Count Ceprano in Verdi's "Rigoletto."
You can read Jeanne Whalen's review of the opera in the Wall Street Journal.
Here is some behind-the-scenes footage of the young and very sexy Martin Sheen in his underwear from "Apocalype Now," which is based on the novel "Heart of Darkness":
Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com
Don't forget to order your 2012 Barihunks calendar. Click HERE to order. All proceeds go to support young artists and young artist programs. It's a great gift and an easy way to support our next generation of baritones. You can read more about our calendar at this previous post.
We've stopped posting a few barihunks in the past for a variety of reasons, usually it's retirement or that they've suddenly discovered deep-dish pizza with extra cheese while traveling on the road. But this is the first time that we can recall that one of the singers on our site has become a tenor.
We learned yesterday that one of the hottest future stars in opere, in looks and talent, was changing fachs. The news is somewhat surprising because the Aussie has been winning singing competitions as a baritone and has been impressing audiences at Opera Australia, where he is in the young artist program. One thing we know for sure is that this gifted and focused singer will succeed in any fach. We also have to believe that there a few sopranos who will look forward to singing with a lithe, 6' 6" tenor with movie star looks.
Barihunks would like to wish Sam Roberts-Smith great success and we hope that Hunkentenors gets revived so that we can follow him on that site.
The Hot Pole: Mariusz Kwiecien still sizzling hot at 39
There probably wouldn't be a Barihunks site if Mariusz Kwiecień wasn't brought into this world on November 4, 1972 in Kraków, Poland. In a story we've told numerous times, the Polish barihunk was one of the major inspirations for this site (which briefly was envisioned as a Kwiecien fan site).
Kwiecien's signature role has become Mozart's Don Giovanni, which he is currently singing at the Met. He has also performed the role at the Vienna State Opera, Bilbao Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Warsaw Opera, Royal Opera House in London, and the Seattle Opera. When he briefly had to withdraw from the Met performance due to a herniated disc in his back, the opera world and his fans almost went into a meltdown. After all, this was his Met debut in the role and it was scheduled to be broadcast into theaters across the globe. Unwilling to disappoint his fans, he miraculously returned to the stage thrilling audiences at the Met and in movie houses.
At the age of 26, he started winning or placing in major vocal competitions in Europe and represented Poland in the 1999 Cardiff Singer of the World competition. He has sung everything from Purcell to Szymanoski on the stage to great acclaim. He has been hailed as one the new generation of singers who take their acting and stage presence as seriously as their singing, making him the perfect Barihunk. We also have heard from singers, directors, conductors, fans and staff at various opera houses that he is one of the nicest guys in the business.
Mariusz Kwiecien sings Frédéric Chopin's "Narzeczony" (The Bridegroom's Return):
After his Met run, Kwiecien returns to his native country to perform Don Giovanni at the Opera Narodowa and then Janusz in Moniuszko's "Halka." He returns to the Met in March to perform Belcore in Donizetti's "L’elisir d’amore."
Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com
Don't forget to order your 2012 Barihunks calendar. Click HERE to order. All proceeds go to support young artists and young artist programs. It's a great gift and an easy way to support our next generation of baritones. You can read more about our calendar at this previous post.
We've learned that Dmitri Hvorostovsky aka "The Siberian Hunky," will be singing Iago at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2015/16 season. We'll have more on this as the date approaches.
Since today is Vincenzo Bellini's birthday, here is Hvorostovsky singing a jaw-droppingly beautiful version of "Ah, per sempre io ti perdei" from "I Puritani."
The other big news regarding roles comes out of Santa Fe. Thomas Hampson and Mariusz Kwiecien will be bringing roles to the U.S. that that received critical acclaim in Europe. Hampson will be singing Scarpia in Puccini's "Tosca" and Kwiecien will be performing his sizzling hot portrayal of King Roger in Karol Szymanoski's opera of the same name. Visit the Santa Fe Opera website for additional cast and performance information.
Here is Hampson singing the Te Deum from Tosca in Zurich:
You can watch an entire performance of King Roger with "The Hot Pole" on YouTube. Here is the Part 1 of 10:
Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com
Don't forget to order your 2012 Barihunks calendar. Click HERE to order. All proceeds go to support young artists and young artist programs. It's a great gift and an easy way to support our next generation of baritones. You can read more about our calendar at this previous post.
We don't need much of an excuse to post something about Italian barihunk Vittorio Prato, so when we saw these recently posted clips from Massenet's "Werther" on YouTube, we figured it was time to see what he was up to.
Prato was born in Lecce, Italy and graduated in piano from the Conservatorio Tito Schipa in Lecce and in harpsichord from the Conservatorio Martini in Bologna. He voice with the great baritone Ivo Vinco and even worked with Luciano Pavarotti. In 2003, he won the Mattia Battistini International Competition and his singing career took off from there.
Vittorio Prato sings "Elle m'aime" from Werther with Rocio Ignacio as Sophie:
Vittorio Prato in Act 3 of Werther with Anna Bonitatibus:
We couldn't find Prato performing anywhere for the remainder of this year, but in May 2012, Prato can be seen as Osman in Rameau's "Les Indes Galantes" at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. The production also includes fellow barihunk Thomas Dolié as Adario and will be conducted by Christophe Rousset. Visit their website for additional cast and performance information.
Thomas Dolié
Don't forget to order your 2012 Barihunks calendar. Click HERE to order. All proceeds go to support young artists and young artist programs. It's a great gift and an easy way to support our next generation of baritones. You can read more about our calendar at this previous post.
