Froehlich's Frolicking Fiorello

Anders Froehlich

Opera San Jose is one of those regional companies that we just love. It utilizes developing talent in a European type system that allows singers to work together and hone their skills. They opened a two week run tonight and the Fiorello of Anders Froehlich caught our eye. We had previously spotted him in a hilarious turn as the Grandfather Clock in Ravel's  L'enfant et les sortilèges at Berkeley Opera. 

The Connecticut native  began his training as a musician and performer at the Connecticut Conservatory for Performing Arts. After graduation he studied ballet at Indiana University and acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. This was his debut with Opera San Jose and we hope to see him in bigger roles in the future. 

By the way, another one of our favorite Bay Area performers, Paul Murray, is in the second cast as Basilio, which also features Froehlich.  

Even the local paper, the San Jose Mercury News, took notice:

It would be wrong not to mention a few of the singers in smaller roles: mellifluous baritone Anders Froelich, as Fiorello, the count's servant.

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Martijn Sanders

Martijn Sanders

Amazingly, we haven't featured Dutch barihunk Martijn Sanders since our initial post in 2007.  To our eyes, he's only gotten more attractive and the voice richer.

Since we last featured Sanders, he sang his first Riccardo in I Puritani and worked with and performed Henri Dutilleux's Deux sonnets de Jean Cassou. He is also due to release his first recording, which will be songs from the Jugendstil period on Landor Records.

Here he is singing Escamillo from a July 2010 performance:



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Randal Turner to Perform Papa Haydn Live Today

Randal Turner to perform Haydn

Don't forget to tune in for the February 12th broadcast of barihunk Randal Turner performing Haydn's "The Seasons" (Die Jahreszeiten) with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. The live broadcast will be available over the internet at http://tvslo.si/#ra.ars. You will be asked to download a program called Octoshape in order to hear the broadcast. We tested it and it works fine.

The broadcast begins at 7:30 PM Central European time, so it's six hours difference to New York (1:30 PM) and nine hours to San Francisco/Los Angeles (10:30 AM).

Here he is singing from Don Giovanni. This clip has over 10,000 hits!

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That Cupcake Barihunk in the Met Chorus

Brandon Mayberry

Have you ever been to the opera and started checking out the chorus looking for the best looking one? Attendees at the Metropolitan Opera will likely spot a guy with movie star looks dressed as a soldier or peasant wandering around. Most likely, they're checking out Brandon Mayberry who studied voice at Indiana University and participated in the acclaimed Merola Opera program in San Francisco. He has occasionally sung major roles in smaller houses.  He was hailed in the press as a "handsome" Escamillo in the Des Moines Metro Opera's Carmen. We couldn't agree more.

The Swirlz Cupcakes Team

Besides singing in the chorus, Mayberry is a partner in Swirlz Cupcakes, which should be familiar to shoppers at Whole Foods in Chicago.

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Courier-Mail: "Accidental Career of an Opera Singer"

Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Photo courtesy of Courier-Mail)

The Courier-Mail ran this feature on Teddy Tahu Rhodes in advance of his concert on Monday with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Queensland. Click HERE for ticket information.

Some of you might of noticed that we've been featuring many more barihunks from Australia and New Zealand of late. This is because we've added a new Barihunk scout who hails from Sydney. For those of you who wonder how we "find" all this talent, we have what we lovingly refer to as scouts across the globe who are all connected to opera or journalism in some way. Most of them have never met although a few of us connect on Skype to discuss a newly discovered singer. It is really nothing more that a great network of opera fanatics who love baritones. Three of them are on America's East Coast, three on the West Coast, one in the South, one in England, one in Germany and now one Sydney.

We are so grateful for their assistance and constant nudging.

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Celebrating Justino Diaz

Justino Diaz as Otello and an early head shot

One of our traditions that draws the most email is our "Historical Hunks" feature. People seem to have a lot of favorites from their past with Ettore Bastianini, Titta Ruffo and Theodore Uppman appearing to be the most popular with our readers. We also receive a good deal of correspondence regarding Justino Diaz, who almost stole the opera film "Otello" from Katia Ricciarelli and Placido Domingo with his searingly evil portrayal of Iago complete with his trademark rich and resonant low notes.

Diaz shot onto the international scene in 1963 when he won the Metropolitan Opera auditions. That same year he made his debut on the celebrated stage as Monterone in Rigoletto. He went on to sing on the major stages of the world, starred in films and inaugurated the new Lincoln Center in Barber's Antony and Cleopatra with Leontyne Price (who celebrated her 84th birthday yesterday).

Diaz retired in 2003 to his native Puerto Rico and runs the Casals Festival and stages opera.

We can't think of a better way to celebrate this great artist than with a few clips of his artistry, beginning with his famous Iago, his Torreador song and a trio with Joan Sutherland.







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Who is the hottest Aussie Barihunk?

The death of Dame Joan Sutherland reminded us that Australia has a long tradition of producing amazing operatic talent. Names like Joan Hammond, Frances Alda, Marjorie Lawrence, Nellie Melba and Yvonne Minton jump immediately to mind. Australia also produced one of the greatest baritones ever, John Brownlee, who you can hear here:



Our recent post of Sam Roberts-Smith also reminded us that we've featured some major barihunks from Down Under. Although we find them all hot, we're wondering who you think is the hottest hunk from Down Under. Check out the photos and vote in the box to your right.

Simon Lobelson

Hadleigh Adams

Joshua Bloom

Sam Roberts-Smith

Laurence Meikle

Grant Doyle

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