It's not often that we feature a singer two days in a row, but (A) it's a slow news day, and (B) why would we pass up an opportunity to post more pictures and a video of Teddy Tahu Rhodes?
Teddy Tahu Rhodes' return as the title character in Don Giovanni is big news in Australia, where his career was launched as the Don and Joseph de Rocher in "Dead Man Walking."
If you love Mozart then Opera Australia should be your destination in 2012. They are also performing the Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro and Cosi fan tutte. All of the opera include barihunks, including Joshua Bloom, Luke Gabbedy and Sam Dundas.
Luke Gabbedy (L), Sam Dundas (C) & Joshua Bloom (R)
Visit the Opera Australia website for additional cast and performance information.
New Zealand barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes has been singing the title role in Don Giovanni for twelve years. He recently sat down for a video interview that was featured on the online version of the Sydney Morning Herald, which you can watch HERE. He discussed how his interpretation of the role has changed among other topics.
The print article is a good read as well. Our favorite paragraph is this:
His impressive physique hasn't gone unnoticed, either by directors, who delight in undressing Tahu Rhodes for the stage, or critics - The Dallas Morning News wrote of his performance in The End of the Affair: ''Connoisseurs of the male derriere will sit up and take notice when the curtain rises.''
Performances at the Sydney Opera House will run from September 24-November 5 and he will alternate the role with fellow barihunk Jose Carbo. Click HERE for additional cast and ticket information.
American barihunk Randal Turner performed at the 9/11 tribute at the U.S. embassy in Switzerland. Turner sang Clint Borzoni's "I Dream'd in a Dream" with text from Walt Whitman's "The Leaves of Grass" and Greg Gilpin's inspiring "Instrument of Peace" with text from the St. Francis of Assisi Prayer. Read the article on SwissInfo.com.
You can download Turner singing "I Dream'd in a Dream" at CD Baby, which is included on his CD of living American composers. Listen to it here:
One of the most gifted young barihunks on the operatic horizon Ryan Kuster, who we've featured previously on this site. He was a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia before participating in San Francisco Opera's prestigious Adler Fellowship Program.
Kuster will be performing in the city of San Francisco's official tribute to the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack. The city and the San Francisco Opera have teamed up for a performance of Mozart's Requiem at Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park at 2 PM today. Kuster will be joined by fellow singers Nadine Sierra, Maya Layhani and Daniel Montenegro along with maestro Nicola Luisotti.
The San Francisco Opera has wisely engaged the future star in a number of this season's operas. Kuster will perform Escamillo in Carmen, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Astolfo in Lucrezia Borgia and a Mandarin in Turandot. For performance and ticket information visit the San Francisco Opera website.
The San Francisco Opera is also premiering composer Christopher Theofanidis' "Heart of a Soldier," which opened last night. The opera tells the story of Rick Rescorla, a British-born adventurer who fought in Vietnam before settling in New York as head of security for a brokerage firm based in the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001, his extraordinary courage and calmness in a crisis paid off: Rescorla led all of the 2,700 people under his care to safety—literally singing them down the stairs—before heading back into the burning building for one last check. He never emerged.
German barihunk Dominik Köninger has kept the baritone winning streak alive by winning the 2011 Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition. Köninger won £10,000 for his first place finish. As we've been reporting, baritones Jonathan Beyer, Gabriel Preisser, Andrei Bondarenko, Mark Diamond, Philippe Sly and Konstantin Shushakov have been cleaning up at various vocal award competitions. We've dubbed this the "Golden Age of Baritones" and Köninger's win only reinforces our claim that we're in the greatest era ever for low voices.
Even the prize for best duo (singer and accompanist) went to a baritone, as Jonathan McGovern and his accompanist Timothy End walked away that coveted prize. The duo was awarded £5,000 for winning the prize.
Unfortunately, the competition posts video of the awards celebration, but not of any of the singing (a curious omission). Below the video we've added two sound clips of Köninger, so that you can actually hear his artistry. He's performing Johann Strauß's "Brüderlein" and Ravel's Chanson épique. Here is the announcement of the winners:
The last time we featured the 39-year-old French barihunk Laurent Alvaro he was nude in Howard Shore's operatic version of "The Fly" at the Théatre du Châtelet He's currently playing Thoas in "Iphigenie in Tauris" and Arcas in "Iphigenie in Aulis" at the Nederlandse Opera where he's still shirtless, but wearing pants.
Laurent Alvaro in the Iphigenie double-bill
One thing is certain, he's as sexy as ever. The double-bill of the underperformed Gluck operas runs through September 22. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information.
We have covered the current production of Don Giovanni at the Vienna State Opera, due primarily to a rotating cast filled with barihunks. Much like Salzburg, they have filled the roles of Don Giovanni, Leporello and Masetto with certifiable hunks. The current production had featured the seemingly ageless Bo Skovhus in the title role, but he had to withdraw for the remaining four performances due to illness. He is being replaced by Adam Plachetka, a Czech native who has been a member of the Vienna State Opera.
Alex Esposito and Tae Joong Yang
The role of Leporello is being sung by our favorite exponent of the role, Alex Esposito (will someone please cast this guy in the U.S.). Masetto is being sung by Tae Joong Yang, who we recently introduced to readers. Tickets are still available for the remaining four performances online. Here is Adam Plachetka singing Leporello's "Catalogue Aria" at a recent gala concert: Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com
