Lisa McCune and Teddy Tahu Rhodes have established a Brisbane love nest.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Lisa McCune

[Reprinted from The Daily Telegraph]
 
The star couple, who have been flying under the radar of late, were spotted checking in to Brisbane's luxury Stamford Plaza Hotel yesterday.

"Lisa looked very sheepish," our spy reported.

It wasn't immediately clear if the pair would spend Christmas in Brisbane but they are due to headline the Queensland season of South Pacific, which opens at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC, on December 27.

McCune and Tahu Rhodes created a media sensation in August when New Idea and Woman's Day published photos of the pair in a public embrace in Sydney, despite the fact that both were married.

McCune renewed her wedding vows to husband Tim Disney, the father of her three children, only two years ago.

However Tahu Rhodes is said to have separated from his wife some time ago.

Since then McCune and Tahu Rhodes have unashamedly continued to flaunt their relationship in public.

But they've steadfastly refused to comment on their love affair, despite having numerous opportunities to set the record straight.

They couple have faced the media several times for South Pacific but have brushed aside all questions relating to their personal life.

"I don't have regrets - I really try to live by that mantra of not regretting anything," McCune told journalists on one recent occasion.

"There's a lot of stuff in the press," McCune also acknowledged. "But I have never commented ... and I'd just like to keep my private life to myself."

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Benjamin Britten's Centenary Will Keep Barihunks Busy

Duncan Rock: Hugely popular with our readers

When we flip over the December 2012 Barihunks calendar in twelve days, we will enter the centenary of Benjamin Britten's birth. It will prove to be a busy year, as along with Mozart, his operas have provided the most eye candy to our readers.

Britain's The Independent takes a look at the upcoming year and lists their Top 10 performances of 2013 (listed at the end of this post). We have our own list of performances that we're looking forward to since certain operas like Billy Budd and The Rape of Lucretia have provided us with some of our favorite posts.

On August 10th, the Glyndebourne Festival will present Billy Budd with three barihunks who have appeared on this site: Jacques Imbrailo as Billy Budd, Christian Van Horn as Lieutenant Ratcliffe and the mega-popular Duncan Rock as The Novice’s Friend. We should also mention that the sublimely gifted tenor Mark Padmore will be Captain Vere. Visit the Glyndebourne website for additional information.

Dae-Hee Shin als Tarquinius und Carolina Krogius als Lucretia in Eisenach

Although many schedules and much casting has not been announced yet, here are some of the notable performances that we're watching. The Rape of Lucretia will be performed in Eisenach, Florence, Oslo and Trieste. Jacques Imbrailo will take his Britten on the road as Tarquinius in Florence in May. Peter Grimes is scheduled in Berlin, Karlsruhe and Stockholm. Albert Herring will be performed in Milwaukee, Sydney, Toulouse and Victoria with barihunk Sam Dundas taking on the role of Sid in Sydney,  Barihunks Calendar cover model Craig Verm taking on the same role in Toulouse and Phillip Addis as Sid in Victoria. The Pacific Opera in Victoria is also having a mini-Britten festival that will also include his rarely performed opera Noye's Fludde and Let's Make an Opera/The Little Sweep. There will be plenty more of these being announced and we'll make sure to keep you apprised.

The Turn of the Screw may end up being the most performed of Britten's operas in 2013, with performances already announced for Bologna, Istanbul, Kassel, Cologne, Mannheim, New York City Opera, Saarbrucken, Tel Aviv and West Palm Beach. 

Sam Dundas

10 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS from The Independent:
• Brazilian premiere of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', São Paolo (March 2013)
• 'Peter Grimes' performed on the beach during the Aldeburgh Festival (June 2013)
• Royal Opera House: 'Gloriana', new production by Richard Jones (June 2013)
• Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics give joint performance of the 'War Requiem' in Berlin conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (June 2013)
• Choir of London tours the Palestinian Territories (August 2013)
• Israeli premiere of 'Curlew River', Tel Aviv (September 2013)
• Focus on Britten at Tanglewood and Aspen Festivals, USA (August 2013)
• Opera North devotes entire season to Britten operas (from September 2013)
• Moscow Festival of Britten includes Russian premiere of 'Death in Venice' at Moscow Conservatoire and an exhibition at the Pushkin Museum (November 2013)
• 75,000 schoolchildren in the UK sing 'Friday Afternoons' simultaneously on Britten's centenary (22 November 2013)

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Jonathan Estabrooks video: "The Most Wonderful Memes of the Year - 2012"

Jonathan Estabrooks and his Santa Dancers

We've always maintained that Canadian barihunk Jonathan Estabrooks is one of the most versatile and original singers in the business. He's proved himself again this holiday season with "The Most Wonderful Memes of the Year - 2012" video, which was done at Algonquin College.

Estabrooks' hope is that the video will go viral, so make sure to post it on your Facebook site or Twitter feed. He also wants to perform this on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, so if anyone from "Team Ellen" is reading this, please call and book him on your show. We could even provide you with some barihunk backup dancers who are guaranteed to make your audience go WILD!

You can watch the making of this video at Estabrook's YouTube site:

You can follow Jonathan Estabrooks on Twitter at @estarp. 

Estabrooks is also featured in our 2013 Barihunks Calendar as Mr. July with a shirtless tribute to his native Canada. You can get your own copy by clicking the Lulu button below:

Barihunk Messiahs Abound

John Brancy

There are a ton of baritones making some extra holiday cash by singing Handel's Messiah over the next week. We would love to be in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina to hear John Brancy with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. There are four performances beginning tonight and ending on Friday, December 21st. The Tuesday night performance is already sold out, so get your tickets now. 

Curtis Sullivan as Neptune at Opera Atelier

A thousand miles north of Charleston, Curtis Sullivan will join the 100-member Peterborough Singers for the Messiah today and tomorrow at the George Street United Church. Tickets are available online.

Jesse Blumberg

San Franciscans are welcoming back Jesse Blumberg who is repeating his successful performances of the Messiah with the American Bach Soloists. Performance are on December 20. 21 and 22 and tickets are available online. Blumberg will return to the Bay Area on February 19th for the West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's "Green Sneakers." Tickets are now on sale.

Finally, here is a classic version of "The Trumpet Shall Sound" sung by Samuel Ramey.

Barihunks calendars are selling fast, so order yours today before the last minute shoppers get online. 

Baritones Advance in Paris Opera Awards

Jonathan Beyer

On January 4th, baritones Dmitry Lavrov and Jonathan Beyer, who has been featured on this site, will attempt to keep the baritone winning streak alive at major competitions at the Paris Opera Awards. Beyer, of course, has become famous for his ability to win major competitions across the globe. This time he'll have to impress judges soprano Martina Arroya, baritone Sherrill Milnes and artistic administrator Daniel Lipton. The trio will select winners from the final ten competitors.

The judges will choose sex laureates, three female singers and three male singers who will receive diplomas. The January 4th Gala Performance ends with the awards and trophies attribution ceremony in the presence of media and press.

Dmitry Lavrov sings "Voyna i Mir" from Prokofiev's War and Peace:

The 10 winners will all perform selections in honor of the late soprano Maria Callas in the presence of the Grand Jury, sponsors, media, press and artists’ agents. The contestants will be accompanied by an orchestra.

The Maria Callas Prize will be awarded to two singers by the Callas Foundation for the best artistic performance.

The Audience Prize will be awarded to one singer by the main sponsor.

To request tickets, please visit the Paris Opera Awards website.

Beyer sings John Adams' "News has a kind of mystery" from Nixon in China:

If you're near Chicago tonight Beyer will be performing at the Presbyterian Church in suburban Orland Park at 7:30 p.m. The first half of the concert will be operatic and musical theater. The second half will be Christmas music. The concert will include guest mezzo-soprano soloist Joanna Wernette. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors. Information: (708) 448-8142.

You can help support young artists like Beyer and Lavrov by purchasing our 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar. There are only two weeks left to purchase this stunning collection of 14 of opera's hottest and most talented singers! PURCHASE ONE NOW BY CLICKING ON THE LULU BUTTON:

NY Post: "He's bari-toned!" - Opera and Fitness

Ildar Abdrazakov

Today' New York Post features an article called "He's bari-toned!," about the new obsession that some opera singers have for fitness. First of all, we love the word "bari-toned" as a term for an opera singer getting fit. (Urban Dictionary, are you listening?). The article also features a "before and after" gallery of soprano Maria Callas, baritone Stan Lacy, tenor Michael Fabiano and soprano Deborah Voight.

With the advent of HD broadcast and YouTube, the issue of a singer's appearance is gaining more attention. Savvy singers are realizing that they're competing with movies and television, as much as the rival singer auditioning for the Met. Singers are also realizing that a healthy diet and a good fitness regimen is lengthening careers in an era of increasing competition. There's a reason that a buff 50-year Dmitri Hvorostovsky is busier than ever or the active 63-year old Ferruccio Furlanetto is playing roles like Attila, a plum leading role sought by singers half his age.

The amazing transformation of emerging talent Chris Carr

It's also refreshing to see someone like Met General Manager Peter Gelb admit that HD broadcasts play into the equation when casting, but also acknowledging that no-one is going to pass up a great voice. What gets lost in this article is the nuance of casting a Brunnhilde or casting a La boheme for international HD broadcast. Also, the old assumption that Maria Callas' voice faded solely because of her weight loss is a huge canard. In 1952, after director Luchino Visconti suggested that she lose weight, the singer swallowed doses of iodine which adversely affected her voice. It wasn't the weight loss, it was how she chose to lose weight.

Seth Carico: Before and After

Singers today, are losing weight through proper diet, exercise and yoga. Many singers like Seth Carico used the Spartacus workout routine to shed a few dozen pounds. Facebook even has a Spartacus site for opera singers called Operaticus where tenors, mezzos, baritones and sopranos share stories and photos about getting in shape. Singers use the site to find others in the area who want to work out together, suggest workout music, ask questions and kvetch about having to get through a routine.

Michael Mayes: Bari-Chunk to Bari-Hunk"

We've seen some amazing physical transformations on this site, including Michael Mayes, whose career took off after an amazing physical transformation allowed him to embody the role of Joseph De Roucher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, and Chris Carr, who suddenly stood out in a group of emerging young singers as a believable physical and vocal artist. In fact, Michael Mayes' feature "Bari-Chunk to Bari-Hunk" has remained one of our most visited posts and has been cited to us by numerous singers of all vocal types as an inspiration to live a healthier life and work on their appearance. And who can forget William Berger's amazing transformation that made him an operatic pinup boy overnight?

We'll leave you with the words of Peter Gelb from the New York Post's article:

The Met’s general manager, Peter Gelb, says that while larger singers aren’t overlooked, appearance is often a consideration. “We don’t pass on any great singers,” insists Gelb, “but we’re also looking for people who are believable in the world they play.” So does the Met cherry-pick its stars with its eyes more than its ears? “We audition with both,” Gelb says, adding: “If you can’t sing on the stage of the Met, it doesn’t matter what you look like.”

If you want to enjoy an entire year of buff baritones, make sure to order you Barihunks calendar today! It's just over two weeks until 2013 arrives and you won't want to miss one day of these hot guys.

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Timothy McDevitt: Some Booty and Some "Così fan tutte"

Timothy McDevitt (Photo by Charles Quiles)

The last time that we blogged about Timothy McDevitt we announced that he was premiering Paul Crabtree's The Ghost Train. The Julliard graduate has had an exciting year winning the New York District Metropolitan Opera National Council competition as well as the Lys Symonette Prize in the Kurt Weill Foundation's Lotte Lenya Competition. He also took some gorgeous photos with professional photographer Charles Quiles whose work is definitely worth checking out.

The increasingly buff singer has had a busy year since graduating. Highlights for McDevitt from earlier this year include Philip Glass' Les Enfants Terribles with the North Carolina Opera, Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts with the Mark Morris Dance Group at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and appearances at the Swiss Ball and Lotus Club in New York.

Tim McDevitt (Photo by Charles Quiles)

McDevitt is about to premiere another work by an American composer, Jonathan Dawe’s COSÌ FARAN TUTTI (They’ll All Do It!). As you probably surmised from the title, the piece is a prequel to Mozart’s Così fan tutte. McDevitt will play the role of Gugliemo and the other baritone role of Don Alfonso will be sung by Chad Sloan.

The opera is being performed by the Italian Academy of Columbia University at their Teatro Theatre for three performances on December 13, 14 and 15, 2012 at 8pm.

Dawe recently became the youngest composer commissioned by James Levine for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Other cast members include soprano Marcy Richardson as Fiordiligi, mezzo-soprano Ariana Chris as Dorabella, soprano Mary Elizabeth Mackenzie as Despina and hunkentenor Glenn Seven Allen as Ferrando. We have to admit that we've being waiting for an excuse to post Glenn Seven Allen.

Tenor Glenn Seven Allen sporting his barihunk body

The singers will be accompanied by the Orchestra of the Second Instrumental Unit led by Maestro Ryan McAdams and the modern baroque dance ensemble hybrid, Company XIV, led by dance director/choreographer Austin McCormick.

The Teatro Theatre at the Italian Academy of Columbia University is located at 1161 Amsterdam Avenue at 118th Street in New York City. Tickets are $40 and $20 for students and are available at the door and through Brown Paper Tickets.

If you like hot singers like Timothy McDevitt, make sure to order our 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar. ALL proceeds go to benefit young artists: