Thomas Tatzl's pa-pa-pa-passionate Papageno

December 22, 2015, 9:17 pm

≫ Next: Introducing barihunk Brian James Myer

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Thomas Tatzl as Papageno(photos by Sandra Then)

Austrian barihunk Thomas Tatzl is one of the few singers who has performed Papageno by two different composers, having frequently sung Mozart's in Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), but also Peter von Winter’s in his production of Das Labyrith at the Salzburger Festspiele. Now he's also one of the few singers to have performed the role in a dress (topless with a chorus of transsexual nuns!) .

Tatzl, who has sung 10 Mozart roles in his young career, will perform Papageno through March 28th at the Theater Basel. He'll be singing some additional Mozart at Sage One in Newcastle, England on February 5th when he performs the composer's Mass in C-minor with an all-star cast that includes Sally Matthews, Rosemary Joshua and Stuart Jackson with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Chorus.

Tickets for the Magic Flute are available online.

ONLY 9 DAYS UNTIL THE NEW YEAR! Time is running out to order your 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar, featuring 18 of the sexiest men in opera. ORDER TODAY by clicking HERE (you won't regret it!).

Seth Carrico, Cyril Rovery & Patrick Egersborg

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Introducing barihunk Brian James Myer

December 23, 2015, 4:06 pm

≫ Next: Barihunks "Best of 2015"

≪ Previous: Thomas Tatzl's pa-pa-pa-passionate Papageno

Brian James Myer

Brian James Myer, who is new to our site, is joining Hans Tashjian as one of the 2016 Chautauqua Opera Young Artists. Myer just wrapped up a run as the title character in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Florida Grand Opera, which was his debut with the company. He will return to Florida Grand Opera this Spring to cover both Tadeusz in Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger and Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

Myer was born in Tarzana, California and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he began piano lessons at age nine. He subsequently studied flute, cello, guitar, and voice.

Recent engagements include Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte with Sin City Opera and Opera San Jose, Gino Carella in Mark Lanz Weiser's Where Angels Fear to Tread with Opera San Jose, Silvio in Leoncavallo'sPagliacci with Sarasota Opera, Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Opera San Jose and Opera Las Vegas, Yamadori in Puccini's Madama Butterfly with Opera Las Vegas, Albert in Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe with Chautauqua Opera, and Le Dancaïre in Bizet's Carmen with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in Ontario, Canada.

Brian James Myer sings Papageno's suicide aria:

Myer won first place prizes at the National Association of Teachers of Singing competitions in both Nevada and Ohio. He received two young artist encouragement awards from Chautauqua Opera and is a recipient of the Albert Rees Davis Scholarship from The Singers Club of Cleveland He was also a regional finalist in the NATS Artist Award (Cal-Western Region) and a semifinalist in the American Institute of Musical Studies Meistersinger competition.

Myer volunteered for the music program with the Clark County School District and served as a middle school choir teacher. He participated in the Palm Springs Opera Guild Outreach Program, bringing opera to over 13,500 students in the Coachella Valley. He is also a published composer, whose choral octavo can be found and purchased at Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Inc.

ONLY 8 DAYS UNTIL THE NEW YEAR! Time is running out to order your 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar, featuring 18 of the sexiest men in opera. ORDER TODAY by clicking HERE (you won't regret it!).

Vittorio Prato, Malte Roesner & Cyril Rovery

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Barihunks "Best of 2015"

December 23, 2015, 8:56 pm

≫ Next: Brett Carter to set himself on fire after wrapping up sexy Valentin in Mainz

≪ Previous: Introducing barihunk Brian James Myer

It's time for our annual year-end wrap up with our "Best of 2015" feature where we highlight our favorite posts. Many of these were actually chosen by our readers, as we closely followed how much traffic each of our posts were receiving.

Jason Duika

Iosu Yeregui

BEST NEWCOMERS: Jason Duika was new to our site this year and his beach photos proved so popular that we invited him to appear in our 2016 Barihunks Charity Calendar, where he proved just as popular. He was a finalist last year in the James Toland Vocal Competition and is currently a young artist with the Palm Beach Opera where he will sing Dancairo, cover Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, sing the family performance and cover Dr. Malatesta in Donizettis Don Pasquale, sing Paquiro in Granados' Goyescas, and sing the Wigmaker in Strauss'Ariadne auf Naxos.

These are some photos of Iosu Yeregui that didn't make it into the calendar, as they were not of high enough resolution, so we thought we'd share them now. The singer was born in San Sebastian, where he studied contemporary dance, flute and humanities for business. On stage, he's performed Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Colas in Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne and, most recently, Lodovico in Verdi's Otello with Opera de la ABAO in Bilbao, Spain.

Brandon Coleman

BEST READER SUBMISSION: Brandon Coleman was suggested to us by more than one reader and these pictures we haven't previously posted. Upcoming performances include Bartolo in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with Kentucky Opera from May 20-24, 2016 and Ferrando in Verdi's Il Trovatore with the Hawaii Opera Theatre.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky at The Met

BEST COMEBACK: Dmitri Hvorostovsky made a triumphant return to the stage on September 25th in the Met's Il Trovatore after being treated for brain cancer in London. The New York audience greeting him with rollicking applause. He was joined by Anna Netrebko as the heroine Leonora, Dolora Zajick as the gypsy Azucena, Yonghoon Lee as Manrico and Štefan Kocán as Ferrando. Unfortunately, we recently learned that he's returning to London for additional treatments.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also bestowed the Order of Alexander Nevsky on Hvorostovsky, which is given for exceptional artistry over a period of 20 years or more.

Clint Borzoni & Michael Weyandt

BEST NEW SONG PERFORMANCE: We can't imagine a better new song in the lieder repertory than one about our favorite topic. Michael Weyandt premiered Clint Borzoni's "The Barihunk Song" at theNational Opera Center in New York in March. The composer and blond barihunk also teamed up at operamission for "When Adonis Calls" with a libretto by John De Los Santos based on erotic poetry by Gavin Geoffrey Dillard. Borzoni will premiering two new songs On January 22 and 24 with barihunk Marco Vassalli and Musica Marin written for String Quartet and Baritone.

Soloman Howard

HOTTEST PORTRAYAL OF A REAL PERSON: These pictures of bass-barihunk Soloman Howard's portrayal of boxing legend Muhammad Ali proved extremely popular with our readers. He performed DJ Sparr's Approaching Ali with bothe the North Carolina Opera and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He'll be performing Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in January with the North Carolina Opera and Fafner in Wagner's Das Rheingold with the Wshington National Opera in April/May 2016.

Brad Baron

BEST TWITTER DISCOVERY: We'd been following bass-barihunk Brad Baron on Twitter for some time, but when he hit the gym we realized it was time to add him to the site. He's currently pursuing his Masters of Music at LSU and is one of the most entertaining singers on Twitter. You can follow him @BaronAsInRed.

Dan Kempson in Streetcar Named Desire (with honorary barihunk Carrie Hennessey)

Seth Carico in ORESTEIA
HOTTEST PHOTOS: Dan Kempson created a sensation with his performance of Stanley in André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, which was done in collaboration between the Fresno Grand Opera and Townsend Opera in Modesto. The opera played to enthusiastic crowds and his photos were the second most viewed on the site this year. Sadly, Kempson has announced his premature retirement from opera to pursue an advanced degree in opera/music administration. We wish him the best of luck. (Barihunks Liam Bonner and Jason Hardy have also announced their early retirements).

American barihunk Seth Mease Carico's pictures as Kassandra in Iannis Xenakis'ORESTEIA with Deutsche Oper Berlin received more views than any other photo this year. His performance was nominated for Best Singing Performer in a Musical Production by the Deutsche Theaterpreis DER FAUST. (The winner was Barbara Hannigan for her portrayal of Marie in "Die Soldaten" as the Bayerische Staatsoper). You might also want to check out his amazing photo from Don Giovanni.

Carico also provided us with one of our favorite quotes this year; "I want to talk more about the real issue of fitness in our opera world. There is too much fighting going on about the effects of fitness in our business, and I wish we could move past it and focus on what’s important about this issue: health."

Zachary Luchetti

BEST SINGER BIO: One of our most popular posts of the entire year was Pennsylvania native Zachary Luchetti's spoof of singer biographies. His biography was not only the funniest singer bios that we'd ever read, but it perfectly lampooned the beefed up biographies that many performers post on their websites. A sample: "While he isn’t exactly sought after, he has amassed an impressive resume of over 70 roles in his short career."

Philipp Hochmair in "Der Ring: Siegfried/Götterdämmerung"

Christopher Maltman in Iphigénie en Tauride

HOTTEST NUDE SCENES:Philipp Hochmair'sperformance in "Der Ring: Siegfried/Götterdämmerung"isn't technically opera, as it was a theater piece based on The Ring with music by Wagner. But who could argue with Hochmair's full frontal assault in the role of Siegfried as the innocent forest child, which is true to the original story as the hero bathes in the blood of the freshly slain dragon to become invincible.

For a performance in an actual opera, one couldn't beat Christopher Maltman's full monty in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride atthe Whitsun Festival at Salzburg. The British singer is no stranger to nudity, having appeared in the buff in the Kasper Holten's movie Juan and in Mozart's Don Giovanni in Salzburg.

Marco Vassalli & Malte Roesner

BEST CALENDAR MODELS: Marco Vassalli and Malte Roesner joined us in Montreuil-Bellay in the heart of France's Loire Valley for this year's Barihunk Calendar shoot and did the camera ever love these two German singers!

Roesner is the most featured calendar model this year, appearing on our cover, as well as in January, June and December. The singer has modeled in the past and was featured in an ad campaign for the opera company in Braunschweig. He's also one of the most intelligent singers who we've ever encountered and has translated librettos into German, including Jake Heggie's For a Look or a Touch and Jonathan Dove's Mansfield Park.

Vassalli took so many sexy photos that we helped him put together a separate calendar, where $10 of each purchase will go to fund his upcoming US debut with Musica Marin on January 22 and 24. You can purchase your own copy HERE or buy tickets to his concert HERE. Vassalli is also well read and chose the poems for his upcoming program, which were set to music by composer Clint Borzoni. He selected Hilde Domin's Margere Kost and Hermann Hesse's Stufen.

Edwin David Vargas

BEST BARI-CHUNK TO BARI-HUNK: Nothing generates more traffic on our site than our "bari-chunk to bari-hunk" features. Our post of Michael Mayes and Kasey Yeargain remain some of our most popular post of all-time and Edwin David Vargas' transformation proved to be just as inspirational. He's currently completing his Masters degree at the Brooklyn College CUNY.

Photos from Hadleigh Adams' new website.

BEST NEW WEBSITE: Few singers have had more enduring popularity on Barihunks than Hadleigh Adams and this year was no exception. Photos from his performances in the title role of Vivaldi's Bajazet with Pinchguy Opera, Orlando in RB Schlather provocative production at Whitebox in NYC and his biographical cabaret in San Francisco proved to be particularly popular. His website is available at http://www.hadleighadams.com.

He will be Falke in Cincinnati Opera's upcoming production of Johann Strauss'Die Fledermaus.

BEST COMPETITION WINNERS: Low male voices swept the 2015 Wigmore/Kohn International Song Competition as Milan Siljanov took 1st Prize, Samuel Hasselhorn took 2nd Prize and James Newby took 3rd Prize. Newby added to the sweep by also winning the Richard Tauber Prize given for the best interpretation of Schubert. His program included Finzi's Let us garlands bring and Schubert's An Sylvia?

Waltteri Torikka

BEST REALITY TV PERFORMANCE: Finnish barihunk Waltteri Torikka won MTV's singing competition Tähdet, Tähdet (Stars, Stars) garnering 58% of the vote and bringing the audience to its feet with his own hip swinging rendition of Ricky Martin's Livin' La Vida Loca. His victory culminated a two month journey that included performances of Whitesnake's Still of Night, a country version of "Ring of Fire," the punk rock song "Hei hei mitä kuuluu," a Finnish tango, and even an Ozzy Osbourne-esque version of Scarpia from Tosca!

Torikka was subsequently voted as the "Sexiest Man in Finland" by the readers of the women's magazine Eeva (Eve).

The cast of La Fanciulla del West in Des Moines

BEST GROUP PHOTO: Michael Yeshion, who has photographed many of our calendar models, took these group photos at the Des Moines Metro Opera, during a break in rehearsals for their production of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West). The barihunk rich cast included Alex Soare, Andrew Potter, Cesar Mendez Silvagnoli, Christopher Job, Geoffrey Penar, Joshua Jeremiah, Harry Greenleaf, Jonathan Harris, Trevor Martin, Tyler Alessi and Zach Owen.

Thomas Tatzl as Papageno

BEST PHOTO IN DRAG: Even with regietheater all the rage in European, it's tough to top Austrian barihunk Thomas Tatzl performing Papageno topless in a dress with a chorus of transsexual nuns! He's currently singing the role in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Theater Basel.

Keith Miller in Florencia en al Amazonas

BEST BLUE BARIHUNK: Keith Miller's shirtless picture covered in blue body paint as Riolobo in Daniel Catán's Florencia en al Amazonas with the Nashville Opera was pretty hot. Director John Hoomes said the costume was "...inspired by the male costumes from Trinidad Carnival."

If you want to keep Barihunks up and running in 2016, you can support us by purchasing our Charity Calendar! It features 18 of the sexiest men in opera and all of the proceeds go to supporting young artists. ORDER TODAY by clicking HERE (you won't regret it!).

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Brett Carter to set himself on fire after wrapping up sexy Valentin in Mainz

December 25, 2015, 5:46 pm

≫ Next: LaMarcus Miller to star in premiere of first opera about Iraqi War

≪ Previous: Barihunks "Best of 2015"

Brett Carter as Valentin in Gounod's Faust

We've posted about Aussie barihunk Brett Carter's sexy Valentin in Gounod's Faust (Margerete) before. He is down to his last two performances on January 17 and February 14th at the Staatstheater in Mainz, where he is a member of the ensemble. You can get tickets and additional cast information online.

On March 11th, he'll open in Pascal Dusapin's Perelà with the amazing tenor Peter Tantsits in the title role. Perelà tells the story of the mysterious "man of smoke" who appears in an unnamed city, and charts his rise and fall through a series of tragicomic encounters with its inhabitants. The opera does include male nudity for the tenor. Carter sings the role of the old valet Alloro,who sets himself on fire hoping to emulate the lightness of Perelà.

On December 26th and January 19th, he'll be singing Orff's Carmina Burana in Mainz with soprano Marie-Christine Haase and countertenor Alin Deleanu. In July, he returns to his native Australia where he''ll sing the title role in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Queensland Performing Arts Center.

You can hear Carter sing excerpts from Faust, Carmina Burana and The Barber of Seville on his website.

Carter studied Classical Guitar and Voice at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He then became a member of the Australian Opera Studio where his roles included Mozart’s Conte Almaviva, Don Giovanni and Britten’s Tarquinius. After receiving a Scholarship to participate in the Cincinnati Music Festival in Lucca, Italy, he then went on to become a Young Artist with Opera Queensland. During this time he received first prize in the German Australian Opera Grant and from 2007- 2014 was a member of the Hessischen Staatstheater in Wiesbaden.

MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE NEW YEAR ARRIVES; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGERS FROM 9 COUNTRIES.

Marco Vassalli & Malte Roesner

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LaMarcus Miller to star in premiere of first opera about Iraqi War

December 25, 2015, 7:30 pm

≫ Next: Mariusz Kwiecien and Barihunks in Wall Street Journal

≪ Previous: Brett Carter to set himself on fire after wrapping up sexy Valentin in Mainz

LaMarcus Miller

LaMarcus Miller, who first appeared on this site competing in the Met Auditions, has landed the leading baritone role in Tobin Stokes and Heather Raffo's Fallujah at the Long Beach Opera. Miller sang in the workshop at the Kennedy Center, which was one of a series over the last four years including at Arena Stage, the Noor Theater in New York City and The Culture Project in New York City. The Long Beach production will be the official world premiere.

The opera's characters were inspired by people United States Marine Christian Ellis encountered, including fallen comrades. In 2004, Christian Ellis was a young US Marine fighting in the Iraq War. He suffered a broken back when his platoon was ambushed, and was one of the few survivors. When eventually he returned home he found himself battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ellis has attempted suicide four times since returning from Iraq and used developing the opera as a vehicle to deal with the stress. Ellis' mother was a singer who pushed him to play the trumpet and start singing lessons when he was nine years old.

The real US Marine Christian Ellis

Award-winning Iraqi-American playwright and librettist Heather Raffo met Ellis in the winter of 2011. After extensive interviews began the process with composer Tobin Stokes of translating elements of Ellis's wartime experience into the opera. Fallujah is believed to be the first opera to deal with the Iraqi War.

Performances will run from March 12-20 the National Guard Armory in Long Beach. Tickets are available online.

In 2012, LaMarcus Miller won First Place at the Nico Castel International Master Singer Competition at Carnegie Hall. That same year he won the Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition for the Eastern Region.

MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE NEW YEAR ARRIVES; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGERS FROM 9 COUNTRIES.

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Mariusz Kwiecien and Barihunks in Wall Street Journal

January 3, 2016, 6:21 am

≫ Next: Barihunk switcheroo in Vienna's Barber

≪ Previous: LaMarcus Miller to star in premiere of first opera about Iraqi War

Mariusz Kwiecien in The Met's Pearl Fishers

Barihunks made it into the Wall Street Journal's review of the Metropolitan Opera's Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers) starring Mariusz Kwiecien as Zurga, Diana Damrau as Leïla, Nicolas Testé as Nourabad and Matthew Polenzani as Nadir. They wrote:

The Pearl Fishers” contains plenty of spectacle. There are roiling waves and ominous, inky skies, and, briefly, the bared torso of Mr. Kwiecien, a dashing baritone who has been dubbed an “über-barihunk” by the opera blog Barihunks.

You know, when I was 25, nobody asked me take my shirt off,” the singer said, adding that he was relieved to be done with the stress of opening night. “Now I am almost 45, and people ask me to do it.

Mariusz Kwiecien & Matthew Polenzani sing"Au fond du temple saint":

Before the 2015–16 season, Les Pêcheurs de Perles had only received four performances at the Met. Three of them, in 1916, starred Enrico Caruso and Giuseppe De Luca. The opera will be broadcast to theaters across the country on January 16th and performances run through February 4th. Tickets are available online.

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Barihunk switcheroo in Vienna's Barber

January 6, 2016, 8:30 pm

≫ Next: Kristian Lindroos takes top prize at Lappeenrannan Singing Competition

≪ Previous: Mariusz Kwiecien and Barihunks in Wall Street Journal

Christopher Maltman & Alessio Arduini

British barihunk Christopher Maltman, who performed the title role in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in Vienna last Fall, unexpectedly returned to the company last night. He replaced fellow barihunk Alessio Arduini in the title role of Rossini's Barber of Seville after the young Italian withdrew from the final two performances. Maltman will perform again on Friday, January 8th. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Maltman next heads to the Teatro Real in Madrid where he'll rotate the role of Friedrich in Wagner's Das Liebesverbot with James Rutherford. Performances run from February 19-March 15. In the Spring, he returns to the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Dutch National Opera alongside fellow barihunk Fernando Radó as Masetto.

Christopher Maltman in The Met's Barber of Seville:

Arduini is expected to return to the Vienna State Opera to perform Marcello in Franco Zeferelli's production of Puccini's La bohème on March 19, 22 and 26, as well as Figaro opposite Luca Pisaroni's Count in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro on June 22, 25 and 28.

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Kristian Lindroos takes top prize at Lappeenrannan Singing Competition

January 6, 2016, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Chris Herbert & Philippe Sly available online from Trinity Wall Street

≪ Previous: Barihunk switcheroo in Vienna's Barber

Kristian Lindroos

25-year-old barihunk Kristian Lindroos took the top men's prize tonight at the 2016 Lappeenrannan Voice Competition and soprano Suvi Väyrynen took the top women's prize. All of the male finalists were baritones, including second place winner 28-year-old Jussi Juola and third place winner 28-year-old Joonas Askiainen. The other finalists were 24-year-old Tomi Punkeri and 27-year-old Samuli Taskinen.

The finalists performed with the Lappeenranta CityOrchestraunder the baton ofTiborBogányi. The judges included opera superstars Soile Isokoski and Matti Salminen. You can listen to Lindroos' prize winning performance HERE.

Peter Lindroos sings Puccini's E lucevan le stelle:

Lindroos studied at the Sibelius Academy and is the grandson of the great Finnish tenor Peter Lindroos and son of the bass Petri Landroos.

The great Finnish baritone Jorma Hynninen won the Lappeenranta Voice Competition in 1969 and went on to make his debut with the Finnish National Opera as Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.

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Chris Herbert & Philippe Sly available online from Trinity Wall Street

January 7, 2016, 7:03 am

≫ Next: Peter Brathwaite reprising show of "Degenerate Music"

≪ Previous: Kristian Lindroos takes top prize at Lappeenrannan Singing Competition

Christopher Dylan Herbert (photo: Laura Rose) and Philippe Sly

Trinity Wall Street in New York City continues to live stream some of the best music available on the web. The last few weeks were rich with music and two of our favorite barihunks performed, Christopher Dylan Herbert in Schubert's Winterreise and Philippe Sly in Handel's Messiah. Fortunately, both are available online or on our site.

We recently posted about Christopher Dylan Herbert's participatory version of Schubert's popular 1828 song cycle dubbed Winterize, which was performed with hats, scarves and mittens in New York's Central Park.

Herbert will be singing lead roles in Stewart Copeland and Robert Paterson's Dixon Place with the American Modern Ensemble on January 16-19. The piece is based on Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of the Amontillado and tickets are available online.

Handel's Messiah and Trinity have a long history, as the church presented one of the first performances of the work in North America in 1770.

Philippe Sly has a few more performances of sacred music coming up, with a Mozart Requiem with the Toronto Symphony later this month and a St. Matthew Passion with the Hamburg State Opera in April.

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Peter Brathwaite reprising show of "Degenerate Music"

January 8, 2016, 3:16 am

≫ Next: Barihunk duo in Opera Danube's Orpheus in the Underworld

≪ Previous: Chris Herbert & Philippe Sly available online from Trinity Wall Street

Peter Brathwaite and poster for "Degenerate Music"

We've posted about British barihunk's innovate and educational program of "Degenerate Music," which was banned by the Nazis, when he performed it at the London Song Festival and at the Alderney Performing Arts Festival. He's now reprising the show at the Manchester Jewish Museum on Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27 and repeating the show on January 28. The date marks the liberation of Aushwitz-Birkenau and honors the 6 million Jews and others who perished in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. - See more at: http://hmd.org.uk/page/about-hmd-and-hmdt#sthash.FnJa42Tm.dpuf

The program, which was devised by Brathwaite, is a reconstruction of the infamous Entartete Musik (Degenerate Music) exhibition of 1938, intended by the Nazi government to alert the German public to “inferior and ultimately dangerous” forms of music, particularly jazz and Jewish music.

A recording of Hanns Eisler's music:

The program includes songs by Kurt Weill, a selection of Hanns Eisler’s Protest Songs, and works by Friedrich Hollander and Ernst Krenek, including excerpts from his opera Jonny Spielt Auf. This program was written to create a moving testimony to the power of music to overcome adversity, and reminds us that the atrocities of war and oppression are not confined to the battlefield. The songs are interspersed with spoken excerpts from the Entartete Musik exhibition pamphlet and include video projections created by James Symonds showing scenes of everyday life during the days of the Weimar Republic.

You can read more in this article from Mancunian Matters.

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Barihunk duo in Opera Danube's Orpheus in the Underworld

January 9, 2016, 7:55 am

≫ Next: Baritones/Basses dominate Met Eastern Finals

≪ Previous: Peter Brathwaite reprising show of "Degenerate Music"

Jan Capiński (Photo: Ash Mills)and Matt Buswell (Photo: Chris Christodoulou)

Once again Twitter provided us a path to our latest post when Jake Arditti responded to a tweet from Opera Danube introducing the men of their cast for their upcoming performance of Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld. He correctly predicted that we'd be onto them in no time. For the record, if we ever start a site dedicated to hunky countertenors Arditti will be our first post.

Performing in the cast are barihunks Jan Capiński and Matt Buswell, the latter who is new to the site. Opera Danube was founded in 2013 to provide emerging artists a showcase for their talents with full orchestra. As the name implies, their primary focus is operetta and in prior years they have performed Johann Strauss'Die Fledermaus and Franz Lèhar's The Merry Widow. Performances of Orpheus will be on January 29, 30 and 31 at St. John's, Smith Square and additional cast and ticket information is available online.

The "Oracle of Arditti" speaks!

We introduced Jan Capiński a year ago when it was announced that he was singing Armando in Donizetti's The Siege of Calais with the English Touring Opera. The Polish native studied at the Academy of Music and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. He went on to train at the ENO Opera Works professional development program and is a recipient of the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, as well as the Garsington Opera Simon Sandbach Award. He recently completed two tours of the U.K. with Mid Wales Opera and English Touring Opera as Moralès in Jonathan Miller's new production of Carmen. According to his website, Capiński stays in shape by white-water kayaking, stand-up-paddleboarding and hiking.

Offenbach's Can Can at Opera Danube's gala:

Bass-barihunk Matt Buswell trained at the Royal College of Music where he graduated with honours. Upcoming performances include performances with with the Brandenberg Choral Festival in Mozart's Requiem and Solemn Vespers. He has previously performed Cadmus and Somnus in Handel's Semele with the London Early Opera, Il Sonno in Handel's Arianna in Creta and Licaone in Handel's Giove in Argo at the Royal College of Music International Opera School & London Handel Festival, Wilfred in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard with Portsmouth Guildhall, Calmon in Jonathan Dove's The Little Green Swallow with the British Youth Opera and Figaro in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with the Mid-Wales Opera Young Artist Program. When not performing, he also teaches voice.

You can follow Jan Capiński on Twitter @jancapinski, Matt Buswell at @MattBuswell, Jake Arditti at @JakeArditti and Opera Danube at @OperaDanube.

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Baritones/Basses dominate Met Eastern Finals

January 12, 2016, 5:44 am

≫ Next: Ryan Taylor takes over Minnesota Opera; Leaves great legacy in Arizona

≪ Previous: Barihunk duo in Opera Danube's Orpheus in the Underworld

Joshua Arky, Theo Hoffman and Daniel Miroslaw

The Region Finals for the MetOpera National Council Eastern Region will be held on Thursday, January 14th and half of the finalists are baritones or basses. Three baritones include Sol Jin, Theo Hoffman and Michael Gracco, and the three basses are Daniel Miroslaw, Joshua Arky and Onay Kose.

Onay Kose, Sol Jin and Michael Gracco

Joshua Arky was a 2014 Regional Finalist at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Eastern Region and won an Encouragement Award at the 2013 Auditions. He is a Master of Music candidate at the Manhattan School of Music, where he is a recipient of the President’s Award. He recently performed the roles of Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Colline in Puccini's La bohéme, and un vieillard in Bloch’s Macbeth all with the Manhattan School of Music. At the Central City Opera he performed Doctor Grenvil and Il Commissario in Verdi's La traviata, Merlin in Boismortier’s Don Quixote and the Duchess, and the Captain of the Inquisition in Man of La Mancha. In the Spring of 2016, he'll perform in Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Binghampton Symphony and the Sargeant in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance with Opera Louisiane.

Theo Hoffman

Theo Hoffman has become a popular singer on this site, having first featured him during his early years at Juilliard in 2013. We also featured a wonderful and candid Q&A with him in 2014. This season he made his debut with Atlanta Opera as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème and is returning to the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in 2017 where he previously covered Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. This season he will sing Papagano at Juilliard, where he previously performed Le Directeur in Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias.

He is his statement for the Met Audiions: “I was born and raised in the heart of Downtown Manhattan. My parents are chefs, and they taught me to create and experiment. I sing because I believe there is nothing more visceral and truthful than music produced by the naked human voice. What this broken world needs right now is truth.”

Daniel Miroslaw in Il Turco in Italia(Photo: Ken Howard)

Daniel Mirosław is an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies student at The Juilliard School. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Lodz Academy of Music in Poland and a Master’s degree from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He also studied at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim. His Juilliard performances have included Don Geronio in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia and Collatinus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in May 2015 singing Don Fernando in Beethoven's Fidelio and the bass solo in the composer’s Mass in C major. In 2016 Mr. Mirosław will join the Oper Frankfurt’s ensemble.

Daniel Miroslaw sings Leporello's Catalog Aria:

The auditions on January 14th from noon to 5 PM and are open to the public, and are followed by a reception which all the singers are attending. More information and tickets can be found online.

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Ryan Taylor takes over Minnesota Opera; Leaves great legacy in Arizona

January 15, 2016, 10:43 am

≫ Next: Low voices dominate Met Opera Regionals

≪ Previous: Baritones/Basses dominate Met Eastern Finals

Ryan Taylor now and in his singing days

Former baritone Ryan Taylor is taking over the Minnesota Opera, after he successfully revived the Arizona Opera. Taylor certainly would have been a candidate for barihunks during his singing days, but he was winding down his career as we were revving up the site. Taylor takes over on May 1 and you can read more on the Star Tribune website. We recently posted about another barihunk, Jason Hardy, who took over the reigns of OperaDelaware.

His current programming at Arizona Opera includes Bizet's Carmen in February with the barihunk trio of Ryan Kuster as Escamillo, Joseph Lattanzi as Morales and Calvin Griffin as Zuniga (and the sensational Daniella Mack as Carmen). That will be followed later in the month by Mozart's Don Giovanni with barihunks Morgan Smith and Joseph Lattanzi rotating the title role and Ryan Kuster singing Masetto.

Another of his great legacies will be Arizona Spark, which workshops new compositions. Our personal favorite is Clint Borzoni's Copper Queen, with a libretto by John De Los Santos. The opera tells the story of Julia Lowell, the ghost that haunts a famed hotel in Bisbee, Arizona, once prominent as a mining town for both copper and “Bisbee-blue” turquoise. You can hear sound clips HERE. The Minnesota Opera also has a long tradition of presenting new works, including composer Kevin Puts'Silent Night, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

Borzoni will be presenting two new works in San Francisco next week for String Quartet and Baritone with barihunk Marco Vassalli. Tickets are available online.

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Low voices dominate Met Opera Regionals

January 16, 2016, 7:33 am

≫ Next: Sneak preview of rehearsal for Marco Vassalli's US debut

≪ Previous: Ryan Taylor takes over Minnesota Opera; Leaves great legacy in Arizona

Alaysha Fox, Anna Dugan, Joshua Arky, Katrina Galka, Sol Jin, Daniel Miroslaw and Theo Hoffman (L-R)

Two baritones and a bass walked away with the top prizes at the Metropolitan Opera Eastern Regional Finals this week. First place winners who are moving on to the semi-finals are bass Daniel Miroslaw, baritone Sol Jin and baritone Theo Hoffman (a regular feature on this site!). Second place went to soprano Katrina Galka, while bass Joshua Arky walked away with the Rohatyn Great Promise Award. Encouragement Awards were presented to sopranos Alaysha Fox and Anna Dugan.

The regional semi-finals will be held on March 6 from noon-5 PM followed by the Grand Finals on March 13 from 3-6 PM. The Grand Finals will be open to the public and tickets will be available online once they are made available.

Theo Hoffman sings "Dormo ancora" from Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria:

Joshua Arky will perform in Beethoven's 9th Symphony on April 16th with the Binghampton Symphony and the Sargeant in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance with Opera Louisiane on May 14 & 15.

This season, Theo Hoffman made his debut with Atlanta Opera as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème and is returning to the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in 2017 where he previously covered Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. This season he will sing Papagano at Juilliard from April 19-23.

Daniel Mirosław is joining the Oper Frankfurt’s ensemble for their upcoming season.

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Sneak preview of rehearsal for Marco Vassalli's US debut

January 17, 2016, 8:52 am

≫ Next: Régis Mengus in Les Mamelles de Tirésias with notorious nude scene

≪ Previous: Low voices dominate Met Opera Regionals

Marco Vassalli(left)and Ronny Michael Greenberg (far right)

Rehearsals kicked off for the upcoming U.S. debut of Marco Vassalli with Musica Marin, who is performing the world premiere of the new Clint Borzoni songs for String Quartet & Baritone along with songs by Schubert, Richard Strauss and Tosti. He'll also be performing Samuel Barber's beautiful and moving Dover Beach, one of the few other pieces scored for String Quartet & Baritone.

Portions of this concert were funded by sales of the 2016 Barihunks calendar, so we would like to personally thank everyone who bought a calendar! Every year we donate proceeds to promote young artists and works written for baritone or bass. This year, we plan on funding a special baritone/bass prize at a major singing competition.

Vassalli's debut performances with Musica Marin are on Friday, January 22 and Sunday, January 24 in San Francisco. The German-Italian baritone kicked off rehearsals with accompanist Ronny Michael Greenberg, a current Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera and former participant in the Merola Opera Program. The Sunday matinee is almost sold out, but there are still tickets for the Friday night performance. Tickets for both shows are available on the Musica Marin website.

Here is a sneak preview of them rehearsing Schubert's Nacht und Träume.

Rehearsals for the Borzoni songs with texts chosen by Vassalli begin on Monday with the composer and members of the Musica Marin quartet led by Ruth Kahn. Vassalli chose Hermann Hesse's Stufen and Hilde Domin's Margere Kost, making these the first German language texts set by the composer. Our first charity calendar helped fund a performance of Borzoni's beautiful setting of Walt Whitman's "I Dream’d in a Dream"sung by Randal Turner, which you can listen to HERE.

Borzoni, one of the most talented of many gifted American composers on the scene, recently completed his fourth opera, When Adonis Calls, based on the poetry of Gavin Dillard and arranged by John de los Santos. The opera was presented at Fort Worth Opera’s 2015 Frontiers Showcase. He is currently working on his fifth opera, The Copper Queen, also with librettist John de los Santos for Arizona Opera’s program, Arizona Spark.

Vassalli just wrapped up a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Candide at the Staatsoper Hannover. He grew up on Lake Constance and began his studies at the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, where he studied with the famed soprano Edda Moser.

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Régis Mengus in Les Mamelles de Tirésias with notorious nude scene

January 17, 2016, 8:26 pm

≫ Next: Another barihunk takes helm of U.S. opera company

≪ Previous: Sneak preview of rehearsal for Marco Vassalli's US debut

Régis Mengus and Céline Mellon

33-year-old Régis Mengus opened today in Opèra de Lausanne's production of Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias. The production with sets by Ricardo Sánchez Cuerda and directed by Emilio Sagi is the same one in which barihunk Gabriel Bermúdez appeared nude at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (our most popular post of all-time). From all accounts Mengus also appears nude in the current production. We'll keep an eye out for photos and video! Tickets are available online.

Mengus was a childhood internet sensation long before he became known in the world opera. A few years ago, a video of him with fellow boy soprano Hyacinthe de Moulins singing Rossini's Cat Duet began appearing on blogs and websites drawing millions of views. The performance was with the famed boys choir Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois, who were presenting a concert in Seoul, Korea in 1996.

Mengus, who came from a blue collar family with little exposure to the arts, was drawn to music as a young boy. He started piano lesson at the age of six, but joined the choir two years later after realizing that singing was his true passion. Shortly after joining the group, he rose to the coveted role of soloist with the boys choir. In October 2013, he won both the First Prize and the Audience Award at the International Competition of Singing in Vivonne. In March 2014, he won First Prize, the Audience Award, and a Special Award at the International Competition of Bordeaux.

Next up for Mengus is Karnac in Lalo's Le Roi d'Ys in March and Valentin in Gounod's Faust back in Lausanne.

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Another barihunk takes helm of U.S. opera company

January 19, 2016, 7:31 am

≫ Next: Michael Mayes featured in Huffington Post

≪ Previous: Régis Mengus in Les Mamelles de Tirésias with notorious nude scene

Gabriel Preisser
(Photo courtesy of veramarinerstudio)

It seems like it's becoming a regular occurrence, as yet another barihunk is taking over the helm of an American opera company. Gabriel Preisser will take over the revamped and resurrected Opera Orlando as its new executive and artistic director. Vincent Connor will serve as the new general director.

The opera company, which was previously known as the Florida Opera Theatre, was one of a number of U.S. opera companies that collapsed after the recent financial crisis, closing its doors in 2009. They will kick off their new season with a double-bill of Mozart's Impresario and Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias on April 22, 23 and 24.

Gabriel Preisser takes his first fundraising pitch online with a matching grant challenge:

Preisser plans on creating site-specific productions in unconventional spaces and developing special programs for children and young professionals, as well as tour shows to neighboring communities.

Preisser's successful singing career includes over forty operatic and musical theater roles, including creating the role of Lt. Gordon in Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize winning Silent Night at Minnesota Opera. You can still catch Preisser on stage, as he has a number of performances coming up with Opera Tampa, including Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, the Marquis in Verdi's La traviata and Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

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Michael Mayes featured in Huffington Post

January 21, 2016, 6:01 am

≫ Next: Marco Vassalli's US debut featured on KDFC radio

≪ Previous: Another barihunk takes helm of U.S. opera company

Michael Mayes

Barihunk Michael Mayes, who has emerged as one of the most compelling performers in opera, was recently featured in the Huffington Post. He talks about his love for performing contemporary opera (especially the works of Jake Heggie), his career and his desire to sing more Verdi.

Mayes was our original Bari-Chunk to Bari-Hunk feature and it inspired numerous singers to hit the gym, improve their stamina, boost their self-esteem, improve their performances and therefore benefit their careers. The impact he's had on singers and the art form is immeasurable. A Michael Mayes performance is an event. He's a singer who gives a 110% every night and redefined the role of Joseph de Rocher in Heggie's Dead Man Walking.

He's not only a regular feature on our site, but he's also appeared in our charity calendar, helping us raise money to support other young artists. You can read the entire Huffington Post piece HERE.

Mayes can next be seen as Jack Rance in Puccini's La fanciulla del West at Opera Omaha on February 12 and 14, and then in his signature role as Joseph De Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking with New Orleans Opera on March 4 and 6.

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Marco Vassalli's US debut featured on KDFC radio

January 21, 2016, 8:54 am

≫ Next: Blond barihunk duo in Don Giovanni

≪ Previous: Michael Mayes featured in Huffington Post

A shot from Marco Vassalli's recent California photo shoot

KDFC, San Francisco's premiere classical music station, did a great feature on Marco Vassalli's US debut this weekend with Musica Marin in San Francisco, which you can listen to HERE. They attended a rehearsal of the world premiere of the new Clint Borzoni songs for String Quartet & Baritone that the German-Italian singer is performing in a salon-like in the former home of Ansel Adams near the Golden Gate Bridge. Vassalli chose Hermann Hesse's Stufen and Hilde Domin's Margere Kost, making these the first German language texts set by the composer.

Vassalli will also be performing lieder by Schubert and Richard Strauss, Italian songs by Tosti and Samuel Barber's Dover Beach, which is also scored for string quartet and baritone. He'll be joined in the lieder/song sets by Ronny Michael Goldberg, an accompanist and coach with the San Francisco Opera's Adler Fellow Program.

There are a limited number of tickets remaining on the Musica Marin website.

Marco Vassalli rehearsing Clint Borzoni's Stufen with Musica Marin

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Blond barihunk duo in Don Giovanni

January 22, 2016, 6:21 am

≫ Next: Timothy McDevitt in Haydn rarity at Lincoln Center

≪ Previous: Marco Vassalli's US debut featured on KDFC radio

Bastian Thomas Kohl

Bastian Thomas Kohl, who we introduced to readers back in September, will be performing Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni along with fellow barihunk John Chest at the Nantes-Angers Opera from March 4-May 8. Tickets and additional cast information is available online.

Kohl, began his musical career at the age of four and received his formal training at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig and in Vienna at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst.

His international career began at the age of nineteen as a member of the Opernchor Leipzig appearing frequently with Gewandhausorchester under the direction of Riccardo Chailly. Kohl, who has been a member of the ensemble at the Opernhaus Zürich since the 2014-15 season, will be performing Der König in Schiphorst's Die Gánsemagd, an Armored Man in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Narumov in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades.

John Chest

Upcoming performances for John Chest include the Marchese d'Obigny in Verdi's La traviata at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Albert in Massenet's Werther at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Valentin in Gounod's Faust at the Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse with fellow barihunk Alex Esposito as Méphistophélès. He is a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

The Angers-Nantes Opéra was created in January 2003 through the merger of the opera companies of Angers and of Nantes. The company uses a variety of performance spaces in the two cities, and across the region, but the main spaces are the 728-seat Grand Théâtre in Angers, and the 784-seat Théâtre Graslin in Nantes.

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