BREAKING NEWS: Justin Hopkins wins 2nd Place in Lotte Lenya Competition

Justin Hopkins

Barihunk Justin Hopkins, who first impressed us in Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox with the Fort Worth Opera Festival, has won second prize in the prestigious Lotte Lenya Competition. He shared 2nd place with tenor Jacob Keith Watson. Eastman School of Music master’s degree student Matthew Grills, who was a winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions last month, was awarded 1st place.
The Lotte Lenya Competition is an international theater singing contest that recognizes talented young singer-actors, ages 19 to 30, who are dramatically and musically convincing in a wide range of repertoire, and emphasizes the acting of songs within a dramatic context. It was founded in 1998 by foundation President Kim H. Kowalke, who is the Richard L. Turner Professor in Humanities at the University of Rochester and professor of musicology at the Eastman School.

 Justin Hopkins sings "The Impossible Dream":

Justin Hopkins burst onto the international opera scene in 2010, performing the combined roles of Il Servo, Il Medico and Heraldo in Macbeth with Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels in a production that was awarded "Production of the Year" by Opernwelt.  In the same season he performed the roles of Colline in La Boheme with the Verbier Festival Academy and Cappadocian in Richard Strauss' Salome under the direction of Valery Gergiev with the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. 

Hopkins was a semi-finalist in the Competizione dell' Opera at The Bolshoi Theater in Moscow as well as a finalist in the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Hopkins began singing at the age of eight with the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Men's Chorale.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Introducing Uzbekistani Barihunk Dmitri Vargin

Dmitri Vargin

Dmitri Vargin studied choral direction in his native city Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and singing at the State Academy of Music and Theatre in Hamburg, with William Workman. In Hamburg he had the chance to participate in master classes with artists such as Kurt Moll and Franz Grundheber. He also appeared in numerous productions performing Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, Peter in Hänsel und Gretel, Marcello in La Bohème, Pappacoda in Eine Nacht in Venedig, and Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's dream.  

During his last year at the Academy, he appeared as a guest at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf performing Silvio in I Pagliacci and has been invited to join the company. At the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, he has sung Marcello in La Bohème, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream and in the new productions - Achilla in Giulio Cesare, Valentin in Faust, Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande, Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore, and the title part in Eugene Onegin.  

He also appeared at the Erfurt Opera as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, at the Hamburgische Staatsoper as Tusenbach in Tri Sestri by Peter Eötvös, and performed Mahler's 8th Symphony with Maestro Lorin Maazel.  

Following his debut at Bolshoi Theatre Moscow as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, he has been re-invited to perform Marcello in La Bohème and Lopakhin in Fenelon's The Cherry Orchard.   He also made his South American debut performing the title part in Eugene Onegin (Montevideo).



Upcoming engagements include both Brétigny in Manon and Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte (Düsseldorf), and Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos (Glyndebourne Festival), among others.   Dmitri Vargin has been granted by the DAAD and awarded with German Federal Cultural Prize (2004), the Masefield Scholarship by the Alfred Töpfer Foundation (2005), and he has been actively involved, with the Yehudi Menuhin "Live Music Now" program, in projects bringing music to people unable to attend regular concerts.

There are only two weeks left to order your 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. All proceeds will go to benefit the Portland Opera Studio and the Seagle Music Colony, two of the best young artist training programs in America. You can help out dozens of young artists by purchasing your calendar today. Click HERE and have your calendar before the new year. 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Peter Bording Shower Scene; Introducing Stephen Hegedus

Peter Bording

We haven't featured the sexy Dutch barihunk Peter Bording in awhile. We received an email alerting us that he has a sexy shower scene in Essen's holiday classic "Die Fledermaus." You can watch the clip HERE. The opera opens Sunday, December 18th and runs through New Years Eve. Bording then moves on to the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck where he'll be performing Franz Lehár's "Die Lustige Witwe."

We also received a reader submission about Stephen Hegedus, who is new to this site. They saw him perform in Handel's Messiah with the Seattle Symphony on Friday night, a performance that he will reprise on Sunday night. The Seattle Times wrote of his performance, "The bass-baritone soloist, Stephen Hegedus, sang with commanding lyricism." On December 21 and 22, Hegedus will perform the Messiah with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Both performances are sold out.

A graduate of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, Stephen Hegedus’s  appearances in the 2010-2011 season included the title role of Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Hamilton), Albert in Massenet’s Werther (Opéra de Montréal) Zuniga in Carmen (Brott Festival) and the Marquis inLa Traviata (Vancouver Opera). On the concert stage he performed Handel’s Messiah with the Victoria Symphony and the Grand Philharmonic Choir, Bach’s Magnificat with the Orchestre Métropolitain du grand Montréal and Howard Blake’s The Bear with the Toronto Symphony.

Stephen Hegedus

 

He has performed with Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile, Pacific Opera Victoria, Les Violons du Roy, San Antonio Symphony, Houston Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, the André-Turp Musical Society The Aldeburgh Connection, the Lamèque International Baroque Festival, La Sinfonia de Lanaudière, the Aldeburgh Festival and the International Bach Festival in Toronto.  

In April 2009, he made his Carnegie Hall debut singing Bach’s Mass in B-minor with the Oratorio Society of New York and returned in 2010 singing Handel’s Messiah. Recently Stephen appeared as a finalist at Placido Domingo’s Operalia, The World Opera Competition, and was awarded 2nd Prize at the 32nd annual Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Solo Competition hosted by the Oratorio Society of New York. Other awards include The Janet Stubbs Fellowship and The William and Phyllis Waters Graduating Award, both from the University of Toronto. He is a grant holder of the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation for Young Canadian Opera Singers and of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Stephen Hegedus as Figaro

Stephen holds a Master’s of Music in Opera from the University of Toronto and has pursued further studies at the Banff Centre, the Britten-Pears Programme (Aldeburgh, England), The Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (Montreal), The International Vocal Arts Institute (Tel Aviv) and the Centre for Opera in Sulmona, Italy. Upcoming engagements include appearances with the Seattle Symphony, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Victoria Symphony and Pacific Opera Victoria.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

ORDER TODAY AND HELP OUT YOUNG ARTISTS

There are only two weeks left to order your 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. All proceeds will go to benefit the Portland Opera Studio and the Seagle Music Colony, two of the best young artist training programs in America. You can help out dozens of young artists by purchasing your calendar today. Click HERE and have your calendar before the new year. 

Announcing our Second Beneficiary for our 2012 Barihunks Charity Calendar: Seagle Music Colony

Seagle Barihunks: Christopher Temporelli, Seth Mease Carico and Wes Mason.

 

We’re pleased to announce our second recipient of a donation from the 2012 Barihunks calendar, the Seagle Music Colony at Schroon Lake in beautiful upstate New York. There are many reasons to support this great training program, but the fact that it was founded in 1915 by baritone Oscar Seagle, an early 20^th century singer, certainly helped us in our decision. It’s also run by Darren Woods, who runs one of the best opera festivals in the world, the Ft. Worth Opera Festival. If your summer festival schedule includes Ravinia, Tanglewood and/or Spoleto and you haven’t checked out Ft. Worth, then you haven’t experienced the best of American opera.

A number of barihunks have trained at Seagle, including Ned Hanlon, John Cabrali,  Joe Hagar, Anthony Reed, Nicholas Wardcan and FOUR of our calendar models, Wes Mason, Seth Carico, Christopher Temporelli and Dan Kempson.  Since it’s founding in 1915, numerous singers have gone on to have amazing careers in opera and on Broadway. Their mission statement is “To identify, train and develop gifted singers and to present quality opera and musical theatre performances to the public.” They’ve obviously been successful, as Seagle alumni have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera and, of course, the Ft. Worth Opera.

Oscar Seagle made several concert tours in the United States and Europe, and recorded albums for Columbia, including the popular World War I hit "Dear Old Pal of Mine." He served from 1903-1914 as teaching associate in Europe with his teacher, the great Polish tenor Jean de Reszke. De Reszke was a star of the Metropolitan Opera as well as Queen Victoria's favorite singer.

Darren Woods has served as General Director at the Seagle Music Colony since 1996. In 2000, it was named "Best Summer Vocal Training Program in the United States" by Classical Singer Magazine. Seagle receives over 500 applicants each year and it has expanded from two productions and eight performances per summer to six full productions and over thirty-five performances. Our favorite young director, John de los Santos (whose video you can see at the right) is also a regular at Seagle. 

We’re delighted to have them join the Portland Opera studio as one of our beneficiaries this year. We encourage you to purchase a calendar and help support his amazing organization. If you’re feeling extra generous this holiday season, please visit them online to make a donation HERE or mail a check to Seagle Music Colony, 999 Charley Hill Road, PO Box 366 – Schroon Lake, NY 12870.

Randal Turner (top), Seagle participant Dan Kempson (bottom left) & David Adam Moore (bottom right)

  BUY YOUR 2012 BARIHUNKS CHARITY CALENDAR TODAY BY CLICKING HERE!

Announcing our First Beneficiary for our Barihunks Charity Calendar: The Portland Opera Studio

Portland Opera homepage

We’re pleased to announce that the Portland Opera Studio is our first recipient of a donation from our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. We’ll announce the second recipient later this week. The final donation will depend on how many calendars we sell, which you can purchase HERE.

When we looked at the requests that we received, we were most moved by the requests from some of the smaller artist training programs. They work on shoestring budgets and still manage to develop some of the best young artists around today. Often they have to work more on commitment than cash, yet still deliver great results. The Portland Opera Studio has helped develop four singers who have appeared on this site: Jonathan Lasch, Jonathan Kimple, Jose Rubio and Nicholas Nelson. Portland Studio Artists also participated in a vocal masterclass with Daniel Mobbs, who performed the role of Figaro in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” with the Portland Opera in November.

Portland Opera Studio participant Nicholas Nelson

Graduates of the Studio Artist program have performed worldwide, including roles with the New York City Opera and with young artist programs at Houston Grand Opera and Glimmerglass Opera. Nicholas Nelson will be appearing as the Commissioner in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" opening on February 3rd and a number of small roles in Philip Glass' "Galileo Galilei" opening on March 30th.

In 2005, the Portland Opera established the Portland Opera Studio program, designed to train the next generation of opera singers by providing a "bridge" from the conservatory world to the professional stage.

Selected at auditions around the country, young singers fresh from some of the nation's finest vocal conservatories and music academies join the company for a rigorous nine-month training program during which they are featured in their own production. Their training also includes voice, language and movement lessons and supporting roles in Company mainstage productions. Studio Artists also give an intimate recital of Art Song at the Portland Art Museum, exploring the close relationship between composer, singer and accompianist.

Jose Rubio, Jonathan Kimple & Jonathan Lasch

The Studio Artists yearly production has become a highly-anticipated event in Portland, delighting audiences with rarely heard works and beautiful young voices. Previous productions include Britten's The Rape of Lucretia (2005), Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses (2006), Britten's Albert Herring (2008), Cavalli's La Calisto (2009), Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti and Monteverdi's Il Ballo delle ingrate and Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (2010) and a Ravel double-bill of L'heure Espagnole and L'enfant et les Sortilèges (2011).

No matter where you live, we encourage you to buy a calendar to support this program, as you are likely to encounter one of their graduates at an opera house near you soon. You can also give an additional holiday donation directly to the Portland Opera Studio by contacting Hannah Gildea their Individual Giving Manager, at (503) 417-0601 or email her at hgildea@portlandopera.org.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Click HERE to buy your calendar.

Duncan Rock Debuts as Giovanni; Shirtless in Heggie Piece

Duncan Rock in Jake Heggie's “For a Look or a Touch”

Barihunk Duncan Rock had a busy couple of days in November. On November 18th, he was asked to step in at the last minute in the Welsh National Opera's production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni." The next night he opened at the King's Head Theatre in London in the critical role of Manfred in Jake Heggie's “For a Look or a Touch.”

Heggie's powerful chamber opera is the tale of two gay lovers, both prisoners in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. The text is based on the journal of the late Manfred Lewin, interviews with his lover Gad Beck and other survivors who were featured in the film "Paragraph 175." Heggie has created a mesmerizing and haunting depiction of the loss and persecution of the gay victims of the Holocaust. We were fortunate enough to get these amazing pictures of Duncan Rock as Manfred. 


We've featured this before, but it's worth sharing again. Here is the amazingly talented Morgan Smith singing "Golden Years" from "For a Look or a Touch":

Time is running out to purchase our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. Please help us support young artists by purchasing your calendar today. Click HERE to order you copy and enjoy the world's hottest and most talented singers all year long.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Andrew Garland, Alex Esposito & Ryan Kuster Updates; Schrott Out in Dresden

Ryan Kuster (L), Andrew Garland (C) and Alex Esposito

Today is a miscellaneous Friday for us, which we're going to use to update you on four of our favorite barihunks. They also happen to be three of the most talented singers to be making their mark in the opera world today.

Our favorite redhead, Andrew Garland, recently finished recording "American Portraits" for GPR records, which is due out in 2012. He can next be heard in Handel's "Messiah" with the Boston Baroque on December 9 and 10.  Here he is singing "A Reverie" from the song cycle 'Battle Pieces' by Paul Phillips, which is based on poems by Herman Melville. The world premiere was on October 16, 2011 with the Pioneer Valley Symphony in Greenfield, Massachusetts.



We have deservedly dubbed Alex Esposito the greatest Leporello in the world today and it continues to be a major role on his schedule. His work as a Mozart specialist in general has been recognized by the most prestigious opera companies in the world, who keep engaging him for the master's leading roles. He's keeping a busy schedule singing his signature role as Don Giovanni's sidekick with a recent run at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin and now taking it to the Vienna Staatsoper, which opens on December 11. He then switches Mozart roles, singing Papageno at La Scala in February and Guglielmo in Toulouse in May 2012. For a change of pace, here he is singing the aria "Accusata di furto" from  Gioachino Rossini's "La gazza ladra," which is best known for its overture. The performance is from a gala at the Deutsche Oper Berlinon November 5, 2011.



Fans of Ryan Kuster in San Francisco were treated to this amazing singer at the San Francisco Opera's "The Future is Now: Adler Fellows Gala Concert." The first-year Adler Fellow continues to generate a genuine buzz among opera cognoscenti and he didn't disappoint last night with a rousing and vocally eloquent performance of "Aprite un po' quegli' occhi" from Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro." He was then given the unenviable task of singing opposite Leah Crocetto, who many believe will be the next reigning Verdi soprano. The duo sang "Il padre tuo...Tu piniscimi" and literally brought down the house.

And speaking of duos...

If you think the Germans are upset at having to carry the load of the European debt crisis, you should have seen the reaction when the Semperoper Dresden announced that Anna Netrebko and barihunk hubby Erwin Schrott would not be performing in two New Year's Eve Concerts. Opera's most famoust couple were replaced by sopranos Angela Denoke and Ana Maria Labin.  The two concerts were sold out, but the ticket office is being besieged with refund requests. The change was made with little fanfare, as Netrebko and Schrott's names mysteriously disappeared from the website overnight.

We're going to announce our first two recipients for a charitable donation from our our 2012 Barihunks calendar in the next few days. We appreciate everyone's enthusiastic support for the calendar, but encourage those who haven't purchased one to do so now, so we can support additional programs. Also, it's not to late to write us at Barihunks@gmail.com and tell us why your young artist program is deserving of a donation from the calendar.

Boston Early Music Festival Serves Up Tall Order of Barihunks

Barihunks Michael Kelly & Douglas Williams (L); Douglas Williams behind tenor Aaron Sheehan (R) - 
photos by Kathy Wittman

If you like your barihunks like your redwood trees, which is tall and awe-inspiring, then head to the Boston Early Music Festival. The group is performing Charpentier's glorious Orphée with three statuesque barihunks, Michael Kelly at 6'2", Douglas Williams at 6'4" and Olivier Laquerre at 6'7". [By the way, we featured two post on who might be the world's tallest barihunk, which you can read HERE and HERE].

The opera tells the famous story of Orphée who decends into the underworld to rescue his beloved Euridice using his musical charms. La Couronne de Fleurs, based on a text by Molière, depicts a musical contest in tribute to Louis XIV as shepherds vie for a crown of flowers from the goddess Flora for the most beautiful and eloquent aria.  

There will be two performances of the opera at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall in Boston on Saturday evening, November 26th and Sunday afternoon, November 27th. The Boston Early Music Festival not only features singers who are easy on the eyes, but they produce some of the most wonderful baroque opera to listen to in the world. You can click HERE to watch one of our favorite singers, Jesse Blumberg, perform Polifierno in Agostino Steffani’s opera, Niobe, Regina di Tebe.



Douglas Williams is also part of our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. He's our July feature of "All-American Boys" along with Jonathan Boehr and Christopher Temporelli. You won't want to miss it! Shopping season is officially kicking off tomorrow so order your calendar today by clicking HERE. Please remember that all proceeds are going to benefit young artist programs.

Michael Kelly was supposed to be part of the calendar, but a reprinting error inadvertently left him out. We promise to feature plenty of this gifted young singer in 2012!. You can watch Kelly's recital from the Trinity Wall Street Church, which we featured earlier this year, by clicking HERE.

If you know of a barihunk singing in Handel's Messiah this year, please email us the information at Barihunks@gmail.com.

Dan Kempson/Zach Altman wedding; Randal Turner benefit for Chinese Orphans; Barihunk MeetUp in NY - All featured in calendar

We have a lot of wonderful news involving five of the singers featured in our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. As the holidays approach, make sure to buy your copy now. All proceeds are going to benefit young artist programs. We're still taking submissions from young artist programs who would like to be considered for a donation. Email us a brief description of why you should be the beneficiary.

Barihunk Grooms: Zachary Altman (L) & Dan Kempson (R)

Two of our favorite young artists have announced that they're getting married on Saturday, November 26th. Zachary Altman and Dan Kempson have consistently been two of the most popular barihunks on our site. Altman's shirtless pictures often appear in our "10 most visited" posts along with those of more internationally-established stars. Not to be outdone, Kempson created a sensation with his pictures from Philip Glass' "Hydrogen Jukebox" at the Ft. Worth Opera. His performance also drew raves from the critics. By the way, today is Altman's birthday and he's our special shirtless feature in the sidebar.

The two singers are featured together in our 2012 Barihunks calendar with another singing couple, Jonathan Beyer and Brandon Cedel. Barihunks would like to wish Zach and Dan all the best on their wedding day.

Randal Turner: buff and benevolent

We are total suckers for singers who give back to the community, which is why we have a special place in our hearts for singers like Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Christopher Herbert and Erwin Schrott. The three singers are constantly performing benefits and giving back to their communities in various ways. We can't think of a better way to "lend ones voice" to a cause than with beautiful singing.

You can help this Chinese orphan

We were thrilled to learn that another one of our favorite singers and calendar models was involved in a great cause on the other side of the globe. Randal Turner is currently in China performing the Barber of Seville under the baton of the great Lorin Maazel, which you can read about HERE. He's taking time out of his schedule to perform a benefit concert for the Tianjin International Committee for Chinese Orphans (ICCO) on Tuesday, November 29th. Turner will be joined by soprano Georgina Chakos and accompanist Steve Griffiths.

The ICCO is a volunteer organization that cares for houses Chinese orphans with disabilities. The ICCO has a U.S. site for donations and is a 501(c)(3). You can click HERE to make a much-needed donation during this holiday season. If you make a donation, please email Neil Charpentier at NeilMary@juno.com and let him know that you read about it here.

David Adam Moore & Justin Hopkins recording "The Golden Gate"

Lastly, two more of our calendar models, David Adam Moore and Justin Hopkins, unexpectedly ran into each other at a recording session for Conrad Cummings' opera "The Golden Gate." We were lucky enough to get a picture.

The opera is in two acts with a libretto from the novel-in-verse by Vikram Seth, adapted by the composer. It was originally part of the American Opera Projects and received a staged workshop production at the Rose Studio at Lincoln Center in New York City in January 2010. The performance featured David Adam Moore and was covered on this site, as well as reviewed in the New York Times. By the way, Hopkins also was a huge success in the aforementioned "Hydrogen Jukebox" performance in Ft. Worth with Dan Kempson. 

You won't want to miss the pictures of any of the above singers in our calendar. They are HOT and we've been receiving amazing feedback about all of them. Most importantly, we want to thank our readers who have bought calendars for giving the gift of music through your purchase. Any money that we make on this site goes directly towards music education for young singers, whether its from our calendar, tee shirts or other apparel. If you don't purchase a calendar, we'd like to encourage you to send a check to your favorite young artist program this holiday season. If you have a website ( or know someone who does) or if you have a Facebook or Twitter account, please help us spread the word about this project by sharing this link: http://my.qoop.com/store/Barihunks-Store-6685588246852296.

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Zachary Gordin: Sexiest Silvio; Check out the Barihunks on-the-air

Zachary Gordin showing off his guns in a Barihunk tee

Zachary Gordin, who is featured in our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar, is taking on Silvio in "Pagliacci" with the revived Sacramento Opera. We've seen a lot of Silvio's in our day, including old historical footage and we've never seen a Silvio this buff before. We can certainly understand why Nedda would want to wrap those big arms around herself. Maybe in this production, conducted by the amazing Michael Morgan, Canio dies from a choke hold by Silvio. Then again, maybe not, this is Sacramento, not Germany.

Performances are this Saturday and Sunday. Visit the Sacramento Opera website for additional performance information or to purchase tickets.

Here is another one of our calendar models, Michael Mayes, singing the duet between Nedda and Silvio. This was recorded last year at the Kentucky Opera. Mayes went out of his way to create a very special photo for the Barihunks calendar, which you won't want to miss. He's our February feature along with fellow singers with web shows, Michael Rice of OperaNow! (who appears in shorts floating in a pool) and Jonathan Estabrooks of the YouTube feature "A Singer's Life" (who shows a little extra skin than one usually sees from a Canadian). Don't forget to subscribe to Mayes' entertaining show, the Texapolitan Opera Roadshow. His guest this week is Maestro Jerome Shannon. If you tune in to the OperaNow! podcast this week, you can double your barihunk fun, as Michael Rice's guest star is Michael Mayes. We guarantee you that there are few things in opera more entertaining than the "Two Michaels."



Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Giovanni Jones: Barihunk Calendar Model?

Giovanni Jones signs for an admiring young opera lover.
Image from Long-Haired Hare © 1948 Warner Brothers

We had a nice chuckle when we saw the following posted by "Superconductor" on the web. We can't believe that we left Warner Brothers' leading barihunk out of our calendar. There's always next year.

The concert debut of acclaimed baritone Giovanni Jones ended in surprising fashion when the ceiling of the arena collapsed. No one was injured, and Mr. Jones emerged from the rubble to take a bow.

Mr. Jones had become a fixture on the Los Angeles opera scene since singing the role of Ambrogio in a small San Pedro production of Rossini's L'inutile precauzione, with tenor Michele Maltese and bass Carlo Jonzio.

A powerful baritone singer with a half-octave range, Giovanni Jones drew acclaim for his performance as Gunther in the Christoph von Dohnanyi recording of Wagner's Götterdämmerung. The singer is also a leading candidate for inclusion in the forthcoming BariHunks 2012 calendar.

The singer was offering a recital focusing on the repertory of Rossini, including the aria "Largo al factotum." But his attempt to hit the high note at the end of the aria caused the concrete ceiling overhead to crack and shatter.

Conductor Leopold Lapin, who stepped in at the last minute for Hans Haasenpfeffer, could not be reached for comment. The maestro was on his way to an appearance at the carrot festival in Pismo Beach, but had taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

 Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

You can buy the actual Barihunks charity calendar by clicking HERE.

Lawrence Tibbett's Birthday Suit

Dear Rogue: A Biography of the American Baritone Lawrence Tibbett

Today is the birthday of the legendary Lawrence Tibbett who was born on this day in 1896. He may not be the quintessential barihunk (like our birthday boy Paul La Rosa), but he was a huge star in movies, on the radio, in musical theater and on the operatic stage. He sang over 600 performances at the Metropolitan Opera from 1923-1950 where he was a fan favorite and to this day is considered one of the greatest Verdi baritones to grace that stage.

It's about the singing

A lot of people visit this site to see some skin, although we maintain it's about the singing. There is a famous clip of Lawrence Tibbett from his final movie "Under Your Spell" from 1936 where he appears in his birthday suit singing with the birds, frogs, an airplane and a female visitor. We thought it was appropriate to show the clip on his birthday, which you can see HERE. Before you send us an email, keep in mind that this a 1930s version of male nudity in a movie.

Tibbett sang a variety of roles including Silvio, Falstaff, Valentin, Tonio, the King's Herald in Lohengrin, Scarpia, Simon Boccanegra and the world premiere of The Emperor Jones. He was an equally big star off the operatic stage and was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in The Rogue Song. Here he is singing "Wanting You" with Grace Moore, who also crossed over between opera and movies.

 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

You can help create the next generation of Lawrence Tibbett's by purchasing your 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. All proceeds go to benefit young artists programs. The calendar features 33 of the hottest singers from six countries. Click HERE to purchase your own calendar or make it the perfect holiday gift. 

Opera's #1 site: Parterre Box

If you haven't visited La Cieca's "Parterre Box" website, then you haven't experienced the online world of opera in all its glory. La Cieca's site was the first successful non-company website to focus on opera and it's insider news, gossip, titillating photos and campiness has made it the most successful site of its kind in the world. Barihunks was inspired by Parterre in many ways and everyone involved with our site first read about the barihunks phenomenon on Parterre, so we owe her a great deal of gratitude.

We'd also like to thank her for the nice plug of our Barihunks charity calendar with the seductive photo of Randal Turner, which is included in the calendar. If you haven't bookmarked Parterre yet, click HERE and do it now.

If you want to buy the calendar, you can click on the link to the right. 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Reader Submission: Aussie Morgan Pearse

Morgan Pearse

We're still not over the loss of Aussie Sam Roberts-Smith, who crossed over into the realm of the tenor repertory. So we were thrilled when a reader brought another Aussie barihunk to our attention, Morgan Pearse. Our reader heard him perform in the Australia Singing Competition, which is sponsored by the International Foundation for Arts and Culture.

Pearse sang a rousing rendition of Leporello's "Madamina, il catalogo è questo" from Mozart's "Don Giovanni," which seemed to be an audience favorite. There is already chatter Down Under that he is the heir apparent to New Zealander Teddy Tahu Rhodes, with whom he shares movie star looks, golden locks and unlimited charisma.

Pearse is finishing his Masters at the Royal College of Music, where he is studying on a Joan Sutherland scholarship. After the Australia Singing Competition, Pearse headed back to London where he is covering the role of Splendiano in the Royal College of Music's production of Bizet’s Djamileh and participating in a master class with baritone Gerald Finley.



Pearse will be singing Handel's "Messiah" on December 13 and 18 at the Sydney Town Hall. You can click HERE for tickets and additional information. 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Don't forget that you can support young artists like Morgan Pearse by purchasing our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar. All proceeds go to benefit young artists. The calendar features the hottest singers from six countries. Click HERE to purchase your own calendar or make it the perfect holiday gift. 

Kwiecien & Pisaroni in rehearsal and on Met Feature; Teddy Tahu Rhodes on Barihunks

Mariusz Kwiecien backstage at the Met

Mariusz Kwiecien, Luca Pisaroni and Barbara Frittoli were featured on the Metropolitan Opera's recent HD broadcast of Don Giovanni in movie theaters across the globe. Here is the intermission feature with Renee Fleming talking to the singers. The video includes some great video from the final dress rehearsal.



Teddy Tahu Rhodes is on a concert tour of Australia with tenor David Hobson, which we've covered in a previous post. The Gay News Network recently caught up with the singer and asked him about Barihunks. Here's what he had to say.

Whereas Hobson has a more wholesome public image, Rhodes is often painted in the media as the bona fide rock star of the opera. He’s never been afraid of whipping his shirt off at a moment’s notice, which has earned him a certain kind of internet idolatry as well coverage in sundry dubious blogs like ‘Barihunks’, dedicated to the noble pursuit of documenting ‘the sexiest baritone hunks for opera’.


“I know! People bring it up all the time!” Rhodes sighs. “I swear I have never looked at it, but believe me, I know about that site. [Editor comment: Gotta love the Gay News Network calling us a "dubious blog"]

We're not sure we believe that Rhodes has never seen the site. We saw another interview with a singer from Down Under who was featured on the site who also said that he'd never looked at Barihunks. That, of course, begged the question of who was sending us all those emails with his name and photos attached.

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