Pape to sing for Pope

We had to run this item just for the headline and the fact that we can't think of any other reason to post Pope Benedict XVI.  It's also probably the only time that a Pope will be featured in two consecutive posts, as our last post about Attila featured Sam Ramey playing Pope Leo I. 

Pape will sing in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under Daniel Barenboim at Milan’s La Scala, in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI on June 1st. The Pope's visit is part of the World Encounter of Families, which deals with issues relating to the family. The first Pope to attend a performance at La Scala was was Pope John Paul II, who enjoyed selections from Verdi operas in 1983 under Riccardo Muti.

Pope Leo I

After entertaining the Pope, Pape will don a crown and perhaps borrow the papal scepter to play King Philip II in in Verdi’s Don Carlos under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst at the Vienna State Opera. Performances run from June 16-29 and the cast also includes fellow barihunk Simon Keenlyside as Rodrigo. Visit the Vienna State Opera website for additional details. 

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Highlights from Thomas Hampson/Luca Pisaroni Concert

Luca Pisaroni (L) & Thomas Hampson (R)

We recently posted about the much anticipated concert in Heidelberg, Germany featuring Luca Pisaroni and Thomas Hampson. As regular readers will know, not only are these two men some of the most popular barihunks in the world, but they are a father-in-law/son-in-law tandem. They also happen to be two of the greatest singers in the world today.

Luca Pisaroni (L) & Thomas Hampson (R)

For those of you who missed the broadcast, here are the duets from the concerts. We've also added Luca Pisaroni singing "Sorgete... Duce di tanti eroi"  from Rossini's Mamoetto II, which he will be singing at the Santa Fe Opera this summer. A performance that is not to be missed.  You can watch the entire concert at teresa59's YouTube site.

Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni - Il rival salvar... Suoni la tromba (I puritani)

Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni - Restate (Don Carlo)

Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni - Cheti, cheti immantinente (Don Pasquale)

Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni - Uldino...Tardo per gl'anni (Attila)

Luca Pisaroni - Sorgete... Duce di tanti eroi (Mamoetto II)

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Celebrating Lithuanian Statehood Day

Vytautas Juozapaitis & Kostas Smoriginas

We have celebrated national holidays for both Canada and the United States on this site. After all, the two countries have provided us with an endless stream of talented and sexy barihunks. One of our readers asked why we don't celebrate Lithuanian Statehood Day. Frankly, we didn't know about it, but we're happy to remind readers about the two Lithuanian singers who have appeared on this site, Kostas Smoriginas and Vytautas Juozapaitis.

For others who are unfamiliar with the holiday, Statehood Day is an annual public holiday in Lithuania celebrated on July 6th to commemorate the coronation of Mindaugas as the first and only King of Lithuania in 1253. The exact day of this event is disputable and was chosen according to the hypothesis of Edvardas Gudavičius, formulated in 1989. The day has officially been celebrated since 1991.

Vytautas Juozapaitis is popular on both television and the opera house in Lithuania. He is a former winner of the Lithuanian National Prize and performs regularly at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and Kaunas State Musical Theatre. He is also a professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Here is Vytautas Juozapaitis singing Rodrigo's death scene "Son Io, mio Carlo...Io morro, ma lieto in core" from Giuseppe Verdi's "Don Carlo.":



Kostas Smoriginas studied at the Lithuanian Music and Theater Academy from an early age. After moving to London in 2005 and representing his country in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, he spent two years at the Royal College of Music before joining the Jette Parker young artist programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, at the beginning of the 2007/08 Season. He is currently appearing in La Traviata at Aix-en-Provence. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information.

Here is Kostas Smoriginas singing "Denn Wir Haben Hie Keine Bleibende Statt" from Brahms' "Ein Deutsches Requiem":



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The Don Carlo(s) Duet

Jorma Hynninen

We're in a Verdi mode this week and in our weekly poll Rodrigo in Don Carlo jumped out to an early lead as your favorite baritone role. We decided we'd start the week with the famous duet "Dio che nell'alma infondere" where Don Carlo and Rodrigo pledge themselves to the cause of liberty and an eternal friendship.

Jonas Kaufmann & Dmitri Hvorostovsky:



Francisco Araiza & Thomas Hampson:



Jonas Kaufmann & Simon Keenlyside



Franco Corelli & Robert Merrill:



Stuart Neill & Dalibor Jenis



Neil Rosenshein & Jorma Hynninen



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