John Relyea in COC's Tales of Hoffmann

John Relyea

We somehow forgot to mention that the great John Relyea opened on Tuesday night in "The Tales of Hoffmann" at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. We've seen video of the rehearsals and the production and singing are magical. See for yourself in the trailer below. Relyea plays all four villains in the opera, in a cast that also features fellow barihunks Philippe Sly and Gregory Dahl.

Performances will run through May 14 and additional information can be found on the Canadian Opera Company's website.

John Relyea in The Tales of Hoffmann in Munich:

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Another Barihunk-laden Season at Minnesota Opera

Tenor James Valenti: Minnesota Opera, marketing hot men and not just barihunks

We love the Minnesota Opera for numerous reasons, including their commitment to new works, their innovative programming, their dedication to young artists, their high quality of artistry, their great marketing campaigns (that often feature sexy baritones AND tenors) and, of course, their constant stream of barihunks on their roster.  

Next season will mark the 50th anniversary of the Minnesota Opera and the 2012-13 season is once again packed with barihunks. The company will present four operas that are new to their repertory, including the world premiere of the operatic version of "Doubt."

John Relyea (L) & Jason Howard (R)

Opening the season from September 22-30 will be one of Verdi's most underrated works, the biblical epic "Nabucco."   The story of oppressed and exiled Jews and the king responsible for most of their troubles will feature Jason Howard in the title role and John Relyea as Zaccharia. We recently featured Relyea in another great early Verdi opera, Attila.

Kyle Ketelsen returns, but without the horns

Donizetti's "Anna Bolena" runs from November 10-18 with Minnesota Opera favorite Kyle Ketelsen as Enrico.  Regular readers will recall that Kyle Ketelson stole the show in their 2009 production as a devilishly sexy Mephistopheles in "Faust."

No "Doubt" that Matt Worth is hot

On January 26, 2013, the Minnesota Opera will continue its dedication to new operas by presenting an operatic version of "Doubt" by composer Douglas J. Cuomo. The story, which has been seen on Broadway and made into a movie with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, revolves around scandalous allegations and tensions at a Catholic elementary school.

Matthew Worth was recently featured on this site for his current run in Philip Glass' Orphée at Virginia Opera. He recently sang a successful run as Guglielmo in Mozart's "Così fan tutte" with Minnesota Opera. He'll be making his Fort Worth Opera debut this summer as Charlie in Jake Heggie's "Three Decembers." Performances run from May 13-June 2 and tickets and additional information can be found on the Ft. Worth Opera website.

Other operas next season include Ambroise Thomas' "Hamlet" and Puccini's "Turandot." You can call 612-333-6669 or visit their website for tickets and additional cast information.  Tickets go on sale on July 23.

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Emerging barihunk Xavier Edgardo; NPR examines the baritone voice; Verdi's Attila in Seattle

Puerto Rican barihunk Xavier Edgardo

We just had to share emerging barihunk Xavier Edgardo, who is simply adorable. The 22-year-old singer has been studying at the University of Puerto Rico, where he also sang in the choir. He honed his solo skills for two seasons at the International Vocal Arts Institute run by the esteemed Joan Dorneman, assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera.

Edgardo has participated in and won a number of vocal competitions, include many in Europe. In 2009, he was asked to participate in the prestigious Pablo Casals Festival. He has participated in masterclasses with a number of great singers, including fellow Puerto Rican Justino Diaz, Denis Sedov, Sherril Milnes, Mignon Dunn and Elaine Ortiz Arandes. He is currently a member of the Opera of Puerto Rico chorus. We plan of following the solo career of this young talent in future seasons.

Gerard Souzay: A Barihunks favorite

If you haven't heard Tom Huizenga's analysis and breakdown of the baritone voice, we recommend that you click HERE and listen to it. The article includes sound clips, including one of Gerard Souzay's beautiful rendition of Faure's "Clair de lune."

John Relyea reprising Attila in Seattle

We want to remind readers that Canadian barihunk John Relyea is returning to the Seattle Opera in the role of Attila on January 14th. This should be a huge hit and is a "must see" opera for any Verdi fan. Visit the Seattle Opera website for additional cast information and performance dates. Attila also contains two great baritone parts, including a baritone duet! We covered Relyea when he recently sang the role in a concert format this fall in Washington, D.C. Click HERE to see our previous post.

John Relyea sings Publio's "Tardi S'Avvede" from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito:



Relyea’s previous Seattle Opera credits include the title roles in Don Quichotte and Bluebeard’s Castle, and Giorgio in I puritani. He won the 2005 Seattle Opera Artist of the Year award for his Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann.

You can watch Attila in its entirety on YouTube by clicking HERE. The cast includes barihunk Samuel Ramey, Giorgio Zancanaro and soprano Cheryl Studer.

DON'T BE A SCROOGE. BUY YOUR 2012 BARIHUNKS CHARITY CALENDAR TODAY. ALL PROCEEDS GO TO BENEFIT THE PORTLAND OPERA STUDIO AND THE SEAGLE MUSIC COLONY. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOU CALENDAR TODAY.

John Relyea: Attila the BariHUN

Two Great Attilas, Sam Ramey from opera (L) and Gerard Butler (R) from film. John Relyea (C)

We have a lot of favorite operas that aren't in the standard repertory and Verdi's "Attila" is at the top of the list. As our poll to the right shows, Verdi wrote the best music for bass and there aren't many juicier roles than Attila. Not only that, but the opera has another great baritone role, Ezio, which includes a duet with Attila. If you like crazy sopranos, few can match the crazed Odabella, who makes Lucia di Lammermoor and Ophelia look downright stable.

If you're in the Washington D.C. area tonight you might want to head over to the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University for John Relyea's debut in the title role. You can click HERE for tickets. If you're on the West Coast, you can catch Relyea's first staged performance of Attila at the Seattle Opera with barihunk Marco Vratogna as Ezio. If you don't know the opera, we recommend that you listen to Seattle Opera general director Speight Jenkins talk about the opera by clicking HERE. Performances will run from January 14-28. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information.

One of the greatest Verdi recordings ever is of tenor Beniamino Gigli, soprano Elisabeth Rethberg and bass Ezio Pinza singing the trio "Te Sol Quest' Anima" from Attila. If you have experienced this, it's a must hear:





 
Later this season, Relyea will portray the Four Villains in Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffman" at both the Bayerische Staatsoper and with the Canadian Opera Company. In the Spring of 2012, he will be at the Met as Leporello in "Don Giovanni" opposite Gerald Finley.

Don't forget to submit your barihunk charity calendar submissions to us at Barihunks@gmail.com. All proceeds will go to benefit young artist programs. We need all submissions by the end of next week.

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