Mariusz Kwiecien as the title character of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”
Photo: Nick Heavican/Metropolitan Opera
On Wednesday night, the Metropolitan Opera launched their latest installment of the Live in HD broadcasts to hundreds of movie theaters across the United States with Donizetti's Anna Bolena.
There are five more broadcasts and two feature barihunk mega-star Mariusz Kwiecien, who will be seen in June 27th performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni and the July 18th performance of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. The Don Giovanni is a barihunk lovers dream cast, as it also includes Luca Pisaroni as Leporello and Aussie Joshua Bloom as Masetto. The Lucia performance will feature Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala as the ill-fated lovers.
Mariusz Kwiecien and Luca Pisaroni (Leporello) in the Met's Mozart's "Don Giovanni"
Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera
Additional broadcasts include Anna Netrebko in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann on July 11th, hunkentenor Juan Diego Flórez in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory on June 20th and Renée Fleming in Der Rosenkavalier on July 25th.
All screenings will begin at 6:30 p.m. local time. You can click HERE to find the theater closest to you.
Fans of Kwiecien should be reminded that he'll be in Santa Fe performing Karol Szymanowski King Roger from July 21 through August 14th. Check out the Santa Fe Opera website to watch Kwiecien discuss the opera or to purchase tickets.
Three of the most beautiful performers in opera have teamed up for "3 Superstars in Berlin," an evening of music from opera and musicals. Barihunk Erwin Schrott is joining forces with his wife Anna Netrebko and hunkentenor Jonas Kaufman for a concert that will be shown in movie theaters worldwide on January 26 and February 3. The performance is being taped at the Berlin Waldbuhne, the city's gorgeous 23,000 seat outdoor theater set in the heart of a forest.
The trio will be peforming selections from Bernstein's "West Side Story," Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," Puccini's "Manon Lescaut," Gounod's "Faust," Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and tangos. You can click HERE for tickets and showtimes.
Erwin Schrott in Don Giovanni
Schrott returns to the opera stage on February 3rd at the Royal Opera House in London as Don Giovanni. His Leporello will be fellow barihunk Alex Esposito. Performances run through February 29th and tickets are available HERE.
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.
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.
We're unabashedly huge fans of Alex Esposito, who has established himself as one of the leading Leporello's of the last generation. He also made a name for himself as Masetto in the DVD from Salzburg opposite the Don Giovanni of Christopher Maltman and the Leporello of Erwin Schrott, which stands as one of the greatest barihunk productions in opera history.
Alex Esposito: The world's reigning Leporello (with Ildebrando d'Arcangelo on left)
Esposito has generally established himself as one of the most sought after Mozart singers in the world, singing in all of Mozart's standard repertory operas. He recently appeared as Papageno at La Scala and Guglielmo in Toulouse and his schedule is filled with Mozart for the next two years. He can be seen in Munich, Valencia, Valencia and London as Leporello; Papageno in Munich, and; Figaro in Venice and Paris.
To view his complete schedule and see more photos visit his website.
Delyan Slavov proved popular with our readers when we recently introduced him to readers, so we thought we'd provide a quick update on his schedule. He is performing as Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni through April 4 at the Burgas Opera House.
Here is a clip from 2007 of him singing Tchaikovsky's "Blagaslavlaiu vas lesa..."
Marinel Cecilia & Randal Turner rehearse(Photo by Marinel Cecilia)
Barihunk Randal Turner, who readers voted as the world's sexiest Don Giovanni, is back as the title character in a production at the Teatro de la Opera in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There will be two performances at the Centro de Bellas Artes on March 24 and 26. Call (787) 763-2234 for tickets.
Randal Turner seduces Maria Leticia Hernandez
Of course, Turner will have some big shoes to fill on the island, as Puerto Rican barihunk Justino Diaz was a famous Don Giovanni (and Leporello) during his successful international career. Apparently, Turner will literally be filling the exact same shoes that Diaz wore when he performed the title role. Here he is singing Leporello's "Catalogue aria":
You can listen to Randal Turner on English radio today from Puerto Rico at 4:30 PM AST discussing the role. Here he is singing "Deh vieni alla finestra":
