Dmitri Hvorostovsky's Upcoming Recitals & HD Broadcast

Dmitri Hvorostovsky in Un Ballo in Maschera

The "Siberian Hunky" Dmitri Hvorostovsky is taking a break from the stage until November while he wraps up his recital tour. He has tour special concerts coming up this month.  On July 8, he'll join the great bass Paata Burchuladze and soprano Tatiana Pavlovskaya for a concert in Abakan, Russia. The program will include operatic fare by Rubenstein and Bizet, including Escamillo's signature aria "Votre toast" from Carmen. As part of his performance in the Khakassian capital, Dmitri will also sing songs by celebrated composer Aleksandra Pakhmutova, including her "Ti Moya Melodiya" and the touching "Kak Molodi Mi Bili."  (Translation of text at end of this post)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Pakhmutova's "Kak molody my byli": 

On July 20th, he'll open the 21st International Český Krumlov Music Festival with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. The concert will take place in the beautiful Brewery Garden of the historic Czech town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hvorostovsky will sing arias from Verdi's Rigoletto and Il Trovatore in addition to Wagner's "Abenstern" from Tannhäuser and Bellini's "Or dove fuggo io mai!" from I Puritani, among others. The gala comes to a close with Neapolitan songs.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Falvo's Neapolitan song "Dicitencello vuie":

If you're like most of us and you won't be in Russia this month, you can catch him on the December 8th Live in HD broadcast of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera from the Metropolitan Oper.

Kak Molodi Mi Bili

Look back,
unfamiliar passerby,
Your glance is incorruptibly familiar.
Maybe that is me, only younger?
We not always remember ourselves.
Nothing on this earth passes without a trace,
And the youth that went away is nevertheless immortal.

How young we were!
How young we were!
How sincerely we loved
How believed we in ourselves!

Others met us back then without laughs (put-downs)
All the flowers on the roads of this earth.
Our friends for their mistakes we forgave
Only changes (cheating) we could not forgive.
The first time we already have won
And only one thing from that we understand.
So others on this earth would not lose you,
Try to not lose yourself!

How young we were!
How young we were!
How sincerely we loved
How believed we in ourselves!

In the heavens, the sky lightings have gone (sunrise and sunset)
And in the heart, the thunder is calming.
To not forget our loved faces
To not forget our native eyes...

Listen to the "Three Barihunks" from Montreal; Barihunks Sly and Brancy take 1st & 3rd

Sidney Outlaw, Philippe Sly and John Brancy

As a follow up to our post on Sunday about the Concours vocal competition in Montreal, we'd like to let readers know that the performances by the three barihunks who advanced to the finals are now available online. In fact, Sidney Outlaw, Philippe Sly and John Brancy perform one after another, providing an amazing opportunity to compare these three amazing artists.

We admit to being biased towards lower voices, but these three men are truly some of the best opera singers emerging on the scene today. The depth of their artistry and the quality of their voices is remarkable, especially considering that the youngest, Phillippe Sly and John Brancy, are just 23!

The winners will be officially revealed on Friday, but we've heard that Sly took away the top prize, shortly after having won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The three top singers will appear in the Winners’ Gala Concert this Friday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Maison symphonique de Montréal. Under the direction of Alain Trudel, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal will accompany the winners. Tickets are available at 514 842-2112. The winners are:

FIRST PRIZE – $30,000

PHILIPPE SLY, BASS-BARITONE, CANADA

Added to the First Prize is the Career development programme, valued at $20,000.

SECOND PRIZE – $15,000

OLGA KINDLER, SOPRANO, SWITZERLAND

THIRD PRIZE – $10,000

JOHN BRANCY, BARITONE, UNITED STATES

For the finals, John Brancy kicked it off with Wagner's "O su mein holder Abendstern" from Tannhäuser,  Tchaikovsky's "Postoite na odno mgnovenye!" from Pique Dame, Mendelssohn's "Es ist genug" from Elijah and Rossini's "Largo al factotum" from the Barber of Seville. Phillipe Sly then follows with Stravinsky's "Come, master" from the Rake's Progress, Handel's "Invida sorte avara" from Ariodante, Mozart's "Hai già vinta la causa!" from Marriage of Figaro and Bach's "Mache dich, mein Herze, rein" fo from the St. Matthew Passion. Sidney Outlaw finishes up this amazing run of baritone music with Mendelssohn's "Draw near ye people....Lord God of Abraham" from Eljah, Handel's "Sibilar gli angui d'Aletto" from Rinaldo, Korngold's Tanzlied from Die tote stadt and Verdi's "Death of Rodrigo" from Don Carlo.  

Click here to listen to the performance. The barihunk run starts at about the 27 minute mark and is worth the listen.

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Happy Birthday, Leonard Warren (April 21, 1911-March 4, 1960)

Today we celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest American baritones ever, Leonard Warren (born Warenoff). The family Americanized the name when his Russian father settled in the United States.

Warren's first job was working in his father's fur business in New York In 1935.  He studied voice with Sidney Dietch and the great Giuseppe De Luca and joined the chorus of Radio City Music Hall. In 1938 he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air and was granted a stipend to study in Italy.

Leonard Warren & Astrid Varnay sing "Favella il Doge" from Simon Boccanegra:

Warren made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in excerpts from Verdi's La Traviata and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in November 1938. His formal operatic debut took place in New York in January 1939, when he sang Paolo in Simon Boccanegra. He quickly became one of the most popular baritones of his time. He also sang in San Francisco, Chicago, Canada, and South America. He appeared at La Scala in Milan in 1953. In 1958, he made a highly successful tour of the Soviet Union. His last complete performance at the Metropolitan Opera was as Simon Boccanegra on March 1, 1960. Three days later he collapsed while singing the aria "Urna fatale dal mio destino;" as Don Carlo during a performance of Verdi's La forza del destino. He had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died backstage.

Leonard Warren  sings "Urna fatale...È salvo, o gioia":

Leonard Warren was particularly acclaimed as one of the foremost interpreters of the great Verdi baritone roles; he also sang the parts of Tonio in Pagliacci, Escamillo in Carmen, and Scarpia in Tosca. He was reputed to be a person of an intractable character, who always tried to impose his will on stage designers, managers, and even conductors, in matters of production, direction, and tempi. He caused pain, a colleague said, but he had a great voice.

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Christopher Job Makes Role Debut as Escamillo

Christopher Job

Somehow Southern California barihunk Christopher Job has fallen off our radar for four years. Since our last post in January 2008, he's performed at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, where he performed in Janacek's From the House of the Dead, Shostakovich's The Nose and The Enchanted Island with fellow barihunk Luca Pisaroni.

He's about to make his role debut at Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen at the Lyric Opera Virginia. The opera opens on May 4th in Newport News and then moves on to Charlottesville, Richmond and Virginia Beach. Visit the Lyric Opera website for additional information.

Last summer, he was seen as Caronte in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo ed Euridice as well as the Poet in Philip Glass' Orphee at Glimmerglass Opera,. This summer he returns to Glimmerglass to sing Capellio in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi.

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Barihunk Paulo Szot Live in Theaters Worldwide Tomorrow

Paulo Szot as Don Giovanni at the Dallas Opera

The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Massenet’s Manon will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the world on Saturday, April 7 as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Barihunk Paulo Szot sings Manon’s cousin Lescaut in the performance.

Anna Netrebko will make her Met role debut as the tragic heroine Manon in the production directed by Laurent Pelly. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will conduct the opera for the first time at the Met, and tenor Piotr Beczala makes his role debut as the ardent Chevalier des Grieux. The Met: Live in HD presentation of Manon will be hosted by soprano Natalie Dessay.

Visit the Met's website for more information on The Met: Live in HD series, now seen in more than 1,700 movie theaters in 54 countries around the world..

Szot starred as Kovalyov in the 2010 Met premiere of Shostakovich’s The Nose and returned last season as a sexy Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen. He won a 2008 Tony Award for his portrayal of Emile de Becque in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.

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Classical Singer Coverboy: Paulo Szot

Paulo Szot

The "Barihunk as Coverboy" trend continues this month, as Paulo Szot is gracing the cover of Classical Singer magazine. Here is the article:

For some singers, the secret to a long and fruitful career is a one-track mind. It’s no surprise that more than a few stars—including Mary Costa and Joan Sutherland—have famously used the metaphor of being a horse with blinders on as a way of describing their forward drive and singular goals.

But the last half century has brought with it a staggering number of changes, particularly in how we receive and consume culture. The idea of being a singer who embraces duality between genres is perhaps not revolutionary—while Sutherland was taking the world by storm as Lucia and Norma, mezzo Risë Stevens was holding court both at the Met and on the Ed Sullivan Show—but the ability to embrace such a dichotomy has become much easier and fluid in the new millennium.

Exhibit A in that equation is baritone Paulo Szot, a singer who had gained momentum in the opera world starting with his professional debut in 1997 as Rossini’s Figaro in his native Brazil. It took a Tony-Award-winning Broadway debut in 2008 as Emile De Becque in South Pacific, however, to catapult Szot into the upper echelon of operatic stars. For Szot, such balance is just part of the game.

Born in São Paulo and raised in Ribeirão Pires, Szot was the son of two musically inclined Polish émigrés who settled in Brazil following World War II—an unlikely combination that the baritone nevertheless describes as “a very interesting mixture with many things in common . . . very interesting between the polonaises and Chopin and then bossa nova and Jobim.” Like his siblings, Szot was quickly indoctrinated into the music world, beginning his studies at age four on the piano, moving on to violin at eight, and never recalling a time in his childhood that wasn’t underscored by an LP or cassette tape of Polish folk music or Tchaikovsky.


[Read the entire article HERE.]

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Naked Barihunk Singing: Seph Stanek

Seph Stenak (seated front) in Naked Boys Singing

(Photograph: David Rosenzweig)

When we recently featured Seph Stanek on the site it created a mini-sensation. It turns out that the TV performer, off-Broadway star and opera singer has quite a posse of fans. One of them informed us that Stanek has joined the cast of the popular show Naked Boys Singing. The show is currently at the Kirk Theater on 42nd Street in New York City.

Seph Stanek in Naked Boys Singing promo photo

The 70-minute show originally opened at the Celebration Theater in Hollywood in 1998. The New York production opened a year later at the Actors Playhouse in the West Village. It closed after a 13-year run, but recently reopened at the current location. As the title states, the show features naked men who sing mostly gay-themed numbers about the male body and the love of the male form. We're not sure if Stanek is the first opera singer to appear in the cast, but we can tell you that the show has featured 71 performers, including two porn stars (Spencer Quest and Dean Markham). It's probably safe to say that's he's the first member of the Metropolitan Opera roster to appear in the show. Stanek made his Met debut in Aida last month.

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Choose Your Weapon: Gunn replaces Spear in Texas

Deborah Voigt (photo NYTimes) and Nathan Gunn as Billy Budd

Barihunk Nathan Gunn will replace one of the great spear carrying Brunnhilde's of all-time, Deborah Voigt, on March 20th in Ft. Worth. Gunn is stepping in for Voigt at the Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall. Voigt withdrew because of illness. The performance also serves as a preview to local audiences, who will see Gunn in the Dallas Opera's production of Dominik Argento's The Aspern Papers  in 2013.

Accompanying Mr. Gunn in performance will be his wife, pianist Julie Gunn.

Single tickets are available from $15-$90, and can be purchased at Cliburn.org or by calling 817.212.4280. Tickets to Deborah Voigt's recital will be honored.

Gunn is currently wrapping up a highly acclaimed performance in Show Boat at Lyric Opera of Chicago. After the Ft. Worth recital, he heads back to the stage in two of his most heralded roles at two of America's greatest opera houses. On May 4th, he portrays the title character in Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd at the Metropolitan Opera. He then heads to the San Francisco Opera on June 13th, where he will portray Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute. The San Francisco Opera summer season also includes John Adams' Nixon in China and Verdi's Attila. 

Nathan Gunn as Papageno in Julie Taymor's famous production:

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Two Barihunks Make Met Role Debuts This Week

Thomas Hampson & Nadja Michael in Chicago's Macbeth

Two barihunks are making their Met role debuts on March 15th. American Thomas Hampson will take on the title role in Verdi's Macbeth and Austrian Günther Groissböck will debut as the vengeful Banquo in the same opera. Also appearing in the revival will be the thrilling soprano Nadja Michael as the bloodthirsty Lady Macbeth.

Günther Groissböck

Macbeth will be Hampson’s fifth Verdi role at the Met, where he has also sung Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, Rodrigo in Don Carlo, the title role in Simon Boccanegra, and Don Carlo in Ernani. Next season, he will make his Met role debut as Iago in Verdi’s Otello.

Thomas Hampson sings Macbeth's "Pieta, Rispetto, Amore" from Zurich:

The March 15th opening performance of Macbeth will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on March 20, 24, and 29. The March 15 performance will also be streamed live on the Met’s website. The March 24 matinee will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. 

Günther Groissböck  sings "In diesen heil'gen Hallen" from Die Zauberflote:

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Dmitri Hvorostovsky Coming to a Theatre Near You

Dmitri Hvorostovsky excels in Ernani

On February 2nd, Dmitri Hvorostovsky made his role debut as Don Carlo in Giuseppe Verdi's "Ernani" at the Metropolitan Opera. You can watch the "Siberian Hunky" baritone’s Ernani performances in a Live in HD cinema broadcast on February 25. There will be encore performances in the U.S. on March 14 and in Canada on March 31. Click here to purchase tickets for the Live in HD broadcast nearest to you.

Also, make sure to read this wonderful article from Opera News, which talks about his increasing focus on Verdi and his approach to his career. 

Trovatore at the Met (© Beth Bergman) & Posa in Don Carlo (© Johan Elbers 2012)

Verdi continues to be the focus of Hvorostovsky, as he heads to Vienna for a run as the title character in Simon Boccanegra from March 5-13. Marina Poplavskaya will perform Amelia and Ferruccio Furlanetto, who is de Silva in Ernani, will star as Fiesco. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased HERE. 

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Luca Pisaroni Gets Ugly at the Met

Luca Pisaroni: From Hot to Not

The Metropolitan Opera is premiering the baroque pastiche "The Enchanted Island" tonight and it will run for a month. The music is taken from a number of 18th century masters, including Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, and others. The original libretto which is drawn from Shakespeare was written by the British writer/director Jeremy Sams. Additional performance information and tickets are available HERE.

As much as we're intrigued by the opera and impressed by the amazing cast that they've assembled led my Joyce di Donato and David Daniels, we were fascinated by the transformation of barihunk Luca Pisaroni into the less-than-attractive character Caliban.

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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.

 

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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. 

NY Times: Anthony Tommsini on Kwiecien's Dramatic Return

  The baritone Mariusz Kwiecien performing in the rakish title role of Mozart's “Don Giovanni,” in a recently mounted production directed by Michael Grandage for the Metropolitan Opera. (Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera)

Read Anthony Tommasini's review in the New York Times of Mariusz Kwiecien's dramatic return to the Met's "Don Giovanni."

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NY Times: Baritone Returns to Fighting Trim for Met ‘Don Giovanni’

  Mariusz Kwiecien and physical therapist Rebecca Blanchard (Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)

Just two weeks after back surgery, Polish barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien, is slated to return to the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Mozart's "Don Giovanni." Read the entire article at the New York Times website.

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New York Observer Profiles Luca Pisaroni; Thoughts on a Kwiecien Replacement

A Leporello who should get the girl: Luca Pisaroni

Zachary Woolfe of the New York Observer has written a wonderful profile of Luca Pisaroni, who is appearing as Leporello opposite Mariusz Kwiecien Peter Mattei in the Met's Don Giovanni. You can read it on the Observer website.

For the legions of fans who were disappointed by Kwiecien's injury and cancellation, Pisaroni is a nice consolation prize as Leporello. Who knows, maybe Leporello will get the girl(s) this time.

Randal Turner: The logical replacement for Kwiecien

By the way, we were hoping that the Met would scoop City Opera and bring in Randal Turner to take over for Kwiecien. He's the only Don who can match Kwiecien's raw sexuality in this role. Turner will be making his New York stage debut in February in Rufus Wainwright's "Prima Donna."

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Mariusz Kwiecien Taken to Hospital for Herniated Disc

Kwiecien as Don Giovanni at Covent Garden

As we did when barihunk Daniel Okulitch was involved in a car accident, we will try to keep readers apprised of developments concerning Mariusz Kwiecien's injury during a rehearsal of Don Giovanni. Here is the latest update from the New York Times.

By DANIEL J. WAKIN, NY Times

Mariusz Kwiecien, the Polish baritone who was cast in the title role of the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of “Don Giovanni,” which opens on Thursday night, underwent surgery for a herniated disk on Tuesday, his manager said. “The doctors feel that Mariusz’s prognosis is excellent,” said the manager, William Guerri, of Columbia Artists Management. But it was unclear when he might return to the stage. “It’s a wait-and-see proposition,” Mr. Guerri said. Mr. Kwiecien felt pain during the opening scene of Monday’s dress rehearsal, the manager said. He was taken by paramedics to a hospital, said the Met spokesman, Peter Clark. The Met tapped Peter Mattei, who was on hand for a production of Rossini’s “Barbiere di Siviglia,” to replace Mr. Kwiecien for the opening of “Don Giovanni.” The opera has 16 more performances into March, although Mr. Kwiecien was scheduled to be in the cast only through Nov. 11.

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Sexy Barihunk Trio in Met's "Don Giovanni"; Don't Miss It!

Mariusz Kwiecien: Met promo photo (L); In Krakow Giovanni (Top); From NY Times society pages (Bottom)

New York opera fans have been consumed with Anna Netrebko's portrayal of Anna Bolena and it has often overshadowed some other good offerings at the Met. Mainly, the barihunk-laden performance of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" that is running through November 11th.

Luca Pisaroni is Leporello & Joshua Bloom is Masetto

Polish barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien, one of the world's greatest and most dramatically interesting Don Giovanni's is leading the cast. If you haven't seen "The Hot Pole" perform this role, then you haven't seen the opera. He brings an intensity and sexual energy to the role that few others have ever mustered. His sidekick is another regular from this site, Italian barihunk Luca Pisaroni. The bumpkin Masetto is performed by Australian barihunk Joshua Bloom, who would make one wonder why Zerlina would even think about being unfaithful. Visit the Metropolitan Opera website for additional dates and performance information.

Here is a Met Opera preview from WQXR's great program Operavore. It starts with Anna Netrebko and includes her singing Anna Bolena's "Mad Scene," but later in the video you'll be treated to Luca Pisaroni singing Leporello's Catalogue Aria [At 43:30 minute mark].



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Instant Sensation: Nico Muhly's "Two Boys"

The world of opera is always looking for the next great piece that will squeeze its way into the standard repertory. The Met premiered John Corigliano's masterpiece twenty years ago and perhaps only a few operas have enjoyed such instant acclaim in the last two decades. Some that come to mind are Henze's "L'Upupa," Brett Dean's "Bliss," Mark Adamo's "Little Women," Birdwhistle's "The Minotaur," Saariaho's "L'amour de Loin," Ricky Ian Gordon's "The Grapes of Wrath," Heggie's "Dead Man Walking" and "Moby Dick," Philip Glass' "Hydrogen Jukebox" and "Appomattox" and John Adam's "Doctor Atomic."

Those have been outnumbered by some memorable flops led by Howard Shore's "The Fly" and Michael Daugherty's "Jackie O." So we were overjoyed with the critical acclaim that has greated American composer Nico Multy's "Two Boys" at the English National Opera. There is nothing that we could possibly add to Norman Lebrecht's spot-on review in The Telegraph, which you can read in its entirety HERE. Lebrecht's article is a "must read" for a number of reasons, including his views about what opera needs to do to succeed and, in particular, appeal to young people.

Jonathan McGovern: Jake in Two Boys

The story of "Two Boys" begins when a teenage boy is stabbed. An older boy is caught on CCTV leaving the scene. An open-and-shut case, it would seem. But, as Detective Inspector Anne Strawson investigates the older boy's story, she uncovers a bizarre nexus of chatroom meetings, mysterious internet identities, supposed spy rings and disturbing cybersex, leading to a stunning conclusion.

Critic William Robin said the opera deserves its place on the Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 schedule. He perfectly described the music in her review:

Muhly composed several tender, brief, solo arias for the principal characters, and engaging dialogues both online and off. Though his music suggests the throbbing postminimalism of John Adams, his most clear influences come from this side of the pond — the English choral tradition of Herbert Howells (evoked in a somewhat out-of-place church scene) and the operas of Britten. “Two Boys” teems with references to Britten, from the pealing gamelan-style gongs of “Death in Venice” to the finale, an ornate passacaglia straight out of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

The baritone role in the opera is sung by Jonthan McGovern who is new to this site.  He was the winner of the 2nd Prize at the 2011 Kathleen Ferrier Awards and graduated with a first-class honours degree in Music from King’s College London. He completed a PGD in Vocal Studies at the Royal Academy of Music and continued his studies with Royal Academy Opera. He was winner of the gold medal and 1st Prize at the Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition 2010.

Recent operatic roles include Wu Tianshi and Pokayne in the première of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ opera Kommilitonen!; Shane Postcards from Dumbworld at Belfast Grand Opera Hosue; Delfa in Cavalli’s Il Giasone; Sid with Royal Academy Opera in John Copley’s first Albert Herring; Fiorello and Figaro cover Barber of Seville on tour with Armonico Consort Opera and Don Parmenione L’Occasione fa il ladro for RAO.

In September McGovern will join the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme to reprise the role of Sid for the Britten Festival in a new production conducted by Steuart Bedford and directed by Oliver Mears.

Click HERE for ticket and performance information.

Stephane Degout Takes NY by Storm

Stephane Degout

Perhaps the surprise hit at the Metropolitan Opera this year has been Rossini's "Le Comte Ory," which has received universal acclaim. It would be tough to beat a cast that included Juan Diego Florez, Joyce DiDonato and Diana Damrau, especially when you add Rossini's music to the mix. We've received a bunch of email about the Raimbaud in the production, French barihunk Stephane Degout. 


It's a mystery even to us why we haven't posted him before, as he perfectly fits our criteria of sexy and talented. Degout came to the opera world's attention in 1999 as Papageno at the Festival Aix-en-Provence. He has performed all over at Europe's leading opera houses, including Vienna, Paris, Salzburg and London in roles ranging from Orfeo to Pelleas. He has three performance of Le Comte Ory remaining, including tonight, and April 18 and 21. He appeared earlier at the Met this season in Debussy's "Pelleas et Melisande." You can hear a clip of him singing the Act 4 duet with Magdalena Kožená HERE. 


After the Met, he will be returning to his native France to perform the title character in Hamlet with the Opéra national du Rhin from June 9-28. 


He has released his first CD entitled 'Mélodies', which is dedicated to the French repertoire.

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