Barihunks Coming to Los Angeles; Listen to a Complete Performance of Verdi's "I due Foscari"

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo: Always sexy as Don Giovanni

 The Los Angeles Opera has announced their new season, which opens on September 15th with Verdi's I due Foscari, which deserves to be performed more in the United States. The baritone role of Francesco Foscari will be played by Placido Domingo. The season also includes Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Tosca, Rossini's La cenerentola and Wagner's Flying Dutchman.

Giangiacomo Guelfi sings"Eccomi solo alfine!... O vecchio cor che batti" from I due Foscari:

You can listen to the entire opera with Guelfi and the amazing Leyla Gencer here:

None of the performances have been cast with barihunks, except for the one other opera that they're performing. Of course, that would be the star barihunk vehicle Don Giovanni. Ildebrando D'Arcangelo will return to Los Angeles after a successful run last year in Cosi fan tutte. Joshua Bloom, who we just featured performing Figaro in Australia will be Masetto. Visit the L.A. Opera website for complete details.

Craig Verm & Ryan McKinny: Dream(y) casting

If you're in Los Angeles and looking for a night of barihunks, then you might want to head over to the Hollywood Bowl on August 12th for Verdi's Rigoletto under the baton of conducting wunderkind Gustavo Dudamel. The title role will be sung by baritone Zeljko Lucic, but the smaller roles are filled with barihunks including Alexander Tsymbalyuk as Sparafucile, Ryan McKinny as Monterone and  Craig Verm as Marullo.

You also want won't to miss the rising young tenor David Lomeli who is singing the Duke of Mantua. Visit the Hollywood Bowl website for tickets.

Alexander Tsymbalyuk sings Don Silvas' aria from "Ernani":

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Hvorostovsky & Bastianini as Rigoletto

Ettore Bastianini & Dmitri Hvorostovsky

We can't be too surprised that Rigoletto is at the top of our poll of your favorite Verdi baritone roles. It's not only a great role for baritones, but one of Verdi's most skillfully developed characters. The hunchback father of Gilda isn't a role that one would normally associate with barihunks, but we've found some great clips with two of our favorite singers, Ettore Bastianini and Dmitri Hvorostovsky.

Here is Hvorostovsky performing "Pari siamo" from Act 1, Scene 2 of Rigoletto. In this aria Rigoletto compares himself to the assassin Sparafucile saying that the killer uses his knife as a weapon, but Rigoletto uses his tongue.



Here is Bastianini performing the Act 2 aria "Cortigiani, vil razza dinnata..." live from Milan in 1957. In this aria Rigoletto's daughter has been abducted by several courtiers and handed over to the Duke of Mantua. When Rigoletto tries to get past them to find his daughter, they deny him passage and he unleashes his fury upon them.

Here are Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Sumi Jo performing the Act 2 duet "Mio padre!...Dio! Mia Gilda...Tutte le feste al tempio." This is another example of a beautiful father-daughter duet from Verdi's canon. Verdi lost two children and his lost love seems to come out in his music between father and daughter, especially in La Traviata (daughter-in-law), Stiffelio, Simon Boccanegra and, of course, Rigoletto. In Rigoletto, the father-daughter relationship is central to the plot line. The relationship between father and daughter also appears in Nabucco, Aida, Luisa Miller, Oberto, La Forza del Destino, I Lombardi and I Vespri Sicilliani.



Just for fun, we thought that we'd add a "Rigoletto cage match" of some of the great interpreters of the role taking the optional high A from the end of the opera. Verdi actually wrote the final line as Fb-Eb-Db, but the optional Ab has become an audience favorite over the years.



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