Vasil Garvanliev gets a new tattoo

Vasil Garvanliev (© Shalan & Paul)

There are few singers who photograph better than Vasil Garvanliev, who we discovered while he was singing at Opera Atelier. Of course, Opera Atelier has become famous for their sexy, provocative marketing campaigns that often features models in various states of undress. Even though they use models, they seem to hire singers who could double as models in their ad campaigns. In addition to Garvanliev, we've featured Olivier Laquerre, Curtis Sullivan, Phillip Addis and João Fernandes from the company roster. 

Although most of our news is about singing, we couldn't resist telling readers about Garvanliev's new tattoo which he had placed on his arm above the LOVE tattoo that appears on the back of his wrist. The photo below shows the design, the procedure and the final tattoo. We think it's pretty HOT. 

The Macedonian barihunk is a young artist at the Glimmerglass Festival this summer, which of course is run by the "Mother of Barihunks," director Francesca Zambello. Future appearances include Caspar in Weber's Der Freischütz with Opera Atelier and Pistola in Verdi's Falstaff with Calgary Opera.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Zachary Gordin to premiere Clint Borzoni work at Sacramento Gay Pride

Zachary Gordin as he appears in the 2012 Barihunks calendar

On June 1 at 7 PM PST, the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center is presenting "Courage to Stand," which showcases the stories of LGBT service members who served before, during, and after the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell"  era. The event is the official kickoff of the 2012 Sacramento Gay Pride Weekend and it will include barihunk Zachary Gordin premiering New York composer Clint Borzoni's "A Nation Announcing Itself" taken from Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass."

We asked Borzoni about his selection of "A Nation Announcing Itself."

I scoured my go-to source material, Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" for a poem that might set well for the commission. I came upon the first poem in the "Chants Democratic" section which I thought perfectly captured the emotions of the LGBT troops. Lines like, "What we are, we are...", "I swear I dare not shirk any part of myself, not any part of America, good or bad", and "O I see now flashing, that this America is only you and me, its power, weapons, testimony, are you and me...". The song isn't only about an individual group standing up for their rights, but about a section of that group fighting for the rights of every person, even those that condemn them. The song is titled, "A Nation Announcing Itself".

We asked Zachary Gordin about the piece and here's what he had to say:

Clint treats the subject matter directly, and takes great care in setting the text. There are bugle-like intervals in the vocal line at the beginning of the song, setting a military theme which develops into a melody that flows from powerful exclamation, to floating pianissimi, and back. The accompaniment is virtuosic and exciting, reinforcing the emotional "buzz" of the text, and there's a big finish! I am amazed by how well Clint wrote for my specific voice, exploiting a full tonal palette in a way that seems like we collaborated endlessly on each phrase. All this, after one conversation about basic technical aspects of the vocal line. I'm thrilled to premiere this song with pianist Jim Jordan, who is an incredibly gifted artist and an absolute joy to make music with!

Tickets to this event are $75 per person and includes an open bar, hors d'oeuvres and a selection fo wine from Bogle Vineyards. The event is at the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento. Tickets are available HERE.

Regular readers of this site will recall that Borzoni also set another Whitman poem, "I Dream'd in a Dream" for barihunk Randal Turner's West Coast recital debut in 2010. That recording is available at CDBaby. or at Amazon (click on the box in the sidebar to order).

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Nathan Gunn Names His "Top 5" Operas Where He Disrobed

Nathan Gunn as Billy Budd, at the Met on left (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) & in San Francisco (Darryl Bush SF Chronicle)

Nathan Gunn has become the über-barihunks of barihunks. Not only is he the reason that the phrase was first coined 15 years ago by director Francesca Zambeloo, but he has shown amazing staying power as one of opera's most popular sex symbols. After all, how many opera singers have had their workout routines featured in the Wall Street Journal?

WQXR 105 in New York City recently asked Nathan Gunn to name the "Top 5" operas in which he was asked to disrobe. Not only did he manage to come up with a great list and descriptions of each role, but he showed a great grasp of the history of the term "barihunk." Here is the list, followed by the video:

5. Daniel Catán - Florencia en el Amazonas (Riolobo)
4. Tobias Picker - An American Tragedy (Clive)
3. Péter Eötvös - Love and Other Demons (Father Delaura)
2. Benjamin Britten - Billy Budd (Billy Budd)
1. Gluck - Iphigénie en Tauride (Oreste)

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Tom Corbeil Lurches Onto Broadway Tour

Tom Corbeil

We've posted some pretty hot pictures of barihunk Tom Corbeil over the years, especially the shirtless ones from Joseph Haydn’s "L’isola disabitata." He's currently put his opera career on hold to join the traveling cast of the Addams Family musical touring the country. Anyone who saw him shirtless in L'Isola disabitata would barely recognize him as the morticianly looking Lurch.

The Addams Family was created by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Drama Desk Award winner Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys), and Olivier Award-winning director/designers Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter) with production supervision by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks.

The Road Cast of the Addams Family

The show is currently in Cleveland through April 22nd. It then travels to Memphis, Madison, St. Paul, Grand Rapids, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, Kansas City and Washington D.C. Check HERE to see if the show is coming to your town. 

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Shirtless Samuel Dundas Heats Up Cosi with Oz Opera

Samuel Dundas in Opera Australia's 'Cosi Fan Tutte' (©Branco Gaica)

Australian barihunk is singing Guglielmo in Opera Australia's visually stunning run of Mozart's Così fan tutte. Dundas who has played Masetto opposite the famously shirtless and ripped "Teddy Bare" a.k.a. Teddy Tahu Rhodes, appears to be the next generation of sexy barihunk from Down Under.

Dundas has been performing throughout Australia and New Zealand since 2005.  Since 2010, he has been a member of the Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist program at Opera Australia.  In 2010 his roles included Doctor/Inquisitor/Judge/Stanislaus in Candide, the appropriately named character Handsome in La Fanciulla del West, Starveling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ceprano in Rigoletto.  In 2011 his roles include Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, Pish Tush in The Mikado, Cascada in Merry Widow and Masetto in Don Giovanni. 

Samuel Dundas in Opera Australia's 'Cosi Fan Tutte' (©Branco Gaica)

Other recent engagements have included Papageno The Magic Flute for Victorian Opera, the bass solos in Brahms Requiem with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus and his debut with Sydney Sinfonia in a Discovery series concert at the City Recital Hall in Sydney.

Dundas's 2012 roles include Fiorello in The Barber of Seville and Yamadori in Madama Butterfly for Opera Australia and the Title role in Opera Australia's tour of Don Giovanni. 

Watch a trailer of the production:

Performances of Così fan tutte are running through March 26. Get additional performance information or ticket on the Opera Australia website. In July 2012, Dundas will be reprising another Mozart role when he performs Don Giovanni in Michael Gow’s new production for Opera Australia.

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Teddy Tahu Rhodes' Tattoo Becomes a Popular Search

A tattooed Teddy Tahu Rhodes in Così fan tutte

We recently noticed that we were getting a lot of hits for a 2008 post about Teddy Tahu Rhodes showing off his tattoo to female reporter. When we explored why there was a sudden interest in his tattoo, we realized that he's been heavily tattooed for the current production of Mozart's "Così fan tutte" at the Washington National Opera.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes' actual tattoo

The Jonathan Miller production runs through March 15th with a cast that also includes Elizabeth Futral, Renata Pokupic, Joel Prieto, William Shimell, and Christine Brandes. Visit the opera company's website to purchase tickets. The 6' 5" New Zealand barihunk received a nice mention from Tim Smith in the Baltimore Sun:

As Guglielmo, Teddy Tahu Rhodes towers over his colleagues physically and reveals a beefy sound to match his animated delivery.

 CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Hot New Promo Pictures of Duncan Rock as Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock: A Don Giovanni that makes the Catalogue aria believable

We recently posted about barihunk Duncan Rock being cast in "Don Giovanni: The Opera" at Heaven in London, England.

The opera opens on April 15 and has created a lot of buzz, which you can read about in our previous post. Part of the chatter was that Google Ads had declined the company's advertising because it was too provocative. The production has created lively debates about whether performances like this are good for opera, or not. The opera is not for "purists," but for those who want a fun, frolicking, sexy night of entertainment with the music of Mozart, then you may want to jump online and get tickets.

Behind the scenes rehearsal shot

When we saw the promotional photos for the performance with Duncan Rock, we had to share them with readers. In this production, there is some role switching and the Don pursues men as well as women. One thing is certain, after seeing these pictures, Leporello's "Catalogue Aria" where he sings of his master's conquests will suddenly become quite believable.

Here's the original text in English translation. We suspect that there will some adjustments.

My dear lady, this is a list
Of the beauties my master has loved,
A list which I have compiled.
Observe, read along with me.

In Italy, six hundred and forty;
In Germany, two hundred and thirty-one;
A hundred in France; in Turkey, ninety-one;
But in Spain already one thousand and three.

Among these are peasant girls,
Maidservants, city girls,
Countesses, baronesses,
Marchionesses, princesses,
Women of every rank,
Every shape, every age.

With blondes it is his habit
To praise their kindness;
In brunettes, their faithfulness;
In the white-haired, their sweetness.

In winter he likes fat ones.
In summer he likes thin ones.
He calls the tall ones majestic.
The little ones are always charming.

He seduces the old ones
For the pleasure of adding to the list.
His greatest favourite
Is the young beginner.

It doesn't matter if she's rich,
Ugly or beautiful;
If she wears a skirt,
You know what he does.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Lee Poulis as Enrico (Photo by Rod Millington/Sarasota Opera)

Sometimes the sexiest pictures don't show any skin at all. This photo of Lee Poulis as Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at Sarasota is a great example of someone cutting a sexy figure in a period costume with lots of fabric.

The production opened on February 18th, but there are additional performances on February 23, 26 and March 2, 7, 9, 17 and 23. Visit the Sarasota Opera website for ticket information.

The sextet from Lucia at the Met with barihunk Mariusz Kwiecien and Anna Netrebko:

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Erwin Schrott Tries Out Some New Hairstyles on Twitter

Erwin Schrott with dreads, blue hair and looking a bit matronly

Erwin Schrott apparently passed his time during rehearsals of Don Giovanni in London by going on Twitter and testing out some new hairstyles with his fans. Maybe we're biased, but we think he's every bit as good looking as a Dame Maggie Smith type, a cartoon or Lenny Kravitz's brother.

Schrott Hair onstage and off

Of course, Schrott has been known to try out more hairstyles than Hillary Clinton when she was First Lady. We think he looks pretty damn hot with any hair. Here he is singing "Oblivion" shortly after he cropped his hair and dyed in blonde.

For those who want to check him out live, he's opening as Don Giovanni in London February 3rd opposite the equally hot Leporello of Alex Esposito. Most of 2012 will be in Europe with a heavy dose of Mozart and a series of concerts with his wife Anna Netrebko.

Why we call him "Hot Schrott"

You can follow Erwin Schrott on Twitter at @erwin_schrott.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

What the FACH! - Sam Roberts-Smith makes the switch

Sam Roberts-Smith

We've stopped posting a few barihunks in the past for a variety of reasons, usually it's retirement or that they've suddenly discovered deep-dish pizza with extra cheese while traveling on the road. But this is the first time that we can recall that one of the singers on our site has become a tenor.

We learned yesterday that one of the hottest future stars in opere, in looks and talent, was changing fachs. The news is somewhat surprising because the Aussie has been winning singing competitions as a baritone and has been impressing audiences at Opera Australia, where he is in the young artist program. One thing we know for sure is that this gifted and focused singer will succeed in any fach. We also have to believe that there a few sopranos who will look forward to singing with a lithe, 6' 6" tenor with movie star looks.

Barihunks would like to wish Sam Roberts-Smith great success and we hope that Hunkentenors gets revived so that we can follow him on that site.

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Vittorio Prato to perform Rameau with Rousset

Vittorio Prato: Hot, Hotter and hottest

We don't need much of an excuse to post something about Italian barihunk Vittorio Prato, so when we saw these recently posted clips from Massenet's "Werther" on YouTube, we figured it was time to see what he was up to.

Prato was born in Lecce, Italy and graduated in piano from the Conservatorio Tito Schipa in Lecce and in harpsichord from the Conservatorio Martini in Bologna. He voice with the great baritone Ivo Vinco and even worked with Luciano Pavarotti. In 2003, he won the Mattia Battistini International Competition and his singing career took off from there.

Vittorio Prato sings "Elle m'aime" from Werther with Rocio Ignacio as Sophie:



Vittorio Prato in Act 3 of Werther with Anna Bonitatibus:



We couldn't find Prato performing anywhere for the remainder of this year, but in May 2012, Prato can be seen as Osman in Rameau's "Les Indes Galantes" at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. The production also includes fellow barihunk Thomas Dolié as Adario and will be conducted by Christophe Rousset. Visit their website for additional cast and performance information.

Thomas Dolié

Don't forget to order your 2012 Barihunks calendar. Click HERE to order. All proceeds go to support young artists and young artist programs. It's a great gift and an easy way to support our next generation of baritones. You can read more about our calendar at this previous post.

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Support Young Artists with the 2012 Barihunks Calendar

Actual Cover of Barihunks 2012 Calendar

People visit Barihunks for a variety of reasons, mostly to see some hot baritones showing off their vocal and physical gifts. However, the emails that matter most to us are the ones where we've learned that we've made a difference in a young artist's life. We often hear about singers being cast after someone saw and/or heard them on the site. Our favorite email of all-time was this, "Thanks to your site, my mom thinks I'm a big star in opera. Best of all, she doesn't complain about the all the money she's spent on my career anymore."

We strive to keep this site positive and about promoting both opera and careers. If you've written a bitchy post, you've probably noticed that it's been removed. We believe singers work too hard and make too many sacrifices to be attacked on a blog. Many singers know that we frequently show up to support them live in theaters throughout the world.

The most frequent request that we receive is for a Barihunks calendar and we've finally relented and put one together for 2012. We've collected lots of beautiful photos from the 33 of the hottest men in opera for your enjoyment. Many of the singers took the time to have exclusive photos taken just for the calendar.


Consistent with our desire to support young artists, all proceeds from the Barihunks 2012 calendar will go to support either young artist programs or young artists directly.  The only hitch is we haven't decided who will be the beneficiary. We'd like to hear from you. If you know of a training program that deserves our support, please write us at Barihunks@gmail.com and let us know why in 100 words or less. Click on the calendar image to the right to purchase a calendar now.

Wes Mason

Singers featured in our calendar include Aaron Agulay, Zach Altman, Dan Kempson, Jonathan Beyer, Brandon Cedel, Christopher Herbert, Christopher Temporelli, Craig Verm, David Adam Moore, David Krohn, Douglas Carpenter, Douglas Williams, Erik Anstine, Justin Hopkins, Jonathan Boehr, Jonathan Estabrooks, Michael Mayes, Michael Rice, Jordan Shanahan, Joseph Lattanzi, Matthew Trevino, Matthew Morris, Michael Kelly, Milos Galaz, Nick Parker-Pendree, Peter Brathwaite, Philip Kalmanovitch, Randal Turner, Remo Tobiaz, Seth Carico, Tom Forde, Wes Mason and Zachary Gordin. If you see any of these singers on a program, please buy a ticket and support their artistry.

Michael Mayes: Texapolitan Opera Show

We'd also like to thank all of the artists, agents, photographers and opera companies who graciously granted us rights to the images. In appreciation of the photographers, we are going to feature them and their sites throughout the year. Please support them, as well. Here are the photographers who contributed their work: Ellen Appel, J. David Levy, Bryan Estabrooks, Dirty Sugar Photography,  Chris Macke, Rozarii Lynch, Pierre-Etienne Bergeron, Gabriel Henningson, Taren Frazier, Kathy Whitman, Leah Brizard, Ron T. Ennis, Chris Miles, Moses Jones, Bill McClaren, Geoff Silver, Chisolm Photography, Nacho Guerrero and Ron Lindsay.

This calendar will make a great holiday gift!

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

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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Video: Daniel Okulitch's Nude Scene from "The Fly"

Daniel Okulitch goes "The Full Okulitch" (Screenshot from Arte)

According to our Google Analytics, two of our most popular posts of all-time continue to be those of Gabriel Bermudez appearing nude in Poulenc's  "Les mamelles de Tirésias" and Daniel Okultich appearing nude in Howard Shore's "The Fly." Until now, we've only had pictures and no video. But thanks to a European broadcast of the opera, we now have some video to share of the scene that prompted fellow barihunks Michael Mayes and Michael Todd Simpson on the Texapolitan Opera podcast to coin the phrase "The Full Okulitch" to describe a full-frontal nude scene in opera.



The Canadian barihunk can next be heard in recital at the Glenn Gould Studio on December 4th in Toronto. You can check out his profile on the CBC website where you can also listen to him discuss his status as a barihunk.

We also highly recommend that you add Okulitch's wonderful recital "The New American Art Song" to your CD collection. You can purchase it at the GPR Records website. 

For the record, the only other barihunk to appear on this site other than Bermudez and Okulitch performing "The Full Okulitch" is Troy Cook. We should use this opportunity to point out that we only publish nudity if it was performed on stage. We have pictures of Leigh Melrose from "Riders to the Sea" and Laurent Alvaro from the French production of "The Fly," but felt the quality wasn't good enough to post. We also hear that there are photos of Eugene Brancoveanu from "Little Caesar," but we've never found them. 

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Zachary Gordin to perform at iCadenza Future of Music Festival!

Zachary Gordin

 

On August 19th, American barihunk Zachary Gordin will be performing at the first annual iCadenza Future of Music Festival! in Los Angeles. The four-day festival consists of three concerts by groundbreaking young artists alongside other events and lectures featuring discourse on the new directions of the classical music industry and centered on the question, “On Our Own Terms: Where do artists want to take the future of classical music?” 

 

The festival will take place at The Colburn School, known as an innovative institution shaping the next generation of artists. The three concerts will be featuring dynamic pianists, opera singers, and members of the Israeli Chamber Project – an ensemble comprised of top Israeli-born soloists.

Additional information is available at www.icadenzafestival.com.

Gordin will also be giving one of his popular masterclasses on August 20th from 3-5 PM, also at the Colburn School in downtown LA. This event is free and open to the public. 

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Nmon Ford's Spicy Hungarian Escamillo

Nmon Ford rehearsing Escamillo in Szeged

Barihunk Nmon Ford will be at the Szegedi Szabadtéri (Open Air Festival of Szeged) in Hungary for the next two days performing Escamillo in Carmen. Szeged sits on the Tisza River and is Hugary's third largest city. It is believed that Attila the Hun's seat of power was somewhere in the area. Regular readers of the site will remember that we dubbed Nmon Ford the hottest Attila the Hun ever when he performed the role in Macerata last year.

Nmon Ford as Attila in Macerata

Szeged is also the home of the spice paprika, which seems appropriate as this production is pretty spicy. Updated to contemporary times by director Gábor Kerényi Miklós, Escamillo is seen in a classic white muscle tee shirt, acid-wash jeans and brandishing a bottle of booze. Ford describes the Escamillo in this production as "strongly sexual" and a "media whore." The production includes cameras on the stage and large video projections of the singers allowing people in the furthest reaches of the theater enjoy Nmon Ford's ripped physique.

Here are two videos of Ford discusing the production and the interpretation of his role:





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Ticket information can be found HERE.

Who is your favorite opera couple?

We love seeing our reader responses to our poll questions. Not only is it fun, but it helps inform us what is of interest to you. It's been fun watching the current race to see who your favorite opera couple is in the world. As of today, three couples are leading the pack, so make sure to vote.

Dan Kempson & Zach Altman

 

Anna Netrebko & Erwin Schrott

Jordan Shanhan & Audrey Luna

Jordan Shanahan showers while singing some Mozart:

Luca Dell'Amico: Too sexy for his shirt

Luca Dall'Amico

When we saw this new photo of Italian barihunk Luca Dall'Amico we had to share it with our readers. It's too bad that his voice is suited for roles that rarely show off his physique. Luckily, we previously had the opportunity to show readers his sexy, shirtless Mustafa in Rossini's "L'italiani in algeri." His upcoming schedule is no exception.

He can next be seen this Fall at the Teatro la Fenice as Dr. Grenvil in Verdi's "La Traviata" opposite the Violetta of Patrizia Ciofi and as Don Basilio in Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia," which he has recorded on DVD. Here is the trailer:



Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com. If you haven't bought Randal Turner's new CD of American music, here is an easy way to purchase a copy or download your favorite tracks.



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Happy Birthday, Mel Ulrich!

Mel Ulrich

We've never understood the early retirement of American barihunk Mel Ulrich, who was still burning up the stage when he prematurely called it quits. He teased us in January, when he performed a concert 90 miles outside of Ft. Worth, but it didn't lead to any additional engagements. We want Mel to know that we truly miss him on the stage and that we are going to celebrate him on his birthday.

Come back, Mel! We miss you.

The always sexy Mel Ulrich

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Erwin Schrott Interview & the Baritone Renaissance

Erwin Schrott talking about his life and opera

Erwin Schrott has become one of the most popular singers in opera along with his wife soprano Anna Netrebko. He is currently singing Figaro at the Opera National de Paris' production of "Le Nozze di Figaro" where he took time out to talk about his new CD Rojotango, future roles (many devilish), his vocal chords, burning out on Don Giovanni (for awhile) and juggling a career and a relationship. In July, Schrott and Netrebko will be back on stage together for a concert with the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra.

We continue to delight in the "Golden Age of Baritones" which Schrott is a major part of with his sold out performances, benefit concerts and best selling CDs. He joins a long list of baritones who are releasing critically acclaimed recordings, including Daniel Okulitch's performance of American composers, Rene Pape's upcoming release of Wagner, Peter Mattei's performance of the greatest baritone arias, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Sandra Radvanovsky's thrilling Verdi duets recording,  and Randal Turner's concert of American composers, which includes two baritone world premieres.

Publicity shot for Rojotango

Schrott has become almost the unofficial leader of the baritone renaissance, with his savvy public relations skills, high profile benefits, movie star good looks and scintillating stage performances. It has probably been 50 years since baritones have dominated the world stage as they do today, when Ezio Pinza, Ettore Bastianini, Tito Gobbi, Robert Merrill and Cesare Siepi were considered major audience draws and were prominently marketed by opera companies. Schrott has excelled in the territory that was previously left for sopranos, using sex appeal as a marketing tool. It appears that even the "3 Tenors" phenomenon is giving way to baritones, as recordings like Paulo Szot's "South Pacific" seem to be dominating the "crossover" charts. 



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