Michael Todd Simpson Coming to The Met

Michael Todd Simpson will perform in the Met's "Tales of Hoffmann" directed by Bartlett Sher and conducted by James Levine.

For ticket and production information visit the Metropolitan Opera website.

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Christopher Johnstone Featured in Orange County Register

[Photo by Chris Wagner/OC Register]


We've had our eye on barihunk Christopher Johnstone for some time, so it was nice to see him featured in the Orange County Register.

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Kepler With Martin Achrainer Opens at BAM

[Photo of Martin Achrainer as Kepler by Jack Vartoogian/BAM]

Kepler review from the L.A. Times blog.

Read the review from the NY Times.

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Martin Achrainer to Premier new Philip Glass Opera

Composer Philip Glass' latest opera is the story of Johannes Kepler (1571—1630), a founding father of modern science who discovered the laws of planetary motion.

His new score is described as "spacious, elemental, and imbued with wonder" on Glass' website. The hypnotic score becomes the sound of the cosmos as we witness Kepler struggling to reconcile scientific discovery with the divine.

Celebrated conductor Dennis Russell Davies and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz support a stellar cast and 42-member chorus drawn from the Upper Austrian State Theatre, Linz. This means that our main character is being performed by barihunk Martin Achrainer, a regular on this site. The opera will premier on November 20th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and then move on to Linz Landestheater on November 27th. Click on the BAM link to the left to hear Philip Glass discuss the opera.

Here is a profile of Martin Achrainer (in German) talking about the role, as well as a preview of the opera:





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Peter Mattei in "From the House of the Dead"

[Above photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times]

[Above photo by Bebeto Matthews]

Janacek's operas may be the most unfairly neglected works on the American stage. Jenufa, The Makropoulos Case and Katya Kabanova are always dramatically rich experiences in the opera house. Suddenly, there are productions of the less famous "From the House of the Dead" running in both Basel and at the Metropolitan Opera, where these two photos are taken.

The entire cast is men, so you can be assured that there are always plenty of barihunks and other hunks on the stage. Although many productions of the opera can get racy, including shower scenes, the Met played it on the conservative side. Peter Mattei was the most notable barihunk in this production (he is seen in the bottom photo).

You can click HERE to read Anthony Tommasini's informative review in the New York Times or read James Jorden's review in the New York Post by clicking HERE.

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A SEXY Don Giovanni at New York City Opera

If this is the look of the George Steel era at New York City Opera then we at Barihunks heartily approve. There was a lot of controversy and discussion about his hiring, particularly amongst opera aficionados on the East Coast. From what we heard from people who had worked with him, we knew all along that he would make the "People's Opera" interesting and he's lived up to his reputation.


[Jason Hardy as Leporello and Daniel Okulitch as Don Giovanni; Photo by © Carol Rosegg]


[Joélle Harvey as Zerlina and Kelly Markgraf as Masetto; Photo by © Carol Rosegg]

Here is how City Opera described this new production:

Visionary director Christopher Alden reimagines this masterwork in a thrilling new production which explores the intersection of dark eroticism and strict Spanish-Catholic tradition in the early 20th century. Rising star Daniel Okulitch makes his City Opera debut as the notorious antihero.

[Jason Hardy as Leporello, Keri Alkema as Donna Elvira, Kelly Markgraf as Masetto, Joélle Harvey as Zerlina, Gregory Turay as Don Ottavio and Stefania Dovhan as Donna Anna; Photo by © Carol Rosegg]


[Jason Hardy as Leporello; Photo by © Carol Rosegg]


[Daniel Okulitch as Don Giovanni; Photo by © Carol Rosegg]

Don Giovanni provides a lot of material for this site and we're grateful for some wonderful new images from NYCO. For more information visit the New York City Opera website. The production runs through November 22nd.


[Clockwise: Kelly Markgraf as Masetto, Gregory Turay as Don Ottavio, Keri Alkema as Donna Elvira, Stefania Dovhan as Donna Anna, Daniel Okulitch as Don Giovanni (center), Jason Hardy as Leporello and Joélle Harvey as Zerlina; Photo by © Carol Rosegg]

It is important the New York City has two major opera companies and this production shows why. City Opera will put on productions that one will never see at the Met. If you're in the New York, we encourage you to support this new regime which is working its way back to financial viability.

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Philip Cutlip in Glass' Orphée

[Photo from Portland Opera by Cory Weaver]

The hunky Philip Cutlip performs the title role in Philip Glass' opera Orphée. For more information visit the Portland Opera website.

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