Number 8: Hyung Yun (Korean Baritone)
The latest addition to the list. As handsome as he is talented, this baritone has performed several times for the Madison Opera. I have seen him thrice at Overture Center; as Valentin in Faust when he made his Madison Opera debut, in the title role of Eugene Onegin, and then as Renato Anckarstrom in Un Ballo in Maschera. He has also done Escamillo in Carmen (I only caught the encore broadcast, unfortunately. I think he would have looked incredibly sexy in a Matador's costume). He has got to come to Madison College Truax Campus and do a master class. And I hope he comes back to Madison Opera next season.
Number 7: Jonas Kaufmann (German Tenor)
The dashing hero kind of guy. And he looks like he's still in his early twenties. Already I have seen him twice in simulcasts from the Met; first as Siegmund in Die Walkure, and then in the title role in Gounod's Faust (the one that prompted me to add him to the list). I have heard him numerous times over the radio, not to mention that I have one of his albums (The Romantic Arias CD, my little brother owns the German Arias CD). He will be performing the title role in Parsifal this season.
Number 6: Mariusz Kwiechen (Polish Baritone)
The lady's man of the opera world. I have seen this barihunk live on stage once, and that was when he sang the role of the Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro alongside Kyle Ketelsen. I have also heard him over the radio quite often. The last time I heard him was when he sang Belcore alongside Juan Diego Florez's Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore. He's a big name in the opera world. I would love to meet him one of these days.
Number 5: Piotr Beczala (Polish Tenor)
The operatic boyfriend type. Indeed he has the looks to match the kinds of roles he tends to do. I have seen him perform in the simulcast of Manon. I can't remember precisely when I first heard him, but I know I have heard him over the radio as Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and it was he who sang the role of the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto when I first heard it on the radio. He will reprising the role of the Duke this season at the Met in new production.
Number 4: David Daniels (American Countertenor)
A rarity in the opera world. I seen him live once in in the simulcast the Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island. I first heard him as Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice. I don't hear him very much over the radio because given his voice type, he tends to specialize in the Baroque repertoire. This is because the practice of castrating boys in order to keep a higher-pitched singing voice died out in the Western Hemisphere nearly a century ago. This man will return to the Met for a simulcast performance of Giulio Cesare.
Number 3: Kyle Ketelsen (American Bass-Baritone)
The local guy. I first saw him live in the role of Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor when it was performed by Madison Opera. I later saw him when he came to my high school to do a master class, and then I saw him in the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro. I actually got to meet him in person, which while nerve-biting, was nonetheless a very special moment in my life. He has got to come back to the Met and do a broadcasted performance.
Number 2: Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Russian Baritone)
Opera's silver fox. He's already fifty, and he just gets better with the years both in looks and in voice (which, believe me, is rather rare). I have seen him live in the role of King Carlo V of Spain in Ernani, and M. Germont in La Traviata. I first heard him over the radio in the title role in Eugene Onegin. I think it was he who did the role of Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades. I am so looking forward to his performance of Renato Anckarstrom in the simulcast of Un Ballo in Maschera and his acclaimed performance of Roderigo in Don Carlo.
Number 1: Juan Diego Florez (Peruvian Tenor)
The new King of the High "C's" (please forgive the pun, it was not of my creation). I first saw this hunkoid live in role of Tonio in the simulcast of La Fille du Regiment. I saw him live again in the title role of Le Comte Ory when that one was simulcasted. I have heard him several times on the radio, once in a reprisal of the role of Tonio, and another time as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore. He will reprising the role of Le Comte Ory this season at the Met. That one I cannot miss.
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