# Stars whom you find attractive and your "opera romances"? (just for fun)



## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Which opera stars have you found physically attractive, disregarding their singing capability or other characteristics? And this is of course, just for fun and to waste some electrons...

I admit to a longtime crush on Kiri te Kanawa, and have always thought Teresa Stratas a real cutie. Renee Fleming is a lovely woman, and there's of course Natalie Dessay.

I've thought Pavarotti quite handsome (when he was in his thinner stages), Placido Domingo and Juan Pons "virile", Bryn Terfel charming.

As far as real life is concerned, I'll tell you who don't know, opera is definitely a "babe magnet" of the highest order. Women love opera and the singers.

One of my first romances as a young man was with a lovely mezzo who sang with me in my Episcopal church choir. She was an emigre from Kenya. Each year I'd root for her at the Met auditions but sadly she never made it past the regionals. She eventually moved to NYC to further her career and we lost touch. I've no idea whether she ever realized her goal to sing at the Met.

When I was actively singing opera, I had a number of pleasant relationships with fellow company members, some casual, some romantic. I'd also be approached by audience members. And mind you, I'm not some handsome heroic type, instead a greying, chunky, older guy with what I've been told is a charming smile and kind personality, but definitely not leading-man material. Nonetheless I had numerous "encounters" with women singers and fans. I'm persuaded that it wasn't me per se, but the fact that I was singing opera is what made me popular.

I dated this lovely soprano from Florida for about a year, then our romance turned to friendship and she later met her future hubbie at Metz. We still email.

My recent girlfriend of several years didn't have much formal education and had never been to a classical concert, let alone opera. So I asked her to take the plunge and go with me for Beethoven's 9th by Houston symphony and chorale. She loved it, so we next ventured to Houston Grand Opera where her first was Magic Flute. Thankfully it was a charming, wonderful performance, and when the soprano performed "Der Holle Rache" my friend was knocked off her feet. She really took to the opera and we enjoyed several performances while we were together.

My current girlfriend (with whom I now live -- she's snoozing away as I write) has a good music background and loves classical, so we often attend concerts and operas here. And of course, being old time rock fans, have enjoyed the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, etc as well.

Anyway, I drift a bit here, sorry to digress... Whom in opera have you had a "crush" on, and have you enjoyed any "opera romances"?


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

Elina Garanca. I'd die if she'd sung "Mon coeur s'ouvre a toi voix" for me.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

err... one or two  but the one I keep talking about around here is Damrau. I like a woman with a lovely clea... sense of humour. There's a video on YT where she does _Ah, non giunge uman pensiero_ like it's a sly Rossini bit but she is so funny I can't help loving it (normally I'm part of the the Bellini police, if you can't get your morbidezza right even in joyful arias you're toast in my book). And don't ask me how many times I have watched Le Comte Ory  but I will admit that as a singer per se she's not in my top 5.

my ex-wife has a gorgeous mezzo voice (surprise, surprise!) but, alas, she can't stand opera. So all I've been regaled with over the years has been blues (which I like, but man I wish I'd have heard something like dionisio's choice of repertoire). This is the closest I've got so far but Damrau is coming around next season :devil:


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Jonas Kaufmann!! I can honestly say it was his voice that initially attracted me (back in 2002), but I'm certainly not complaining about the "packaging" in which that gorgeous voice comes. And the down-to-earth, amiable personality is just more iceing on the cake. A couple of my other favorite tenors, Siegfried Jerusalem and José Carreras, were certainly easy on the eyes as well as the ears.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

deggial said:


> err... one or two  but the one I keep talking about around here is Damrau. I like a woman with a lovely clea... sense of humour. There's a video on YT where she does _Ah, non giunge uman pensiero_ like it's a sly Rossini bit but she is so funny I can't help loving it (normally I'm part of the the Bellini police, if you can't get your morbidezza right even in joyful arias you're toast in my book). And don't ask me how many times I have watched Le Comte Ory  but I will admit that as a singer per se she's not in my top 5.
> 
> my ex-wife has a gorgeous mezzo voice (surprise, surprise!) but, alas, she can't stand opera. So all I've been regaled with over the years has been blues (which I like, but man I wish I'd have heard something like dionisio's choice of repertoire). This is the closest I've got so far but Damrau is coming around next season :devil:


OH, I LOVE Damrau! Her clea- sense of humor is great, as you say. To me she's all that's stylish and funny in an opera singer. I just love her Adina. She had this lovely thing she would do with her as- behind that just tickled me to death every time I saw it. I found that the view from the balcony was actually much to be preferred to the main level seating, for some things.

And Kiri - OMG what a star. I saw her ONCE. It was a privilege to be in the house with her, honestly. She did a little dance and sang a little song and I felt like this was the night, forever.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

MAuer said:


> And the down-to-earth, amiable personality is just more iceing on the cake.


he does look unassuming  nice touch.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

I've also found trouser roles somewhat enticing, such as Cherubino in Nozze or Nicklausse in Tales of Hoffmann. And I think that composers such as Mozart were fully aware of the potential erotic nature of having an attractive mezzo dress in men's clothes. I've always had a thing for slinky brunettes anyway, ha ha.


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## Zabirilog (Mar 10, 2013)

Kaufmann, Jerusalem, Evans, Keenlyside, Netrebko, Dessay, Damrau...


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Natalie Dessay - both funny and sexy in Orphee aux enfers. Oh to be Laurent Naouri on the front cover...


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

I always found Roberta Peters and Anna Moffo very sexy and good singers as well.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

I found myself succumbing to the charms of both Elina Garanca's Carmen and Danielle DeNiese's Cleopatra. 
And I had the pleasure of meeting Carol Vaness once, elegant and spirited, she sure makes an impression!
Vittoro Grigolo's sudden emergence as the youthful Faust in the ROH's cinemacast had me admiring the devil's handiwork.
Nathan Gunn in his prime was quite the Bari-hunk. He was the darling of the Lyric Opera of Chicago for a while and it seemed like they had endless pretexts for getting him out of his shirt and/or pants on stage (even during _Largo al factotum_).

I once received a communication on a dating site from someone who recognized me from my profile photo at a Chicago Symphony concert and named the exact location of my seat. Despite that stalkerish beginning, we dated for a few months. Turned out we had the same opera subscription series too.

And as I've mentioned before, my better half of 6-1/2 years is in the (hopefully) early stages of an opera career. It's been an interesting mutual project, a good excuse to spend a few summers at the Aspen Music Festival, follow him to to some far flung performances (last year Oman and possibly later this year in Central America - more on that later), meet some interesting people, and basically enter a life I could never have imagined.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Cavaradossi said:


> I once received a communication on a dating site from someone who recognized me from my profile photo at a Chicago Symphony concert and named the exact location of my seat.


I find that downright hot...


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Cavaradossi said:


> Nathan Gunn in his prime was quite the Bari-hunk. He was the darling of the Lyric Opera of Chicago for a while and it seemed like they had endless pretexts for getting him out of his shirt and/or pants on stage (even during _Largo al factotum_).


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

Danielle DeNiese Blimey! And do you know, there's something about Joyce Di Donato...and Maria Riccarda Wesseling has the sexiest eyes..(And I nearly exploded when I saw her in Contes D'Hoffman) but I suppose no 1 right now, If you look at my avatar...


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Badinerie said:


> Maria Riccarda Wesseling has the sexiest eyes..(And I nearly exploded when I saw her in Contes D'Hoffman)


you're on to something there... her eyes remind me a bit of Ann Hallenberg's.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

dionisio said:


> Elina Garanca. I'd die if she'd sung "Mon coeur s'ouvre a toi voix" for me.


OMG! I just listened to this on youtube and it brought tears to my eyes. Just incredible.


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> OMG! I just listened to this on youtube and it brought tears to my eyes. Just incredible.


Quod erat demonstrandum 

She may not be the best Dalila (comparing for example with Elena Obraztsova), but she's a Gesamkunstwerk of a Dalila!!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

dionisio said:


> Quod erat demonstrandum
> 
> She may not be the best Dalila (comparing for example with Elena Obraztsova), *but she's a Gesamkunstwerk of a Dalila!*!


I am completely stealing this.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Pavol Breslik. Nuff said.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aksel said:


> Pavol Breslik. Nuff said.


Waaaiiit. I was working up to this!

And Topi Lehtipuu, Jonas Kaufmann, Nicolas Rivenq, William Shimmell, Paulo Szot, Klaus Florian Vogt; and Joyce DiDonato and Mary Ellen Nesi in long leather boots.

The Siberian Hunky would be in there if his ego (and teeth) weren't so blinding.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Oh, yes. I forgot about Topi.

Also, Sarah Connolly in that Rosenkavalier outfit. I also find Vesselina Kasarova oddly attractive (in trousers, mind).


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

mamascarlatti said:


> Mary Ellen Nesi in long leather boots.


this might sound strange, but I really got a kick out of her Polinesso 



Aksel said:


> I also find Vesselina Kasarova oddly attractive (in trousers, mind).


you know, I think she's terribly cute; she brings out this weird protective streak. I feel like stroking her hair and telling her everything will be all right after a long shower (in La Clemenza).


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aksel said:


> Also, Sarah Connolly in that Rosenkavalier outfit. I also find Vesselina Kasarova oddly attractive (in trousers, mind).


I like Sarah Connolly in the Giulio Cesare outfit, particularly when she's staring down Tolomeo in "Va tacito e nascosto". Boots again.


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## Hesoos (Jun 9, 2012)

Alessandra Marianelli

http://www.stagedoor.it/en/artist/Alessandra%20Marianelli/Soprano/V/gallery/

I've only seen her in the Naxos dvd Il turco in Italia. Goodlooking, good actor and very nice voice.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Hesoos said:


> Alessandra Marianelli
> 
> http://www.stagedoor.it/en/artist/Alessandra%20Marianelli/Soprano/V/gallery/
> 
> I've only seen her in the Naxos dvd Il turco in Italia. Goodlooking, good actor and very nice voice.


She is very lovely


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## WAWilson (Nov 8, 2011)

Miah Persson... so beautiful - everytime I watch her Cosi fan tutte (the greatest opera DVD I've ever seen) I fall in love with her. 

Although I am a heterosexual male, I will admit to a man crush on Jonas Kaufmann. When I saw his Siegmund in Walkure I was blown away.


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## Ebab (Mar 9, 2013)

David Daniels is cute.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

Diana Damrau of course, and Marina Poplavskaya as Liu in Turandot - Those cheekbones, that jaw. Hnnngg.


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## Adeodatus100 (May 27, 2013)

Dmitri Hvorostovky. When I hear him singing _Il balen del suo sorriso_ from _Il Trovatore_ I come over all unnecessary.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Adeodatus100 said:


> Dmitri Hvorostovky. When I hear him singing _Il balen del suo sorriso_ from _Il Trovatore_ I come over all unnecessary.


This is when he make me feel a little flushed. You really have to think Lisa is as bats as Hermann, to reject this!


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## tyroneslothrop (Sep 5, 2012)

WAWilson said:


> Although I am a heterosexual male, I will admit to a man crush on Jonas Kaufmann. When I saw his Siegmund in Walkure I was blown away.


I'm glad someone else said it first. I definitely have a man-crush thing going on with Herr Kaufmann! And he is just so darn cool! :lol:


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

I am 27 years old and over the past two weeks I have developed an unhealthy obsession with José Carreras. The last time I did a Google search on him, the first suggestion that appeared was "José Carreras wife". I thought to myself "I am NOT interested to see what his wife looks like. She is probably gorgeous."
I guess that is an infatuation.  (People... If you know something I don't know, please don't post that info, and don't post any photos.)  Can you blame me? He was a dream-boat in the 70's and is still a very handsome man!


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## Xavier (Jun 7, 2012)

These 2 ladies:

http://www.vienna-concert.com/img/image/grubereva/gruberova.jpg

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Bio-BIG/Fleming-Renee-15.jpg


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I am yet to hear him sing :lol:


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## Oreb (Aug 8, 2013)

Anja Kampe - a Sieglinde worth whipping 'Notung' out of the tree for!

Kate Ladner - Australian soprano I saw doing the Ring in Adelaide a few years back. Gorgeous voice and, um, the rest as well

Jonas Kauffman - yeah, I'd jump the fence for him. So sue me :tiphat:

Pavarotti - appeals to my inner Bear


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Jay Hunter Morris as Siegfried gets me even more worked up than Jonas Kaufmann.http://newsroom.unl.edu/announce/todayatunl/729/4394
Historically the absolute best is Corelli without question!!!!!!!


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Well, nobody stays young forever, but.....


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

marinasabina said:


> I am 27 years old and over the past two weeks I have developed an unhealthy obsession with José Carreras. The last time I did a Google search on him, the first suggestion that appeared was "José Carreras wife". I thought to myself "I am NOT interested to see what his wife looks like. She is probably gorgeous."
> I guess that is an infatuation.  (People... If you know something I don't know, please don't post that info, and don't post any photos.)  Can you blame me? He was a dream-boat in the 70's and is still a very handsome man!


Actually, the last bit of gossip I heard on the subject was that Carreras had split up with his second wife, Jutta Jaeger. So there may be hope for you.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I am yet to hear him sing :lol:


Time's a-wastin' ! Here's the promotional video for his new Verdi album with Sony. It's supposed to be released on this side of the pond near the end of the month.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Sherrill Milnes (I love the dimples, the blue eyes, and that wide, expressive mouth), Jonas Kaufmann (great hair and profile), Simon Keenlyside (just a very nice-looking man), and Rolando Villazon (very cute, especially with longer hair).

Okay -- I'm female, but I think Jennifer Larmore (striking dark hair and eyes, strong jaw), Renee Fleming (lovely hazel-green eyes), Joyce di Donato (beautiful coloring -- blond hair, blue-gray eyes, ivory skin), and Joan Sutherland (looked just like a nineteenth-century heroine) all quite beautiful.

Edited to add: Charles Castronovo -- I love his nose and that very dark, Latin coloring.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Vesteralen said:


> View attachment 24063
> 
> 
> Well, nobody stays young forever, but.....


who's that? .........................


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Itullian said:


> who's that? .........................


Rosa Ponselle, about whom producer Walter Legge said - "the most glorious voice that ever came from any woman's throat", and Maria Callas called - "the greatest singer of us all"


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Vesteralen said:


> Rosa Ponselle, about whom producer Walter Legge said - "the most glorious voice that ever came from any woman's throat", and Maria Callas called - "the greatest singer of us all"


shes so beautiful...............


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## JCarmel (Feb 3, 2013)

Oh Dear?...I feel that I must be a Boring Old F**t....as they say... in that I don't find a single singer, male or female...past or present....physically attractive. I enjoy the singing tremendously, though. 
But 'hang-on' now....I _do_ remember spending hours whilst in my teenage years on making most carefully a detailed pencil portrait of Dietrich Fischer Dieskau from a photograph that I found in the cast biographies section of a libretto in a boxed set of Mozart's 'Die Zauberflote'...so I _must_ have found his appearance appealing, mustn't I?!


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Itullian said:


> shes so beautiful...............


If I'd have been born in 1900, I think I would have been a groupie...


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

JCarmel said:


> Oh Dear?...I feel that I must be a Boring Old F**t....as they say... in that I don't find a single singer, male or female...past or present....physically attractive. I enjoy the singing tremendously, though.
> But 'hang-on' now....I _do_ remember spending hours whilst in my teenage years on making most carefully a detailed pencil portrait of Dietrich Fischer Dieskau from a photograph that I found in the cast biographies section of a libretto in a boxed set of Mozart's 'Die Zauberflote'...so I _must_ have found his appearance appealing, mustn't I?!


AH Haaaaaaaaaa! ..........


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

I like dark-haired women, so Jennifer Larmore and Angela Gheorghiu in their prime, for me.

For additional references to the voice of Rosa Ponselle, mentioned in an earlier post, see below. (Not a thread hijack as there is a nice photo of her on the YouTube screen.)

Click below. Sorry, I don't know how to embed a YT video here.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

ok, you Larmore fanciers, here's a real cheesy video but I must admit she does look mighty fine... (and sounds good too):


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

I don't really have any "opera crushes", but right now I am thinking about what it would feel like to hug Kurt Moll (especially a few decades younger Kurt Moll) while he is singing, and to hear that huge booming voice in the most immediate proximity


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Not an opera romance, as I'm a heterosexual woman, but Elizabeth Futral is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, on or off an opera stage:


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

Bellinilover said:


> Not an opera romance, as I'm a heterosexual woman, but Elizabeth Futral is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, on or off an opera stage:
> 
> View attachment 30781
> 
> ...


The only opera I've been able to drag my eldest daughter to see was Lucia de Lammermoor back in '97 with Futral, right here in Miami. And I agree with you. And I'm a heterosexual male and, despite my age my opinion still carries some academic value.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

She came to NZ to do Pagliacci for which I will be forever grateful.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Occasionally, you find someone who is the entire package. Voice...looks...the lot!


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

It will be no surprise to anyone familiar with my posts that my opera love, now and ever, is Natalie Dessay. I have to be careful watching any of her vids because I can easily rewatch clips over and over and over.
I've spent most of the night watching her Aix-en-Provence Traviata, both the entire thing and repeating her entrance in the prelude through Dell'invito trascorsa -- she's just spectacular in those few minutes and infinitely rewatchable.


For the sake of completeness I should also fess up that I find Anna Moffo awfully pretty


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

I've had a passing opera crush or two. lol. One because he serenaded me. I'm quite easy to charm as long as a deep singing voice is involved. lol. There was something about the Italian accent and the boyish charm that worked. Oh, and I also think I may have had a passing crush on Furlanetto after listening to that dark, velvety voice speak for the best part of 90 minutes


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

A great deal too many gorgeous mezzos around these days! I'm getting all hot under the collar.















Elina Garanca















Isabel Leonard.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I can't seem to find the post -- maybe it's in another thread -- but I just want to agree with the person thinks Robert Merrill was cute. And I thought I was the only one!


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## Amara (Jan 12, 2012)

(How) Is it possible Mariusz Kwiecien hasn't been mentioned yet? 

My other picks are Joseph Kaiser, Christophe Dumaux, Ildar Abdrazakov, Luca Pisaroni, Eric Owens, and of course the ever-popular Jonas Kaufmann, who looked incredibly sexy in _Werther_.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Now who couldn't love this guy?


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

sospiro said:


> Now who couldn't love this guy?


Hey... A sense of humor is very charming.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

A few weeks ago, I'd have said "none". But I have since developed a bit of a yen for Jonas Kaufmann. Have you SEEN the cover picture for his Wagner album? Admittedly that MAY have been a factor in the purchase. Luckily he sounds great on that album as well as the other 3 of his albums I have.....


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Sonata said:


> A few weeks ago, I'd have said "none". But I have since developed a bit of a yen for Jonas Kaufmann. Have you SEEN the cover picture for his Wagner album? Admittedly that MAY have been a factor in the purchase. Luckily he sounds great on that album as well as the other 3 of his albums I have.....


Funny, doesn't do a thing for me


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Itullian said:


> Funny, doesn't do a thing for me


You must be blind and deaf.....or a straight male! :lol:


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

The young Thomas Allen -- what a charming smile!


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Sonata said:


> A few weeks ago, I'd have said "none". But I have since developed a bit of a yen for Jonas Kaufmann. Have you SEEN the cover picture for his Wagner album? Admittedly that MAY have been a factor in the purchase. Luckily he sounds great on that album as well as the other 3 of his albums I have.....


I like the "Verismo" cover:


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Sonata said:


> You must be blind and deaf.....or a straight male! :lol:


The last one


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## msegers (Oct 17, 2008)

Just out of curiosity... Juan Diego Flórez hasn't been mentioned on this thread? It seems that every thing I read about him spends time and words on his appearance. I think I first saw him in the DVD of _Daughter of the Regiment_ with Natalie Dessay. I couldn't believe I'd ever say this about an opera singer, but I ended up saying it about both of them - how adorable they both were.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Itullian said:


> Funny, doesn't do a thing for me


I'm with you on this one.

...but I think *Patricia Petibon(bon)* is really cute.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Simon Keenlyside anyone?


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

sospiro said:


> Simon Keenlyside anyone?


The guy on the far right?


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Simon Keenlyside anyone?





Itullian said:


> The guy on the far right?


Yep!

Joseph Calleja and his two children and British actress Emma Thompson. Presumably after one of the _Faust_ shows.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Calleja has two kids?!


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

sospiro said:


> Simon Keenlyside anyone?


I think I just found my Alberich.


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

I don't believe in rating people just for their physical attributes, so the singers which follow are my favourites _solely_ because I am *emotionally * attracted to them. (FYI, that whole sentence was utter rubbish! )

Elīna Garanča just seems so classy and always wears amazing dresses (plus she is exquisitely musical). Joyce DiDonato is warm, charming, caring, personable, kind, beautiful (I could go on...) and 'wholesome' (as in moral) - she seems like she would always do the right thing. Diana Damrau is a little shy (you wouldn't know!) but basically the sweetest person in the universe! I love Anna Netrebko for her energy and enthusiasm; to me she seems a little diva-ish and not particularly musical but she's crazy! With an amazing voice, great taste and the most *incredible * hair!!! Angela Gheorghiu is now a bit old for me, but she seems to age backwards - what incredible stage presence! She is the ultimate *opera singer*, glitzy, glamorous, stunning, striking and a bit arrogant at the best of times! Olga Peretyatko is the closest to my age and is absolutely GORGEOUS. I know this thread not about voices, but her voice is luscious and ringing and pure and perfect and I love her and we will get married and have seventeen children and three budgies and a house in Tuscany. Or we would if she weren't already married.

Now, I can talk about males without fear of being accused of objectification, so here goes:

Jonas Kaufmann - dark and brooding and I love his hair
Mariusz Kwiecień - Oh. My. God.
Luca Pisaroni - great person and really good looking
Vittorio Grigolo - soooo cute and has beautiful skin

But my favourite male opera singer is...

Mr Erwin Schrott. Did you see him with long hair?

In fact, I think I might leave Olga for him.

















Update: I can't believe it, I forgot Philippe Jaroussky!









I think I might have to have several marriages at the same time, one for each operatic repertoire. I've got Philippe for baroque, Erwin for classical, Olga for bel canto and Vittorio for verismo!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Phillippe Jaroussky for me.


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## BevSills (Jul 23, 2014)

Back in the early 1970s, I fell in love with Anneliese Rothenberger from an LP cover called "Blumenlieder" by Robert Stolz. So I bought the record. When I heard her voice I loved her even more... went on purchasing her entire catalog. Then got to see her in the Salzburg-Von Karajan "Rosenkavalier" film being shown in a large movie house in Los Angeles. She was such a beautiful Sophie.













Another crush of mine would be the gorgeous french soprano Mady Mesple. Her Auber's "Manon Lescaut" is to die for.








If I am allowed man crushes, my two favorite handsome guys would be Hakan Hagegard and Simon Keenlyside.


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## JohnGerald (Jul 6, 2014)

The thought of bumping ... egos with professional entertainers of any kind has this old guy heading for the exit!!!


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## maometto (Sep 2, 2014)

Some of my favorites...

Guido Loconsolo







Nathan Gunn







Andrei Bondarenko







Mariusz Kwiecien


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Hvorostovsky
Kaufmann
Corelli


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

I'll never tell- not until I start fancying singers who are still alive, anyway!


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## Divasin (Aug 8, 2014)

Ice Bucket Challenge!








Let's hope more of those baritones take up the challenge!


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

^ barihunks' wet dream!


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## ribonucleic (Aug 20, 2014)

I've always had a crush on Cecila Bartoli.










But when I first saw Olga Peretyatko, in the _Die Entführung aus dem Serail_ DVD with Diana Damrau, my jaw dropped open.










"Easy on the eyes", as they say.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

ribonucleic said:


> But when I first saw Olga Peretyatko, in the _Die Entführung aus dem Serail_ DVD with Diana Damrau, my jaw dropped open.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think she is at her most gorgeous in Sigimondo:










Can't find a really good pic of her in the production, but trust me, she is lovely in it....


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> I'll never tell- not until I start fancying singers who are still alive, anyway!


Yes, there are those for whom operaphilia is inseparable from necrophilia.

[_Whispering_: C'mon Fig! You tell me your favorite cadaver and I'll tell you mine!]


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Yes, there are those for whom operaphilia is inseparable from necrophilia.
> 
> [_Whispering_: C'mon Fig! You tell me your favorite cadaver and I'll tell you mine!]


OK here goes- some vintage pinups: 






That's Victor Maurel on the left, in shorts. Incredibly fine figure of a man!






Maurice Renaud- I don't think I've ever seen a handsomer man!






'le beau Plançon'.






Battistini and his fine Roman features.
That's the pick of the baritones and basses- necrophiliac enough for you?! I haven't even started on the sexy dead tenors yet...


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

My most intense crushes have always been tenors- here are the ones I lust after the most. I fell in love with all of their voices years before I knew what any of them looked like, so if any of them seem a bit unconventional as eye candy, that'll be why. Here goes:
View attachment 50691
Francisco Viñas- that silvery voice seems too perfect to come from any human throat!
View attachment 50692
Francesco Marconi- the most poetic and moving of all Italian lyric tenors.






Emile Scaramberg- I love his emotional intensity, balanced with French elegance- total dynamite as far as I'm concerned!


















Agustarello Affre- the most ravishing tenor voice (on the early recordings at least, say pre-1910) such poise, such grandeur! If only I could travel back in time 110 years or so...

 My shameful necrophiliac secrets are all out now!


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## ribonucleic (Aug 20, 2014)

Unlike some other Violettas, it is no stretch to imagine men paying large sums of money to have sex with Anna Moffo.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

ribonucleic said:


> Unlike some other Violettas, it is no stretch to imagine men paying large sums of money to have sex with Anna Moffo.


Last time I checked, Aristotle Onassis wasn't courting Anna Moffo.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Last time I checked, Aristotle Onassis wasn't courting Anna Moffo.


Lucky Anna! ............


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Itullian said:


> Lucky Anna! ............


That's what all runner-ups say.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Figleaf said:


> My most intense crushes have always been tenors- here are the ones I lust after the most.


a bit of thing for upturned 'staches, eh?


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Marschallin Blair said:


> That's what all runner-ups say.


Callas said that?!


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

> Originally Posted by Marschallin Blair
> 
> That's what all runner-ups say.





Itullian said:


> Callas said that?!


No, she's too well-bred to mention it.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> That's what all runner-ups say.


there may be a gender difference here between you and I, but even with an extraordinarily large packet of money on offer, I wouldn't select an old, not terribly attractive man who wouldn't marry me (and would later push me aside) if I were a very attractive soprano


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

deggial said:


> a bit of thing for upturned 'staches, eh?


And pointy beards...


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

how about this:


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Headphone Hermit said:


> there may be a gender difference here between you and I, but even with an extraordinarily large packet of money on offer, I wouldn't select an old, not terribly attractive man who wouldn't marry me (and would later push me aside) if I were a very attractive soprano


_Of course._

I think Onassis was the greatest disaster Callas ever got herself into.

<Clink.> _;D_

Cheers.

I was merely making the point that a playboy womanizer like Onassis pursued _Callas_ more ardently than any woman before or since.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> I was merely making the point that a playboy womanizer like Onassis pursued _Callas_ more ardently than any woman before or since.


Yup, I knew and understood that. Poor Maria appears to have been genuinely in love with him and the stories agree that she was devastated by his abandonment and desertion of her to such an extent that she never recovered from it.

I think Itulian was correct - 'lucky Anna' that she wasn't pursued like Maria


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Headphone Hermit said:


> Yup, I knew and understood that. Poor Maria appears to have been genuinely in love with him and the stories agree that she was devastated by his abandonment and desertion of her to such an extent that she never recovered from it.
> 
> I think Itulian was correct - 'lucky Anna' that she wasn't pursued like Maria


But Anna had her own problems. Her first marriage was not exactly a happy one, with her husband pushing her to perform more than she should, resulting in a complete vocal breakdown in the late 1960s, from which she never quite recovered.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> But Anna had her own problems. Her first marriage was not exactly a happy one, with her husband pushing her to perform more than she should, resulting in a complete vocal breakdown in the late 1960s, from which she never quite recovered.


Yes, what a tragic loss to us and a tragic situation for Anna. There was even tragedy in her second marriage, I seem to remember

My gran used to say: "We all have our crosses to bear, but some crosses are heavier than others." It seems that in the past, too many female opera singers were carrying heavy crosses around unnecessarily - perhaps they still are. And when they try to stand up for themselves, they are castigated as being a 'prima donna' or a 'drama queen'.


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## ribonucleic (Aug 20, 2014)

Headphone Hermit said:


> when they try to stand up for themselves, they are castigated as being a 'prima donna' or a 'drama queen'.


My understanding - which may be inaccurate - is that Birgit Nilsson knew her worth and never let anyone push her around, but was still respected by colleagues as a diligent worker without pretentions.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

ribonucleic said:


> My understanding - which may be inaccurate - is that Birgit Nilsson knew her worth and never let anyone push her around, but was still respected by colleagues as a diligent worker without pretentions.


she was certainly a formidable negotiator.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

Headphone Hermit said:


> Yup, I knew and understood that. Poor Maria appears to have been genuinely in love with him and the stories agree that she was devastated by his abandonment and desertion of her to such an extent that she never recovered from it.
> 
> I think Itulian was correct - 'lucky Anna' that she wasn't pursued like Maria


I'm always interested in biography style documentaries of musicians and some time ago I watched one on Maria Callas. I had no idea how tragic and sad the last phase of her life was. It was not said out loud, but interviews with Maria's friends suggest that Maria was pregnant from Onassis, and that he forced her to have an abortion. Indeed she was truly in love with him and was preparing and hoping to marry him, taking a leave fom singin. But, he left her, leaving her broken. I wonder how the upcoming film about Maria Calles will treat all of this and if Meryl Streep is up to the job.


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## jdcbr (Jul 21, 2014)

Back to the subject- Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, with a beautiful name as well!


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## jdcbr (Jul 21, 2014)

See what I mean?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

ribonucleic said:


> My understanding - which may be inaccurate - is that Birgit Nilsson knew her worth and never let anyone push her around, but was still respected by colleagues as a diligent worker without pretentions.


Nilsson was a healthy, practical, funny, unglamorous, down-to-earth Swedish farm girl and went right back to the farm when she retired. She wasn't the emotionally convoluted creature living down her childhood that made Callas a lightning rod for scandal-mongers. Neither did she possess one-tenth the genius that made Callas a lightning rod for the conventional, the mediocre, and the envious.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

> Originally Posted by ribonucleic
> 
> My understanding - which may be inaccurate - is that Birgit Nilsson knew her worth and never let anyone push her around, but was still respected by colleagues as a diligent worker without pretentions.





Woodduck said:


> Nilsson was a healthy, practical, funny, unglamorous, down-to-earth Swedish farm girl and went right back to the farm when she retired. She wasn't the emotionally convoluted creature living down her childhood that made Callas a lightning rod for scandal-mongers. Neither did she possess one-tenth the genius that made Callas a lightning rod for the conventional, the mediocre, and the envious.


Nilsson also had a devastating wit when she turned it on.

Although Karajan once in a retaliatory riposte called her "Scarpia without makeup," I think that type of rougue-ing better applies to some of the trolls in music Forums.


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## Balthazar (Aug 30, 2014)

Sticking with the living... 

Ladies:

Olga Peretyatko
Kristine Opolais
Elina Garanca
Anna Netrebko
Nino Machaidze

Gents:

Jonas Kaufmann 
Mariusz Kwiecien
Luca Pisaroni


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Woodduck said:


> Nilsson was a healthy, practical, funny, unglamorous, down-to-earth Swedish farm girl and went right back to the farm when she retired.


And she didn't throw a wobbly when this happened:


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> No, she's too well-bred to mention it.


Is she a farm animal?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Morimur said:


> Is she a farm animal?


From the Cambridge Advanced learner's dictionary (the one I have on my computer)

*well-bred* (adjective) 
1. speaking or behaving in a way that is generally considered correct and polite 
_A television announcer with a well-bred voice was reading the news. _ 
2. old-fashioned coming from a family that has a high social position 
_ a well-bred young English woman _

Not clear where farm animals come in?


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

mamascarlatti said:


> Not clear where farm animals come in?


They don't come into any of my fantasies, operatic or otherwise! 

Here's a picture of Francesco Marconi that I didn't manage to attach to my previous 'sexy dead tenors' post:







And here are some quite gratuitously kinky costumes from Les Huguenots at the Paris Opera, circa early 1890s I'd guess:







And that's about enough oversharing from me on this thread


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Yes, there are those for whom operaphilia is inseparable from necrophilia.
> 
> [_Whispering_: C'mon Fig! You tell me your favorite cadaver and I'll tell you mine!]


Woodduck, I don't believe you ever got around to sharing your favourite corpse crushes with us! I think we should be told 

In the meantime, I'll leave you all with this:


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