[ Original article as appearing on Barihunks.com ]

Master of the selfie: Florian Spiess as Bellone (left) and in Fanciulla (right)

We introduced Austrian bass-barihunk Florian Spiess back in 2014 when he was performing in Handel’s rarity Almira in Hamburg. He’s returning to the 18th century again on Sunday, April 3rd as Bellone in Jean-Philippe Rameau‘s Les Indes galantes at the Staatstheater Nürnberg. We had to share his backstage selfie that he posted on Facebook and encourage readers to LIKE his fan page, where he frequently shares sexy selfies.

The ballet/opera is having a bit of revival in recent years and this premiere is a co-production with the Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse and the Opera National de Bordeaux. Regular readers will remember our post about a rather risque production at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse that involved a bit of nudity and a shirtless Vittorio Prato. The Munich Opera Festival will present the opera this summer with barihunk Tareq Nazmi as Osman and Goran Juric as Bellone.

The piece will be directed and choreographed by Laura Scozzi who returns to Nürnberg After successful production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and  Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims. The opera will be conducted by French baroque specialist Paul Agnew. Tickets are available online.

Spiess’ vocal training began at the Tyrolean Conservatory where he performed in Guys and Dolls, Into the Woods and as Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. He continued his studies at the Vienna Music University including one year on a German-Austrian Richard Wagner Foundation scholarship.

He was a member of the ensembles at the Landestheater Linz and Volkstheater Rostock, but joined the Hamburg State Opera during the 2013-14 season. In Hamburg, he has performed Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème, Biterolf in Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Radames in Verdi’s Aida, Zuniga in Bizet’s Carmen and Raymondo in Handel‘s Almira.