Thanks to tenor Zachary Stains, it looks like opera may be in for resurgance in popularity--especially with the gay community. Don't think you can be sold on opera? Are the stylings of Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban a bit too roantic/girly for you? Well you might have to rethink your stance. It seems everyone is all abuzz over Zachary Stains performance as Hercules in the opera Ercole Sui Termondonte by Vivaldi. No we're not talking about a muscleman in a loin cloth as seen in those old Steve Reeves "sword & sandal" Italian dubbed gladiator movies (although we wouldn't mind seeeing that on stage!) It's actually more--you see, Stains goes above and beyond what the role requires by going nude in his performance. And you can see for yourself because his peformance in Italy was filmed and available on DVD!

                             
 You know that old advice for overcoming stage fright or fear of public speaking: imagine your audience naked. Well Zachary Stains must have heard it wrong and thought HE had to get naked. Talk about a ballsy performance! Or how about "using your body as an instrument"? Putting yourself out there?  And we're not talking some shadowy "is he or isn't naked" performance, body stocking, or flash of nudity. No, Stains rips off his animal skin loin cloth, ships it over his shoulder and sings out as a victorious Hercules. Fortunately his genitals don't get stage fright either and shrink back like a scared turtle---we're talking M-A-N! And because it's opera and considered classy you don't have to feel pervy for wanting to see it. It's not like having a hankering to see Harry Potter perform in Equus!

 The hunky and ruggedly handsome Stains is not new to opera, having gotten favorable notices before. But now that gay blogs are talking about him, we imagine he's going to be getting VERY popular very quickly.