Joa Helgesson truly suffers for his art in L'Orfeo

Joa Helgesson in L'Orfeo

No singer will ever be claim the statement "I really suffer for my art" after barihunk Joa Helgesson's performance of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo at the Malzfabrik in Berlin. The production was part of the Body Suspension Symposium, which focuses on the practice as an artform.

Berlin's symposium was the third one, following one in Oslo in 2012 and New York in 2015, all of which a co-production with Anchors Aweigh/SKIN.

"The inexpressible depth of music, so easy to understand and yet so inexplicable, is due to the fact that it reproduces all the emotions of our innermost being, but entirely without reality and remote from its pain... Music expresses only the quintessence of life and of its events, never these themselves." - Arthur Schopenhauer

A suspension is the act of suspending a human body from hooks that have been put through body piercings. These piercings are temporary and are performed just prior to the actual suspension. Body suspension is frequently used for spiritual purposes or for entertainment, most famously by the magician and illusionist Criss Angel.

Helgesson also appears in our 2018 Barihunks Calendar and Photo Book, but without the hooks!

Joa Helgesson and Derek Chester from 2018 Barihunks Calendar and Photo Book

Our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!