Whadda Ya Mean You Haven't Heard of Nathan Gunn?

I recently suffered a bout of apoplexy when one of my fellows admitted an ignorance about the glorious hotness of baritone opera singer Nathan Gunn. I know, opera isn't the first venue that leaps to mind for locating the epitomes of drool-inducing trimm-dich-fit; however, opera does something the rest of the entertainment industry doesn't: takes hot men with deep voices and presents them to you shirtless (occasionally pant-less, and once in a while nekkid) then has them sing flowing words in exotic languages that often include rolling "Rs." If you haven't felt the effects of a bass/baritone letting that wicked consonant play over his tongue, you are sadly missing out on a great natural pleasure.

Anywhoo, back to Nathan. Most bass and baritone rolls are relegated to the categories of "evil king" or "demon," but this man embraces comedic rolls too. The Met's 2006 performance of Mozart's Magic Flute (in english) as Papagano in kelly-green tights anyone? No? Watch this, then report back.

Opera made you run away? Come back, come back, come back. He also took a spin as Lancelot in the NY Phil's production of Camelot. What? Camelot is a musical not opera, silly rock-jock.

He also has released two albums of Americana classics. I'm partial to his heart wrenching rendition of "And So It Goes" on "Just Before Sunrise," but you get a taste of his humor in choosing "Slugging a Vampire" for inclusion on "American Anthem."

What really makes me like Nathan, like him enough to dedicate a post to him? He's a happily married dad. He does recitals with his wife, takes his five kids (five? five? omg) on tour, and still manages to be self-effacing yet eloquent in interviews. What opera singer would be on the Colbert Show?

Did I mention the voice? Yeah, go buy his albums over on Amazon.

Fine, the pecs are great too.