Gunn wins the first Sills award

It’s not just because of his bare-chested good looks. Nathan Gunn can sing too.

The baritone, who performed half-in-the-buff for the Metropolitan Opera’s recent production of “An American Tragedy,” has won the inaugural Beverly Sills Artist Award at the nation’s premier opera house.

The $50,000 annual prize goes to a U.S. singer, 25 to 40, who has appeared in solo roles at the Met and is building a major career.

The 35-year-old native of South Bend, Ind., got the award backstage at the Met this week while he was rehearsing Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” His voice will be heard in Mozart’s masterpiece Saturday on the Met’s weekly live opera broadcast -- the same show that carried Sills’ voice decades ago.