Southern California native Christopher Job is currently Frere Laurent in the Minnesota Opera production of Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet" opposite the equally stunning Romeo of James Valenti and Juliet of Ellie Dehn. If you don't believe that good looks are playing a greater role in opera casting, then check out this production.
Job is the winner of the North Dakota District of the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions in 2007, and Second Place Winner for the Rocky Mountain Region in 2006, he is also the Grand Prize Winner of the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition of 2005.
As with so many basses, he doesn't get many barihunk roles. He's been singing Count Ribbing in Un ballo in maschera, the Second Priest in Die Zauberflöte, Dr. Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore, Zuniga in Carmen, and Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and the Commendatore in Don Giovanni.
Maybe we need to get him working with some German directors, so we can see him looking more like Günther Groissböck.
Very cute, and a nice guy too, but can we see some diversity here? Where are N'mon Ford, Steve Herring, Darren Stokes?
ReplyDeleteHe was very good in St. Paul - nice comfortable bass voice. He had on a silly "frer" head piece with tonsure which made him look not as good as this photo but he was the youngest Laurent you've ever seen. And why not? I think no one in the production save the duke was over 30. JV of course was absolutely stunning. Well worth the trip!!
ReplyDeleteActually, I think the duke was 27. Good make-up I suppose.
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