[Top three photos of Tom Corbeil courtesy of Gotham Opera, with soprano Takesha Meshé Kizart; bottom photo courtesy of SF Opera]
The most common email that I get is someone pitching a barihunk. Nine out of ten times, it's a non-starter and usually someone who belongs on BariChunks, not BariHunks.
So imagine my joy in finding Tom Corbeil in my inbox. It didn't take long for me to realize that I'd already seen him as part of San Francisco Opera's young artist program, Merola. With apologies to La Cieca and her definition of a barihunk that appears at the bottom of this blog, the Merola program seems to be pumping out more barihunks than anyone and they can actually sing! Other Merolinis on this site include fan favorite Daniel Okulitch, Lee Poulis, Ben Wager, Eugene Brancoveanu and emerging superstar John Relyea.
Tom Corbeil was not only a standout at Merola, but he has also won awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council and Musical Merit Foundation. He also studied with the great Virginia Zeani.
His current gig is with the Gotham Chamber Opera in Joseph Haydn’s "L’isola disabitata (Desert Island)." Perhaps the title explains the lusciously revealing outfit (it can't always be Pearl Fishers). The performance is staged by Mark Morris and will run from February 18-28 at John Jay College in New York City. For more information, visit www.gothamchamberopera.org.
This site can be contacted at barihunks@gmail.com
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Your definition of "barihunk" very much diverges from both the "baritone" and the "hunk" aspects. First off, Tom Corbeil is more of a bass than a baritone. Secondly, I don't know who you're getting in your mailbox, but anyone would come off as a "chunk" compared to TC because he's a tall, awfully skinny fellow (and yes, I've worked with him before, he doesn't take up any horizontal space). Pretty stretched definition for the "bari" part, and a pretty limited definition for the "hunk" part, and in both cases contrary to what the term actually means. Why bother using the term "barihunk" anyway?
ReplyDeleteDid you read the sentence after the definition of barihunk? It reads: "Clarification: This is a definition from another site and not the qualification for this site. This site posts any hunk who sings in the baritone and bass/baritone range."
ReplyDeleteTom is about the most gorgeous man I have ever met in my life. I'm also rather diggin' his shoulders in these pictures. Damn he's hot!
ReplyDeleteI've had the joy of meeting Tom and he is very hot and quite enjoyable as well.
ReplyDeleteTom Corbeil has a magnificent voice and is definitely a "hunk"...as in extremely fit, built and defined. Just saw him as Lurch in the Kennedy Center production of "The Addams Family". His aria "Move Towards The Darkness" was stunning. I agree that perhaps the term "Barihunk" is silly and self-absorbed to a large extent....but I notice he doesn't self-promote. So his presence here, given the rules of the game, is more than appropriate.
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