Bay Watch Barihunk?

PHILIP CUTLIP PUTTING ON SOME MOO-VES

DAVID HASSELHOFF IN HIS BAY WATCH DAYS



We've seen some strange things in opera reviews, but Jay Gabler may have taken the prize with his description of barihunk Philip Cutlip. The Twin Cities Daily Planet critic compared the blond-haired, straight-haired All American Barihunk to the wavy-haired, Bay Watch boozer David Hasselhoff.

Cutlip, who has excelled in everything from Handel to Philip Glass, is starring as the sexy Zurga in "Les Pêcheurs de perles" with Minnesota Opera. Although this production has some retro touches, Cutlip hardly evokes the Bay Watch boy babe. One thing we know for certain is that he's keeping the tradition of casting Zurga with a barihunk alive and well.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, on the other hand, stayed away from odd comparisons and had this straight forward assessment:

"[Cutlip] went far towards making sense of the mercurial Zurga, who toggles between jealous rage and magnanimity; in "O Nadir, tendre ami," perhaps the opera's most emotionally complex number, Cutlip registered his character's shifting, conflicting feelings with keen sensitivity."

For more information visit the Minnesota Opera website.

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