Canadian barihunk Benjamin Covey will be performing in a concert celebrating the life and poetry of Scottish poet Robert Burns. The first half of the concert will explore Burns' world through word and song. He'll be joined by soprano Virginia Hatfield in performing"Comin' thru the rye,""Ye Banks and Braes," "Sweet Afton,""My love is like a red, red rose" and "Auld Lang Syne."
The second half of the program will feature music from the Broadway musical Brigadoon.
Songs include "The Heather on the Hill,""Almost like being in Love," "Waitin' for my Dearie" and "Go Home to Bonnie Jean."
The concert is on Friday, June 7th at 7:30PM at the Church of the Redeemer in Toronto, Ontario. For more information, or to purchase tickets by phone, call 416-755-7158.
A Graduate of the University of Toronto and an Alumni of Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Development Program, Covey debuted as Morales/Dancaire in Carmen with Manitoba Opera. He graduated from San Francisco’s prestigious Merola Opera Program in 2010, where he sang Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore.
Benjamin Covey, Gregory Dahl and Jonathan Estabrooks (PHOTO: Sam Garcia)
We don't usually think of La Traviata as an opera where we would find three barihunks that have appeared on our site. In fact, it's rare to find it in Verdi, although his Attila has surely given us plenty of barihunk duos, who also happen to have some pretty exciting music. But Opera Lyra in Ottawa assembled three Canadian barihunks in their production of the Verdi masterpiece: Benjamin Covey as the Marquis, Jonathan Estabrooks as the Baron Douphol and Gregory Dahl as Germont.
Gregory Dahl as Jokanaan in Salome w
As much as we love seeing three barihunks on stage together, the big news from this production is actually the return of Opera Lyra. Like many opera companies during the Great Recession, the Ottawa-based company struggled and cancelled performances, never quite sure if they could fully recover. This concert version of Traviata was a sure-fire way to get opera audiences back in the door. They will follow up with completely staged performances of Bizet’s Carmen and Puccini's Madama Butterfly, as well as a family performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.
Traviata has one more performance tonight at 8 PM at Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Tickets are available online.
We love seeing Jonathan Estabrooks back at Opera Lyra since we began covering him when he was first appearing with the company. He has kept busy since moving to New York City, where he just completed his first performance at Carnegie Hall as a soloist with the Oratorio Society of New York in Paul Moravec's The Blizzard Voices.
Check out Jonathan Estabrook's "A Singer's Life":
Estabrooks will also team up with fellow Ottawan Larry Edelson at the American Lyric Theater in New York City. Edelson has cast Estabrooks as Alan Turing, the World Warr II computer genius who was persecuted for being gay.
Commissioned in honor of the Turing Centennial, The Turing Project
is a historical fantasia based on the life of the English scientist
Alan Turing. The opera explores Turing's extraordinary contributions to
mankind, his county's disavowal of him because he was gay, and the
mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. The opera imagines the
man inside the legend, the unique perspective he had on the universe,
the public and unashamed view he had of his own homosexuality, and the
impact he had upon the future of civilization.
Gregory Dahl will head to the Mannitoba Opera on April 13 for three performances as Amonasaro in Aida.
Daniel Okulitch famous naked in "The Fly" and in Tales of Hoffmann
Canadian barihunk Daniel Okulitch has remained one of our most popular singers since we first posted him in . He's opening tonight as all four villains in Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann." Performances are running through February 7th and tickets are available online.
Samuel Ramey sings "Scintille, diamanti" from The Tales of Hoffmann:
Okulitch, who has made a name for himself as a great exponent of Mozart, will take on both baritone roles in Le nozze di Figaro after wrapping up in Edmonton. He heads to the Arizona Opera in April for three performances of the Figaro and three more at the Komische Oper in Berlin, before switching to the Count in the same opera at the Santa Fe Opera in June.
Benjamin Covey
Another emerging Canadian barihunk will be in the cast of The Tales of Hoffmann. Benjamin Covey, who received his master’s in opera at University of Toronto and honed his skills San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Program, returns to being a student (at least on stage) playing Hermann. Covey can next be seen at the Toronto Masque Theatre in "The Lessons of Love," an operatic double bill of John Blow’s Venus and Adonis and the premiere of Alice Ping Yee Ho's The Lesson of Da Ji.
We've been featured and even interviewed on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and they've mentioned us a number of times. But they've stepped it up a notch with their "The Sexiest Barihunks in Canada" feature.
The post features four barihunks hot enough to melt the ice caps north of the Yukon: Etienne Dupuis, Phillipe Sly, Phillip Addis and Brett Polegato. The singers are asked about their sexiest features, sexiest roles, workout routine and what they'd sing to woo a lover. It is definitely worth checking out and we appreciate the ongoing love from the CBC, who we adore more than a Molson at a hockey game.
We're pretty sure that limiting it to four singers was more about who they could successfully contact than creating a comprehensive list. We're pretty certain that Canada has the highest per capita ratio of barihunks in the world. We've featured close to two dozen Canadians on this site, including three in last year's calendar: Philip Kalmanovitch, Jonathan Estabrooks and Aaron Agulay. Estabrooks will be reappearing in the 2013 calendar.
Daniel Okulitch in The Last Savage
Two Canadians barihunks are having huge international careers, Daniel Okulitch and John Relyea. Relyea is a regular at the Met and other major opera houses, while Okulitch is a fan favorite in opera houses across the globe. His performance in a loin cloth in Menotti's "The Last Savage" at the Sante Fe Opera still has opera cognoscenti buzzing with delight.
Elliot Madore is on the verge of breaking into the upper tier of singers. He has a redesigned website and has caught the attention of opera general managers everywhere. We recently received emails from opera executives in three countries praising this gifted young artist.
Other Canadians who we've featured include Mike Nyby, Stephen Hegedus, Olivier Laquerre, Tyler Duncan, Riley McMitchell, Peter Barrett, Gordon Bintner, Philip Kalmanovitch, Benjamin Covey and Michael Adair (who co-opted "Barihunk" for his Twitter name).
John Relyea sings "Scintille, diamant" from The Tales of Hoffmann":
[Ryan Kuster & Benjamin Covey; photos by Kristen Loken Anstey]
Once again, San Francisco's beloved Merola training program has provided opera lovers with a new class of barihunks. Two of them, Ryan Kuster and Dan Kempson, have previously appeared on the site. Dan Kempson appeared when he portrayed Tarquinius at Pittsburgh Opera in one of our favorite operas "The Rape of Lucretia." Ryan Kuster appeared on the site after a fan at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia brought him to our attention.
The two newcomers to the site are Benjamin Covey and Thomas Florio. Covey is another in our long line of Canadian barihunks, which includes Daniel Okulitch, Mike Nyby, John Relyea, Tyler Duncan, Gregory Dahl, Olivier LaQuerre, Phillip Addis and Aaron Agulay. This roster is one more reason why we love our neighbors to the north. Covey will be performing Belcore in the upcoming Merola performance of Donizetti's "L’Elisir d’Amore."
Thomas Florio is a Virginia native who is another graduate of the prestigious opera training program at Indiana University, which also produced Barihunks favorite Randal Turner, as well as Christopher Schaldenbrand and Kyle Ketelsen. Florio will perform Dulcamara in Merola's "L’Elisir d’Amore."
[Thomas Florio & Dan Kempson]
Fans in San Francisco can see all of the talented young Merola students in a series of upcoming concerts and operas. On Friday, July 16th, at 7:30 p.m. there will be a concert at the Herbst Theater, with tickets available by calling the box office at (415) 864-3330. The concert will be repeated for free on Sunday, July 25th, at 2:00 p.m. at the Yerba Buena Gardens. The concert will include excerpts from Handel's Rodelinda, Massenet's Werther, Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Smetena's The Bartered Bride and Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor.
The top photo shows Ryan Kuster in a recent master class singing "Here me, o Lord!" from Carlyle Floyd's Susannah. and Benjamin Covey singing "Hai gia vinta la cause" from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.
Other upcoming performances include L'Elisir d'Amore on August 6, 7 and 8 and the Merola Grand Finale on August 21st.
We also want to give a special shout out to Sidney Outlaw, who will be alternating the role of Dulcamara. Our insiders at Merola tell us that he is one of the most talented comic actors to come through the program in years.
