No Barihunks on CBC's list of "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians," so we added two

The CBC recently ran a feature called "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30." They surveyed Canada's conservatories, music competitions and professional training programs to come up with their list. Although we at Barihunks take the word "HOT" to mean sexy, it appears that they are going for a double meaning, with "HOT" also meaning "musicians with talent to keep an eye on."

This year they didn't manage to come up with a single barihunk, despite having included them in past years, including Philippe Sly and Gordon Bintner. So we decided to add two to the list.

Micah Schroeder

Canadian-American baritone Micah Schroeder will be appearing as Harlekin in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos with the Highlands Opera Studio in Haliburton, Ontario on August 24 an 26. He is a 2018 graduate of the Vancouver Opera Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program and an alumni of the Aspen Opera Centre, as well as The Banff Centre of Arts and Creativity. He recently completed a Diploma in Operatic Performance from the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Opera from the University of British Columbia.

Dimitri Katotakis

Toronto native Dimitri Katotakis studied at McGill University and Juilliard, before being accepted into the prestigious Merola Opera Program in San Francisco. Last year, he was part of Steven Blier's New York Festival of Song concert "Protest." He was the Second Prize winner at the Canadian Opera Company's vocal competition.

Barihunk duo in Edmonton Opera revival of Les Feluettes

Zachary Read and Jean-Michel Richer

Australian composer Kevin March and Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard's opera Les Feluettes (Lilies), which had its world premiere last year at Opéra de Montréal, followed by a revival at Pacific Opera Victoria, will now be performed at the Edmonton Opera. It is the first overtly gay-themed opera that the company has presented. Edmonton Opera will use the same designs and staging that were used in Montreal and Victoria.

Dominique Côté

The opera is based on the play, which tells the story of the confession of an aging prisoner to a bishop. Through the confession we learn that the bishop and the prisoner were part of a gay love triangle and that the bishop was responsible for the death of a young man many years ago. The play was was made into a film called Lilies, which was directed by John Greyson. All of the roles in the opera, including the female roles of La Comtesse Marie-Laure de Tilly and Mademoiselle Lydie-Anne de Rozier, are sung by men as the story is told by actors in an all-male prison.

 Zachary Read and Jean-Michel Richer discuss the opera Les Feluettes:

The term Feluette is a Quebec expression with its root in the word fluet, (thin, frail in appearance) which, in common parlance of the time, referred to men who were weak, frail, or effeminate.

Edmonton Opera will present the piece from October 21-27 with barihunk Zachary Read as Young Simon and Jean-Michel Richer returning as the Count Vallier de Tilly. Dominique Côté , who we introduced to readers last year will sing the Countess Marie-Laure de Tilly.  Performances are at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton on October 21, 24 and 27. The opera is sung in French with English supertitles. Tickets are available online.

Our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for purchase HERE. In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book this year, which includes additional photos that don't appear in the calendar. You can purchase that HERE. The New Year is approaching faster than you think!

Four barihunks take prizes at George London Competition

(Clockwise top left) Will Liverman, Brian Vu, Cody Quattlebaum and Shea Owens

Four barihunks walked away with awards at the 46th annual George London Foundation Awards Competition for young American and Canadian opera singers at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City.

After three days of preliminary auditions, 18 were selected as finalists and a total of $75,000 was given in awards. Five were selected as winners of George London Awards of $10,000, including Will Liverman. Three singers received $5,000 awards, including Cody Quattlebaum and the remainder received $1,000 each, including Shea Owens and Brian Vu.

Barihunk Richard Stilwell in his singing days

his year's panel of judges included soprano Harolyn Blackwell, mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias, former Metropolitan Opera administrator Alfred F. Hubay, George London Foundation President Nora London, mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, tenor and voice professor George Shirley, and barihunk Richard Stilwell (who won a George London Award at the first competition in 1971). The competition pianist was renowned collaborative pianist Craig Rutenberg.

Other $10,000 prize winners included tenor Aaron Blake, soprano Michelle Bradley, tenor Errin Duane Brooks and soprano Lara Secord-Haid.

Introducing Québecois barihunk Dominique Côté

Dominique Côté

Québec barihunk Dominique Côté is new to the site. We were intrigued by him when we learned that in addition to singing he runs in triathlons to stay in shape. In June 2017, he'll particiapte in his first Ironman 70.3. The race consists of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. Each distance of the swim, bike, and run segments is half the distance of that segment in an Ironman triathlon.

As a singer, he'll appear in two operas in Opera Lafayette's upcoming seasons. He'll perform Pizarro in composer Pierre Gaveaux's Léonore, ou l'amour conjugal on February 19 in Washington D.C. and February 23 at the Gerald Lynch Theater in New York. He'll be joined in the cast by fellow barihunk and Quebecois Thomas Lavoie, who we introduced to readers last summer. The opera is part of the company's Leonore Project, which will feature Beethoven's Fidelio next season, which is based on the same story. Côté will perform in that production, as well.

Côté has won several top prizes at vocal competitions, including the Concours International de chant de Canari, the operetta award at the Concours International de chant de Marmande, and the grand prize from the Voice Festival of McGill University.

Dominique Côté and Marianne Lambert sing Massenet's Marine:

He trained as an actor at L’école de théâtre de St-Hyacinthe and then as a singer with Lucette Tremblay in Montreal, and completed his training at the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal in 2010. Côté recently starred in the Georges Feydeau play Feu la mère de Madame at the Theatre Lac Brome, sang the role of Frédéric in Léo Delibes' Lakmé at l’Opéra de Montréal and Dr. Falke in Johann Strauss' La Chauve-Souris (Die Fledermaus) for le Grand Théâtre Genève.

As an actor, Côté has also appeared as Renaud on the Radio-Canada show Virginie, Eric Gaudry on Jean-Duceppe for Télé-Québec and as Étienne Bernard on Emma on the TVA network. Children will also recognize his voice from the many cartoon characters he has played including the Lion in Le Lion d’Oz. 

Sexy pictures of Mike Nyby from Isis and Osiris

Mike Nyby in Togni's Isis and Osiris (Michael Barrett, left; Lucia Nesrallah, right)

Earlier in the week we posted about Canadian barihunk Mike Nyby singing Seth in the world premiere of award-winning composer Peter-Anthony Togni's "Isis and Osiris." The new Canadian opera, concludes the 2016 season of Toronto's Opera in Concert program with performances on April 1st and 3rd.

We now have a couple of photos from the rehearsals, so we wanted to share them with our readers. His character isn't exactly the nicest guy in the world. In the photo on the left he's about to dismember Osiris's body and in the photo on the right he's raping Isis.

Isis and Osiris, Gods of Egypt is based on the major myth of ancient Egypt, telling their love story in a larger-than-life tale of sibling jealousy, lust for power, fratricide and the quest for immortality. Togni collaborated with Toronto poet Sharon Singer on the piece.

The remainder of the cast includes Lucia Cesaroni as Isis, Michael Barrett as Osiris, Julie Nesrallah as Nepthys, Stuart Graham as Grand Vizier Khamet, Leigh-Ann Allen as Sennefer and Christopher Wattam as Imhotep.

Upcoming performances for Nyby include Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen with the Huronia Symphony and Gounod's St. Cecilia's Mass with the Toronto Korean-Canadian Chorale. 

Barihunk duo in Edmonton's Merry Widow

Aaron Durand and Mike Nyby

Two barihunks are featured in the Edmonton Opera's English language production of Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. The operetta opened last night and will be performed again on Tuesday, October 27 and Thursday, October 29.

Michael Nyby sings Danilo Danilowitsch, Hanna Glawari's ex-lover who is less excited about being her lover and sharing in her recently inherited wealth, than most men.  Aaron Durand, who appeared with the company in their Barber of Seville last year, takes on Vicomte Cascada.

Preview of The Merry Widow at Edmonton Opera:

Nyby and lead soprano Sally Dibblee have been tasked with dancing duties as well as singing, as director Brent Krysa and choreographer Dave Ganert have found inspiration in Hollywood dance musicals. Dibblee even took ballroom dancing lessons for the part.

Nyby is a native of Hamilton, Ontario who created the roles of William Dale in Kevin Puts' Silent Night, Brent Colgate in Gregory Vajda's Georgia Bottoms and Demetrio in the US premiere of Kristin Hevner Wyatt's Il Sogno. This season he'll be creating the role of Seth in the Canadian opera Peter-Anthony Togni's Isis and Osiris with Opera in Concert. He'll be joining hunkentenor Karim Sulayman for Händel's Messiah with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in Ontario on December 7 and 8.

Aaron Durand talks about being an opera singer:

Durand hails from 100 Mile House, British Columbia After graduating from the University of British Columbia in 2012, he joined the Vancouver Opera's Yulanda M. Faris young artist program, performing roles in several mainstage productions including La bohème, The Pirates of Penzance, Albert Herring and Don Giovanni. He was Masetto in the innovative production of #UncleJohn with the Against the Grain Theatre.

You can follow Aaron Durand on Twitter @Gingervanni. 

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Reader Submission: Tyler Fitzgerald

Tyler Fitgerald and the Cantilon Chamber Choir

Our latest Reader Submission is Canadian barihunk Tyler Fitzgerald, who just sang the Toreador's Song with the Cantilon Chamber Choir [pictured above] and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Symphony for their Under the Sky concert in Hawrelak Park.

Originally from Nanaimo, British Columbia, he just completed his second year of Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Program. In 2011, he received a bachelor’s degree in music from Wilfrid Laurier University. In 2012, Tyler was the recipient of the Gladys Whitehead Scholarship for Voice, and in 2011 was the winner of the Lois Marshall Competition.

Recent concert and operatic performances with the Calgary Opera include Marchese d’Obigny in Verdi's La Traviata, Don Inigo Gomez in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnol, and Count Gill in Wolf-Ferrari’s Il Segreto di Susanna, Bonze/Prince Yamadori in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and The Father in Humperdinks' Hansel and Gretel.

He has also performed in the Celtic Mass for the Sea by Canadian composer Scott MacMillian with the Festival Chorus of Calgary and in Orff's Carmina Burana and Handel’s Messiah with The Peterborough Singers.

Other roles include Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera NUOVA, Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte with Opera Laurier, Pistola in Verdi's Falstaff with Opera Nuova, Jimmy in Weill's Mahagonny Songspiel  with Saltwater Productions, Aeneas in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, King Melchoir in Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Le Marquis in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites.

Making Dreams Come True: Introducing Joel Balzun

Canadian barihunk Joel Balzun

We noticed this Twitter exchange and couldn't resist posting it. After all, we're not about making dreams come true, than what is our purpose?

Calgary-based Cowtown Opera wrote, "All the best to our #Barihunk @jdeebizzle on his recital tonight in #yyc!" To which Canadian baritone Joel Balzun replied, "@CowtownOpera I've finally achieved my dream of being called a #barihunk - thank you. #lifegoals #operaproblems"

Balzun has performed Fiorello in their production of The Barber of Cowtown, which set Rossini's classic opera in the Wild, Wild, West. Other companies that he's appeared with include his 2011 professional debut with the California International Theatre Festival, Calgary Concert Opera Company, La Mirada Vocal Arts, the Rochester Oratorio Society and performing the Four Villains in Offenbach's Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Napa Music Festival. He made his Kennedy Center debut singing excerpts from Puccini's Turandot, representing the Eastman School of Music as a part of the Conservatory Project. At Eastman he performed Sid in Britten's Albert Herring.

Joel Balzun (photo: Alexander Timmons)

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Composition from Biola University and recently graduated with a Master's degree in Vocal Performance from the Eastman School of Music. As a composer, he was named a finalist at the 2014 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Awards, won the Grand Prize and Young Composers Prize in the National Broadcast Orchestra’s Galaxie Rising Star Composers’ Competition, and won the Dallas Wind Symphony’s 9th annual “Call for Fanfares.”

Joel Balzun is officially a barihunk!

Barihunk duo in Lully's Armide in Innsbruck

Pietro di Bianco & Thomas Lavoie

The barihunks duo of Pietro di Bianco and Thomas Lavoie will appear at this year's Innsbruck Festival of Early Music in Lully's rarely performed Armide. Di Bianco, who was awarded the top prize for men at the Paris Opera Competition last year, will sing the role of Armide's wicked uncle Hidraot, while Lavoie takes on the dual assignment of Aronte and Ubalde.

Lully's Armide premiered at the Paris Opera on February 15, 1685 and was revived numerous times by the company during the 17th century. The opera is in the form of a tragédie en musique, a genre invented by Lully. Unlike most of his operas, Armide concentrates on the sustained psychological development of a character — not the crusader Renaud, who spends most of the opera under Armide's spell, but Armide, who repeatedly tries without success to choose vengeance over love.

Pietro di Bianco sings "De noirs pressentiments" from Iphigénie en Tauride:

The story takes place during the First Crusade, when Armide ensnares her enemy the Christian knight Renaud with her magic spells. At the moment she raises her dagger to kill him, she finds herself falling in love with him. She casts a spell to make him love her in return. Upon returning to her castle, she cannot bear that Renaud's love is only the work of enchantment. She calls on the Goddess of Hate to restore her hatred for Renaud, but fails to escape from her feelings of love for him. The Goddess condemns Armide to eternal love. Before Armide can return to Renaud, two of his fellow soldiers reach Renaud and break Armide's spell. Renaud manages to escape from Armide, who is left enraged, despairing, and hopeless.

Performances are on August 22, 24 and 26. Tickets, cast information and additional festival shows are available online.

Introducing Canadian Barihunk Dylan Langan

Dylan Langan

We're introducing readers to the multi-talented Canadian barihunk, composer and musician Dylan Langan. We learned about him after a reader forward a feature article from the Waterloo Region Record in Ontario, Canada, which you can read HERE.

He's currently pursuing his Honour’s Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Composition and Vocal Performance at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. He's studying voice with internationally acclaimed baritone James Westman. In addition to singing, he has studied bassoon, piano, saxophone, euphonium and guitar.

Sam Bibby plays Dylan Langan's Waltz in G Major:

As a composer, Langan has produced over 350 works of Electronic Dance Music alone. While best known classically for his Violin Concerto in D Minor, Langan has written for a variety of other instruments and ensembles. He currently studies under Jules Léger Prize winner Linda Catlin Smith and is in the process of writing a number of works.

On February 1st, Langan will be directing and performing in his operatic composition Rise of the Roaches. From February 27-March 1, he will perform Marco in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. Both performances are at Wilfrid Laurier University. This summer, he'll be honing his skill further at the Halifax Summer Opera where he'll perform the role of Carl Oleson in Kurt Weill's Street Scene.

Introducing Canadian Barihunk Bevan Bühler

Bevan Bühler onstage and off

Who says that we don't make dreams come true at Barihunks? Canadian barihunk Bevan Bühler posted the following on Twitter: "My life goal is to be listed on barihunks." We get a lot of requests for singers to appear on the site, but this one seemed like a no-brainer. In 2012, he one of eight finalists in the Discovered international model search, which raised funds for the Children's Wish Foundation.

After completing his Associate Degree in piano performance, Bühler began his journey as a singer when he was given the opportunity to play Rolf in Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in his hometown of Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Since then, Bühler has performed various solo and chamber recitals and has been featured at the Edmonton Vocal Arts Festival and the Saskatoon Music Festival.  Bühler has also joined the casts of Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Handel's Alcina with Opera Nuova and has performedin Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and Purcell's King Arthur with Saskatoon Opera.

Bühler began his 2014-15 season by singing Ramiro in Maurice Ravel's comedic opera, L'heure Espagnole, presented by University of Western Ontario Opera (UWOpera). Under the direction of Michael Cavanagh, Bühler's character effortlessly was required to lift and carry large clocks on and off stage. To no one's surprise, he got the girl in the end.

Future engagements include the role of the villain, Caiaphas, in Jesus Christ Superstar with Musical Theatre Productions London, as well as performing as a featured soloist with the University of Western Ontario Opera's cast at the University's Opera Gala this spring.

Off stage, Bühler spends his free time outdoors - including replanting forests in British Columbia during the summer - or in the weight room where he is a certified personal trainer.

Singer! Model! Personal Trainer! Socially conscious good-guy! Welcome to the barihunks family!

Craig Verm: Mr March

If you want to enjoy 19 more of the sexiest men in opera, make sure to order your 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar today by clicking below. 

Jonathan Estabrooks to sing Lerner & Loewe

Jonathan Estabrooks

Canadian barihunk Jonathan Estabrooks is returning to his native country to perform with the Vancouver Symphony. He'll be making a familiar foray from opera to the world of musical theater, as he joins soprano Amy Wallis and tenor David Curry in an evening of music by Lerner and Loewe. They'll perform under the baton of Steven Reineke on Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22 at the Orpheum Theater. Tickets are available online.

The duo is known for creating some of the greatest musicals of all time, including Camelot, My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, and Gigi. Estabrooks will be performing such familiar hits as If Ever I Would Leave You, They Call the Wind Maria and Gigi.

Estabrooks will also be signing copies of his debut album ‘These Miles’ after the show in the main lobby.

If you can't make it to Vancouver, you have plenty of time to buy tickets for his performances with the Seattle Symphony and Steven Reineke when he takes on the Broadway classics of Rodgers & Hammerstein from March 6-8, 2015. Tickets are available online. 

Jonathan Estabrooks isn't in this year's Barihunks calendar, but he has appeared in previous years. However, you can still enjoy 19 more of the hottest guys in the opera world by ordering your copy today. Just click the handy LULU button below.

Introducing Barihunk Benoit Pitre

Benoit Pitre

Canadian Bass-Barihunk Benoit Pitre is new to our site. He came to our attention when we noticed that he'll be performing Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro beginning next week on July 23th at the Neues Theatre in Halle before moving the production for three performance at Hauptstadtoper in Berlin.

Pitre received his degree in music performance from McGill University, following initial musical studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Benoit Pitre and Kirstin Hasselmann  (Photo: Christina Kämper)

He recently performed the roles of Don Pizzaro and Don Fernando in the Stefan Neugebauer production of Beethoven's Fidelio in Berlin and Lord Cecil in Opera Sacra's production of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. Previous operatic engagements saw him as the Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Festivale della Lirica in Vale, Argentina and as Guglielmo in Mozart's Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Volkstheater Weimar. He also traveled as Peter in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel and Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte on outreach tours throughout Austria, Germany and northern Italy during his first years in Europe.

Also committed to song recitals and promoting contemporary repertoire, he performed on multiple occasions with luminaries such as accompanist Roger Vignoles. Earlier this month he performed a series of recitals promoting songs of his native Quebec and contemporary New York composers.
Pitre was a recipient of a Tanglewood Music Center and a Junge Musiker Stiftung Bayreuth fellowship.

Barihunk Quartet in Opera Atelier's Persée

Olivier Laquerre (Méduse) left, Vasil Garvanliev (Phinèe) center, and Curtis Sullivan (Cyclope) 2nd from right Photos on left and right by Bruce Zinger

 

Opera Atelier has revived their critically acclaimed production of Lully’s Persée with four barihunks in the cast: Olivier Laquerre as Méduse, Vasil Garvanliev as Phinèe, Stephen Hegedus as Protenor/Divinite Infernale and Curtis Sullivan as Cyclope.

The company first staged the production in 2000, which was the opera's first fully staged production since it inaugurated the Royal Opera House at Versailles in 1770 during the wedding celebrations of the future King Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette. Their 2004 revival of Persée was the subject of a documentary.

Stephen Hegedus (right)

The Royal Opera House has invited Opera Atelier to bring Persée back to Versailles for the first time  since the 1770 performances. It will be performed on May 23, 24, and 25 after the current run at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto. There are performances tonight, as well as May 2 and 3.

You can also catch Stephen Hegedus performing Bach’s Magnificat and Bruckner’s Te Deum with l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec on May 28.

New Releases from Canadian barihunks Phillipe Sly and Jonathan Estabrooks

Two of our favorite Canadian barihunks have released CDs this week. They are strikingly different in repertory, but equally enjoyable.

The ridiculously talented Philippe Sly has released "In Love’s Minstrels" with accompanist Michael McMahon. They perform English music from the late 19th and early 20th century by Healey Willan, John Ireland, Roger Quilter, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst.

You can listen to the CD at the CBC website, but if you're logging in from outside Canada you'll have to create a free login (it took us 20 seconds and was worth it!).

Jonathan Estabrooks has released his album, which he funded throught Kickstarter. "These Miles" mixes classical, pop and classic musical theater, 'These Miles.' He's joined by the Macedonia Radio Orchestra in everything from Neil Diamond's Play Me to the Canadian folk song Away from the Roll of the Sea. You can preview it at CD Baby. 

Interview with Philippe Sly and upcoming Messiah

 

Philippe Sly

Philippe Sly will be performing Handel’s Messiah with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa under maestro Matthew Halls on December 17th and 18th at 7 PM. He'll be joined by soprano Sherezade Panthaki,  mezzo-soprano Meg Bragle and tenor Nicholas Phan. Tickets are available online. 

 

The Ottawa citizen ran an interview with this fast-rising star, which included the following question about being a barihunk:

You have been dubbed a “barihunk”. Embarrased? Embracing it?

People can say what they want (but) I have to admit, the blog has generated a lot of interest. Though there is the funny title, the blog does a good job of keeping tabs on current baritones and promoting new ones. Almost all of my baritone friends have appeared on the site.

We've had the pleasure of hearing Sly as a recitalist and on stage and the hype around him is justified. He is smart, gifted and commands the stage. To check out information about future performaces in Philadelphia, Quebec and elsewhere, check out his website.  

You can read the entire interview in the Ottawa Citizen online. 

We also want to add a comment about what Sly says about the site. We recently floated the idea to a few opera insiders and some of our favorite singers about shutting down the site on January 1, 2014. The unanimous response was that the site (even with its funny name) is still the prime source of information about baritones in the world of opera. Our goal continues to be twofold 1) to promote and assist the best baritone talent in the world, and 2) ensure that opera remains vibrant and interesting enough to compete with the wealth of entertainment options available to the public. 

We appreciate your readership. 

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FIVE barihunks at the "Jeunes ambassadeurs lyriques"

Jonathan Estabrooks, Philip Kalmanovitch, Cairan Ryan, Andrey Andreychik, & Pierre Rancourt

There were five -- yes, count 'em -- five barihunks at tonight's Benefit Gala Concert of the "Jeunes ambassadeurs lyriques" in Montreal. Thanks to Jonathan Estabrooks, we got a picture of all five together backstage. This could keep anyone warm during a cold Canadian winter.

The concert celebrates the next generation of young vocal talent between the ages of 18-35. It's now in its twentieth year and part of the proceeds goes towards funding the audition expenses of the young stars for major artistic productions worldwide. A number of prizes are awarded to the singers, including the Canadian Lyric Prize, German Lyric Prize, Francis Poulenc Prize and more.

Jonathan Estabrooks and Philip Kalmanovitch have both appeared on Barihunks in the past. In fact, both have appeared in our Charity Calendar. Andrey Andreychik, Cairan Ryan and Pierre Rancourt are all new to our site.

33-year-old Andrey Andreychik is a Russian/Canadian singer who graduated from Krasnoyarsk State University with a degree in International Economics. The former chorister studied music at the University of British Columbia where he performed with their opera ensemble.

Cairan Ryan sings "When The Air Sings of Summer" from The Old Maid and the Thief:

Belgian born Cairan Ryan is from Calgary, Alberta. He is currently in his first year as a young artist at the Atelier Lyrique de L'Opéra de Montréal. He won the Prix du Jeunes Ambassadeurs prize at last year's gala. Tonight he won the Prix Lyrique Français Bourse, a $1000 bursary for a German audition tour, and an engagement to be announced in the 2014-15 season in Moscow on behalf of the Russian Consulate. He is the past winner of the McGill Noël E. Spinelli Music Award, was awarded an Alberta Foundation for the Arts Individual Music Project Grant, a McGill University Schulich Scholarship, and a bursary from the Johann Strauss Foundation.

French Canadian baritone Pierre Rancourt is a member of the Montreal Opera’s young artist program "L’Atelier lyrique." He has appeared with the company as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème, Marullo in Verdi's Rigoletto, as well as a variety of comprimario roles. He holds a Master’s in performance from Quebec City’s Université Laval and has taken part in numerous young artist programs.

Barihunks regulars Jonathan Estabrooks & Philip Kalmanovitch

Philip Kalmanovitch is a recent alumnus of the Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal, where he performed Antonio in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, the Secret Police Agent in Menotti's The Consul and Wagner in Gounod's Faust. He received his Diploma in Operatic Performance with Honours at the University of Toronto and holds a B.A.H. in Drama and a B.A.Minor in Music from Queen’s University. Tonight he received the $2,500 Prix Banque TD Jeune Espoir Lyrique Canadien to support a professional training program and a future Russian engagement courtesy of the Russian Consulate, as well as future engagements with the Vancouver Opera and the Festival Opéra St. Eustache in Quebec.

Julliard graduate Jonathan Estabrooks is a familiar site to users of social media and to readers of Barihunks, as we've closely followed his burgeoning career. He is currently recording his debut album, which will include crossover music. He raised over $25,000 to fund the project on Kickstarter.  He will also star as Schaunard in the film ‘The Bohemians’ by director Jose Cuartes and Bravo Lozano Productions. Estabrooks the won the $1000 Poulenc Award tonight.

Canadian Barihunks featured on CBC's "30 under 30"

The CBC recently ran a feature called "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30." They surveyed Canada's conservatories, music competitions and professional training programs to come up with their list. Although we at Barihunks take the word "HOT" to mean sexy, it appears that they are going for a double meaning, with "HOT" also meaning "musicians with talent to keep an eye on," since they range in age from 8 to 28.

Both male singers featured are baritones who have appeared on our site and Philippe Sly even gets mentioned for regularly appearing on our site. We've heard other singers joke that Gordon Bintner is incapable of taking a bad picture and we couldn't agree more. Both Bintner and Sly are not only easy on the eyes, but they are indeed two of the most gifted musicians coming out of Canada.

As an aside, the featured soprano Wallis Giunta, is the girlfriend of barihunk John Brancy, who we've featured extensively of late. Small world!
 

Gordon Bintner (photo: Emily Ding)

Gordon Bintner (baritone)

Age: 25
From: Regina, Sask.
Hot because: The last 12 months have been huge for Bintner: he won first prize and the People's Choice Award at the 2012 Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Competition, and in May he made his debut with L'Opéra de Montréal singing Lescaut in Massenet's Manon. We think he looks too sweet to portray womanizing Don Giovanni, but Bintner says it's his dream role.

Upcoming:
- February 2014, Toronto, Ont.: the role of Don Alfonso in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte with the COC's Ensemble Studio.

Philippe Sly (photo: Adam Scotti)

Philippe Sly (bass-baritone)

Age: 24
From: Ottawa, Ont.
Hot because: Sly has a way of impressing audiences and judges. He’s won both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (which come with a cool $15,000 prize) and the Montreal International Musical Competition (add another $55,000 in winnings). Oh, he also makes frequent appearances on the popular Barihunks blog.

Upcoming:
- Sept. 12,15,16, Montreal, Que.: Berlioz’s Damnation de Faust with l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
- Dec. 6,7, Winnipeg, Man.: Handel’s Messiah with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
- March 15, Philadelphia, Penn.: Fauré’s Requiem with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

You can see the entire list at the CBC website. 

Benjamin Covey performing in tribute to poet Robert Burns

Benjamin Covey

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. 

Baritones win two top awards at George London competition & three encouragement awards

Steven LaBrie and John Brancy

The 42nd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition was held Friday night and baritones took two of the top prized and three of the encouragement awards. Nicholas Pallesen and Jamez McCorkle both were awarded the top prize which comes with a $10,000 financial gift. Encouragement awards went to John Brancy, who received the Theodor Uppman memorial award; Steven LaBrie won the Herbert J. Frank memorial award; and, a final baritone winner was Jonathan Michie. Aubrey Allicock, who has been featured on this site along with Pallesen, Brancy and LaBrie, was awarded an Honorable Mention.

The competition took place in a front of a capacity audience at Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. A total of $82,000 was given in awards. After three days of preliminary auditions during which ninety singers were heard, 24 were selected as finalists. Of these, seven were selected as winners of George London Awards of $10,000 each and seven were given George London Foundation Encouragement Awards of $1,000 each. The remaining 10 finalists received $500 Honorable Mention awards.

Theodor Uppman as Billy Budd in 1951

Other winners of the $10,000 top prize included tenor Dominic Armstrong, tenor Noah Baetge, soprano Felicia Moore, soprano Jessica Muirhead, and  Additional $1,000 encouragement awards went to tenor Adam Bonanni, mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb, soprano Marina Costa - Jackson, and mezzo-soprano Shirin Eskandani.

This year’s panel of judges included soprano Harolyn Blackwell, mezzo-soprano Nedda Casei, opera stage director Bruce Donnell, former Metropolitan Opera administrator Alfred F. Hubay, George London Foundation President Nora London, former Metropolitan Opera leading tenor and current voice professor George Shirley, and performing arts consultant Thurmond Smithgall.

Since 1971, the annual competition of The George London Foundation for Singers has been giving its George London Awards, and a total of more than $2 million, to an outstanding roster of young American and Canadian opera singers who have gone on to international stardom – the list of past winners includes Christine Brewer, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Catherine Malfitano, James Morris, Matthew Polenzani, Sondra Radvanovsky, Neil Shicoff, and Dawn Upshaw.