Showing posts with label grant doyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grant doyle. Show all posts

Friday, October 6, 2017

First UK performance of Rameau's Dardanus features barihunk trio

Timothy Nelson, Grant Doyle and Frederick Long
The English Touring Opera will present the first U.K. performance of the 1744 version of Rameau's Dardanus. Considered one of the composer's best operas, the story surrounds Jupiter’s son Dardanus who is in love with Iphise, the daughter of his enemy Teucer – a love that, though reciprocated, is forbidden.

The production will feature the bass-barihunk trio of Grant Doyle as Teucer, Timothy Nelson as Anténor and Frederick Long as Isménor. The cast also includes Galina Averina as Iphise and Anthony Gregory in the title role. The opera runs from October 6-November 7 at various locations.

Rameau and his librettist Charles-Antoine Leclerc de La Bruère revised the opera after an unsuccessful premiere at the Paris Opéra in 1739. Much of the operas unfavorable reception can be traced to the so-called lullistes - conservatives who accused him of destroying the French operatic tradition established by rival composer Jean-Baptiste Lully under King Louis XIV in the late 17th century. The revised version has a simpler plot, fewer supernatural features and a greater focus on the emotional conflicts of the main characters.

Mathias Vidal sings "Lieux funestes" the most famous piece from Dardanus:

Timothy Nelson earned a degree in Physiology from Cardiff University before studying with voice at the Royal College of Music International Opera School, where he was awarded the McCulloch Prize for Opera and was a Jerwood Young Artist at the Glyndebourne Festival. He has sung numerous roles at the London Handel Festival, as well as the title role in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Ramiro in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole and Don Pomponio in Rossini’s La Gazzetta at the Royal College of Music International Opera School.

Frederick Long received his degree in music from the University of Bristol, a Recital Diploma from the Royal Academy of Music, before continuing his training at the National Opera Studio.
He has recently performed Zebul in Handel's Jephtha ​and Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème ​for Iford Arts, as well as Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute for Mid-Wales Opera.

Grant Doyle has performed numerous roles with the English Touring Opera, including the title role in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Orestes in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, Marcello La bohème, Hector in Tippett's King Priam, Eduardo in Rossini's L'assedio di Calais, Paolo in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, Emireno Ottone and Nello in Donizetti's Pia de' Tolomei.


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!


Saturday, May 30, 2015

Peter Brathwaite discusses career on BBC

 
Peter Brathwaite (Photo: Maria Scard)

The English Touring Opera wraps up their Spring season today, which included barihunks Nicholas Lester, Grant Doyle, Jan Capiński and Peter Brathwaite. The company performed Donizetti's
The Wild Man of the West Indies (Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo) and his The Siege of Calais, as well as Puccini's La bohème.

Peter Brathwaite, who has been a regular on this site and appeared in two of our charity calendars, was a guest on Chris Mann's BBC show to discuss the English Touring Opera shows, as well as his career. You can listen to the interview HERE, which begins at the 1:48:30 mark. 

Simon Wallfisch
The English Touring Opera's Fall season opens on October 1st and will feature Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, Massenet's Werther and Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann. A number of barihunks will be featured in the new season, including Jonathan McGovern as Pelleas and Simon Wallfisch (aka The Singing Cellist) as Albert in Werther. Additional information about the upcoming season is available online.
 


Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Barihunks hit the road with English Touring Opera

Nicholas Lester (left) & Peter Brathwaite (photos from English Touring Opera)
The English Touring Opera is kicking off their new Spring season with some barihunks in key roles.

Peter Brathwaite, who has been a regular on this site and appeared in two of our charity calendars, will take on roles in two Donizetti rarities, Kaidamà in The Wild Man of the West Indies (Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo) and Incognito in The Siege of Calais. This will be the first staging of The Wild Man of the West Indies in Britain in the modern era.

The Siege of Calais tells the story of the sacrifices under siege of the citizens of Calais – and of the sacrifices of citizens everywhere, forced in extreme situations to decide what to give up for their country and their families.

Jan Capiński
Jan Capiński, who is new to this site will appear as Armando in The Siege of Calais. He recently completed his M.A. in Opera Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, graduating with distinction. He is currently training on English National Opera's Opera Works professional development program. Capiński was spotted by Scottish Opera while still a student and asked to cover the role of Pluto in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, before going on to perform the role twice with the main cast, marking his professional debut.

Click HERE to hear Jan Capiński sing Smirnov's aria from Walton's The Bear. You can also follow him on his blog or on Twitter @JanCapinski.

Nicholas Lester, who is also new to this site, will alternate the role of Marcello in Puccini's La bohème with Grant Doyle, who has appeared on this site numerous times.  He studied at the Adelaide Conservatorium of Music and at the National Opera Studio, London where his studies were sponsored by Glyndebourne Festival Opera as the recipient of the Anne Woods/Johanna Peters Award. He has also appeared with the Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Nationale Reisopera and Opera Holland Park.

The tour opens in London at the Hackney Empire in March and travels through May to Truro, Norwich, Cheltenham, Suffolk, Leicester, Coventry, Exeter and Buxton. Visit their website for additional cast information and performance dates.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Nicholas Dinopoulos featured in Australia's Remembrance Day celebration


Nick Dinopoulos
Bass-barihunk Nicholas Dinopoulos will take part in Australia's Remembrance Day at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday, November 11th.

The concert is part of the Local Heroes program, a year-long tribute to the inspiring individuals who were affected by WWI and whose personal stories will be shared and celebrated with each Local Heroes concert of 2015. He will be joined by accompanist Andrea Katz, soprano Merlyn Quaife and mezzo-soprano Sally-Anne Russell.

The program includes music by Liszt, Mahler, Poulenc, Delius, Rorem, Schumann and Simon & Garfunkel's The sound of silence. Click HERE for additional information.

From December 3-9, one can catch Dinopoulos in Pinchgut Opera's production of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride featuring Grant Doyle and Caitlin Hulcup. Click HERE for additional cast and ticket information.
Zachary Gordin: Mr January in the Barihunks Calendar
Our 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar is now on sale. Click on the LULU button below and enjoy 19 of the hottest men in opera.

Support independent publishing: Buy this calendar on Lulu.


Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Grant Doyle Nominated for Helpmann Award

Grant Doyle as Starbuck (left)
Australian barihunk Grant Doyle has been nominated for a Helpmann Award in the category "Best Male Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera." Doyle's nomination is for his portrayal of Starbuck in Jake Heggie's "Moby-Dick" at the State Opera of South Australia.

The Helpmann awards are Australia's equivalent of the Tony Awards, with awards given out for musicals, theater, opera, classical music, cabaret, dance and comedy. 

Other nominees in the category include baritone James Clayton for The Tales of Hoffmann at West Australian Opera, bass Conal Coad for The Marriage of Figaro at Opera Australia and baritone Douglas McNicol in La Fanciulla del West at Opera Queensland. We should also mention that Matthias Goerne was nominated for "Best Individual Classical Performance" for his performance of Die Winterreise at the Melbourne Recital Centre. The "Honorable Godmother of Barihunks" Francesca Zambello was also nominated for "Best Direction of an Opera" for her La Traviata at Sydney Harbor with Opera Australia. You can get a complete list of nominees at the Helpmann Awards website.

Doyle sings "O Nadir, tendre ami de mon jeune âge" from Bizet's Les pêcheurs de Perles:

The 2012 Helpmann Awards Ceremony will be held on Monday, September 24th at 8pm at the Opera Theatre in the Sydney Opera House. The Helpmann Awards will be broadcast exclusively the following night on Australia’s arts and entertainment channel STUDIO – channel 132 on Foxtel.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, August 7th and can be purchased from the Sydney Opera House Box Office at 02 9250 7777 or online.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Aussies invade England during Diamond Jubilee

Grant Doyle and Joshua Bloom

No one saw this one coming: The Aussies invaded England in the midst of the Queen's "Diamond Jubilee" and put on quite a show. Aussie barihunks Grant Doyle and Joshua Bloom took the stage at the Garsington Opera at Wormsley estate and had the crowd thinking about things other than British Royalty and Navy flyovers. 

 Grant Doyle sings "Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen" from Korngold's "Die tote Stadt":

There are still six performances remaining between now and July 2nd. Check out the Garsington Opera website for more information. Also on the docket at Garsington is Mozart's "The Magic Flute" with barihunk Richard Latham, Vivaldi's "L'Olimiade," and Offenbach's "La Perichole."

Papageno won't be Richard Latham's first encounter with feathers
If you haven't been to Garsington and experienced opera in the lush English countryside, we highly recommend adding it to your travel itinerary.


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Saturday, June 11, 2011

A "Rape of Lucretia" Photo Tribute

Heather Jewson & David Krohn in Aspen
Perhaps only Mozart's "Don Giovanni" has provided more material for Barihunks than Benjamin Britten's "Rape of Lucretia." The opera contains three roles that are often cast with barihunks - Junius, Collatinus and Tarquinius. Because the opera revolves around young soldiers it is usually cast with young, buff singers. Rather than bore readers with a lot of text, here is a photo tribute to one of the sexiest operas in the repertory.

Nathan Gunn in Vienna
Dan Kempson in Pittsburgh
The Rape of Lucretia revolves around a bet made between three Roman officers, Collatinus, Junius, and Prince Tarquinius, while they are at war with Greece. The three men bet on which of their wives will be faithful. As it turns out, only Lucretia, the wife of Collatinus remains true to her man. In a jealous rage, Prince Tarquinius rides back to Rome and rapes Lucretia. Overcome by shame, Lucretia commits suicide.

Robyn Rocklein & Seth Kershinik at Arizona Opera Theater

Benjamin Britten (November 22, 1913 – December 4, 1976) composed The Rape of Lucretia, a two-act English tragic drama based on the play "Le Viol de Lucrèce" by André Obey. The opera was premiered at Glyndebourne on July 12, 1946. The setting is in Rome in 500 BC.

 
Phillip Addis in Victoria; Colin Clarke at ENO

Grant Doyle at ROH; Kiera Duffy & Philip Cutlip in Toledo

Christopher Maltman sings "Within this frail crucible of light," where Tarquinius pauses to collect his courage before doing the dreadful deed.



Matt Worth in Berkeley

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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Hunk4Hunk Switch in Australia


Fans of Teddy Tahu Rhodes who were planning on seeing him perform as Zurga in the Pearl Fishers at the State Opera of South Australia need not be disappointed. The opera company is replacing the popular barihunk with Grant Doyle, another certifiable barihunk, who has previously appeared on this site.

The announcement of the switch was a little odd, as it gave the canned excuse of a "last minute indisposition," but the performances aren't until September 2010. Also in the production will be Pelham Andrews, who is performing Nourabad. Andrews has been on our list of emerging barihunks for almost two years, so this seems like an appropriate time to add him to the roster.


Andrews in a native of Australia and a graduate of Adelaide University and the Cardiff International Academy of Voice. He was part of the Young Artist Program at the State Opera of South Australia and the winner of the McDonalds Operatic Aria competition in 2005.

Grant Doyle is also scheduled to sing the role of Starbuck in Jake Heggie's new opera "Moby-Dick" at the State Opera of South Australia in Adelaide in September 2011. Moby-Dick recently created a sensation among audiences and critics when it premiered this summer in Dallas.

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Grant Doyle To Sing Mozart's Count



It's been two years since we featured the emerging barihunk Grant Doyle. The Australian singer caught our eye singing Demetrius in Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." We were wondering what he's been up to and were delighted to see that he'll be portraying the Count in "Le Nozze di Figaro" at Garsington Opera this summer.

We also noticed that he's set up a YouTube site and he has his first video up and running. Here he is singing the Torreador's song from Carmen:



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