Honorary Barihunk Joyce DiDonato sings out against hate

Honorary Barihunk Joyce DiDonato

Joyce DiDonato is one of only three non-baritones to be bestowed "Honorary Barihunk" status and for good reason. The latest is her recent performance at the Stonewall Inn in New York City in honor of Mark Carson, a gay man who was killed nearby in a senseless hate crime.

The idea of a murder happening blocks away from the Stonewall Inn is incomprehensible to me," DiDonato says. "It shouldn't happen anywhere. It tells me that we're not done talking, and we are not done working for people to comprehend what equality is about and why it is important."

Joyce DiDonato performing at the Stonewall Inn on NPR:

The mezzo-soprano sang "When I am Laid in Earth" from Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas, which includes the line "Remember me, but ah! forget my fate."

This isn't the first time that the singer has taken a very public and very musical stand on the issue. In 2013, she performed "Over the Rainbow" at the Proms in London devoting it to LGBT voices silenced by Russia's anti-gay laws. At the Santa Fe Opera, she dedicated a performance to a gay New Mexican teen who committed suicide after being bullied.

By the way, the first four letters of Joyce's last name spell DIDO. 

James Newby in “To Russia With (Gay) Love” video

The barbershop quartet Short, Back & Sides and featured baritone James Newby

We posted this on our Twitter feed yesterday, but we feel like it should be featured on the main site, as well. It's a video that was posted by vlogger Davey Wavey and includes barihunk James Newby as part of the barbershop quartet Short, Back and Sides singing "To Russia With (Gay) Love.” The video is intended to show the worldwide support for LGBT Russians from people across the globe.

Short, Back and Sides describes themselves as "a barbershop quartet boasting a great blend, rich tones and devilishly good hair." Even their bios have references to their hair. Newby's says, "James is Short, Back and Sides' Baritone and arguably their most Stylish member. He is 20 years old and currently studying at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. He holds a choral scholarship at the Old Royal naval college chapel choir and sings with a number of other ensembles. James has his hair cut once a month and his preferred product is wax."

We first featured James Newby back in August, when the 20-year-old rugby-playing baritone was brought to our attention via Twitter. Newby has direct barihunk lineage, as he previously studied with Omar Ebrahim (who has been on this site in all his glory).

In the video, a quartet of young men harmonize in a beautiful a cappella rendition of the song “I Can Sing a Rainbow” as supporters in Montreal, London, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Singapore, and Melbourne write messages of hope to LGBT Russians on an oversize card.

 

The global response was prompted by President Vladimir Putin signing a law this summer that imposes fines and jail time for anyone found to be distributing or discussing "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" in a venue accessible to minors.

Make sure to check out Short, Back and Sides' website, where you can listen to plenty of music samples. You can also follow them on Twitter @barbershopsbs or follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/barbershopsbs.