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.

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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