Christian Van Horn wins 2018 Richard Tucker Award

Christian van Horn

The Richard Tucker Foundation as announced that bass-barihunk Christian Van Horn is the winner of the 2018 Richard Tucker Award. He is the first bass-baritone to be win the award since John Relyea in 2003 and only the third in the award's 40-year history. He receives $50,000 for winning the award.

Past winners include Stephanie Blythe, Lawrence Brownlee, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, and Matthew Polenzani. 

Van Horn, who just finished a run as Mephistopheles in the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Faust, can next he heard as Enrico in Donizetti's Anna Bolena at the Canadian Opera Company from April 28th-May 26th. In September, he will perform Raimondo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera Philadelphia, followed by Mefistofele and Colline at the Metropolitan Opera.

Luca Pisaroni makes Canadian Opera debut as Maometto II

Luca Pisaroni and Leah Crocetto in Rossini's Maometto II in Santa Fe (Photo: Ken Howard)

Italian bass-barihunk Luca Pisaroni will be making his debut with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto from April 29 to May 14 in the title role of Rossini's Maometto II.  He had a huge success in this David Alden-directed production at the Santa Fe Opera in 2012 with Leah Crocetto as Anna, who will be joining him in these performances. They will be joined by tenor Bruce Sledge as Erisso  and mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong as Calbo.

The Venetian love story contains some of the Italian composers greatest music, but has somehow never entered the standard repertory, even in its reworked version Le siège de Corinthe. The only U.S. performance in recent years in addition to Santa Fe was the 1988 production at the San Francisco Opera, which was produced as a showcase for Simone Alaimo and June Anderson. Other performances internationally have included a 2008 performance in Pesaro, Italy with Michele Pertusi and a 2014 production in Rome with bass-barihunk Mirco Palazzi.

Luca Pisaroni sings Maometto's aria "All'invito generoso" in Santa Fe:

The best known pieces of music from the opera are sung by the mezzo character Calbo "Non temer: d'un basso affetto," the soprano Anna's "Giusto Cielo, in tal periglio," the duet between Maometto and Anna "Anna... tu piangi" and Maometto's thrilling aria "All'invito generoso."

Pisaroni next heads to Los Angeles to perform the Mozart Requiem under LA Philharmonic Gusavo Dudamel's baton on May 19, 20, 21 and 22.  He'll be joined by soprano Lucy Crowe, tenor Paul Appleby and mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu. Tickets are available online.

Cameron McPhail's beefy Rape of Lucretia

Cameron McPhail in The Rape of Lucretia at Yale

We recently included Cameron McPhail in a post about the nine baritones performing in the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions at Merkin Hall in New York City on November 18 and 19. After the post went up, we were told about some sexy pictures of him as Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia at Yale during the 2011-12 season. 

Of course, we had to find them and provide a better introduction to this fast rising Canadian baritone, who holds both an Artist Diploma in Voice and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from The University of British Columbia. He spent the 2011-12 season completing his Masters of Music at the Yale Opera Studio where he studied with American bass Richard Cross.

A 2014 winner of the George London Foundation Competition, McPhail joined the Canadian Opera Company for the 2012-13 season as a member of the Ensemble Studio where he made his company debut as the Premiere Officer in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites. During the 2013-14 season he returned to Canadian Opera Company with mainstage appearances as Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème, Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte, and Silvano in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.

He just finished four performances of Orff's Carmina Burana with the Florida Orchestra under the baton of Danail Rachev. He returns to his native Canada on December 5th for Handel's Messiah with the Edmonton Symphony. On February 25, 2015, he'll create the role of Reverend Colgate in a world premiere concert staging of Gregory Vajda’s comic opera Georgia Bottoms with the Huntsville Symphony. The opera about the modern South, is based on the national best-seller by Alabama author Mark Childress.

If you want to enjoy 19 of opera's sexiest and most talented singers all year, make sure to order your own copy of the 2015 Barihunks Calendar by clicking below.

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. 

Canadian Opera's sexy Collines open new season

Hot Collines: Tom Corbeil and Christian Van Horn

The Canadian Opera Company in Toronto has announced their 2013-14 season, which is leading the way with a barihunk filled production of Puccini's La boheme. We often get asked if we post basses and bass-baritones, as well. We post all of the low male voices and actually love when we see roles like Colline filled with sexy bass-baritones. After all, the guys in La boheme are bunch of young, Parisian artists, so we expect them to look the part.

Phillip Addis

The Canadian Opera Company hasn't disappointed us in this regard, rotating Christian Van Horn and Tom Corbeil as Colline. Both singers have been regulars on this site. They've also cast Phillip Addis and Joshua Hopkins as the Marcellos, so barihunk fans should get their tickets now. Performances will run from October 3-30, 2012. Tickets are available online.

Tom Corbeil, who recently wrapped up a tour of the Addams Family: The Broadway Musical, returns to his operatic roots in a big way, as he'll also be singing Swallow in Benjamin Britten's masterpiece Peter Grimes. Tenor Ben Heppner will sing the title role and soprano Ileana Montalbetti will take on Ellen Orford. Peformances run from October 5-26, 2013.

Robert Gleadow

Other operas this season include Robert Gleadow as Guglielmo in Mozarts Cosi fan tutte (Jan 18-Feb 21), Verdi's Un ballo in maschera (Feb 2-22), Handel's Hercules (April 5-30), Donizetti's Roberto Deveraux (April 25- May 21) and Massenet's Don Quichotte (May 9-24).

Barihunks to compete in Canadian Opera Company Competition

Gordon Bintner

Ten Canadian singers, including three baritones, have been selected to compete for a place in the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio training program. The final ten participants were selected from a pool of 146 singers. Saskatchewan native Gordon Bintner, who has been featured on this site leads the pack of low voices, which also includes Ontario native Clarence Frazer and Prince Edward Island native Nathan Keoughan

The competition will be held on November 29th at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto. The competition is open to the public. Tickets are $15 and be available for purchase online, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Nathan Keoughan

Each finalist must perform two arias to showcase his or her vocal technique and range before an audience and panel of judges.  Organizers will award a first prize of $5,000, a second prize of $3,000, a third prize of $1,500 as well as a People’s Choice Award of $1,500.

The jury, headed by Canadian Opera Company general director Alexander Neef, will select an unspecified number of finalists to join the COC’s 2013/2014 Ensemble Studio. Graduates of the program include stars such as Ben Heppner, Isabel Bayrakdarian and David Pomeroy.

Other singers in the competition are mezzo-soprano Charlotte Burrag, soprano Aviva Fortunata, tenor Andrew Haji, mezzo-soprano Danielle MacMillan, tenor Michael Marino, soprano Lara Secord-Haid and soprano Kelsey Vicary.

Don't forget to buy you 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar before the holiday rush:

Philippe Sly Documentary

Brothers Philippe and Mathieu Sly

There are few young singers who we're more excited about than Canadian Barihunk Philippe Sly. If it were possible that Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Simon Keenlyside had a love child, we're pretty sure that it would have been Sly. For a singer in his early 20s, his interpretive skills and musicianship is beyond singers with decades more experience.

We've seen him hone his craft in person and it a truly remarkable site. He searches for the perfect tone and mood in every song that he sings. He clearly wowed the judges at both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Concours Musical International de Montreal (MIMC) where he took away top honors. As Radio-Canada host Françoise Davoine has said, "It was impossible not to be completely bowled over by this young man with the golden voice and the luminous expression."

His brother Mathieu Sly has put together a 15-minute documentary "IN DREAMS, EN RÊVES, IN TRÄUMEN" on the making of his latest album. It's a great opportunity to watch him perfect his music making.

The opera world is wasting little time in snapping up this young talent, recognizing that he's the perfect marketing passage: matinee idol looks + an amazing talent. After finishing a year with the prestigious Merola Opera Program in San Francisco, he was signed by by the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. He will also be touring Canada in a recital series with the Debut Atlantic Series.

The San Francisco Opera which got to witness Sly firsthand while he was at Merola also wasted little time in signing Sly and he will appear in their mainstage production of Mozart's Così fan tutte as Guglielmo opposite Heidi Stober, Ellie Dehn, Francesco Demuro and Marco Vinco. Performances will be led by music director Nicola Luisotti and begin on June 9, 2013. Visit the San Francisco Opera website for more information.

You can buy his new album by clicking on our Amazon link to the right or by going to iTunes or Spotify. We can guarantee you that you'll want to add this to your music collection.

Philippe Sly Recording Two Albums; Singing the "Other" Magic Flute in Salzburg

Philippe Sly

We never get tired of singing the praises of Canadian barihunk Philippe Sly, who wowed the judges at both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Concours Musical International de Montreal (MIMC) where he took away the top honors. We're convinced that he's one of the most amazing talents to come along in the last decade. We've posted his intensely moving account of Schubert's Der Erlkönig a few times, which has received a remarkable 45,000 hits on YouTube.

After finishing a year with the esteemed Merola Opera Program in San Francisco, he was signed by by the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. He will also be touring Canada in recital series with the Debut Atlantic Series. He also returns to San Francisco, where he will appear in the mainstage production of Mozart's Così fan tutte under music director Nicola Luisotti.

Overture to "Das Labyrinth" by Peter von Winter aka "Magic Flute 2":

He's currently with the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival in Austria where he is singing Part 2 of the Magic Flute as Sithos in Peter von Winter’s 'Das Labyrinth' under the baton of Ivor Bolton. After Mozart's "Magic Flute" had a successful run of 200 performances, the composer's librettist Emanuel Schikaneder had the idea of commissioning a second part called The Labyrinth, or "The Struggle with the Elements." The opera was successful enough to have 42 performances over the next year. The performance is being recorded and will be broadcast on Unitel Classica at 8:15 PM Salzburg time on August 7th (2:15 PM EST/11:15 AM PST).

 Philippe Sly sings Schumann's "Am Leuchtenden Sommermorgen":

Sly recently finished recording his first album "In Dreams," which is schudeled for release on the Analekta label in September. The recording includes Schumann's Dichterliebe, Ravel's Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, Ropartz's 4 Poèmes de l'intermezzo and the world premiere recording of Jonathan Dove's Three Tennyson Songs. If you're like us and you can never get enough of this young singer, you'll be thrilled to know that he's back in the recording studio next month for his next album, which will be of Rameau cantatas.

On another matter related to Unitel Classica, they will be broadcasting the Don Giovanni from Sferesterio wilth Ildebrando D'Arcangelo and Andrea Concetti that features a liberal amount of skin. We previously posted about the sexy production:

Opera News features Ryan McKinny

Ryan McKinny in Opera News (© James Hickey 2012)

Ryan McKinny seems an ideal fit for the Wagner bass-baritone roles he is pursuing — Amfortas, the Dutchman. In fact, he has spent a long time trying to figure out what his voice is, and what it isn't. "When you enter competitions in your early twenties," he says, "if you are a lyric soprano or Rossini tenor, I think you kind of understand what you're supposed to be doing. With lower male voices or bigger soprano voices, it's not always clear. You're not always ready to sing what you're supposed to sing."

[Read the entire feature in Opera News]

Make sure to catch McKinny's upcoming performances in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. He'll be performing Melot with the Canadian Opera Company from January 29 to February 23, 2013 and then Kurnewal with the Houston Grand Opera from April 18 to May 5. The Isolde in Houston will be Nina Stemme, who is arguably the reigning Wagnerian soprano in the world today.

 Ryan McKinny sings "Die Frist ist um"  from the Flying Dutchman:

Philippe Sly: ON DEMAND

Philippe Sly

Canadian barihunk and emerging star Philippe Sly's June 19th concert is available on demand for free at Radio France. He's performing Duparc's "Chanson Triste, Phidylé," Ravel's "Don Quichotte à Dulciné," Ropartz's "Quatre poèmes d’après l’Intermezzo de Heine," Jonathan Dove's "Three Tennyson Songs" and Schubert's "Mélodies."

The recital starts at about the 6:35 mark.

Sly recently won the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions and will be making his San Francisco Opera debut as Guglielmo in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte in their 2012-2013 season. He's is currently a Studio Ensemble member of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

John Relyea in COC's Tales of Hoffmann

John Relyea

We somehow forgot to mention that the great John Relyea opened on Tuesday night in "The Tales of Hoffmann" at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. We've seen video of the rehearsals and the production and singing are magical. See for yourself in the trailer below. Relyea plays all four villains in the opera, in a cast that also features fellow barihunks Philippe Sly and Gregory Dahl.

Performances will run through May 14 and additional information can be found on the Canadian Opera Company's website.

John Relyea in The Tales of Hoffmann in Munich:

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com