Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Will He or Won't He?

I'm about ready to start a betting pool on whether tenor Bryan Hymel will sing any of his upcoming engagements. His cancelation history when I'm anywhere near by isn't good:
  • He sang half his scheduled performances of Les Troyens in San Francisco
  • He withdrew from the Santa Fe Opera Rigoletto that was scheduled immediately following Les Troyens. (He was signed up to rehearse the Duke while singing Enée - madness.)
  • He withdrew from the Paris Les Huguenots ten days before opening.
A friend who saw him earlier this year in I vespri siciliani said he was wonderful until he cracked a note, and after that, he struggled.

Figuring out what the issues are is not really possible unless you're one of Hymel's intimates (his teacher, his coach, his manager, his family). Is it nerves? Vocal problems? Voice changing, as voices do? Plain old audience members have no way to know.

My personal interest in this is a plan to attend Les Troyens in February, in Paris. I'm very curious who will sing the male lead.

2 comments:

JSC said...

Not sure if you heard this news which will surely play into how much he keeps singing. I do hope he is in that Paris Troyens for you. What an amazing experience that would be!

http://operawire.com/tenor-bryan-hymel-to-take-on-major-staff-position-at-ava/

Lisa Hirsch said...

I had NOT seen that. Ahem. VERY interesting. Thank you!

Clickable link (I think): Tenor Bryan Hymel To Take on Major Staff Position At AVA