BENJAMIN COVEY
Baritone

Bio

Benjamin Covey, Baritone
"Baritone Benjamin Covey, in addition to having a rich, resonant and powerful voice, has quite a gift for comedy and carried much of the performance’s significant humour."

Keira Grant, mooneyontheatre.com
Pub Operas, Tapestry New Opera Works


Baritone Benjamin Covey is one of Canada’s most dynamic young singers, recognized by the Metropolitan Opera Competition in 2007 with an Encouragement Award.

A Graduate of the University of Toronto and an Alumni of Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Development Program, Mr. Covey debuted as Morales/Dancaire (Carmen) with Manitoba Opera, and was the only Canadian singer invited to San Francisco’s prestigious Merola Opera Program in 2010, where he sang Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore.

On the concert stage, Benjamin was a guest artist with Chorus Niagara for Orff’s rollicking Carmina Burana, and has sung Messiah with Regina Symphony and Victoria Symphony Orchestra.

Recent operatic roles in Canada include Schaunard with Edmonton Opera (La Boheme), Baron Douphol in Vancouver Opera’s production of La Traviata, and Escamillo to Julie Nesrallah’s “Carmen Unbound” in Ottawa.

Displaying his passion for contemporary music, Benjamin premiered the role of George in Dean Burry’s CBC Radio serial opera Baby Kintyre, sang in R. Murray Schafer’s Princess of the Stars and performed in Peter Hatch’s Guerrilla Sound Works at Les Escales de Montreal Improbables. In addition, he has sung lead roles in workshops of both Bramwell Tovey’s The Inventor for Calgary Opera and John Estacio’s Lillian Alling for Vancouver Opera.

Benjamin's busy 2011/12 included several works with Tapestry New Opera Works in their Opera Briefs and Pub Operas, his debut with The National Arts Centre Orchestra as Papageno in the family concert “The Mozart Experience” and the role of Captain Gardiner in Calgary Opera’s Canadian premiere of Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick.

This season, Benjamin debuts as Marullo in Opera Hamilton's Rigoletto, sings Messiah with Kingston Symphony Orchestra and presents a recital for the University of Guelph. He returns to Edmonton Opera as Hermann in Tales of Hoffmann and joins Toronto Masque Theatre for "The Lessons of Love", an operatic double bill (Venus and Adonis/The Lesson of Da Ji).