Daniel Okulitch stepped into the international spotlight when he landed the role of Schaunard in La Boheme on Broadway. The Baz Luhrmann production won a Tony award and Okulitch sang an impressive 228 performances. Now Okulitch is sought out around the world to perform in operas by Mozart, Britten, Offenbach and more. He sings contemporary opera as well and his most daring role may have been as Seth Brundle in Howard Shore's opera The Fly, based on David Cronenberg's film.
Other roles that Okulitch has brought to life include Willie Wonka in The Golden Ticket and Inspector Gert Osterland in Frau Margot. Recently, Okulitch sang the role of Brian Mulroney in the film, Mulroney: The Opera by Alexina Louie. He has also received rave reviews for his portrayal of the lead role in Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie.
Okulitch was born in Ottawa and grew up in Calgary. At the age of 12, he had his operatic debut as a boy soprano in the role of Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Okulitch went on to continue his studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and with the Cincinnati and San Francisco opera companies.
On this edition of This Is My Music, Okulitch takes over hosting duties to share his favourite music and the stories behind his selections.
This Is My Music is heard Saturdays on Radio 2 at 10:00 am.
Daniel Okulitch shares his favourite music on This Is My Music