CCM Student Mark Wesley Brax Dies in Car Crash

Mark Wesley Brax

We hate to deliver sad news, but we just learned that University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) student Mark Wesley Brax, age 23, was killed in a two-vehicle crash in southeastern Indiana over the weekend.

Brax had spent the summer at the Tanglewood Festival before coming to CCM to receive his master's degree. Since arriving at the College-Conservatory of Music, Brax had performed as soloist in J.S. Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” participated in the undergraduate production of Handel’s “Serse” and sang with the CCM Chamber Choir and the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati.

Robin Guarino, chair of the opera department at CCM, said the aspiring opera singer was “an exceptional artist and an inspiration to all. We are heartbroken at this loss, and send our love to his family and all those who knew him.”


The school held an informal memorial on Monday for students, faculty and staff.

CONTACT US AT Barihunks@gmail.com

Madore to Replace Injured Okulitch

Elliot Madore with his Don Giovanni score

We continue to monitor the progress of barihunk Daniel Okulitch, who suffered three cracked vertebrae and is confined to a harness after a horrific car accident in Los Angeles that also injured soprano Carin Gilfry. We contacted Okulitch directly who assured us that he expects to make a full recovery. We certainly join the chorus of his growing fans in wishing him a speedy return to the stage.

Okulitch will obviously not recover in time for his run as Don Giovanni at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis which opens next month, so the company has announced that Elliot Madore will replace him in the cast. Okulitch is a fan favorite in St. Louis, where he created the role of Willy Wonka in the world premiere of "The Golden Ticket" last year.

Performances of Don Giovanni will run from May 21 through June 25. Click HERE for additional cast and performance information. 

Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com

Okulitch-Gilfry Update From Family

Daniel Okulitch

Baritone Rod Gilfry has sent out an email updating everyone on the status of his mezzo soprano daughter Carin Gilfy and baritone Daniel Okulitch after their serious car accident. We thought that many of our readers who know these two gifted young singers might want an update. Here it is:

Our daughter Carin did have a car accident on Tuesday, April 5, but, thankfully, she is OK!

Word of her accident has been spreading like wildfire, so I am sending this huge, mass e-mailing to everyone to allay any fears and exaggerations.

On Tuesday night, she was driving her Plymouth Neon in Los Angeles, with bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch in the passenger's seat.

An elderly man driving a Chevrolet Malibu ran a red light and collided with the passenger side at about a 45 degree angle.

Airbags deployed in both cars.  Yes, they were wearing their seat belts. Carin suffered a hairline fracture of the right wrist, a dislocated right shoulder and a bruised right ankle.  Her shoulder popped back in on its own and her wrist is in a cast.  Daniel suffered a fractured cervical vertebrae, and is in a neck brace for a while.  Both were discharged from the hospital within 24 hours.  The car appears to be totaled. The man driving the other car did not appear to be injured.

So, we are grateful it was not more serious!  It could have been so much worse!

Thank you for your prayers and worries and warm thoughts!

Carin & Rod Gilfry

GET WELL, Daniel Okulitch & Carin Gilfry

Daniel Okulitch (Photo by Anne Cusack - Los Angeles Times)

We learned tonight that Daniel Okulitch was involved in a very serious car accident in Los Angeles. It was serious enough that he had to be removed from the vehicle by a jaws of life. In the vehicle with him was mezzo soprano Carin Gilfry, daughter of barihunk Rod Gilfry. We wish them both a speedy recovery.

We took this news particularly hard, as Okulitch has played a major role in the success of this site. His performance in "The Fly" and willingness to own his sexiness and to celebrate it onstage has helped make opera attractive to a whole new generation. He is a gifted singer and performer and every day that he is off of the stage is a loss to opera.

Please keep him and Carin in your thoughts and pull for a full recovery for these two wonderful young artists.