Talk:Jay Hunter Morris

Ben Heppner
What's all this about Ben Heppner having been the original pick for the Met Siegfried? On the extras on the DVD of the performance Peter Gelb, the Met's General Manager, says very clearly that he asked Gary Lehman to study the part two years before the premiere, and that he studied the role and did five weeks of rehearsals before being forced to pull out only about five days before the opening night, for health reasons. Not a syllable about Ben Heppner. Unless the assertion that he was the originally-cast tenor can be substantiated, it needs to go.Morag Kerr (talk) 23:45, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

Contested deletion
This article should not be speedily deleted for lack of asserted importance because of Morris's notice in the role of Siegfried at the Metropolitan Opera, the final performance of the current series today. I just don't have time to work on the article at the moment, but I suspect that others, more knowing, will speedily bulk up the entry. Mr Morris was a sudden replacement for the scheduled tenor (who called in ill) and has performed to rave reviews in various publications. Please be a little patient: as a result of this morning's Met Live HD broadcast of Siegfried in movie theaters worldwide there will soon be a surge of interest in Mr Morris. My launch of this page is intended as a seed around which a more thorough article can grow.

Note: I do not know Mr Morris, and have no contact with him or any of his staff. I am not in the music industry, and this beginning of a page is not a promo; but as of this morning, I have become an admirer. There is a lot of information available that will make an fine Wikipedia page, but I just don't have the time today to fill it out. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by LarryB55 (talk • contribs) 02:08, 6 November 2011‎
 * I agree. He's quickly become a star. Omc (talk) 13:57, 18 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Deleted? Did some ignorant person suggest deleting this article?  That's amazing!  This man has become an international phenomenon.  Goodness, he just sang Siegfried in the Met's four-night broadcast of the Ring on PBS, to great acclaim.  His future is enormous.  He's now one of the greatest heldentenors in the world -- and the only one who looks like Siegfried :-) !!  NaySay (talk) 16:17, 15 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Not arguing with any of this, but the only one who looks like Siegfried? Have you taken a look at Lance Ryan recently?Morag Kerr (talk) 23:45, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

NY Times article
For whoever has eventually works on this article ... there was a profile of JHM in today's NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/nyregion/jay-hunter-morris-lands-on-met-stage-as-siegfried.html?scp=1&sq=jay%20hunter%20morris&st=cse. Omc (talk) 13:57, 18 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the note. I've added the link to the article. Goodvac (talk) 19:19, 18 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the link. I really enjoyed the article. NaySay (talk) 16:24, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

Birth date
I determined Jay's birthdate based on his official website: He notes that his birthday is July 3, and he was 35 in January 2005 when he performed in Manon Lescaut in Seattle. Softlavender (talk) 09:28, 12 February 2012 (UTC)

UPDATE: On second thought, after reading the rest of his "Tales" on his site, it's clear that most of them are tall tales which take tremendous liberties with the truth, so I seriously doubt that his age in 2005 was "35". "People search" sites on the web list his current age as 48, and there's an article online about him in "Boomer Cafe" that's titled "Baby Boomer Reaches Stardom at the Met". I'd guess he was born in 1963, then, but even that is still a guess. Anyway, I'll remove the birthdate I had previously input. Softlavender (talk) 00:04, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

SECOND UPDATE: Confirmation that Morris was born in 1963: He was 32 years old in mid-June 1996 ; and he graduated from high school in 1981. Softlavender (talk) 00:37, 13 February 2012 (UTC)