Barton and Thomas Give 'Extraordinary Performances' in Roberto Devereux
“Barton set the tone with liquid phrasing and her signature burnished sound. With a pure, focused tenor sound, remarkably even from top to bottom, Thomas managed to convey both the nobility and anguish of the title character.” Mezzo Jamie Barton and tenor Russell Thomas make acclaimed role debuts as Sara and Roberto in San Francisco Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux.
September 14, 2018
Photo by Cory Weaver for San Francisco Opera
““Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and tenor Russell Thomas…both gave extraordinary performances. Fresh from winning performances as Fricka and Waltraute during last summer’s Ring, Barton proved herself one of opera’s great chameleons. Is there anything she can’t sing? With her velvety voice, she sailed through the arias and duets… Thomas made the difficult title role sound like a child’s play and he imbued his performance with swagger and confidence.””
Mezzo Jamie Barton and tenor Russell Thomas are receiving critical acclaim for their respective role debuts as Sara and Roberto in San Francisco Opera’s production of Roberto Devereux alongside acclaimed Elisabetta interpreter Sondra Radvanovsky.
Conducted by Riccardo Frizza, the Stephen Lawless production plays through September 27 at the War Memorial Opera House; tickets can be purchased via San Francisco Opera.
Read reviews:
Photo by Cory Weaver for San Francisco Opera
“As in every other appearance in San Francisco, Barton impressed greatly with beauty of tone and effortless projection in the huge, 3,200-seat War Memorial. The role of Sara is almost pure bel canto, and Barton’s floating of melodic lines was nonpareil. Vocal beauty was a hallmark of Thomas’ performance. Thomas’ vocal performance in duets and a splendid ‘Come uno spirto angelico’ were to be treasured.”
Classical Voice North America
“Splendid mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, as Sara, the Duchess of Nottingham, meltingly and sweetly expresses her guilt-ridden love for dashing Roberto Devereux, Earl of Essex. As the object of both women’s desire, tenor Russell Thomas made an endearingly strong first appearance in the title role. He unfurled lyric charm and verve in his arias and duets, and was particularly moving seeking to defend Sara’s honor in the touching Act 3 aria ‘Como uno spirto angelico.’”
San Francisco Examiner
“Radvanovsky had valiant, expressive colleagues by her side — mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and tenor Russell Thomas, the same ensemble that had contributed to the splendor of that ‘Norma’… Barton, as Sara, gave a performance rich in pathos and cloaked in the thickly upholstered vocal colors that make her singing so irresistible. Thomas brought tonal clarity and rhythmic vigor to the title role…”
San Francisco Chronicle
“As Sarah, Jamie Barton deployed her velvety, richly colored mezzo with beauty and urgency to limn the character’s desire and anguish. In the title role, tenor Russell Thomas made an indelible impression. His sturdy physique and clear, unforced tenor yielded an ardent Act I duet with Sarah, and he sang with elegant line in his Tower of London aria, ‘Come uno spirito angelico’.”
Opera News
Photo by Cory Weaver for San Francisco Opera
“As Elisabetta’s friend and innocent rival Sara, Jamie Barton deploys a richly layered, tightly controlled voice that she makes delicate or harsh to suit the drama. In a den of nasty personalities, Barton’s Sara is touchingly sincere. Russell Thomas’s Roberto Devereux [is] a smirking, conceiting poppycock, speaking noble-sounding words while flaunting the ring he knows will save him. He is at his most sympathetic in the third act, when he realizes he may not escape his fate. There, Thomas’s hefty, mobile voice gains a buttery softness and breaks off achingly at the end of phrases.”
San Francisco Classical Voice
“Barton set the tone with liquid phrasing and her signature burnished sound. With a pure, focused tenor sound, remarkably even from top to bottom, Thomas managed to convey both the nobility and anguish of the title character…He created a time-stopping moment as he awaited his execution with his Act III aria, ‘Bagnato il sen di lagrime.’”
Seen and Heard International
“The whole ensemble delivers near flawless singing and acting. Jamie Barton, as Sara…provides a warm, round, mellow mezzo voice with great resonance. Russell Thomas shows his versatility as the proud yet anguished Roberto. He extends his expertise with a clear voice that bridges styles and ranges, with highlights including his duet ‘Nascondi freni i palpiti’ with Radvanovsky and his prison lament ‘Come uno spirto angelico.’”
Berkshire Fine Arts
New Site Launched for American Tenor Russell Thomas
“A heroically shining tone of exceptional clarity and precision…” American tenor Russell Thomas will bring his signature elegance and intensity to the title characters in Verdi’s Otello, Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux, and Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito.
July 11, 2018
Verismo Communications announces the launch of a new website for American tenor Russell Thomas, who performs Verdi's iconic Otello with this Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl this month.
With a “heroically shining tone of exceptional clarity and precision” (Opera Magazine) and “gorgeously burnished power” (The New York Times), Thomas uses his signature elegance and intensity to create vivid character portrayals on the world’s most important stages.
The upcoming 2018/19 season features Mr. Thomas’s hotly anticipated stage debut as the title character in Otello, to be seen at the Canadian Opera Company after concert performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He sings Manrico in Il trovatore at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Lyric Opera of Chicago, makes his role debut as as the title character in Roberto Devereux at San Francisco Opera, and brings his celebrated Tito in La clemenza di Tito to Los Angeles Opera. On the concert stage, he joins the World Orchestra for Peace in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the BBC Proms, and performs Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.