Lawrence Brownlee

“Brownlee has a prodigious technique in florid music...One does not have to listen beyond the first two lines of Duparc's Chanson triste to realize that Brownlee commands a laudable legato...This is a recital of many delights, with both Brownlee and Burnside on top form.” International Record Review, May 2013

“The blend of Anna Netrebko's soprano and Joyce DiDonato's mezzo-soprano is particularly effective, both in duet form on "Quis est homo", and underpinned by Lawrence Brownlee's tenor on the opening "Stabat mater dolorosa", while Ildebrando D'Arcangelo brings a magisterial poise to his solo” The Independent, 5th November 2010 ****

“The chief glory here is the Accademia di Santa Cecilia chorus, one of the greatest in the world. It's well played, too, though not everyone will like the edge on the brass. Anna Netrebko fans will like her hell-for-leather Inflammatus, but the best of the soloists is bass Ildebrando D'Arcangelo: well-nigh ideal.” The Guardian, 11th November 2010 ***

“The Accademia Chorus is one of the world’s best, and the full, honeyed tone is a constant pleasure. Another of the recording’s rocks is the bass soloist, Ildebrando d’Arcangelo, who never confuses eloquence with shouting and hits his notes dead centre...Brownlee avoids vocal preening and makes sure we can still sense the text’s grieving mother, sharing Christ’s pain.” The Times, 19th November 2010 ***

“Pappano's tremendous new recording brings out every ounce of its darkness and force. With a superb quartet of soloists, and the deeply coloured playing and singing of his Italian forces, the piece emerges newly minted as a dramatic masterpiece of harmonic twists and turns, spine-tingling solos and heaven-storming choruses: a superb act of reinterpretation.” The Observer, 21st November 2010

“Although Rossini isn’t ideal Netrebko repertoire, she sounds positively Verdian in the dramatic hellfire of Inflammatus...Her bright timbre is ideally complemented by DiDonato’s plush, silken mezzo...Pappano lives the text like the great opera conductor he is, bringing consolation as well as fire and brimstone to Rossini’s heady spiritual brew.” Sunday Times, 28th November 2010 ****

“A precondition for success here is the assembling of a matched quartet of technically accomplished singers blessed with a sense of the Rossini style. Pappano has this absolutely. The pairing of Anna Netrebko and Joyce DiDonato is a match made in heaven...This is one of the great choral recordings.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2011

“Pappano and his team really nail the work in a way I've not experienced before...What makes this recording so special is how the specifically Italian credentials of the music resound as though to the manner born...this is the most endearing benchmark performance of what is now revealed as a truly honest work.” International Record Review, January 2011

“Pappano is alive to nuance and inflection in Rossini's score. He allows Anna Netrebko and Joyce DiDonato ample scope for display but never at subtlety's expense...Imaginatively conceived and beautifully delivered.” Classic FM Magazine, February 2011 *****

“There is no shortage of good recordings of Rossini's Stabat Mater, but few do this gloriously uplifting work as much justice as Antonio Pappano's new recording...There is a compelling commitment to this performance. The opening chorus, with its hushed cloak-and-dagger atmosphere punctuated by dramatic outbursts, showcases choral singing of a terrific intensity that pins you to your seat.” bbc.co.uk, 12th April 2011

“Best among the soloists are Evelyn Pollock's nimble, sweet-toned Creusa...and Lawrence Brownlee's Egeo, pleasingly Italianate of tone and negotiating his vertiginous coloratura with skill and style...the individual instrumentalists excel in their many solos, while David Stern shows a sure command of theatrical pacing.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2010

“DiDonato is proving herself one of the most delightful artists of our time. She sings with a rare purity of tone, ease on the high Bs, an impressive degree of technical skill and lively powers of characterisation. She is invigoratingly precise in her placement, fluent in scale work and well furnished with staccati and trills. ...the difficult repertoire is sung with charm and mastery, and from all we read, their original exponent, to whom the recital is dedicated, is worthily honoured. Choral and orchestral work are equally stylish, and the short tenor solos by Lawrence Brownlee are a treat.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2009

“DiDonato’s pearly tone and easy coloratura make this difficult music sound effortless: she sports a more than acceptable trill, brilliant high staccato notes and long-breathed cantilena lines, prerequisites for a singer of the bel canto repertoire...This is outstanding Rossini singing by any standards, idiomatically accompanied.” Sunday Times, 22nd November 2009 ****

“In everything she does, DiDonato convinces...There’s more on display than simple technical triumphs. Her clear diction, controlled breaths and phrasing, and the diversity of her emotional colouring always bring her characters to life and make each one an individual... Long live the yankeediva.” The Times, 20th November 2009 ****

“A majestic display from first to last, DiDonato balancing precision and emotion.” The Independent, 20th November 2009 *****

“This is an artist who moves between registers with grace and skill, whose legato is seamless and whose tone is pearly. Indeed so creamy in 'D'amor al dolce impero', also from Armida, that you feel you could eat it on a spoon. Then there's that hushed quality to DiDonato's singing; a thrilling sensation that she's holding back, say at the beginning of 'Tanti affeti' from La donna del lago. Conductor Edoardo Müller is the perfect partner showing DiDonato off to her best advantage.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2010 *****

“This disc features some of the most authoritative bel canto singing that I have heard since Cecilia Bartoli emerged 20 years ago. Joyce DiDonato combines superb coloratura technique and clarity of tone with musical intelligence.” The Telegraph, 18th February 2010 *****

“Here's a Barbiere light of heart and light of touch, graceful in style, with fresh, youngsounding voices (where appropriate), well schooled so as to make those forbiddingly difficult vocal flights sound like flights of fancy, quick as thought and natural as intuition.
It's a concert performance and carries with it a real sense of enjoyment. The Overture moves with relish as from one good thing to another, and movement is the motto for most of the first act. Fiorello and the chorus are no clod-hoppers and the Count is no show-off. 'Ecco ridente' has the assurance of a young aristocrat who has practised his scales and scorns the use of aspirates.
Figaro likewise wears his skills and his energy lightly, the brag and bounce of his introductory solo kept within civilised limits. Their duet is a ball-game of high velocity neatly played in time to an inexhaustible supply of rhythm and melody.
The Rosina is Elina Garanca who is not very liberal with her smiles. The possibility of fun is admitted with 'farò giocar' but the keynote is determination ('vincerò'). Later the characterisation warms, but right from the start we have been won by the beauty of her tone and the accomplishment of her florid work, never going hard or shrill at the top and keeping the voice whole and even throughout its range. Her guardian, Doctor Bartolo, in this version is a lightweight buffo baritone rather than the usual bumbling fatty, and it's left to the Basilio to play the traditional tricks.
At times during this First Act, one may wish for a moment here and there to linger over phrases or merely to savour the sound of a fine voice. In compensation, the conductor offers a clear view in which everything has its place. In Act 2 he makes room for more expansion. In both, the clarity of ensemble is a delight, as is the elegant playing of the Munich orchestra.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…a version light of heart and light of touch, graceful in style, with fresh, young-sounding voices (where appropriate), well schooled so as to make those forbiddingly difficult vocal flights sound like flights of fancy, quick as thought and natural as intuition. ...the clarity of ensemble is a delight, as is the elegant playing the Munich orchestra.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2006