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ThomasPotterOnline.com
- REVIEWS PAGE -
MACBETH
[INDIANAPOLIS OPERA]
- Photo by Denis
Ryan Kelly, Jr.- |
As
MacBeth in
MACBETH [Giuseppe Verdi]:
"Thomas Potter… was majestic in the title role. He was
evil personified, murdering his enemies before they had a chance
to strike. And his rich baritone voice was a pleasure to
listen to. Obviously, he was the center of attention."
… Charles
Epstein – 'Critic’s Corner' [Indianapolis]
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"In the 1866 revision of Macbeth, the anti-hero gets his 'Pietà,
rispetto, amore' but dies quickly, without 'Mal per me'.
Thomas Potter’s hefty-voiced thane had lots of grit and bite,
along with a subtle balance of character strengths and
weaknesses."
… Charles H.
Parsons – 'Opera News'
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"Baritone Thomas Potter unleashed what
seemed to be unlimited vocal resources as Macbeth. "
… Charles
Staff – 'Indianapolis Star'
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As
Renato in
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA [Giuseppe Verdi]:
"... the opera really ignited only when it
finally united Richard with Amelia and Renato in Act II. In this
latter role, Thomas Potter sang unimpeachably throughout the
performance yet seemed disconnected with the character early on,
though he delivered
a scorching 'Eri tu' in the final act."
... John Crook –
'Opera News'
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As Ford in
FALSTAFF [Giuseppe Verdi]:
“For me, the greatest surprise was Thomas Potter’s fantastic
performance as Master Ford.
Ford thinks Alice is having an affair with Falstaff.
His cynical meanderings about marriage make for a nice, dark
contrast to all the silliness,
and his solo aria was very strong.”
... Whitney Smith – 'Indianapolis Star'
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As il Conte di Luna in
IL TROVATORE [Giuseppe Verdi]:
"More than
correct, the North American, Thomas Potter accurately
personified the treacherous Count di Luna both vocally and
dramatically. Even his physical look helped to illustrate a
specific personality type. After hearing his 'Il balen del suo
sorriso', one could appreciate his full voice, of a somewhat
metallic timbre, a good 'Verdi Baritone', who knows how to
fulfill the demands of the high tessitura without distorting his
graceful singing line."
… Ramón Maria Serrera – 'ABC' [Seville, Spain]
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"The baritone, Thomas Potter,
interprets the role of the Count with considerable authority,
thanks to a full vocal range, rich in Harmonics, much appreciated
by Verdi, from which the expression 'Verdi Baritone' comes."
… Arsis – 'Le Télégramme' [Brest, France]
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"Thomas
Potter's Luna was powerfully sung, with vibrant high notes and
suave legato,
especially in "Il balen." "
… Edmund LeRoy – 'Opera News' [online exclusive]
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As Giorgio Germont in
LA TRAVIATA [Giuseppe Verdi]:
"Baritone Thomas Potter's
Germont added a voice of burnished gold and an unusually
sympathetic demeanor."
... John Crook – 'Opera News'
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As Baron Scarpia in
TOSCA [Giacomo Puccini]:
"The great
surprise of the evening was baritone Thomas Potter, called in to
substitute for a young Brazilian, intimidated by the
responsibility of this role. In his biography, they forgot to
mention that Potter studies voice with the distinguished singer
and teacher, Virginia Zeani, and studied acting and voice with
none other than Nicola Rossi-Lemeni – two heavyweights of the
opera world who would not be engaged in the development of an
unworthy artist. None could surpass Thomas Potter’s creative
dominion in a territory that well fits him as the opera's
antagonist (Scarpia is the most complex role of the baritone
repertoire). From his very first entrance, powerful and
frightening, even laymen in the audience knew that they were
witnessing a superior talent. Potter's voice is sonorous,
luminous, with a gorgeous timbre; he sang with perfect,
forceful, explicit inflections, and dominated the two acts in
which he appears with remarkable vocal personality. As an
actor, he was the only one who balanced Helium Eichbauer's
deprived scenes with a modern, contained, and natural
interpretation. The dining table scene, under the influx of his
interpretation, acquired luxurious tonalities of refined taste.
His facial expressions impressed the public that they were in
front of a born actor who possesses at the same time contention
and dramatic intensity. He was subtle even in his approach to
the beginning of the 2nd Act. In the final scene of the 2nd act
(Scarpia’s death), Potter and Casolla represented with the
eloquent, dramatically accurate nuances of a suspense film where
the public sees the abyss and not the individual."
… Maria Teresa
Dal Moro – 'Jornal de Hoje' [São Luís (MA), Brazil]
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"From
a temple-destroying Nabucco on the lake stage at the Bregenzer
Festspiele, to a church-raiding Scarpia in St. Gallen: the
Pavarotti-approved American Thomas Potter plays the Police Chief
with polite, but affected behavior. He is a deliciously stylish
wolf in a flawlessly appropriate guise. Potter's fastidiously
forward and free baritone voice follows the dramatic essence of
the role with precision. Although Puccini gave Scarpia
no actual big aria to sing, he did give him an intense presence,
which Thomas Potter understands how to portray with intelligence,
sensitivity, and intuition."
… Roger Gaston
Sutter – 'Ostschweizer' [Switzerland]
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"The King of the performance
was Thomas Potter. The American was a magnet for one’s eyes
and ears. With his baritone voice he could portray whatever
the scene required: brutal inflexibility, devilish flattery (when
it concerned the possession of Tosca’s body), and cynicism
(shattering Cavaradossi’s ideals of freedom). Potter as
Scarpia was a bigoted bastard — one who unscrupulously abuses his
presumed power. One can report nothing but praise here."
… Gerhard Hellwig – 'Südkurier' [Switzerland]
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"The young
American baritone Thomas Potter completely succeeded with his
antagonistic Scarpia: his face epitomized triumph and malice,
avarice and a lust for power. In the aria 'Ella verrà', his
full, metallic, yet smooth-toned baritone voice radiated
brilliantly, just as it did throughout the role with uncommon
power. He also successfully characterized everything from
the deeply human to the internally demonic."
… Margrit Zaczkowska – 'Appenzeller Zeitung' [Switzerland]
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"TOSCA brought them in by the
bus-full from all over the region: the theater was full from top
to bottom with a serious, critical, and passionate audience.
This is an opera public that can not be fooled, and if they made a
triumph of the Scarpia, it was with full knowledge of the facts.
It must be said that Thomas Potter, in his role, outclassed the
remainder of the cast with his 'presence' and his remarkably
placed voice, with which, and without
effort, he expressed hatred, desire, tyranny, and cruelty.
Thomas Potter composed a complex character, not a lecherous brute.
It is undoubtedly because of Scarpia’s poise, his excellent
behavior, and his calculated cynicism, that the torture scene,
hard to bear for today’s listeners, does not cause horror."
… S.I. – 'Midi Libre' [Sete, France]
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"In my opinion,
the cast – all three singers played their roles with sincerity and
sobriety – was dominated by the baritone and tenor. Thomas
Potter's Scarpia reigned imperiously on the stage, extremely well
served by a rich and extremely 'present' voice. He played
the role with insidious nonchalance, which is appropriate."
… Aurore Busser – 'Nice Matin' [Cannes, France]
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As Bass Soloist in
NINTH SYMPHONY [Ludwig van Beethoven]
"Bass Thomas Potter got the singing off to a fine start with
a stirring O Freunde, and he and his soloist colleagues -
soprano Laura Whalen, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Roderer and tenor
Michael Hendrick (replacing an indisposed Thomas Studebaker) -
went on to make a suitably joyous impression, weaving in and out
of the powerhouse choruses."
… John Fleming - St.
Petersburg Times [St. Petersburg, Florida]
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"All of the soloists handled their parts with stimulating
assurance. Bass Thomas Potter's "O freunde" rang out powerfully,
an arresting first entrance of the voice into the proceedings."
… Buddy Jaudon - The Tampa
Tribune [Tampa, Florida]
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As Baritone Soloist in
BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST [William Walton]
"Thomas Potter has a rich, voluminous voice, and when he sang from
a box to the left of the stage his comments as an outside observer
of the events, he did so with great authority. In the long a
cappella passage, "Babylon was a great city", which describes the
fine wares that had built the corrupt city's prosperity, Potter
made his voice resound throughout the hall."
… Lauro Machado Coelho - O
Estado de S. Paulo [São Paulo, Brazil]
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As Jochanaan in
SALOME [Richard Strauss]
"But the real star of this Salome was Jochanaan (John the
Baptist), sung by Thomas Potter, a 1986 Pavarotti Competition
winner. His imposing baritone had true Straussian
resonance…"
… James Roos – 'The Miami Herald'
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"Thomas Potter
conveyed the spirituality and haughtiness of Jochanaan through
rock-solid vocalism."
… Tim Smith – 'Opera News'
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"Jochanaan
[was] sung with magnificent and fierce power by young American
baritone Thomas Potter…"
… Veda Graves – 'Palm Beach Mirror'
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Copyright © 2009 by Thomas Potter. All Rights Reserved
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