Damon: Acis and Galatea / Opera Operomanija 2026
“Ruairi Bowen is excellent as Damon. With his entire being and physical presence – his pure voice of extraordinarily warm timbre, his fair complexion, and his expressive physicality – Bowen embodies the side of light.”
Menų Faktūra
Decio: Ottone in villa / Teatro La Fenice 2026
“Ruairi Bowen was neat and efficient in the role of Ottone’s confidant.”
Connessi all’Opera
Lechmere: Owen Wingrave / Festival delle Valle d’Itria 2025
“In the role of Lechmere, Ruairi Bowen was perfect.”
Connessi all’Opera
“Ruairi Bowen’s voice has a fresh clarity that suits the character of Lechmere and his stage presence is impeccable.”
Forum Opéra
“Ruairi Bowen was perfectly at home as Lechmere, his accurate singing exemplary.”
OperaClick
“The excellent Ruairi Bowen brings an ambiguous tension to the role of Lechmere.”
Le Salon Musical
Evangelist: St John Passion / Polyphony 2025
“…with Ruairi Bowen, an enthralling Evangelist.”
The Observer
Bach & Charpentier: A Baroque Christmas / Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists 2024
“Ruairi Bowen was the elegant tenor.”
The Guardian
“Ruairi Bowen’s generally gentle tenor teased with occasional steeliness.”
The Times
Thespis & Mercure: Platée / Prague National Theatre 2024
“As Mercury and Thespis, Ruairi Bowen displayed a high and flexible tenor.”
iDNES
“The British tenor Ruairi Bowen made stylish guest appearances as Thespis and Mercury.”
Opera
“Thespis and Mercure are sung with accomplishment by Ruairi Bowen.”
Opera+
“Making his debut at Prague National Theatre, Ruairi Bowen shows a high level of musical and stylistic accomplishment.”
Opera Journal
Damon: Acis and Galatea / Opera Holland Park 2024
“Ruairi Bowen delivers Damon smoothly with a beautiful timbre that never ceases to amaze…”
Broadway World
“Ruairi Bowen is very pleasing as Damon…”
Culture Whisper
“Ruairi Bowen’s light, carefree tenor is just right for Damon. “Consider, fond shepherd,” taken daringly slow is splendid.
The Guardian
“With his highly pleasing tenor, Ruairi Bowen is quite a revelation in the role of Damon on what is his OHP debut.”
Music OMH
“Ruairi Bowen made more than most of Damon, with deftly sung accounts of all three arias.”
Opera
“As Damon, Ruairi Bowen made a most commendable OHP debut. His ’Shepherd, what art thou pursuing’ was excellent, characterised by real dynamic subtlety (some lovely sudden pianissimos); he clearly has a fine career in front of him.”
Opera Today
“Ruari Bowen sings Damon with exceptional sweetness and clarity, making the part his own.”
The Reviews Hub
St John Passion / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 2024
“Among the chief glories of this performance was the extraordinarily communicative power of tenor Ruairi Bowen, who sang the demanding role of Evangelist from memory, drawing the audience into the heart-rending story with the masterly and often subtle employment of an instrument that had a uniformly expressive range, as well as uniquely expressive potential.”
The Age
“Ruairi Bowen handled the narrating role of the Evangelist with the requisite emotion demanded by the text.”
Limelight Arts
“There was the subtlety and grandeur of the tenor Ruairi Bowen who was a worthy successor to such notable exponents of the role of the Evangelist as Peter Pears and Fritz Wunderlich. The role is all about latency and restraint and Ruairi Bowen summoned up a world of plangency and terribilita in the way he recreated the foundational quality of this most familiar and stark of stories,”
The Spectator Australia
Earl Tolloller: Iolanthe / English National Opera 2023
“Ruairi Bowen has the sweetest tenor voice…”
The Arts Desk
“Notable highs during the evening include Ruairi Bowen’s lyrical tenor as Earl Tolloller…”
London Box Office
“…Ruairi Bowen as Earl Tolloller, plangent and affecting in ‘Spurn not the nobly born…’”
London-Unattached
“Ruairi Bowen as Earl Tolloller is a delight to watch as he delivers the crispest vocals of the night with masterly Victorian mannerisms.”
Londonology
“Ruairi Bowen proves operetta is the equal of opera with a very refined voice and accent.”
Seen and Heard International
First Armed Man: Die Zauberflöte / Edinburgh International Festival 2023
“Matthew Brook and Ruairi Bowen intoned impressively in the temple scenes…”
The Stage
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Vaughan Williams: Sancta Civitas / Three Choirs Festival 2023
“…the most beautiful moment of the whole work, and here the most beautifully sung.”
The Arts Desk
“Ruairi Bowen sang with expressive clarity and an ideal timbre.”
Seen and Heard International
Cyril: Princess Ida / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment 2023
“Unflawed lyricism flowed from the throats of Hilarion (Benjamin Hulett), Cyril (Ruairi Bowen) and Florian (Charles Rice)…”
Opera
St John Passion / Polyphony 2023
“Ruairi Bowen is one to watch, with his noble sound and considerable skill – the angular lines of ‘Ach mein Sinn’ presented him with no problem.”
Bachtrack
“Ruairi Bowen sounded impetuous in Ach, mein Sinn, and did fine things with Erwäge, among the most exacting arias in Bach’s output.”
The Guardian
Dvorak: Requiem / Three Choirs Festival 2022
“Ruairi Bowen made a particular impact, singing with great beauty of tone, effortless projection and crystalline diction.”
ReviewsGate
“I was unprepared for the strength and ring of his voice, which he projected impressively.”
Seen and Heard International
J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio / Solomon’s Knot 2021
“The pastoral second cantata featured an athletic aria by tenor Ruairi Bowen, but it was the recitatives that impressed throughout: Bowen and Alex Ashworth in particular offering gripping and committed storytelling.”
The Arts Desk
J. S. Bach: St Matthew Passion / The Strand Consort 2021
“Ruari Bowen combined a terrific attention to the text with a finely vibrant tone.”
Planet Hugill
Proud Songsters / King’s College, Cambridge, CD 2021
“…his voice floats with ease over Wordsworth’s ‘vales and hills’.”
Opera Today
J. S. Bach Choir: St John Passion / Nottingham Bach Choir 2018
“Ruairi Bowen was compelling from beginning to end, with a beautifully agile voice and probing musical intelligence.”
Nottingham Post
J. S. Bach: Cantata BWV 61 / Leipzig Bach Festival 2018
“Particularly impressive among the soloists…were tenor Ruairi Bowen, his gentle, understated delivery perfect for the intimate acoustic of the Nikolaikirche”
Bachtrack
Vaughan Williams: Sancta Civitas / Three Choirs Festival 2023
“…the most beautiful moment of the whole work, and here the most beautifully sung.”
The Arts Desk
“Ruairi Bowen sang with expressive clarity and an ideal timbre.”
Seen and Heard International
Cyril: Princess Ida / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment 2023
“Unflawed lyricism flowed from the throats of Hilarion (Benjamin Hulett), Cyril (Ruairi Bowen) and Florian (Charles Rice)…”
Opera
Vaughan Williams: Sancta Civitas / Three Choirs Festival 2023
“…at the end a tenor soloist (Ruairi Bowen) materialises on the choir screen and intones, briefly, a clinching sentence – for its simplicity and clarity, the most beautiful moment of the whole work, and here the most beautifully sung.”
The Arts Desk
“Ruairi Bowen sang with expressive clarity and an ideal timbre.”
Seen and Heard International
St John Passion / Polyphony 2023
“Ruairi Bowen is one to watch, with his noble sound and considerable skill – the angular lines of ‘Ach mein Sinn’ presented him with no problem.”
Bachtrack
“Ruairi Bowen sounded impetuous in Ach, mein Sinn, and did fine things with Erwäge, among the most exacting arias in Bach’s output.”
The Guardian
Dvorak: Requiem / Three Choirs Festival 2022
“Ruairi Bowen made a particular impact, singing with great beauty of tone, effortless projection and crystalline diction.”
ReviewsGate
“I was unprepared for the strength and ring of his voice, which he projected impressively.”
Seen and Heard International
J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio / Solomon’s Knot 2021
“The pastoral second cantata featured an athletic aria by tenor Ruairi Bowen, but it was the recitatives that impressed throughout: Bowen and Alex Ashworth in particular offering gripping and committed storytelling.”
The Arts Desk
J. S. Bach: St Matthew Passion / The Strand Consort 2021
“Ruari Bowen combined a terrific attention to the text with a finely vibrant tone.”
Planet Hugill
Proud Songsters / King’s College, Cambridge, CD 2021
“…his voice floats with ease over Wordsworth’s ‘vales and hills’.”
Opera Today
J. S. Bach Choir: St John Passion / Nottingham Bach Choir 2018
“Ruairi Bowen was compelling from beginning to end, with a beautifully agile voice and probing musical intelligence.”
Nottingham Post
J. S. Bach: Cantata BWV 61 / Leipzig Bach Festival 2018
“Particularly impressive among the soloists…were tenor Ruairi Bowen, his gentle, understated delivery perfect for the intimate acoustic of the Nikolaikirche”
Bachtrack
