Rigoletto / Opera Holland Park 2023
“Stephen Gadd, playing Rigoletto with more dignity than usual, but exploiting a half-voice to expressive effect, is admirable in the title role.”
The Standard
“Stephen Gadd gives a compelling performance and is sympathetic in all the character’s conflicting emotions…”
The Telegraph
“…nothing could prevent Rigoletto’s servile bitterness seeping out of much poignant, detailed singing.”
The Times
Giorgio Germont: La traviata / Opera North 2022
“As Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont, baritone Stephen Gadd with his elegant bearing undoubtedly looked every inch the gentleman who is concerned with protecting his family from scandal and shame. In fine voice Gadd’s steadfast performance was one of utmost sincerity.”
Seen and Heard International
Blackford: Vision of a Garden / Lyrita CD 2022
“Visions of a Garden is rendered very well, too, by longtime Blackford collaborator Stephen Gadd…”
Gramophone
Guglielmo: Le villi / Opera Holland Park 2022
“As the old forester Guglielmo, Stephen Gadd has presence, dignity and a rooted authority that makes his fatherly anxiety credible.”
The Arts Desk
“As Anna’s devout father, Stephen Gadd gave the most moving, rounded and euphonious performance of the entire evening, with applause to match.”
Bachtrack
“Stephen Gadd’s Guglielmo, warm and full of gravitas…”
Opera
“Stephen Gadd’s stern Guglielmo has a Verdian stature and Gadd delivers the recitation – which tells of the death of Anna and the storm through which Robert battles his way home – with clarion diction too.”
Opera Today
“Stephen Gadd brings authority to the role of Anna’s father, Guglielmo.”
The Stage
Giorgio Germont: La traviata / Opera Holland Park 2021
“Stephen Gadd’s Germont rained on the lovers’ parade with elegance, even compassion, alongside his severe bourgeois rectitude. His awesome baritone blast of order and control came all the same from a recognisably human, and vulnerable, place of paternal love.”
The Arts Desk
“Stephen Gadd, with his assertive baritone, is an outstanding Germont.”
Music OMH
“…singing with Verdian attack, Stephen Gadd brings a firm baritone to Giorgio Germont.”
Opera
“It is a tribute to Stephen Gadd’s performance as Giorgio Germont that we understand and feel sympathy for him.”
Planet Hugill
Stephen Gadd sings from the very centre of Alfredo’s father Giorgio Germont’s moral universe, revealing that beneath his superficially flinty heart there lies compassion.”
The Stage
“Stephen Gadd’s initially unsympathetic Father Germont finally wins us round.”
The Sunday Times
Beethoven: Der glorreiche Augenblick / Naxos CD
“Baritone Stephen Gadd and soprano Claire Rutter score the biggest performance points. Gadd’s heroic recitative is quite stirring and I like the heft of his voice.”
Ariama
Filippo: Beatrice di Tenda / Chelsea Opera Group
“…particularly notable for the incisive and idiomatic singing of Stephen Gadd as the baritone villain…”
The Daily Telegraph
“Stephen Gadd was a suitably strong Filippo, demonstrating an Italianate line and providing all the passion that this brand of melodrama requires.”
Musical Criticism
Blackford: Not In Our Time / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
“And the two soloists – tenor Paul Nilon in true helden mode, and baritone Stephen Gadd with crisp, dark diction – were superb.”
The Daily Telegraph
Blackford: Not In Our Time / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Nimbus CD)
“…Stephen Gadd’s firm and warm tone.”
Gramophone
Blackford: Pietà / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Nimbus CD)
“…both Jennifer Johnston and Stephen Gadd are powerfully expressive.”
BBC Music Magazine
“…Stephen Gadd’s resonant baritone voice…”
Gramophone
Mr Redburn: Billy Budd / Brooklyn Academy of Music
“Particular standouts included a trio of officers – David Soar as Mr Flint, Darren Jeffery as Lieutenant Ratcliffe and Stephen Gadd as Mr Redburn…”
Classical Source
“The cast is deep, consistently fine, with baritone Stephan Gadd, bass-baritone David Soar and tenor Peter Gijsbertsen particularly notable as Mr Redburn, Mr Flint and the Novice, respectively”
New York Classical Review
“Standouts among the strong cast are the bass David Soar as the sailing master Mr. Flint; the baritone Stephen Gadd as Mr. Redburn, the first lieutenant; and the bass-baritone Darren Jeffrey as Lieutenant Ratcliffe.”
New York Times
“Stephen Gadd’s smoky baritone made Mr Redburn practically the most interesting character onstage…”
New York Observer
Mr Redburn: Billy Budd / Glyndebourne Festival Opera
“Stephen Gadd, voice aglow almost as much as his ruddy whiskers…”
The Arts Desk
“…a special mention to the double act of Stephen Gadd and David Soar as Redburn and Flint, who entertained thoroughly with some much needed comic relief in their jingoistic ditty “Don’t like the French.”
Bachtrack
“David Soar, Stephen Gadd and Darren Jeffery make an excellent trio of officers…”
The Daily Telegraph
“There is fine support from Stephen Gadd’s authoritative Mr Redburn…”
The Financial Times
“David Soar’s Flint and Stephen Gadd’s Redburn offered robust and well executed singing.”
Seen and Heard International
Balstrode: Peter Grimes / Grange Park Opera
“…some very fine singing. Stephen Gadd’s Balstrode is bluffly personable, making free with Britten’s recitative to pleasing effect.”
The Arts Desk
”…Stephen Gadd’s salty sea-dog of a Captain Balstrode; bluff humour, but sympathetic, his full baritone in fine form.”
Bachtrack
“The supporting roles were particularly strong, all of them singing it loud and proud for a very British type of character opera-acting. Stephen Gadd’s bluff, detached Balstrode did much to define the seething hypocrisy at work among the rest of the Borough folk.”
Classical Source
“As in Dickens, the supporting characters are a colourful lot and very strongly played here, especially Stephen Gadd’s sturdy Balstrode…”
The Financial Times
“Stephen Gadd is a sympathetic Balstrode.”
The Guardian
“…Stephen Gadd’s bluff yet menacing Balstrode…”
The Sunday Times
“…Stephen Gadd’s strongly sung Balstrode…”
The Telegraph
“…Stephen Gadd’s hard-nosed Balstrode and Clive Bayley’s pompous Swallow are both grippingly portrayed.”
The Times
Alphonse: La Favorite / Chelsea Opera Group
“Stephen Gadd sang Alphonse with strength, both vocally and dramatically, and made a positive character of the Castilian King, authoritatively commanding.”
Classical Source
“”Stephen Gadd was in his element as King Alphonse, communicating throughout and mixing classical precision with a sense of text, and he made sure he used his vocal resources to the full at the right moments.”
Musical Criticism
Gellner: La Wally / Opera Holland Park
“…Stephen Gadd brought Gellner (whose love for Wally is robustly unrequited) to vivid life, superbly dramatic and singing of consistently high quality.”
Classical Source
“As the hapless Gellner, Stephen Gadd sings with crisp authority…”
The Daily Telegraph
“Stephen Gadd makes Gellner a star turn – a quiet man of action, prone to blurt out his deep passion.”
Evening Standard
“Stephen Gadd’s strong, firm baritone sounded made for Gellner.”
Financial Times
“…Stephen Gadd’s first-class Gellner…”
Mail on Sunday
“Baritone Stephen Gadd as Gellner produced an incisive and fluid sound, which moulded itself to each of his character’s moods. His impassioned declaration of love to Wally in Act I was incredibly touching, and his darker, jealous moments were equally convincing.”
Music OMH
“Gellner is given music far more impassioned than that for the tenor (for most of the evening) and Gadd lavished his rich baritone on outpourings of love and vows of vengeance. Gellner was the most believable character on stage as a result…”
Opera Britannia
“Stephen Gadd was excellent hurling out gloom and doom as the spurned lover.”
The Times
“…Stephen Gadd is outstandingly good as Gellner…”
What’s On Stage
Enrico: Lucia di Lammermoor / Angers Nantes Opéra
“The full, strong and very expressive voice of Stephen Gadd stood out. This distinctive baritone knows how to convey anger, but also the punctilious complicity with his wronged sister. In an ungrateful role – it cannot be otherwise- what he does is marvellous.”
Ouest France
Enrico Ashton: Lucia di Lammermoor / Buxton Festival Opera
“Stephen Gadd was wonderful as Lucia’s deeply clubbable brother, Enrico…”
Bachtrack
“…baritone Stephen Gadd summons up the heft and dynamism required to push through his dastardly scheme…”
The Guardian
“Gadd’s Enrico is a suave thug. He sings glossily, dynamically, drawing the best from those opposite him.”
The Times
Minskman: Flight / Scottish Opera
“…projecting the Minskman’s lines with suave authority.”
Opera
The Apostles / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
“…most uplifting was Stephen Gadd, who brought Jesus gloriously to life in The Apostles. A voice full of character, warmth and intensity, his ‘Beatitudes’ were out of this world.”
The Independent
De Siriex: Fedora / Opera Holland Park
“Stephen Gadd is mightily impressive as De Siriex.”
The Guardian
Haydn: The Creation / Ulster Orchestra
“It was quite impossible not to be entranced by the narrative especially of baritone Stephen Gadd whose voice particularly in his top register was beautifully resonant.”
Belfast Telegraph
Father: Hänsel und Gretel / Glyndebourne On Tour
“…expertly seconded by Anne Mason’s overwrought Mother and Stephen Gadd’s feckless, drunken Father…”
Opera
“…Anne Mason’s tetchy Mother and Stephen Gadd’s alcohol fuelled Father; with their help the family scenes of Act 1 go perfectly.”
The Stage
Tonio: Pagliacci / Opera Holland Park
“Stephen Gadd doubles Alfio and Tonio to fine effect.”
The Guardian
“…Gadd makes a powerful Tonio.”
The Independent
“Stephen Gadd was an impeccable Tonio and equally good as Alfio.”
Musical Criticism
“Gadd was in fine form in the Prologue, unwritten top notes ringing. He also successfully made Tonio a nasty piece of work, sniffing around Canio’s wife, Nedda, and turning vindictive when rejected.”
Opera Britannia
“Gadd is once again excellent as Tonio, the clown whose advances Nedda mockingly rejects.”
The Stage
“…his prologue in the second opera brings some of the strongest singing of the evening.”
What’s On Stage
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
“The three men were exceptional.”
Classical Source
“A fine team of soloists sang with fervour and finesse…Stephen Gadd…hurled out his lines with bone-shaking commitment.”
The Times
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde / Bamberg Symphony Orchestra / Tudor CD
“Both soloists were splendid and although not a native speaker, Stephen Gadd’s diction was excellent.”
Fränkischer Tag
“Baritone Stephen Gadd’s contribution really hits its stride in “Von der Schönheit.” The fast middle section sung with athletic swagger. And any performance of this work has to be judged on how “Der Abschied” is handled. Nott knits things together beautifully, Gadd wonderful in the bittersweet “Ich sehne mich, O Freund” 12 minutes in. Nott gives the funeral march’s reprise exactly the right weight. The fade is marvelous, Gadd’s repeated farewells deeply moving.”
The Arts Desk
“Why has no previous baritone, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau included, ever convinced me that Mahler’s option for an alternative voice-type to a mezzo in three of his song-symphony settings really works, while Stephen Gadd proves the exception? Best of all, Gadd injects real, tearful emotion into the great releases of the ‘Farewell.’ – I was more moved here than by Kaufmann.”
BBC Music Magazine
“The two soloists, nicely blended with the orchestra, are the bright-toned tenor Roberto Saccà and the British baritone Stephen Gadd, who delivers the final Abschied with affecting tenderness.”
The Times
Alfio: Cavalleria Rusticana / Opera Holland Park
““Stephen Gadd doubles Alfio and Tonio to fine effect.”
The Guardian
Stephen Gadd’s Alfio and Sarah Pring’s Lucia are well sung and nicely characterized.”
The Independent
“Stephen Gadd was an impeccable Tonio and equally good as Alfio.”
Musical Criticism
“Stephen Gadd was full of bluff good humour as Alfio until he discovers Lola’s infidelity.”
Opera Britannia
“Wielding the knife is Stephen Gadd’s authoritative Alfio, a three-dimensional portrait voiced in a firnm dark baritone.”
The Stage
Don Giovanni / Angers Nantes Opéra
“Stephen Gadd was a Don Giovanni magnificent in legerity and insouciance, constantly holding one’s attention with his stage presence, his movement and his expression. He was totally at ease in this staging, both refined and theatrical.”
Ouest France
“Stephen Gadd made a striking impact as a seducer both blasé and decadent, gifted with a voice of real quality, suave and inviting in the serenade and meeting the difficulties of ‘Fin ch’han del vino’ with an easy rarely encountered.”
Res Musica
Jack Rance: La Fanciulla del West / Grange Park Opera
“More interesting is Stephen Gadd’s portrait of the ambivalent figure of the sheriff, Jack Rance, driven to villainy by thwarted love, and certainly no instinctive Iago. His “Minnie, dalla mia casa” in the first act, about his loveless childhood, is touchingly, warmly sung.”
The Arts Desk
“It was Stephen Gadd as Sheriff Jack Rance who was the most vocally consistent, providing polish in his amorous confession to Minnie “Minnie dalla mia casa son partito”, or snarling authority during their poker game for Johnson’s freedom.”
Bachtrack
“Stephen Gadd (Rance) shines in this show; his excellent vocal colouring captures the brooding, strong willed Sheriff.”
British Theatre Guide
“Stephen Gadd as Rance sang eloquently, perhaps even eliciting some sympathy, as he brought out the character’s sense of emotional impotence in expressing a passionate yearning for Minnie which cannot, however, find fulfilment.”
Classical Source
“With his clear-toned baritone and consistently excellent acting, Stephen Gadd shines as Sheriff Rance.”
The Independent
“His vengeful, vulnerable Rance was sung with a bleak, nihilistic awareness that held the evening together.”
Opera
Sharpless: Madama Butterfly / Grange Park Opera
“Stephen Gadd’s Sharpless was as sympathetically portrayed as I can ever recall. His strong contributions to the duet ‘Dovunque al mondo’ and the Act II trio make one regret that Puccini didn’t give Sharpless an aria. Finely nuanced acting drew the eye so that the American Consul was the one character who could foresee the events which unfolded.”
Opera Britannia
“Stephen Gadd cleans up comprehensively with his finely judged account of the American consul, Sharpless.”
The Stage
“…subtly nuanced characterisations from Stephen Gadd’s conflicted Sharpless and Andrew Rees’s sinister Goro also make their mark.”
The Times
Michele: Il tabarro / Opera Holland Park
“As the wronged husband Michele, Stephen Gadd gave us a wonderful display of how to achieve a gamut of emotions through varying of phrasing and timbre.”
Bachtrack
“Presiding over everything, though, was the bleak, unhappy Michele of Stephen Gadd, who cast a long Scarpia-like shadow in his gripping aria. His menacing presence vastly expanded the role of the betrayed husband with the sort of bitter reality that makes this the most verismo of Il trittico, heightened by the realism of the barge that fills the stage.”
Classical Source
“…impresses with the dark core at the centre of his tone…”
The Guardian
“…it is Stephen Gadd’s Michele that stands out with his full and striking voice. Until he commits the murder he makes us feel deeply for him as he reveals his own needs and sympathies.”
Music OMH
“Stephen Gadd brought a touching tragedy as well as the requisite no-nonsense machismo and menace to Michele, his voice mixing richness with a pleasing edge.”
Opera
“…used his considerable resources intelligently, singing beautifully with rock-solid tone throughout. Michele is an unsympathetic character yet Gadd manages to garner sympathy for him, as the barge-owner is consumed by despair at his irreversible alienation from his younger wife. As he makes one last, doomed attempt to rescue what he once had with Giorgetta, Gadd’s repeated entreaties of ‘Resta vicino a me’ were utterly pathetic in the best possible way.”
Opera Britannia
“Stephen Gadd’s Michele was a slightly sad, worn down figure and you felt for him in the opening scenes as he was rebuffed by Giorgetta, but he brought a nice sense of how attractive Michele may once have been in his solos.”
Planet Hugill
“…Stephen Gadd is a powerful Michele…”
The Stage
“Stephen Gadd is a darkly brooding Michele.”
Sunday Express
“…the grisly denouement, motored by Stephen Gadd’s brooding Michele, packs a punch.”
The Times
“…Stephen Gadd’s marvellously sung bargeman…”
What’s On Stage
Music Master: Ariadne auf Naxos / Opera Holland Park
“Stephen Gadd’s spot-on Professor of Composition…”
The Arts Desk
“Stephen Gadd’s eloquent Professor of Composition…”
Bachtrack
“Stephen Gadd’s finely sung Professor of Composition (Music Master) was a model of tact and patience…”
Opera
“There’s also a nice double-act from…Stephen Gadd’s tweedy music teacher and Jamie MacDougall’s blokeish producer.”
The Times
Storch: Intermezzo / Buxton Festival
“Robert Storch (Strauss) was sung by Stephen Gadd. Looking a little like the real Strauss, Gadd sang with conviction and suited the role well; his ability to portray affection, rage, desperation, fury, humility and humour was wonderfully displayed by his clear-toned baritone.”
Bachtrack
“The hen-pecked Robert was brilliantly portrayed by Stephen Gadd, who on this form could do it anywhere.”
Daily Mail
“…Stephen Gadd is just right as her husband, the browbeaten but easygoing composer Robert Storch.”
The Daily Telegraph
“Stephen Gadd, sporting a copy of Strauss’ moustache, is equally insightful as complacent husband Robert…”
The Guardian
“It is only too easy for the Robert to be overshadowed by the Christine, but Stephen Gadd was her equal in mastering this larger-than-life portrayal without metamorphosing into a monster.”
Opera
“…Kelly was extremely well supported by Stephen Gadd…Gadd, as he has shown in the past, has a way of making rather solid, phlegmatic, middle-aged men be expressive.”
Planet Hugill
“ Stephen Gadd’s tall figure allied to his committed acting and vocal strength brings authority as well as the agony of the marital misunderstandings to the fore. His is an outstanding portrayal matched, blow by marital blow, by Janis Kelly as his wife.”
Seen and Heard
“Stephen Gadd supports her (Janis Kelly) finely as the more phlegmatic Strauss…”
The Stage
“ …he is entirely believable in the flatteringly affable portrait Strauss drew of himself, and like (Janis) Kelly reserves his finest singing for the reconciliation scene.”
The Sunday Times
“Her husband Robert (aka Richard Strauss himself) is portrayed sensitively by Stephen Gadd…”
The Times
Yeletsky: The Queen of Spades / Angers Nantes Opéra
“Stephen Gadd is to be praised as a classy Prince Yeletsky.”
Le Monde
Yeletsky: The Queen of Spades / Grange Park Opera
“…Stephen Gadd, a dignified Yeletsky.”
Financial Times
“There was some terrific support as well from (i.a) the smooth-voiced Stephen Gadd (his focused and intense account of ‘Ya, vas lyublyu’ was a particular highlight)…”
Opera
“Yeletsky, probably the only really normal character in the opera, has the loveliest aria in the opera in his act two solo and Stephen Gadd sang it with great beauty of tone, but also a sense of intense sadness as if Yeletsky knew exactly what was coming. Gadd’s short role in the denoument in act three was also brilliantly intensely done.”
Planet Hugill
“Stephen Gadd sketches in an effective Yeletsky.”
The Stage
“…Stephen Gadd’s debonair Yeletsky…”
The Sunday Times
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols / Naxos CD
“The best, most colourful and luminous voice is undoubtedly Stephen Gadd’s clear, expressive baritone. He sings all his solos not only with flawless technique but also with sparkling, lively sound, easily raising his voice above the rest, bringing the listener in focus, to truly appreciate the musicality of the piece.”
Music Web International
Macbeth / Buxton Festival Opera
“…two volcanic central performances by Stephen Gadd and Kate Ladner. Their pairing – along with Stephen Barlow’s taut, atmospheric conducting – carried the whole performance. Macbeth is sometimes called Verdi’s “anti-bel canto” opera (especially in this original version), though these two had no problem pouring out long, ardent lines. But neither, crucially, was afraid to put their voice at the service of the drama: Gadd beginning with a washed out sound that grew in heroism and power as the drama unfolded, consistent with his portrayal of a Macbeth who spends much of the opera accepting his terrible destiny before facing it with fearless resolve.”
The Arts Desk
“Stephen Gadd inhabited Macbeth with chilling sensuality and greed; tempted and haunted by ambition from the very start, this Macbeth scarcely needs his wife to prompt him to murder, though his motivation is clearly caught up in their powerful sexual connection. Moshinsky even has Macbeth deliver “Pieta, rispetto, amore” while cradling Lady Macbeth’s corpse in his arms: a brilliant stroke. Gadd wielded his strong, luscious baritone with exquisite dramatic instinct, bringing it to the brink of whisper or snarl at key moments, regularly exploiting the “hooded, evil tone” on which Verdi insists.”
Bachtrack
“Gadd’s enthralling achievement…“
Opera
“Stephen Gadd’s thoughtful interpretation of Macbeth himself was quite outstanding.”
Opera Now
“…retains a rare humanity. Together with the muscular beauty of his singing, it makes for a hero who, provocatively, seems almost more sinned against than sinning.”
The Spectator
“While there’s a sense in which every work of a great artist is of some interest, there’s little doubt that Verdi’s revised version is superior in almost every respect; he replaced certain sections because he found their early equivalents, in his words, ‘not merely bad but – what is worse – characterless’. But maybe an exception has to be made for the final aria given to the dying Macbeth in the original version, if only because – like the rest of the role – it is sung here with exceptional focus and authority by Stephen Gadd, whose performance as a whole rises to a true sense of tragic grandeur: he has scrutinised text and music to achieve an interpretation whose overall emotional arc and nuanced detail are worthy not only of Verdi but of Shakespeare too.”
The Stage
“Stephen Gadd made a heroic Macbeth, physically powerful and expressive of inner torment, as well as the master of a firm legato line.“
The Telegraph
“Stephen Gadd gives a gripping, raging-bull performance…”
The Times
Macbeth / Glyndebourne Festival Opera
“Gadd engaged with the role from the word go, observing precisely the dynamic markings stipulated by Verdi in the opening duet with Banquo, and what a joy it is to hear pianissimo singing in a passage which is often simply sung too loud. He sounded in excellent voice throughout, with a full baritonal ring and a confident grasp of Verdian phrasing – putting the character into the voice and taking us on Macbeth’s tragic journey.”
Musical Criticism
Macbeth / Glyndebourne On Tour
“Stephen Gadd as Macbeth starts well and gets even better. His act-four monologue had a sense of Verdian line, and he does well with the bitter and brief restored 1847 ending.”
The Guardian
“Macbeth, Stephen Gadd, was the more magnetic of the pair. His career has so far been centred largely on mainland Europe, and this performance suggested that this has been the UK’s loss – he has a forward, resonant baritone and an easy presence onstage.”
Opera
“Stephen Gadd’s Macbeth is a tower of strength. Not only is he in perfect vocal command of the role, but there is plenty of nuance both in his singing and his acting. His realisation is an exceptional achievement.”
The Stage
“Stephen Gadd’s smooth-voiced Macbeth is admirably focused and lyrical.”
The Times
Rigoletto / Scottish Opera
“Stephen Gadd provides a strong vocal account of the jester…”
The Stage
“…an engaging stage presence, fully inside the character’s maleovolence and showing impressive engagement with the words.”
The Times
Giorgio Germont: La traviata / Opera Holland Park
“Stephen Gadd’s Germont Père offers a believable portrait of a gradual thawing of moral intransigence…”
Classical Source
“…this excellent lyric baritone once again showed his international class, with mellifluous singing and sophisticated acting and a much more rounded portrait of old Germont than we usually get.”
The Daily Mail
“Gadd…is tremendously dignified and authoritative in the second act finale.”
The Guardian
“Stephen Gadd, with his strong and assertive baritone, is also superb as Giorgio Germont.”
Music OMH
“…with Stephen Gadd’s Giorgio Germont moving imperceptibly from the stern moral high ground to a quiet, affectionate performance of the Provence aria.”
Opera
“Stephen Gadd brings discrimination to his rounded portrayal of Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont.”
The Stage
“Stephen Gadd was a convincing Germont, ramrod-stiff as the direction required and with little room for manoeuvre but properly complex and authoritatively sung.”
WhatsOnStage
Giorgio Germont: La traviata / Opera North
“Stephen Gadd’s austerely dominant presence and rich, evenly produced voice give Giorgio Germont real authority and he strikes a fine balance between genuine humanity and selfish abuse of power.”
The Huddersfield Daily Examiner
“Stephen Gadd brought dignity and humanity to his portrayal of Germont père…”
Opera News
“Stephen Gadd offers a solid and convincing performance as Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont, his ringing baritone bringing conviction to the role. “
ON – Yorkshire
“As (Alfredo’s) father, Giorgio Germont, baritone Stephen Gadd provides a vividly convincing realisation of the part that fully humanises the character.”
The Stage
“I cannot call into question Stephen Gadd’s sonorous performance as Giorgio Germont…”
The State of the Arts
Giorgio Germont: La traviata / Scottish Opera
“Stephen Gadd offers a perfect, stiff-necked rendering of the brutally upright Giorgio.”
The Herald
“The central act – when the couple have set up house in the country – found new vigour, thanks to the striking presence of British baritone Stephen Gadd as Germont, Alfredo’s father. His long exchange with Violetta, as he pleads with her to abandon his son, had a tugging, restless agony, also conjuring some of the best singing from Gulnara Shafigullina, the Russian soprano making her Scottish Opera debut… Gadd, singing beautifully and richly in crisp Italian, ran the gamut of emotions, always carefully gradated: embarrassment, shame, fury, pity.”
The Observer
“Stephen Gadd’s experienced, utterly dependable Germont – capturing the severity of the bourgeois paterfamilias without turning the character in to a stereotype…”
Opera
“…’Di Provenza il mar’ was one of the evening’s highlights…”
Seen and Heard International
“Stephen Gadd’s commanding Giorgio Germont oozes self-importance.”
The Stage
Conte di Luna: Il trovatore / Opera Holland Park
“But there was some polished singing from Stephen Gadd as di Luna, whose smoothly intoned ‘Il balen’ was the evening’s musical highlight.”
The Daily Telegraph
“Stephen Gadd as Conte di Luna nicely combined eloquence and anger.”
This is London
“Thank goodness for the presence of Stephen Gadd’s truly aristocratic, beautifully sung Luna – just the sort of baritone voice with which Verdi was in love.”
The Times
Clistene: L’Olimpiade / La Serenissima
“Stephen Gadd, as Clistene, outshone his colleagues in security and commitment.”
The Guardian
“…Stephen Gadd excelled as the dim-witted king in thrall to custom and public opinion.”
The Independent
“A lively cast led by Stephen Gadd, who was outstanding as King Clistene…”
The Observer
Kurwenal: Tristan und Isolde / Grange Park Opera 2016
“Stephen Gadd sang with richly sonorous tones as Kurwenal and was particularly affecting in his fidelity to Tristan in Act Three.”
Classical Source
“Stephen Gadd (is) a brilliant Kurwenal, asserting his strong baritone with power and assurance.”
Music OMH
“Stephen Gadd, as Kurwenal, made loyalty sound endlessly engrossing.”
The Observer
“Stephen Gadd made a strong Kurwenal. Robust and no-nonsense, yet this was only of the most beautifully sung accounts of the role that I have heard. Gadd really made the intimacy of the theatre tell, and though his performance was relatively static it was full of telling and dynamic details which brought the role to life. It was a relief, after the fussiness of much of the recent ENO production, to see a performer who knew how to do very little on stage yet really make it count.”
Robert Hugill – Planet Hugill
“Stephen Gadd was a very fine and suitably compassionate Kurwenal.”
Seen and Heard International
Melot: Tristan und Isolde / Dallas Opera
“Stephen Gadd was aptly chilling, with yet another strong voice, as Melot.”
Opera
“English Baritone Stephen Gadd as Melot, in his American debut is impressive. His elegant baritone voice and acting abilities enrich this all-star cast.”
The Examiner
“Stephen Gadd added more than a touch of sinister brutality to the figure of the conniving Melot.”
Opera News
“Stephen Gadd as Melot gives us also a complex character that fascinates. He could easily be played as a villain since he eventually mortally wounds Tristan. Mr. Gadd gives his character such resonance that his motive in doing so is fully realized. Vocally he too commands the stage. “
Pegasus News
“…Jukka Rasilainen and Stephen Gadd scored points as Kurwenal and Melot.”
Star Telegraph
Melot: Tristan und Isolde / Glyndebourne Festival Opera
“Stephen Gadd’s Melot could not have been bettered.”
The Daily Telegraph
Lysiart: Euryanthe / Chelsea Opera Group
“Stephen Gadd likewise offered a finely honed portrayal of (Eglantine’s) accomplice, Lysiart, malevolent and sophisticated – again, insofar as the libretto permitted, but considerably more so than one would have likely have expected.”
Boulezian
“The part of Lysiart requires a dark Heldenbariton. Gadd was ideally cast in the role, which he has performed at Glyndebourne and recoded in Poland. The contrast between the choral end of Act One and his aria at the beginning of Act Two is immense. Lacerating violin figures cut through the air like gigantic flashes of lightning, painful groans enacted by slow downward semitone progressions, cellos and double basses rearing up from below, all these introduce and in some cases punctuate Lysiart’s initial fury. Gadd was a fearsome presence as he began the recitative; his thunderous voice tingled the spine.”
Classical Source
“Only the Lysiart, Stephen Gadd, showed a powerful command of words, phrasing and character.”
Opera
Lysiart: Euryanthe / Glyndebourne Festival Opera
“I was soon rooting for the villain, Lysiart, dashingly sung by Stephen Gadd.”
The Daily Telegraph
Lysiart: Euryanthe / PRCD CD
“All the cast not only have crystal-clear diction, but inflect and colour the text in conjunction with expressive musical phrasing, no more than Gadd, whose Lysiart comes pinging off the disc as a three-dimensional character in a thrilling impersonation.”
Opera
