CONCERT AND RECITAL REVIEWS

Festival del Sole, Napa Vally

"King-of-the-countertenors Daniels was in prime form, leading up to a breathtaking 'Aure, deh, per pieta' ... "
      — Janos Gereben, The Examiner, Jul 17, 2007

"The focus of the program was selections from Handel's 1725 opera, Giulio Cesare, with Daniels as the invading emperor in Egypt. Daniels, now in the 15th year of his career, seems at the peak of his considerable vocal powers, his soprano-high voice still arresting and luminous. The opening aria describing Caesar hunting his enemies (like a huntsman after prey, "Va tacito e nascosto") was exhilarating in its delivery and detail, each repeat of the verse given a slightly different emphasis ... Daniels later deepened his character with a wrathful delivery of "Empio, diró, tu sei" (I say you are a villain), as McGegan directed the opening string figures with considerable slash and bite. Daniels' passagework was dazzling, his dark, descending melisma quick and incisive, his ascending runs thrilling, and his prepared trills elegantly placed and imperious. In contrast was Caesar's lament over his near-defeat, "Aure, deh, per pietà." Calling upon the Egyptian breezes to give him comfort. Daniels began with an incredibly prolonged messa di voce, the voice softly placed, swelling in volume, and then diminishing, all in one elegant sigh, the effect stunning and dramatic. And being the complete artist that he is, Daniels gave each of the many repeats of dolor a slightly different mournful stress."
      — James Keolker, San Francisco Classical Voice, Jul 14, 2007

Carnegie Hall debut in New York

"There was a sense of occasion in the air, and he didn't disappoint. This was a compelling, even exhilarating recital, covering a wide range of bases in six distinctive sets ... In one point of departure from the recital norm, Mr. Daniels brought theatrical drama, and another singer, onto the stage: Anthony Dean Griffey, the tenor, joined him in Britten's 'Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac.' It was an inspired choice: the piece was lovely, and both singers performed it outstandingly ... Mr. Griffey was a powerful, satisfying Abraham, and Isaac's music, written for the darker-toned mezzo Kathleen Ferrier, seemed to fit Mr. Daniels like a glove ... It was in the Britten that Mr. Daniels seemed to find his voice, and he went on to show off its sweet honey in two arias from Handel's Semele and a group of well-conceived arrangements of American folk songs."
      — New York Times, Nov. 2002

"There is a reason that Daniels has become the first modern celebrity countertenor. His contralto is muscular, sun-filled and supple, his technique secure and his delivery unmannered. He has vaulted beyond category, and his Carnegie Hall program was calculated to prove his contention that he is singer first, that anything with a melody is fair game and that masculinity does not reside in the range of the voice."
      — Newsday, Nov. 2002

"[Daniels' Handel arias] demonstrated the expressive range of the countertenor voice, from the bellicose high drama of "Fammi Combattere,' from Orlando, which Mr. Daniels sang with a steely resolve, to the desolation of 'Scherza Infida,' from Ariodante, which he animated with a ravishing, silken tone."
      — The New York Times, Oct. 2004

The Barbican in London

Concert with Le Point du Jour: "Daniels sang with unsullied beauty of tone and purity of line. On form like this, Daniels is peerless among countertenors. Almost every item in this programme of 17th-century Italian music was delivered with perfect poise, every detail exactly placed, the sound honeyed and even."
      — Andrew Clements, Guardian Unlimited, Mar 1, 2007

"Daniels counter-tenor, with its warm tone and sensuous vibrato, is not so far from how the average mezzo or baritone sounds in recital. [At the Barbican] attendance was good, suggesting audiences are keen to hear him in song ... Theodore Morrison's Chamber Music [settings of poems by James Joyce] ... did stretch Daniels' voice, playing heavily on his free and easy top ... The closing group of American folk songs, gooily arranged by Steve Mark Kohn, was as sweet as apple pie."
      — Financial Times, May 2004

"The virtuoso trills and runs of 'Despair No More' were thrilling, while 'Your Tuneful Voice' had the most electrifying moment of the evening, the rapt diminuendo on the single word 'tell' seeming to stretch out to infinity."
      — Daily Telegraph, May 2004

Ravinia Festival in Chicago

"The recital proved a winning marriage of artistry, repertory and setting. His ability to spin a seamless cantilena, to sustain long phrases on an apparently endless cushion of breath, found its rightful home in three delicate songs by Bellini. All of it, right through the American folk songs and encores that ended the evening like a fine liqueur following a satisfying dinner, is repertory not normally associated with the countertenor voice."
      — The Chicago Tribune, Aug. 2003

"A rich male alto sound full of warmth and color that is unsurpassed by any other countertenor today."
      — National Public Radio Performance Today, Aug. 2003

"Daniels' performances are impeccably controlled, his long, lustrous melody lines as carefully shaded as an artist's final paint strokes. But their sense of joyful freedom, of a willingness to venture wherever his superb voice might take him, is equally powerful."
      — Chicago Sun-Times, Aug. 2003

Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto

"Simply dazzling ... Daniel's voice is wonderful, as yesterday afternoon's delighted Roy Thomson Hall audience will attest. He demonstrated throughout a far-reaching recital that the music world's relatively newly minted love affair with the counter-tenor has come a long way ... The Daniels voice is big, powerful and impeccable controlled ... he provided a vocal display that will stick in the memory for a considerable time ... There are few counter-tenors who can live in his league ... His fabled technique is, of course, a given ... The ultra-smooth Daniels legato and fault-free intonation worked well with 'Your Tuneful Voice' and even better with 'Despair No More Shall Wound Me,' both from Semele. The fierce accents and descents and coloratura demands of the second aria posed no problems ... Theodore Morrison's song cycle for voice and piano, based on poems by Irish writer James Joyce, was haunting in its elegance and grace and allowed the singer to display many of his musicianly virtues – creating intimacy and fluency, investing ideas with expressive drama and demonstrating sensitivity to both words and music.
      — Toronto Star, Feb. 2004

Alice Tully Hall in New York – Mostly Mozart Festival

"His voice has the roundness and power of a mature contralto. Mr. Daniels was in fine voice."
      — New York Times, Aug. 2003

"Daniels is one of today's most popular classical singers because he is one of the best. A decade ago, when he was starting out, he sometimes seemed almost afraid of his prodigious gifts; now, especially in his operatic appearances, he revels in them. As a Handel singer, he is a virtuoso in Marilyn Horne's class. Daniels's vibrant tone is truly beautiful. Each time a word is repeated, Daniels find a different color, intensity, and inflection. He has a handsome appearance and a pleasant, informal manner; he has none of the vocal or personal affectations that people associate with countertenors. His work seems perfectly natural."
      — Boston Globe, Aug. 2003

Basically Baroque Concert with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra

"Daniels' appearance was a debut, and for those who had never heard him, a revelation of style and virtuosity. The singer dominated a good share of the evening. He is one of a handful of countertenors who have reinvigorated a whole vocal category with the beauty of their voices and technical resources. Daniels is among the most astonishing ... Although not large, his voice is smooth and handsome in shape, his register even from top to bottom, his musicianship impeccable. He has a keen sense of drama. At one moment he dazzles you with his vocal bravura and seamless legato, and the other moment makes you want to weep."
      — Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 30, 2006

"The young countertenor, who sang three Handel arias as well as Vivaldi's "Stabat Mater," is a brilliant singer who knows how to realize the drama in everything he performs. The voice, smooth and rich and easily produced, can do just about anything a composer could require: stunning passagework, masterly ornamentation and a wonderfully sustained legato ... Here is a singer well worth calling back – and rehiring."
      — Seattle Times, October 30, 2006

Concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park

"In the first-ever appearance by a countertenor in the San Francisco Opera's annual free concert, David Daniels made silent captives of the picnicking throngs in Sharon Meadow. His high-pitch precision, caressing tone, heart-stopping soulfulness and lofty trills in the aria 'Dove sei, amato bene?' from Handel's opera Rodelinda served notice that this was to be a musically charmed day in the park."
      — San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 13, 2005

Cleveland

"Tuesday night, countertenor David Daniels and pianist Martin Katz performed an imaginative choice of repertoire with flawless teamwork and refined artistry. Daniels was at his best in three superb songs by Purcell that are perfectly suited to the high male voice, and he also gave delicious interpretations of German-language songs by Mozart and French melodies written in the mezzo-soprano range. The extraordinary singer unfolded Mozart's music with tonal beauty and dynamic delicacy over the pianist's bold accompaniments. Both partners allowed Faure's exquisite setting of poems by Paul Verlaine to flow with lyricism and nuance ... his gorgeous voice was perfectly placed."
      — Cleveland Plain-Dealer, May 2004

Kansas City

"Daniels is a first-class musician, and the subtlety and joyousness that he brought to this program of songs and arias was enough to captivate even the gravest skeptic."
      — Kansas City Star, Nov. 2002

Spivey Hall in Atlanta

"By the end of his Atlanta debut, Daniels had the capacity crowd stomping for encores ... Daniels showed why he's the untouchable king of the baroque countertenor. As ever, Daniels commanded the music, and the audience, to follow his every nuance and gesture."
      — Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 2002

to top of page