Don Alvaro in LA FORZA DEL DESTINO

Deutsche Oper Berlin

“The most fascinating showdown, however, is provided by the American tenor Russell Thomas as the indigenous Don Alvaro and Markus Brück as the vengeful Don Carlo di Vargas with his rich baritone. The human and vocal coexistence and opposition of the two - together with the intervention of María José Siri - outshine the staging of Frank Castorf."
–Ursula Wiegand, Online Merker

“Russell Thomas asserted himself authoritatively as Alvaro through some sensational singing, with long phrasing, a beautifully sustained piano in the aria, and excitingly ringing top notes.”
–Carlos María Solare, Opera Magazine

“Russell Thomas successfully offered a well-mastered Alvaro with not only a powerful voice, open, beautiful high notes and a very pleasant tone, but also a certain refinement in diction and expression. His was certainly the most convincing performance of the evening. He indeed won the greatest success.”
–Guy Cherqui, Wanderer

“That Russell Thomas succeeded in conveying such an imposing presence whenever he was onstage was all the more remarkable in view of the visual labyrinth of other narratives that were simultaneously unfolding (in Act 3, live footage from behind the scenes plus projected excerpts from the thematically related Italian film Il Cristo proibito, etc.). Thomas’s enormous but suavely controlled tenor was nothing short of thrilling.”
–Thomas May, Musical America

"Russell Thomas as Alvaro is intensively present with a warm, dark tenor. His steely height is strong, especially in duets with Carlo."
–Kerstin Schweiger, IOCO Kultur im Netz

“Musically, there was much to admire. Thomas’ Alvaro was spectacularly good. His tenor is in terrific shape. Right from his first entry he raised the temperature on stage immeasurably, with his ardently Italianate tone and wonderfully instinctive phrasing. He sang his ‘o tu che in seno agli angeli’ with delicacy, able to pull right back on the tone and also fill the house with well-placed, ringing high notes. Most impressive."
–Operatraveller

"The American tenor Russell Thomas trumpeted powerfully as Don Alvaro.”
–Peter Jungblut, Bayerischer Rundfunk

"Thomas…is quite excellent, powerful, flawless and without sobbing Italianità embodies this role."
–Peter P. Pachl, Neue Musikzeitung

"Strangely enough, Russell Thomas, with his imposing physique…manages to find a passionate and beautiful balance, delivering a great presence at the beginning of Act III that continues masterfully, most notably in the duets with Carlo."
–Paul Fourier, Toute La Culture

"His duets with Don Alvaro, sung with well-timbered fervor by Russell Thomas, are the vocal highlights of the evening."
–Joachim Lange, Die Deutsche Bühne

"Russell Thomas (as Don Alvaro) as well as Markus Brück (as Don Carlo di Vargas) sang and played so explosively well that it was hard to imagine a more believable antipodal couple in these two roles."
–Andre Sokolowski, Der Freitag

"The two musical stars were the American tenor Russell Thomas and Markus Brück [who] are greatly celebrated."
–Josef Fromholzer, Das Opernmagazin

"Russell Thomas' finely-tuned Heldentenor personified Alvaro."
–Wolfgang Schreiber, Süddeutsche Zeitung

"The noble tenor Russell Thomas stands out, both vocally and dramatically, whose forward-placed voice seems to be built from silvery tears."
–Janis El-Bira, Nachtkritik

"Of the singers, the powerful voice of tenor Russell Thomas as Don Alvaro is especially convincing."
–Ingobert Waltenberger, Online Merker

"The tenor is an attraction – not only because he sings excellently while sweating blood, water and soul. He also has a huge throat, perhaps the greatest in opera history, with a beefy chest. He could have sung alone, that would have saved effort, money and Castorf."
–Maximilian Schäffer, Junge Welt

“The most exciting performance came from Russell Thomas as Don Alvaro, who sang with thrilling abandon, the voice appealingly open and voluminous.”
–Hugo Shirley, Bachtrack

“American tenor Russell Thomas sang the role of Don Alvaro and from the very moment he stepped on the stage with “Ah, per sempre, o mio bell’angiol,” he let us know that his voice is in truly terrific shape (he was reportedly dealing with a throat infection, but that was not noticeable at all). He overpowered the orchestra easily with his ample sound, which he sustained throughout the opera. His encounter with Marchese di Calatrava was spine-chilling, and we got our first glimpse of his gleaming top range. Don Alvaro’s aria “La vita è inferno all’infelice” requires much energy and stamina across a wide vocal range. As Thomas began the prayer, “O tu che in seno agli angeli eternamente pura,” he radiated gorgeous legato singing without any strain. He rose to a truly magnificent top with “Pietà di me!” – a sign of a true vocal mastery. Russell Thomas offered a performance to remember, one truly admirable Don Alvaro, both vocally and dramatically.”
–Dejan Vukosavljevic, OperaWire

“Alvaro is Russell Thomas with an attractive, dark middle register and exciting declamatory singing. ‘Della natal sua terra’ is steeped in sadness and ambiguity…the subsequent romanza ‘O tu che in sent’ is suddenly heroically radiating height."
–Anton Schlatz, Opern Kritik Berlin

"Thomas as an elevated Don Alvaro is good and well-timbered. The two [Markus Brück] in their duets provide the vocal highlights of the evening."
–Roberto Becker, Online Musik Magazin

“Russell Thomas was wonderfully clean, unforced and balanced singing Alvaro, with a timbre that sometimes resembled the young Carreras."
–Kaspar Sannemann, Oper Aktuell

“‘O tu che in seno agli angeli’ was a moment of beauty, and deservedly won Thomas the most fulsome applause of the evening, but even better were his heated duets with Carlo which pushed Alvaro’s wracked conscience to the very centre of the action.”
–Jesse Simon, Mundo Clásico

"The part of Don Álvaro was interpreted by tenor Russell Thomas, who was the best in the cast... His voice is attractive, and he sang with gusto in a praise-worthy performance."
–José M. Irurzun, Seen and Heard

“Vocally, the highlight was the fantastic Don Alvaro of the American tenor Russell Thomas, the owner of a genuine spinto voice with searing high notes that rise with ease and power. His great third act aria was one of the evening’s highlights, showing Thomas in firm control of his instrument, scaling his voice to an accomplished mezza voce and incorporating abundant dynamic inflections. In short, his recreation of this demanding role, which he solved with hardly any visible effort, was irreproachable.”
–Alejandro Martínez, Platea Magazine