|
|
Jeffrey Strauss (Baritone)
From the Press |
|
Selected Reviews |
|
BACH |
|
“Sounding serenely beautiful above it all was the baritone Jeffrey Strauss[.]”
— Bernard Holland, The New York Times (Bach St. John Passion at Ojai Festival in California, 2004) |
|
MONTEVERDI |
|
“Jeffrey Strauss made a powerful impression as Orfeo. His baritone sounded warm and agile, and he was deeply moving in his Act III aria, in which he employed mesmerizing chant-like artistry to convey the husband’s pain. Strauss also proved a nimble actor and dancer, especially when called upon to join in the festive choreography.”
— Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer (Monteverdi’s Orfeo, 2000) |
|
HANDEL |
|
“Jeffrey Strauss sang his recitatives and arias as if he were telling a story from his heart for the first time. . . His performance of ‘The trumpet shall sound,’ with trumpeter Josh Cohen, was thrilling.”
— Timothy Robson, Bachtrack (Messiah, 2014)
“Recitative… sections move the action forward or set the stage. I have yet to hear a singer do so as convincingly as baritone Jeffrey Strauss. He was dramatist first, vocalist second. Strauss was also captivating in the aria, ‘But who may abide.’ The baritone lingered over the opening of that aria, but when ‘He is like a refiner’s fire’ was sung, the tone became agitated, vividly expressed with all of the authority of a master thespian.”
— Chicago Tribune (Messiah, 2005).
“Jeffrey Strauss’ sense of expressive and physical freedom in the role of Apollo enveloped the audience.”
— David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer (Apollo e Dafne, 2003)
“’Why do the nations so furiously rage together?’ asked baritone Jeffrey Strauss. In his hands, it became a real question, not merely rhetorical. . . Theatrically, the question was posed both to himself, like a Hamlet inquiring into the nature of being, and to the audience: why do we continue to ‘imagine a vain thing’?”
— ClevelandClassical.com (Messiah, 2012)
“Baritone Jeffrey Strauss ran the gamut of expressive possibilities, caressing lines or sending texts into fervent orbit.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer (Messiah, 2012).
“Bass-baritone Jeffrey Strauss all but stole the show with his convincing dramatic persona, crisp diction and expert delivery. . . . His expressive delivery in the recitative “Be comforted,” followed by his bravura melismas in the aria “The Lord worketh wonders,” were among the highlights of the performance.”
— Syracuse Post-Standard (Judas Maccabaeus, 2000).
“Brilliant . . . Jeffrey Strauss [is] an authoritative artist who sang from memory with drama and excitement. His interpretation of “The Trumpet Shall Sound” was nothing short of extraordinary, especially when he shot up into the tenor range to proclaim the raising of the dead.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer (Messiah, 1996) |
|
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF |
|
“Veteran stage actor Jeffrey Strauss has stepped into Tevye’s worn, battered shoes and is spectacular. . . Strauss is masterful. . . He beautifully captures the humor and hopelessness of Tevye and gracefully delivers both with convincing confidence. A trained vocalist, he owns the play’s signature song, “If I Were a Rich Man,” and his portrayal of Tevye’s monologues with God are brilliant. . .”
Buffalo News (Fiddler on the Roof, 2014). |
|
VARIOUS |
|
“Baritone Jeffrey Strauss was in fine form as he delineated, with decorative elaboration worthy of a great cantor, the intense longing in the hearts of an exiled people to return to their homeland.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer (Sephardic Journey, 2014).
“[Strauss’s] character traveled the widest emotional path in the opera, from acquiescence in Alcina’s lulling spells to martial vigor under Melissa’s influence. He commanded the full range of styles, giving depth and passion to his long solo scenes.”
— St. Paul (Minnesota) Express (The Liberation of Ruggiero, 1997)
“The vocal pieces in the program featured Mr. Strauss’s clear diction, in both Latin and German, and his excellent musical judgment. He sings not only with dramatic intensity but also tempers and contextualizes that intensity, in order to deliver moments of great power without forsaking a baroque lightness of rhythm and articulation. The De Profundis of Nicholas Bruhns, a north-German Lutheran, began “from the depths,” as the title indicates, in a cry of great fervor; but by the end of the piece, a lilting ‘Amen’ showed that despair and happiness could co-exist in the same piece.”
—ClevelandClassical.com (reviewing an Apollo’s Fire program of 17th-century German chamber music led by the noted German violinist Veronika Skuplik, 2011) |
|
|
Back to Short Biography |
|
Source: Handel & Haydn Society Website (2002); Jeannette Sorrell (September 2015)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (September 2002); Jeannette Sorrell (September 2015) |
|
|
