Press

“The casting of the title role is pivotal in any Don Giovanni production. Elliot Madore meets the challenge with a riveting portrayal, buttressed by strong vocalism. Conniving and slightly mad, this Don craved seduction. Even when he was not singing, he seized attention, so potent was Madore’s theatricality. His sizable baritone could sound robust in the Champagne aria or mellifluous in a softly gentle “Deh vieni la finestra.” This Don was a formidable adversary, almost frightening in his refusal to repent in defiance of the abyss that awaited him.”

“Elliot Madore, the baritone soloist, was strikingly warm and sonorous…and impressive in his ability to work falsetto and chest voice, the high and low extremes of his voice, into a single convincing line.”

“A voice familiar from the orchestra’s 2016 production of “Pelleas et Melisande,” the baritone brought to “South Pacific” a debonair presence and rich, honeyed instrument. When he sang “Some Enchanted Evening” and “This Nearly Was Mine,” one sensed not only the beauty of the tunes but also a certain electricity in the air.”

“Figaro, with internationally renowned Canadian baritone Elliot Madore’s dazzling Manitoba Opera debut as the tall, dark and strapping barber exuding conviction and swaggering ease every time he took the stage, his booming vocals  lling the hall and matched only by his kilowatt smile. He nearly stopped the show with his opening-act entrance aria, Largo al Factotum, receiving prolonged applause with cries of bravo for his performance delivered with the energy of a charging toro in a Spanish bull ring, which only gathered momentum until his final, enthralling burst of tongue-twisting patter spat out with razor-sharp precision.”

“Genuinely tender is the baritone Elliot Madore, as Ramón.”

“Soprano Marisol Montalvo and baritone Elliot Madore had excellent pitch and diction as a mystic and a son mourning (or perhaps simply missing) his father.”

“Elliot Madore, a Canadian baritone in only his third appearance at the Met, is a swashbuckling Figaro, vocally and physically assured in a role he seems tailored for. Needing a shave himself, he races through a rapid-fire “Largo al factotum” (“Calling a barber in Seville” in English) with confidence.”

“Elliot Madore conquered the high soaring role of Pelléas with exquisite vocal beauty and seeming ease.”

“Elliot Madore as Pelléas not only has movie star quality, but lets his virile sound shine…Madore takes his high notes deliberately into the drama and makes it clear that this is a Pelléas of substance.”

“Elliot Madore sings and plays the bliss of a boy wonderfully oblivious. Equipped with a beautiful, sensual high baritone his youth-like radiance and smile enchants the Mélisande of Elena Tsallagova”

“As Pelléas, Elliot Madore sings with a clear, warm tone and frequently flashes his winning smile.”

“To be sure, his recital revealed him to be an uncommonly gifted artist. Madore possesses a rich and resonant voice, as well as clear and strong delivery. A lyrical legato is his strong suit, which gives his phrases a seamless and fluid quality…Madore is a genuine, bone fide Lieder singer”

“Madore has a lovely lyric baritone with a recognizable timbre, even from top to bottom, capable of both power and nuance, with an impressive range, particularly an excellent top register…Tonight, he sang with a solid, virile, warm and ingratiating baritone that was a pleasure to the ear. He gave unstintingly, delivering some of the songs in near-operatic fashion. This is not to suggest he’s an insensitive artist – far from it. Throughout the song cycle, he gave the audience a full spectrum of dynamics. from solid fortes to lovely pianissimos. His attention to textual nuance was also impressive. One gets the feeling that this singer is extremely well schooled, with a solid technique, and abundant musicality. One can understand just from this cycle why he has managed to forge such an impressive career in a short time.”

“The confrontation with the stone guest also put the cap on a splendidly credible performance of the title role by the Canadian baritone Elliot Madore, who looks the part, magnificently so in his final defiance, and who sang throughout with considerable style and nuance.”

“Very convincing as the new Guglielmo was the young Elliot Madore. He is completely charming while moving totally free and also is very handsome. Here could be a new Don Giovanni on the rise! His baritone has a good color and flexible timbre”

“The muscular muleteer Ramiro was sung by Elliot Madore, who credibly carried around the supposedly populated clocks as if the feat were nothing for a man of his physique.”

“Madore has a fine baritonal ring and clear French diction, and frankly there was not much doubt from the moment he walked onstage whom Conception would end up with!”

“I have written in glowing terms before about the handsome Elliot Madore, and he again impressed as The Novice’s Friend…”

“Among the seamen there was scarcely a weak link. Elliot Madore was a sweet-voiced Novice’s Friend…”

“Mr. Madore underplayed the darker moments of both cycles in masterly fashion. In the first song of the Mahler, ‘Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit Macht,’ the pain of the line ‘Weep, weep for my darling, for my dear darling,’ was all the more intense for the reserve with which he handled both repetitions… he sang with exciting confidence and detail, delivering Poulenc’s elegantly bleak ‘Sanglots’ with subtlety and concentration. He lingered for the slightest extra moment on the vowel in the last word of the Mahler cycle – ‘Traum’ (‘Dream’) – capturing in an instant the song’s melancholy beauty and showing the instincts and training of an exceptional recitalist…the evening was Mr. Madore’s.”

“Lindemann Young Artist baritone Elliot Madore gave an excellent accounting of Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, showing himself to be a superb storyteller. The German diction was so fine that surtitles were superfluous. He demonstrated as much facility with the vocal range as he did with the emotional range. ‘Ich hab’ ein gluhend Messer’ was appropriately harrowing and ‘Die zwei blauen Augen’ scarily peaceful…To close the program, Mr. Madore sang Poulenc’s Banalités, settings of some very surreal poetry by Apollinaire. We particularly enjoyed his languorous ‘Hôtel’ and his joyful ‘Voyage à Paris’. But wait! Here’s an encore to remember – Ravel’s ‘Chanson à Boire’ from his Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, always an audience favorite.”

“A strong quartet of young singers sang the Athenian lovers–the hearty baritone Elliot Madore, Lysander, in a strong Met debut”

“Catapulted into the spotlight was Elliot Madore, a young baritone and a winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2010 National Council Auditions, who sang the role under James Levine at the Tanglewood Festival in 2009. To judge by Mr. Madore’s robust singing and take-no-prisoners acting, he has a stellar future ahead.”

“Baritone Elliot Madore performs the title role as directed – brutishly – but this is a major talent, with a gorgeous voice and handsome person.”

“Elliot Madore’s hunky, vocally burnished Don made him a talent to watch.”

“Elliot Madore, a promising young baritone, played Don Giovanni as a brutal rapist and murderer, with the seductive qualities that have netted him so many women as lovers…”

“Elliot Madore, in the title role, sang with a gorgeous velvety baritone and a strong presence; this is a singer who’s heading straight up.”

“Other standouts among many fine performers were Elliot Madore, a baritone, who proved himself first as a character actor, as the Music Master, and then as a robust and attractive vocalist, as Harlekin.”

“Doubling the Music Master and the Harlekin furnished a showcase for Elliot Madore’s versatility; the impressive Canadian baritone ran with the opportunity vocally and dramatically – it was nice to hear a Music Master secure at the top.”

“As her occasional lover, Harlekin, Elliot Madore has a warm, powerful baritone and romped freely onstage. (He also sang the Music Master in the prologue.)”

“Standouts in a generally strong supporting cast included the sonorous baritone Elliot Madore as a gruff Music Master and enchanting Harlequin.”

“Elliot Madore’s rich baritone enlivened Harlekin…”

“Noteworthy in the smaller roles was baritone Elliot Madore, a 2010 winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, as Schaunard. This promising singer combined a lively stage presence with a rich, expressive voice.”

“In selecting the baritone Elliot Madore, of Toronto, as a winner, they seemed to be awarding artistic courage as well as vocal gifts…For his first selection he sang ‘Batter My Heart’ from John Adams’s Doctor Atomic, the anguished scene in which J. Robert Oppenheimer vents his fears on the eve of the testing of the nuclear bomb by quoting John Donne’s sonnet. Mr. Madore gave his all to this wrenching music. It took almost as much pluck to sing Figaro’s familiar ‘Largo al factotum’ from Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia in the program’s second half…it was hard to resist the panache in Mr. Madore’s performance.”

“Elliot Madore brought athletic energy and narcissism to the title role, a Don with one eye always on himself, his dark baritone shading his menacing edge.”