Performance Review: I puritani, Seattle, 2008

"[...]It is hard to imagine a trio of male talent more impressive than Mariusz Kwiecien (Riccardo), John Relyea (Giorgio) and Lawrence Brownlee (Arturo). From first to last, Kwiecien's powerful presence, vocally and physically, was riveting. His Act I scene with Bruno (sung with spirit by Simeon Esper), revealed the full spectrum of color in his voice and the ease with which he spun out the long bel canto lines - heartbreaking when he sang "Ah! per sempre io ti perdei, fior d'amore" and hair-raising when he took the final runs of the aria in full voice. And how quickly he transformed the compelling tenderness of unrequited love into rage ("Io ardo, e il mio ardore e amore; e furor").[...]"

John Hulcoop, "In Review: I Puritani",
Opera News, May 3, 2008

"[...]Baritone Kwiecien, the swashbuckling Don Giovanni of last season, buckles his swashes here too, but also has to be a mushy suitor with aria words which, when translated, are sentimental in the extreme. Never mind. I've never before heard a baritone singing bel canto, but Kwiecien has plenty of runs and trills and with his clean, strong, agile voice he has no problem with any of it.[...] This audience member left McCaw Hall under the spell of remarkable singing and acting, and a production which can rank with Seattle Opera's best."

Philippa Kiraly, "Puritanical I Puritani Isn't",
www.gatheringnote.wordpress.com, May 5, 2008

"Forget the plot. You're there for the melodies and the voices.

Bellini's "I Puritani," presented for the first time in Seattle, is not exactly a masterpiece of theatrical coherence, with its 17th-century Puritans and Royalists dashing about in quest of love, battles and enemies. But in Seattle Opera's new production, this lengthy show has what it takes to ignite the audience -- which responded to first-rate casting with genuine excitement.

At the end of Saturday's Act II, when two former Seattle Opera "Artists of the Year" (baritone Mariusz Kwiecien and bass John Relyea) unite on the stage for a stirring duet, emitting record levels of testosterone and rising to spectacular high notes, opera lovers were thinking, "It doesn't get any better than this." The singers' enormous personal magnetism and swashbuckling vocal style had half the house shouting "Bravo."

[...]Kwiecien, who has sung the title role in "Don Giovanni" here, is everything you'd want in a baritone: a sound like velvet, with lots of expressive power and the high notes of a tenor. He's also one of the production's most compelling actors, making it easy for the audience to sense his frustration, his thwarted love for Elvira, his malice toward Arturo (whom Elvira loves).

[...]Go, if you possibly can. It's rare to be able to hear "I Puritani" (never before done in Seattle); it's rarer still to encounter singing and acting of this stellar quality."

Melinda Bargreen, "A tenor-and-baritone duel for affections of Elvira, audience",
Seattle Times, May 5, 2008