MarkStone

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Bass-Baritone & Baritone
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  • 03 June 2020

    Mark Stone releases next volume of Quilter Songbook

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Press

  • Bruckner: Third Mass

    Sage Gateshead
    Mar 2024

  • Benjamin: Written on Skin

    Deutsche Oper Berlin
    Jan 2024

    • Mark Stone’s Protector was cruel and, in his own way, righteous, torn himself between two loves, the question of his feelings for The Boy opened up rather than ‘dealt with’.

    • Der gesungene englische Text ist sogar einem deutschsprachigen Publikum nahezu wortverständlich. Und der Bariton Mark Stone in der Rolle des Protectors muss auch keinen toxisch-männlichen Prigoschin-Typ auf die Bühne bringe, sondern kann - teilweise mit kunstvoll falsettierten hohen Tönen - in seiner usurpierten Macht auch Ohnmacht in Stimme und Darstellung legen. Almost every word of the sung English text is understandable even for a German-speaking audience. And the baritone Mark Stone in the role of the Protector does not have to bring a toxic male Prigozhin type to the stage, but can do so - sometimes with artfully falsettoed high notes - as well as portraying the despair of his usurped power with his voice and performance.

    • Grandios die Sängerbesetzung: der Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen als First Angel/Boy überzeugt mit seiner weichen, sanften Stimme, die sich perfekt mit dem Sopran Georgia Jarmans als Agnès mischt. Dominant als Protector Mark Stone mit markantem Bariton, auch die kleineren Rollen waren stimmig besetzt. The cast of singers was magnificent: countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen as First Angel/Boy impressed with his soft, gentle voice, which blended perfectly with soprano Georgia Jarman as Agnès. Dominant as the Protector Mark Stone with his distinctive baritone, the smaller roles were also harmoniously cast.

    • Einen markigen, knorrigen Protector singt Mark Stone mit ebensolchem Bariton, darstellerisch wie musikalisch keinen Wunsch offenlassend. Mark Stone sings a pithy, gnarled Protector with a baritone of the same quality, leaving nothing to be desired in terms of acting and music.

    • Mark Stone sang / spielte den Protector, Georgia Jarman die Agnès und Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen den engelgleichen Jungen - alle drei spektakulär gut!!! Mark Stone sang / played the Protector, Georgia Jarman played Agnès and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen played the angelic boy - all three spectacularly well!!!

  • RIAM 175th Anniversary Celebration

    National Concert Hall, Dublin
    Nov 2023

    • On the Beach at Night Alone he conveyed the desolate loneliness demanded by both music and text.

  • Adams: Nixon in China

    Staatstheater Hannover
    Jun 2023

    • Die News-Arie von Mark Stone ist ein Auftakt, wie man ihn sich nur wünschen kann. The News aria by Mark Stone is as good an opening as one could wish for.

    • Wie oben schon erwähnt, bekommt jede der Hauptpersonen in der Oper ihren großen Auftritt. Hier zeigte sich die Güte und Hochklassigkeit des Solistenensembles. Die beiden Staatschefs und ihre Frauen bildeten dabei ein Quartett aus Menschen, die sich in der Gesangskunst und in der Ausdeutung ihrer Rollen in nichts nachstanden. Mark Stone ist ein gesanglich und spielerisch ausdrucksstarker Nixon, der auch seine innere Zerrissenheit zeigt. Seine Arie „News has a kind of mystery“ nach der Landung ist an den Stil der Da-Capo-Arien der Mozartzeit angelehnt. Es ist eine klangvolle, virtuose, vorantreibende Arie zu einem pulsierenden Rhythmus. As mentioned above, each of the main characters gets their big performance in the opera. Here the goodness and high class of the ensemble of soloists became apparent. The two heads of state and their wives formed a quartet of people who were in no way inferior to each other in the art of singing and in the interpretation of their roles. Mark Stone is a vocally and playfully expressive Nixon, who also shows his inner conflict. His aria "News has a kind of mystery" after the landing is in the style of da capo arias of the Mozart era. It is a sonorous, virtuosic, propulsive aria set to a pulsating rhythm.

    • Mark Stone als Richard Nixon, Eliza Boom als seine Frau Pat gestalten überzeugend das amerikanische Präsidentenpaar. Mark Stone as Richard Nixon, Eliza Boom as his wife Pat convincingly portray the American presidential couple.

    • Das herausragende Sängerensemble mit überwiegend großen gesanglichen Aufgaben ... Mark Stone als Richard Nixon, Eliza Boom als seine Frau Pat gestalten überzeugend das amerikanische Präsidentenpaar. The outstanding ensemble of singers with predominantly great vocal tasks ... Mark Stone as Richard Nixon and Eliza Boom as his wife Pat convincingly portray the American presidential couple.

    • Dass das so gut gelingt, liegt auch an den fabelhaften SängerInnen: Mark Stone als Nixon, der häufig mal seine innere Einsamkeit zeigt. The fact that it works so well is also due to the fabulous singers: Mark Stone as Nixon, who often shows his inner loneliness.

    • Das Ganze rundet sich, weil der Cast voll mitgeht – darstellerisch und vor allem stimmlich. Mark Stone als medienbesoffener Richard Nixon, der seine „News“-Arie mit bestem Bariton meistert. The whole thing is rounded off by the cast's full participation - in terms of acting and, above all, vocally. Mark Stone as the media-drunk Richard Nixon, who masters his "News" aria with the best baritone.

    • Dass das so gut gelingt, liegt auch an den fabelhaften SängerInnen: Mark Stone als Nixon, der häufig mal seine innere Einsamkeit zeigt. That this succeeds so well is also due to the fabulous singers: Mark Stone as Nixon, who often shows his inner loneliness.

  • Bach arr. Mendelssohn: St Matthew Passion

    Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
    Apr 2023

    • In tandem, baritone Mark Stone anchors the narrative with depth and poise to portray Judas, Peter, Jesus, Pilate and Pontifex. You could listen to just these two voices [Stone and Staples] in isolation and still have a wonderful evening.

  • Huang Ruo: M. Butterfly

    Santa Fe Opera
    Jul 2022

    • The two principals are compelling in their rendition of the above complexities. Mark Stone is a touching, nuanced Gallimard with a well‑projected baritone.

    • The cast is an exemplary one, too. Mark Stone makes for a suitably worn, confused Gallimard, and he sings his thorny vocal lines with impressive shape.

    • Both leads performed admirably ... Baritone Mark Stone as Gallimard snarled when confronting Song, but also offered tender reflections, his voice blooming up high.

    • Baritone Mark Stone crooned and howled with startling power as Gallimard, a punishing role featured in almost every scene in the opera … the level of sympathy he created by his sincere stage presence

    • The cast and the physical production were first-rate. As Song Liling, Kangmin Justin Kim was exceptional, singing with fervor and appealing tone throughout his wide-ranging role and providing compelling acting in his Chinese Opera excerpts, as well as his private scenes with the diplomat. Kim was effectively partnered with baritone Mark Stone as Gallimard, who undergoes a dizzying trajectory from diplomatic underling to vice consul to being shipped back to France as a failure, while his dream world of loving and being loved by “the perfect woman” comes crashing down during the espionage trial. The confrontation scene between Kim and Stone after the trial, in which the former’s anatomical truth is revealed, was masterfully shaped, as was Stone’s haunting physical transition to Butterfly, complete with kimono, wig and white makeup, leading into the suicide.

  • Wagner: Siegfried

    Longborough Festival Opera
    May 2022 - Jun 2022

  • Ades: Totentanz

    Musikverein Vienna
    Mar 2022

    • Der Höhepunkt aber wartete ja noch, denn mit der Totentanz-Vertonung ist Adès tatsächlich ein Wurf gelungen. Die Thematik berührt unmittelbar und man ist irgendwo hineingeworfen in ein Tableau das sich anfühlt, als wäre es genau zwischen dem Mahlers „Lied von der Erde“ (in der Abschieds-Todes-Emphase) und Bartóks „Blaubarts Burg“ (im Dialog des Todes mit einer zweiten Person). Doch Adès findet eine eigene Dramaturgie und vor allem fantastische Klangentwicklungen für das „Unsägliche“, was der Tod – in persona des mächtigen Baritons Mark Stone – uns hier auftischt.

    • Der kernige, durch Volumen und pointierten Vortrag gleichermaßen furchteinflößende Mark Stone und die sich zunächst exaltiert windende, in Glissandi heulende Christianne Stotijn sind die ungleichen Gegner im aussichtslosen Kampf. The robust Mark Stone, who is equally frightening with his volume and pointed delivery, and Christianne Stotijn, who initially writhes in exaltation and howls in glissandos, are the unequal opponents in a hopeless battle.

  • Puccini: Madame Butterfly

    Welsh National Opera
    Sep 2021

  • Wagner: Die Walküre

    Grimeborn
    Aug 2021

    • Wotan's farewell duly stopped the heart. Mark Stone, Alberich in Longborough's 2019 Rheingold, was here singing the king of the gods for the first time, having suffered a cancelled debut in Trondheim [due to the Covid lockdown]. Vocally high-voltage, this pugnacious Wotan was clearly quite the operator, observing the Volsung twins' initial encounter from his eyrie and very much dominating proceedings before melting in the final scene.

      • Opera Magazine
      • 30 November 2021

    • The cast is a strong one. Particularly outstanding is Mark Stone’s Wotan, who brings maximum tonal variety and animated articulation to his delivery: in his long narration he vibrantly relives the prior events of the theft of the gold and the forging of the ring. Laure Meloy’s Brünnhilde is impressively secure and the final scene for her and Wotan is deeply moving.

    • Wotan is at the centre of Burbach’s vision. From a high platform, the god observes the events of what is traditionally Act 1 (the evening is split into two acts, the interval coming before Act 2 scene 3), almost willing Siegmund to draw Nothung (the sword here a metal bar) from the rigging. Mark Stone’s baritone demonstrated plenty of heft, projecting Wotan’s rage viscerally. Up against Harriet Williams’ vitriolic Fricka, Stone’s Wotan seemed easily brow-beaten, utterly defeated from the off. Burbach really dug into the god’s relationship with his favourite valkyrie daughter, Brünnhilde, and his long narration detailing the backstory of Alberich’s ring – a snorefest in some productions – was magnetically delivered, the orchestra providing all the motifs to illustrate his narrative thread. Stone had plenty in reserve to deliver Wotan’s long farewell to his daughter powerfully. Laure Meloy’s feisty Brünnhilde was just as superb, her “hojotohos” ringing out rebelliously. But it was that relationship with Stone’s Wotan which was at the heart of this staging, questioning his decision-making, daring to challenge him.

    • It's still a privilege to hear singing of this quality outside the big houses with their big prices - Mark Stone expressive as Wotan, Laure Meloy heartbreaking as Brünnhilde and soprano, Natasha Jouhi, sensational as Sieglinde...

    • ...Mark Stone as Wotan who gives an absorbing performance of a disintegrating King, along with Laure Meloy as an active and fierce Brünnhilde in the latter half.

    • Wotan’s closing farewell to his favourite daughter duly stops the heart. Mark Stone, elsewhere a pugnacious, live-wire king of the gods, melts here while ringing the rafters at the climaxes.

    • There was no doubting Mark Stone’s overwhelming presence as Wotan. His singing had the requisite volume, and his acting caught the miseries of this completely compromised god.

  • Thomas Adès: Adès Conducts Adès

    Deutsche Grammophon
    Feb 2020

    • The score – in which Mark Stone’s death lures Christianne Stotijn’s procession of 16 characters from pope to infant into the grave – has had something of a renaissance in the past few years, Adès conducting those soloists (as here) in performances around the world. But it can hardly have sounded as focused or as forensically brilliant as in Boston, with the same structural nous, sustained tension (tempos and volume are expertly ratcheted) and pronounced undertow. The latter comes surely from Adès’s understanding of his own use of cyclic structures, passacaglia and chord sequencing (a favourite one pops up in ‘Der Tod zum Kardinal’) but also from vivid characterisation and potent orchestral playing; the ferocity at the end of ‘Der Tod zum König’ is overwhelming. Christianne Stotijn dials down the lighting but not the intensity in ‘Der Küster’ and ‘Das Mädchen’, and even Mark Stone’s splendidly Mephistophelean Death offers her a warm hand in ‘Das Kind’, for which Adès invokes the ghost of a strophic song somewhere between Schubert and Mahler in lineage.

    • The singing of Mark Stone and Christianne Stotijn is incredible, each fully meeting the demands of what must be particularly exhausting music to sing.

    • Baritone Mark Stone impersonates Death brilliantly.

    • Representing Death, Mark Stone’s imperious baritone quickly grabs our attention, while Christianne Stotijn’s flexible mezzo imaginatively portrays everyone else. Not short of its own musical echoes (Berg, Mahler), Totentanz has a virility and emotional resonance that suggests a work with a long life ahead.

    • The orchestral song cycle Totentanz from 2013, a setting of texts from a 14th-century German frieze showing Death inviting everyone from a pope to a young child to dance with him, seems more original than ever – a series of vivid, sometimes grotesque scenes, with baritone Mark Stone in superb form as Death and mezzo Christianne Stotijn portraying his successive victims.

    • There is not much mercy on offer, either in the poem or from the infernal power of Adès’s orchestra. Mezzo Christianne Stotijn and baritone Mark Stone hold their own and are rewarded when the music sinks into a Mahlerian balm at the end.

  • Barry: Alice's Adventures Under Ground

    Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
    Feb 2020

    • Barry’s music then undeniably poses real challenges to the dedicated double cast assembled here. And the singers have to be versatile; for instance, the accomplished British baritone Mark Stone (who will be performing Wotan in Norway next month) has to sing ‘The White Knight, The Cheshire Cat, a Soldier, Bottle 3, Cake 3, Baby 3, Oyster 3, Passenger 5, and Daisy 3’. All these varied elements are brilliantly held together by conductor Thomas Ades, but what makes the show really work is Antony McDonald’s virtuosic staging, plus his designs, based on Victorian illustrations, which makes the 19th-century stage within a stage assembled a constant joy.

    • The remainder of the cast — Sam Furness, Peter Tantsits, Mark Stone, Clare Presland and Hilary Summers — similarly excel in multiple roles.

  • Wagner: Das Rheingold

    Longborough Opera Festival
    Jun 2019 - Jun 2019

    • More convincing was the nimble and dishevelled Mark Stone as Alberich, utterly persuasive in voice and single-minded ambition.

    • his curse on the ring was the highlight of Mark Stone’s roughhewn Alberich

    • Among the cast, Mark Le Brocq’s foppish, sardonic Loge and Mark Stone’s vocally authoritative Alberich stand out, managing to create stage personalities to match the strength of their musical ones,

    • The singing is led by Mark Stone’s Alberich and Mark Le Brocq’s Loge. Both performances set a very high standard, Stone embracing Alberich’s dark soul with total conviction,