Press

• More info  
  13 Sep 19 BERLIOZ Roméo et Juliette
  Berlin

  “[…]and an airy-toned Andrew Staples was quick-witted in the Queen Mab Scherzetto.”

  Hugo Shirley, Bachtrack, 13 September 2019

  “So too, in the ‘scherzetto’ section, fully reprising yet never merely repeating the energy of the opening, did Andrew Staples’ brief, yet valued, contribution.”

  Mark Berry, Seen and Heard, 15 September 2019

• More info  
  09 Aug 19 DELIUS Mass of Life
  Chicago Grant Park

  “Tenor Andrew Staples was on the same level, ardent and impassioned with sweet tone on top for the love entreaties of the Ubermensch.”

  Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review, 10 August 2019

• More info  
  02 Jun 19 MENDELSSOHN Symphony no.1
  Montreal

  “S’agissant des solistes, le choix d’Andrew Staples était idéal. Yannick Nézet-Séguin a trouvé son ténor s’il programme un jour prochain La création ou Les saisons de Haydn : quelles finesse et clarté !”

  Christophe Huss, Le Devoir, 3 juin 2019

• More info  
  15 May 19 BRITTEN War Requiem
  Paris

  “A ces ensembles viennent s’ajouter trois solistes, et en premier lieu le ténor Andrew Staples qui introduit les poèmes de Wilfred Owen dans le Requiem par le très beau “What passing bells”. La voix est claire, l’énonciation simple et au service du texte qu’elle porte ; on sent un chanteur habité par chaque mot qu’il prononce, sans jamais le surcharger de sens. Son “Move him into the sun” est ainsi bouleversant de sincérité, dénué de tout artifice.”

  Claire-Marie Caussin, Forum Opera, 15 May 2019

  “Il y a longtemps qu’on n’avait entendu un ténor aussi naturellement taillé pour Britten qu’Andrew Staples, couleur éminemment anglaise, émission légèrement nasalisée et parfaitement contrôlée, apte à la vindicte comme à la confidence, dansant génialement sur le fil d’insinuations spectrales à la Peter Quint et qui, malgré une individualisation marquée, ne fera qu’un (l’apparition de l’ange au cœur de l’Offertoire) avec l’expressionnisme morbide[…]”

  Yannick Millon, Alta Musica, 15 May 2019

   

  “D’une voix très anglaise de timbre, le ténor Andrew Staples illumine ses interventions avec une clarté aboutie, un sens du phrasé et de l’intention remarqués. Nul éclat superlatif, mais une attention permanente et juste au texte comme à la musique. De cette simplicité affichée émane la sincérité et un sentiment de vulnérabilité qui sied à l’ouvrage.”

  José Pons, Olyrix, 17 May 2019

• More info  
  14 Apr 19 STRAVINSKY
  Los Angeles

  “[…] while soprano Heidi Stober and tenor Andrew Staples were compelling soloists in a brilliant performance of the 1952 Cantata, based on 15th and 16th century English texts.”

  Mark Swed, LA Times, 16 April 2019

• More info  
  03 Apr 19 BACH St John Passion
  London

  “[…] Andrew Staples’s equally gorgeous rendering of the aria in which Christ’s scourged back is compared to all the colours of the rainbow, are just two of the vocal high-points in Part One.”

  Michael Church, The Independent, 3 April 2019

  “The other soloists — polished soprano Camilla Tilling, mezzo Christine Rice and tenor Andrew Staples — raised their dramatic temperature to match the staging, as did Rattle himself, sometimes pushing the reach of Bach’s music to expressive extremes.”

  Richard Fairman, Financial Times,  3 April 2019

• More info  
  04 Feb 19 JANACEK Katya Kabanova
  Royal Opera House

  “As in most productions, Tichon is presented as an alcoholic unable to cope with his mother’s unrelenting intimidation – a weak individual strongly drawn in Andrew Staples’ portrayal.”
  George Hall, The Stage, 5 February 2019

  “…Andrew Staples is suitably wet and dithering as Katya’s weak husband…”
  Richard Morrison, The Times, 5 February 2019

  “Andrew Staples’s Tichon isn’t the usual booby – he has his own dignity, and is all the more believable as a result.”
  Michael Church, The Independent, 7 February 2019

• More info  
  12 Oct 18 HAYDN The Seasons
  City Halls Glasgow

  “In Summer, the highlights were the exquisite cavatina from Staples followed by Crowe’s ravishing delivery of a recitative and aria backed by breathy tremolo strings and the oboe’s shepherd’s pipe.”
  Susan Nickalls, The Scotsman, 13 October 2018

  “The SCO’s chorus was in top form too, and three outstanding soloists (Lucy Crowe, Andrew Staples, Neal Davies) sang with wonderful character and musicianship. The final love duet for Crowe and Staples was exquisitely floated by both.”
  Richard Morrison, The Times, 15 October 2018

• More info  
  24 Sep 18 WAGNER Das Rheingold
  Royal Opera House Covent Garden

  “…Markus Eiche and Andrew Staples as Donner and Froh respectively reveal fine voices…”
  Sam Smith, Music OMH, 26 September 2018

• More info  
  14 Oct 17 MAHLER: 'Das Lied von der Erde' Aurora Orchestra / Nicholas Collon
  Kings Place, London

  “The Aurora had been able to secure two of the finest singers it is possible to hear in this music, tenor Andrew Staples and mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly. Although relatively brief, the tenor role is one of the toughest in the repertoire and usually the preserve of Wagnerian Heldentenors. Staples, whose career hasn’t so far seen him venturing in that heroic direction, proved that stentorianism is not a prerequisite for Mahler’s demanding writing when competing with 16 players as opposed to an orchestra of a hundred. How often can one say one heard every word in the opening song, Das Trinklied von Jammer der Erde? Staples’ tone was resilient and lusty, but with plenty of subtlety and expressiveness in his conveyance of the text. There was wit too, in his banter-like interaction with the instrumental soloists in the drinking song of Der Trunkene im Frühling.”
  Matthew Rye, Bachtrack, 15 October 2017

• More info  
  11 Oct 17 MAHLER: 'Das Lied von der Erde' Aurora Orchestra / Nicholas Collon
  St George's Bristol

  “Andrew Staples’ powerful voice effortlessly rode the waves of music in his tumultuous opening song. The tenor’s height, however, came in Der Trunkene im Frühling; Staples was brimming with energy, letting the orchestra wander through the drunkenness of the music while he produced a captivating performance that filled the audience with laughter.”
  Charlotte Perkins, B24/7, 12 October 2017

• More info  
  09 Sep 17 Recording: HENZE Neue Volkslieder und Hirtengesänge, Kammermusik 1958 Scharoun Ensemble Berlin/Daniel Harding
  

  “Tenor Andrew Staples sings with warmth and agility”
  Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk, 9 September 2017

• More info  
  25 Aug 17 BERLIOZ: La Damnation de Faust New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Edo de Waart
  Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington

  “Andrew Staples was superb as Faust, with his impeccable French embellishing an understanding of the role”
  John Button, Stuff.co.nz, 28 August 2017

   

• More info  
  30 Jun 17 HENZE Neue Volkslieder und Hirtengesange
  

  “Tenor Andrew Staples sings Holderlin’s text with controlled intensity and a clarity of nuance…”
  Christopher Dingle, BBC Music Magazine, January 2018

• More info  
  17 Jun 17 HAYDN: Creation Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Sir Andrew Davis
  Hamer Hall, Melbourne

  “Englishman Andrew Staples interpreted Uriel with a golden, agile tenor sometimes so light it brought a countertenor voice to mind – some lovely Baroque phrasing probably contributed to this impression.”
  Patricia Maunder, Bachtrack, 18 June 2017

• More info  
  25 Apr 17 ADAMS: Dr Atomic BBC Symphony Orchestra
  Barbican Centre, London

  “there was strong support from Andrew Staples”
  Hannah Nepil, Financial Times, 26 April 2017

  “Andrew Staples and Brindley Sherratt showed some grit as doubting and bullish physicists respectively. These were fine performances, stretching the limits of a flawed work.”
  Neil Fisher, The Times, 27 April 2017

  “Andrew Staples displayed a clear, bright tenor as the younger scientist Robert Wilson.”
  David Karlin, Bachtrack, 26 April 2017

• More info  
  01 Jan 17 HANDEL Messiah Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
  CD release, Chandos

  “Tenor Andrew Staples and mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong are both superb, dramatically alert and technically fluent.”
  Gramophone Magazine, January 2017

• More info  
  30 Sep 16 Stravinsky
  Royal Festival Hall

  “Andrew Staples as the Narrator gave Stravinsky’s angular lines a movingly chaste quality”
  Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph

  “Andrew Staples’ pale tenor shifted constantly in character, capturing the slight shifts in the writing’s dynamic. Phrasing was smooth and notes were caressed; he was struck the ideal balance between dramatic and hallowed.”
  Dominic Lowe, Bachtrack

  “From clarion tenor Andrew Staples almost Mephistophelian or Quint-like as ritual guide Eumolpus guides Perséphone into darker corners”
  David Nice, The Arts Desk

• More info  
  20 Sep 16 ELGAR 'The Dream of Gerontius' Berlin Staatskapelle, Barenboim
  Berlin Philharmonie

  “This is where true artistry shows…You see that Andrew Staples is a tenor extraordinaire, intelligent, resilient, brawny yet consummately sensitive. And you hear that, somehow, miracles do happen.”
  Shirley Apthorp; Financial Times, 20th September 2016

• More info  
  11 Dec 15 HANDEL 'Messiah' Philadelphia Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin
  Verizon Hall, Philadelphia

  “British tenor Andrew Staples was also very good, handling his arias with great flair.”
  Bryan Byttler, phillymag.com, 12 December 2015

  “Tenor Andrew Staples was the most elegant vocalist”
  Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 December 2015

• More info  
  26 Nov 15 SCHUMANN 'Faust Szenen' Wiener Symphoniker, Daniel Harding
  Wiener Konzerthaus

  “Andrew Staples sounded every inch a Tamino in his roles, Schumann’s fantastic writing for Ariel benefiting from a meltingly Romantic evocation in vocal and instrumental terms.”
  Mark Berry, Seen and Heard International, 25 November 2015

  “…erwies er sich als Idealbesetzung für diese Partie. Das galt auch für Andrew Staples in den Rollen des Ariel und des Pater Exstaticus. Mit seinem sauber geführten Tenor dominierte er vor allem die einen Sonnenaufgang imaginierende erste Szene der zweiten Abteilung.”
  Simon Haasis, Bachtrack, 23 November 2015

  “Andrew Staples (mit wunderbar lyrischem Tenor)…”
  H.C. Mayer, Kurier, 23 November 2015

• More info  
  26 Oct 15 BRITTEN 'The Turn of the Screw' Aurora Orchestra
  Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh; LSO St Luke's, London

  “Sophie Hunter and Andrew Staples created an atmospheric semi-staging for Britten’s opera; the Aurora Orchestra and superb soloists were spot-on” … “As the ghostly Miss Jessel and Peter Quint, Jane Irwin and Andrew Staples had exactly the right ambiguity to leave all James’s questions hovering uneasily in the air.”
  Rian Evans, The Guardian, 27 October 2015

  “In a fine cast, everyone hit a raw nerve. Bevan, in lustrous voice, lost a few words but commanded attention. Ann Murray made a remarkably potent Mrs Grose, and the two ghosts, Staples’s Quint and Jane Irwin’s Miss Jessel, had plenty of petulant vehemence. The children, Joshua Kenney’s Miles and Louise Moseley’s Flora, provided perfectly horrible blank complicity as the screw turned.”
  Neil Fisher, The Times, 29 October 2015

  “marvellously sung, by a seductive Staples”
  Helen Wallace, Classical-Music.com, 28 October 2015

• More info  
  08 Oct 15 SCHUMANN 'Das Paradies und die Peri' London Symphony Orchestra/Simon Rattle
  CD release

  “Andrew Staples … is very moving in his solos.”
  Simon Thompson, Music Web International

• More info  
  01 Oct 15 STRAUSS 'Salome'
  Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

  “Andrew Staples used his tenor potently as Narraboth”
  John Allison, The Telegraph, 1 October 2015

• More info  
  20 Mar 15 BERLIOZ 'The Damnation of Faust' Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis,
  Hamer Hall, Melbourne

  “While Bryn Terfel is the big name drawcard to this event, English tenor Andrew Staples proves an absolute revelation as Faust. Staples lovingly caresses the French lyrics, demonstrating wonderful phrasing and diction along the way. His tireless tenor has a sweet purity that is an absolute pleasure to hear. The strength of his sound comes from faultless support of breath, completely avoiding any tendency of the kind of high volume that verges toward shouting. In the absence of a director for the concert, Staples still manages a good amount of interaction with his colleagues so as to enhance the storytelling. His rendition of “Invocation to nature” is a highlight of the evening.”
  Simon Parris, Main in Chair, 21 March 2015

  “Tenor Andrew Staples brings a yearning almost melancholy tone as Faust, with a necessary measure of human frailty — of strain and struggle — to contrast Terfel’s monstrous facility. He rises to those top notes, say in his “Air de Faust”, only to fall once more into ennui. This is an essential quality in Berlioz’s Faust. It points to the true heartrending significance of that awful breath which stops the tenor’s high C sharp in his love duet with Marguerite. Faust can never fly so high or so far as the saints.”
  Andrew Fuhrmann, Daily Review, 23 March 2015

• More info  
  14 Feb 15 John ADAMS 'A Flowering Tree'
  Opera Omaha

  “Tenor Andrew Staples gave a nuanced performance as the prince who went through his own transformation. Staples’ clear, rich voice was beautifully balanced throughout the evening, and whether in lust, mourning or love, he had undeniable chemistry with Chuchman.”
  Kim Carpenter, Omaha World-Herald, 14 February 2015 

• More info  
  30 Aug 14 Jonathan MILLS 'Sandakan Threnody'
  Usher Hall, Edinburgh

  “The voice of tenor Andrew Staples was also raised high above the crowd, first with a dark and desperate chant, and then a sublime but desperate longing for Sleep, both of which he delivered with his fluid musicality and drama.”
  The Herald, Rosenna East, 1 September 2014

  “…in the lyrical last movement, a homage to Britten in a beautifully poised tenor line, exquisitely sung by Andrew Staples”
  The Arts Desk, Christopher Lambton, 31 August 2014

• More info  
  18 Jul 14 ELGAR 'The Kingdom' BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
  Royal Albert Hall, London

  “Valkyrie-like narrator. Andrew Staples brought a powerful, airy tenor to John, and his post-Pentecost duet with Christopher Purves’s Peter, sustaining long, operatic lines even as the orchestra bubbled lava-like beneath them, was a highlight.”
  Erica Jeal, The Guardian, 19 July 2014

  “Tenor Andrew Staples rang out with conviction as chief disciple’s sidekick”
  David Nice, The Arts Desk, 19 July 2014

  “Davis was rewarded with scrupulously balanced support from the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the combined forces of the BBC National Chorus of Wales and BBC Symphony Chorus. The solo quartet – soprano Erin Wall, mezzo Catherine Wyn-Rogers, tenor Andrew Staples and bass-baritone Christopher Purves – was no less well blended”
  Richard Fairman, Financial Times, 20th July 2014

• More info  
  08 May 14 STRAUSS 'Salome' Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
  Verizon Hall, Philadelphia

  “British tenor Andrew Staples offered an uncommonly good Narraboth, his voice clear and the text well projected.”
  Opera News, David Shengold

• More info  
  23 Nov 13 BRITTEN 'Albert Herring'
  Barbican Centre, London

  “He may have had his funniest incarnation yet last night in young Andrew Staples’ characterisation, very much at the centre alongside Steuart Bedford’s 13-piece BBC Symphony Orchestra team – of a peerless cast.”
  David Nice, The Arts Desk, 24 November 2013

  “Andrew Staples in the title role won our approbation for his empowering act of rebellion”
  Evening Standard, 25 November 2013

  “A sophisticated singer with faultless comic timing”
  Anna Picard, The Times, 25 November 2013

  “And Albert’s offhand dismissal of her, ‘That’ll do, Mum!’, did, for once, seem shockingly brutal, and, as the libretto instructs, created in Albert a moment of doubt before he revealed to Sid and Nancy that actually he’d been partly inventing his debauchery and acting his hangover. I doubt whether any other performer of Albert has ever been able to convey that, as Andrew Staples unforgettably did. His will surely go down as a definitive account of the role, in which, from his first appearance onwards, he discovered new and exciting depths. His Act I monologue, ruminating on how he has to spend his time, punctuated with the increasingly frustrated ‘For what?’, already showed that this was no mere skit on village life, or any of the other clichés served up by the commentators. Staples searched out every nuance in this brilliantly created role — the librettist Eric Crozier provided Britten, in Herring, with much the finest text he ever had to work with in an opera — while maintaining a beautifully articulated vocal line. This is the kind of thing DVDs were invented for.”
  Michael Tanner, The Spectator, 30 November 2013

• More info  
  27 Jul 13 WAGNER 'Tristan und Isolde'
  Royal Albert Hall, London

  “The best singing came from Andrew Staples, doubling as Steersman and Shepherd – this strikingly confident young British tenor has come on by leaps and bounds recently. But alas, he was on the platform for only five minutes out of 230.”
  Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, 28 July 2013

  “Andrew Staples made an impression disproportionately strong to his too brief time on stage in a double as both the Young Sailor and the Shepherd; his clarion tenor resounded beautifully through the hall as he sang the lines to his Irish maid that inspired T.S. Eliot in The Waste Land.”
  John de Wald, Opera Britannia, 28 July 2013

• More info  
  22 Jul 13 STRAUSS 'Capriccio'
  Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

  “Andrew Staples provided lyrical singing”
  Intermezzo, 22 July 2013

  “Special praise is also due to Barry Banks and Mary Plazas as the farcical Italian singers, and to Andrew Staples, a late substitute as the composer Flamand, who projected rich honeyed tone in music where Strauss finally makes amends for his long feud with tenors.”
  Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, 20 July 2013

  “Andrew Staples, surely the most gifted and promising English tenor for at least a generation, sang Flamand with impeccable style and with ardour”
  Michael Tanner, The Spectator, 27 July 2013

  “Andrew Staples’s ecstatic Flamand”
  Tim Ashley, The Guardian, 22 July 2013

  “Andrew Staples sang with youthful ardour as Flamand”
  Richard Fairman, Financial Times, 22 July 2013

• More info  
  28 Mar 13 BACH 'St Matthew Passion' Philadelphia Orchestra
  Verizon Hall

  “The singer I’d happily hear for another three hours was tenor Andrew Staples as the Evangelist. Narrative recitatives rippled from his easily produced, light tenor voice with subtle shades of meaning. When arias hit coloratura passages, the effect was not elaboration but intensification. Sometimes he sang from memory, addressing the audience with great effect. During moments of repose, he sat on the edge of the stage, seeming to brood. Every moment rang utterly true.”
  David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Enquirer, 30 March 2013