“Iestyn Davies sang David with heroic purity, ‘O Lord, Whose Mercies Numberless’ characteristic of his sweetness of tone, graceful ornamentation and nuanced phrasing. David’s music is perhaps not only the most beautiful but most varied in the work, from fast, dramatic arias – ‘Such haughty beauties’ – to solemn recitative – ‘O Jonathan’ and Davies gave it all the most touching eloquence.”
Melanie Eskenazi, Music OMH, 24 July 2015
“‘Musically this evening is well-nigh flawless. No praise too high for the singing of Davies, Appleby, and Purves’…’this is a landmark production.'”
Michael Church, The Independent, 24 July 2015
“Iestyn Davies is in glorious voice as David — rich in tone yet unaffected — and his account of ‘Oh Lord Whose Mercies Numberless’ is almost heart-stopping.”
Laura Battle, The Financial Times, 26 July 2015
“Iestyn Davies’s exquisite David. There’s an unearthly quality to this voice that sets it effectively apart from all around it, but grounded in a muscularity that makes a credible warrior of a figure we first encounter bloodied and bruised from the fight.”
Alexandra Coghlan, The Arts Desk, 24 July 2015
“Superb singing from Iestyn Davies.”
★★★★ Barry Millington, The Evening Standard, 24 July 2015
“The star is Iestyn Davies, whose countertenor is unwaveringly lustrous as a David who is far too popular and handsome for Saul’s liking.”
Richard Morrison, The Times, 25 July 2015.
“Iestyn Davies just gets better and better: I don’t think I have ever heard a counter-tenor in an opera house sounding more warmly radiant or tonally secure, and his David impressively combines princely dignity with intense melancholy, quite magically so in his great lament ‘Mourn, Israel.'”
★★★★★ Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, 24 July 2015
“Iestyn Davies, his countertenor flooding the house with its agile fullness, played David with remote, Hamlet-like detachment.”
Peter Reed, Classical Source, 23 July 2015
“‘This was counter-parted by the cool beauty of Davies’ singing and his account of O King, whose mercies are numberless was one of the highlights of the evening.’ ‘But the beauty and intelligence of Iestyn Davies performance helped to bring the role alive in multiple ways.'”
Robert Hugill, Planet Hugill, 27 July 2015
“Countertenor Iestyn Davies is an equally charismatic David, and he delivers the hit number ‘O Lord, whose mercies’ with ravishing beauty.”
Warwick Thompson, Blouin Artinfo, 25 July 2015
“When Iestyn Davies’ David attributes his victory over Goliath to God (‘O king, your favours with delight, I take, but must refuse your praise’), the strength and purity of the countertenor’s voice were heart-melting.”
★★★★★ David Karlin, Bachtrack, 27 July 2015
“The marvellously rich countertenor voice of Iestyn Davies is one of the most glorious sounds to be heard on the opera stage today, and its purity fits the part of David perfectly.”
★★★★★ William Harston, The Express, 28 July 2015
“The whole cast is enormously impressive but the maddened, bull-like Saul of that exemplary singing actor Christopher Purves, the stoic David of radiant counter-tenor Iestyn Davies and Lucy Crowe and Sophie Bevan as sisters Merab and Michal are outstanding.”
David Gillard, The Daily Mail, 31 July 2015
“Amongst a strong cast of singers the other person who requires special mention is Iestyn Davies who sings the counter tenor role of David. The purity of line he produces and the beauty of his tone are ravishing. It is no surprise that Saul’s daughter Michal (Sophie Bevan) and son Jonathon (Paul Appelby) both fall in love with him. A counter tenor does not usually have the longevity of other operatic voices, but here is a singer at his peak and well worth following to future engagements.”
★★★★★ Howard Sheperdson, Limelight Magazine, 31 July 2015
“Sublimely sung by Davies”
Anna Picard, The Spectator, 1 August 2015
“Iestyn Davies, as David, is superb; his rich, secure countertenor seems to get better with every new role.”
Stephen Pritchard, The Guardian, 2 August 2015
“Iestyn Davies’s alto, who is the vocal star of the show as David, immaculate and sensuous in his singing of the oratorio’s hit number, ‘O Lord, whose mercies numberless’, which I haven’t heard surpassed live. It’s worth the price of the ticket for his singing alone.
‘Counter-tenor Iestyn Davies as David will also rarely enjoy better nights than this’…’The cast are first class'”
The Daily Mail, 2 August 2015
“All were impressive, none more so than Iestyn Davies in the pivotal role of David. The security, fluency, expressiveness and downright beauty of his performance entirely naturalized the countertenor register…rarely can he have been heard in better voice.”
Russ McDonald, Opera Magazine, September 2015
“Iestyn Davies kickstarted the drama and characterisation, both deftly done.”
Robert Thicknese, Opera Now, August 2015
DVD Review
“Of the singers, I was especially impressed by the countertenor Iestyn Davies, who sings David.”
Hans de Groot, The Whole Note, 29 August 2016
“Iestyn Davies’ eloquent David is career-defining”
Opera Now, September 2016
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