REVIEWS

REVIEWS

CREMONA, 1993
C. Monteverdi: L’Incoronazione di Poppea

“I cantanti assumono modernamente il personaggio nella loro fisicità. L’incontro può essere mirabile, come nella luminosa completezza di voce, grazia, psicologia della seduzione di Sylvia McNair; può accentuare la sfortunata solitudine di un personaggio, come l’Ottone a spalle afflosciate del lirico contraltista Michael Chance…”

Franca Cella

http://www.corriere.it

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Mark Morris: L’Allegro, il Penseroso et il Moderato, June 1997

“There was a starry line-up of singers, of whom my favourites were the rapidly rising tenor Ian Bostridge, and the counter tenor Michael Chance – a specially appropriate choice as I’ve long thought that if Mark Morris were a singer, he’d be Michael Chance. 

Jane Simpson

http://www.ballet.co.uk/old/reviews_short_2.htm

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STRASBOURG, Opéra du Rhin, 06.12.1998 et 14*, 16, 18, et 21.06 1998
Benjamin Britten : Le Songe d’une Nuit d’été

“Incarnant un Obéron s’enveloppant dans sa majesté, Michael Chance impressionne par la rectitude de son chant et de son jeu. Véritablement royal, il ne laisse pas paraître les failles de l’homme. Sa détermination est inébranlable, cela malgré les charmes d’une Tytania lumineuse qu’interprète Hélène le Corre.”

Katia Choquer

http://www.concertonet.com/exec/review.asp?IndexReview=744

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LEIPZIG, 04.03.2000
C. W. Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

“Wohlklang im (weit hoch gefahrenen) Graben, Wohlklang auf der Bühne: Die Sängerbesetzung ist vom Feinsten. Altus Michael Chance singt einen geschmeidigen, glänzenden, eindringlichen Orfeo…
Jubel über Jubel – tumultuarisch für Chance.”

Peter Korfmacher

http://www.leipzig-life.de/vorhang/kritik/20450.html

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MILANO, marzo 2000
J. S. BACH: Matthaeuspassion

“… e il controtenore Michael Chance, angelico e intenso nei fluidi fraseggi di «Können Tränen», nel lampo di «Ach Golgatha!», nelle venature orientaleggianti di «Sehet, Jesus hat die Hand».”

Gian Mario Benzing

http://www.corriere.it

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LONDON, Prom 51, Royal Albert Hall
“The viola da gamba (played by Erin Headley) that wove in and out of Michael Chance’s counter-tenor aria “Es ist vollbracht!” was as beautiful as anything I heard this week.”

Nick Kimberley

http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=48603

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LONDON, Queen Elizabeth Hall

Fretwork

“The soloists, Michael Chance and Nicholas Daniel, communicated their lines beautifully, creating an atmosphere that lasted after the end of the piece until the applause began some 20 seconds later.”

Tom Service
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,3604,376638,00.html

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LONDON, St John’s Smith Square
“The gruelling title role was taken Michael Chance at short notice, so it wasn’t surprising that he took a while to settle. In Solomon’s love duet with his wife (Alison Hagley), however, Chance was ravishing, spinning out a fine thread of sound.”

Tim Ashley
The Guardian

http://http://www.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,3604,470493,00.html

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GLYNDEBOURNE, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
“The pivotal figure, on stage and in Britten’s score, is Oberon. Michael Chance is a seasoned exponent of what is still the best countertenor role since Handel’s time, and every word, every malicious intention is crystal clear.”

Erica Jeal
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,3604,495134,00.html
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LONDON, Christ Church Spitalfields
Britten Sinfonia

“Throughout, Chance’s voice hovers in a world beyond gender, perhaps acknowledging that we at long last accept a universality of emotion in Sappho that transcends orientation.”

Tim Ashley

http://www.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,3604,506156,00.html

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Fretwork Tour St Matthew’s, Cheltenham

“Michael Chance, heroically overcoming the whooshing, banging fireworks outside, sang with the warm, almost dignified sound which singles him out. He may not have that piercing, skate-through-ice sound of some countertenors, but that’s to his advantage. Michael Nyman’s show-stopping Self-Laudatory Hymn of Ianna and her Omnipotence brought this compelling concert to a throbbing, strumming and audacious end.”

Fiona Maddocks
The Observer

http://www.observer.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,591193,00.html

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LONDON, Fretwork, Contemporary Music Network, Union Chapel, Islington
“Guest artists Nicholas Daniel (oboe) and Michael Chance (counter-tenor) gave charismatic performances that were beautifully attuned to the timbre of the viols.”

Anna Picard

http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=104522

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BIRMINGHAM, Symphony Hall

St John Passion/Rattle
“That balance has its parallel in the solo voices: the recitative’s narrative was full of tension, the arias more contemplative and movingly sung here by Susan Gritton, Mark Padmore and Michael Chance. The latter’s Es ist vollbracht was a telling reflection of Bach’s perception of St John’s emphasis on the fulfilment of the prophesies, rather than the agony of the passion. Rattle’s pacing of the music’s ebb and flow was impeccably judged.”

Rian Evans

http://www.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,3604,650450,00.html

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LONDON, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Rattle, Queen Elizabeth Hall
“Arias from the countertenor Michael Chance and soprano Rosemary Joshua were just as compelling.”

Erica Jeal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,3604,726842,00.html

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Mad manners as the Passion rattles along
“… while the countertenor Michael Chance’s mesmeric “Es ist vollbracht!” was exquisitely counterpointed by Sarah Cunningham’s spectral gamba.”

Bayan Northcott

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/story.jsp?story=302301

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MAULBRONN, 28-29.09.2002
G. F. Haendel: Saul

“Es war auch in diesem Jahr wieder gelungen, regelrechte „Stars” im Barockgesang in die historische Klosteranlage zu holen. Nancy Argenta als Michal, Michael Chance als David und Stephen Varcoe als Saul: allein diese drei bei unzähligen großen Händel- Konzerten und -Aufnahmen bewährten Protagonisten standen für eine wahrlich festspielreife Besetzung ein. (…) Michael Chance faszinierte einmal mehr als Barockstilist von Gnaden, der in den Gesängen des Davids mit einem betörend manierierten Vortrag die Hörer verzückte.”

Wolfram Frey

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MANCHESTER, Hallé Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall
“Chance’s voice is not as youthful as it once was, yet where he used to sound like an angel he now performs like a wise poet. Despite the abundance of younger star countertenors these days, none of them yet match Chance’s intelligent delivery and supreme ability to get inside the English language.”

David Vickers
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,811962,00.html

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17 October 2002
” How Chance’s vocal expressiveness combines to give an impression of both intimacy and ethereal “distance” isn’t easily explained. But from the spectral “Full fathom five” to the merry ballad “Get you hence”, he captured the mood of each song vividly and North’s empathy with words, music and singer was exemplary.”

Lynne Walker

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/story.jsp?story=343172

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10 December 2002, Spitalfields Winter Festival
J. S. Bach, Christmas Oratorio

“Listening to Chance’s unutterably serene singing of Schlafe, mein Liebster, it was a choice I thoroughly understood.”

Anna Picard

http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=362249

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2nd February 2003, DEUTSCHLAND, Köln

Bach & Pergolesi

“Dass Michael Chance auch Bach-Spezialist ist, wird oft unterschlagen und konnte hier lediglich kurz aufleuchten: Dabei zeigt sich gerade in seinen Bach-Interpretationen das herausragende Künstlertum von Chance, mit dem er nicht nur seine Countertenorstimme mit Leichtigkeit und Präzision über jede Koloratur führt, sondern Ton und Wort mit bestechendem Textgefühl zu einer Gesamtheit zusammenfügt, in kleinsten Nuancen treffsicher variiert und dies in einer kristallklaren Diktion des altertümlichen deutschen Textes.
Eine Interpretationsleistung, die ihresgleichen sucht; insbesondere für jemanden, dessen Muttersprache nicht Deutsch ist.
(…) Unter Waschinskis transparenter Stimme kommt Chance zu vollem Gehör. Und bei ihm ist keine Viertelnote Zufall: Mit der gewohnt klangvollen, geraden und souveränen Stimmführung gestaltet er seinen Part; und erneut zeigt sich in dem unbestechlichen Künstlertum seiner perfekt vorgetragenen Interpretation, dass Michael Chance noch immer unter Countertenören eine Klasse für sich bildet.

Sein Gesang gibt dem Orchesterklang das Zentrum und Waschinski ein Fundament – So entsteht ein Zusammenklang, der in der Summe nahezu perfekt erscheint, dem Zuhörer zentimeterhohe Gänsehaut beschert und als nachhaltiges Erlebnis haften bleibt.”

Tina Hartmann

http://www.skylite.de/cg2/csman/php/csdoc.php?a_show=1&id=184

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18th April 2003, UK, London Barbican

Bach, St Matthew Passion

“Counter-tenor Michael Chance (…) reached the audience’s furthest reaches through expression, phrasing and heart.”

Geoff Brown

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-245-653672,00.html

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MAULBRONN

27th & 28th September 2003

Haendel, Solomon

“Michael Chance, der im Sommer am Münchner Nationaltheater großen Erfolg als Bertarido in Händels “Rodelinda” hatte, sang den Solomon in kunstvollster Manier mit feiner Tongebung, superber Linienführung und erlesenen Koloraturen.”

Wolfram Frey

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20th January 2004, UK, Queen Elizabeth Hall

Britten, Canticles

“Chance joined him (i.e. Ainsley) for the second canticle, Abraham and Isaac – the masterpiece in the sequence, delivered with maximum beauty of tone from both singers.”

Andrew Clements

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,1128320,00.html

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10th August 2003, UK, London, Royal Albert Hall, BBC Proms, Prom 35

Bach, Magnificat

“But Goodwin’s Bach Magnificat was a vigorous and enjoyable affair, (…) notable for Michael Chance and Rufus Müller’s ravishing Et misericordiae”.

Anna Picard

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/story.jsp?story=552182

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IN SHORT

“In what must have added up to the most expensive 10 minutes in the history of the Hallé, 100 or so orchestral musicians sat mute and motionless on the Bridgewater Hall platform while the spotlight focused on the counter-tenor Michael Chance and lutenist Nigel North.  Five songs from Jacobean England is not the stuff of which Hallé programmes are normally made, but this tribute to the King’s Men and music in Shakespeare’s plays was a fascinating highlight in the first of the Hallé’s Bard-themed series, Such Sweet Thunder.  How Chance’s vocal expressiveness combines to give and impression of both intimacy and ethereal “distance” isn’t easily explained.  But from the spectral “Full fathom five” to the merry ballad “Get you hence”, he captured the mood of each song vividly.”

(The Independent, Hallé, Bridgewater Hall, October 2002)

“Michael Chance seizes his own moments with his usual ardour.” (BBC Music, Vivaldi Gloria recording 2002)

“Michael Chance, in full, warm voice, draws his usual refined line in his solo numbers…” (Gramophone, on Vivaldi Gloria, EMI Classics, 2002)

“…Michael Chance, singing Es ist vollbracht with grave beauty.” (Sunday Times, on St John’s Passion, Birmingham 2002)

“…Michael Chance entered into sublime duet with Richard Tunnicliffe’s viola da gamba in Es ist vollbracht.” (The Times, on St John’s Passion, Birmingham 2002)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Glyndebourne May 2001

“The counter-tenor Michael Chance, whose Oberon is as beautifully sung as any interpretation of the role I have ever heard since Alfred Deller… His I know a bank is heartstopping.”          (The Sunday Telegraph)

“Throughout, Chance’s voice hovers in a world beyond gender, perhaps acknowledging that we at long last accept a universality of emotion in Sappho that transcends orientation.” (The Guardian, on Britten Sinfonia, London 2001) 

“As Oberon, Michael Chance led his section of the opera with equal aplomb, regal, insinuating, bitchy as the situation required. … He consoled us with his finely honed treatment of the text.” (Opera Magazine)

“Michael Chance’s sexy Oberon and Lisa Larsson’s nubile Titania project their music with an intense, impassioned stillness.”            (The Stage)

“Michael Chance plays a stealthy Oberon who sings the words with an eloquence fitting for some of the finest poetry in the English language.”(Financial Times)

 “this tremendous ENO cast … Michael Chance’s remarkably modulated Ottone” 

(Evening Standard, on The Coronation of Poppea, Coliseum 2000)

“Chance’s cradle song is ecstatic above the measured rocking of flutes and oboes. The scale of the accompaniment allows him to under-sing with heart-warming effect.”                                   (BBC Music, on Bach’s Christmas Oratorio)

“Michael Chance and Nicholas Daniel communicated their lines beautifully, creating an atmosphere that lasted until the applause began some 20 seconds later.” 

(The Guardian, on Taverner’s FRETWORK, London 2000)

DIZZY RAPTURE AS CHANCE HITS THE HIGH NOTES : “…The voice is unusually rich for a falsettist, and allied to a refined sense of dramatic possibility, it becomes a powerful vehicle for emotional expression.”  (Independent, London)

“Chance has scaled the vocal heights with the cream of early-music artists, and the reasons were clear…. He is a musician of impeccable taste and expressive vibrancy”
                                                                                    (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

“Chance delivered the vocal numbers with focused tone and smooth line, projecting not only the words in terms of clear diction, but, more significantly, the meaning of the words.  He is a consummate artist, who uses his high technical skills and musical intelligence toward the end of straightforward communication.  This was a concert that had just about everything, altogether one of the most satisfying musical evenings Pittsburgh has produced in quite some time.”            (Pittsburgh Post)

“Michael Chance, his counter-tenor coppery gold as the Voice of Apollo”

                                    (The Times, on DEATH IN VENICE, London 99)

“These cantata-style works show Chance at his best and most subtle and demonstrate better than anything how he has progressed from his early years to become an artist with a versatile and assured technique and an increasing command of ever more varied styles and moods”                 (Early Music Quarterly, summer 99)