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"And
Kevin Burdette, playing the self-infatuated poet Archibald in Patience,
showed off his plummy, Thomas Hampson-like voicewas he doing
an impersonation, perchance?and also his phenomenal agility.
He held his own in a giddy song-and-dance routine with the West
End veteran Michael Ball. Im told that Burdette is deciding
between a career in opera and law. As James Joyces wife once
said of her husband, he should stick to the singing."
-New Yorker
"The
City Opera is fortunate in its two competing suitors: Michael Ball
as Bunthorne and Kevin Burdette as Grosvenor. Both sing beautifully,
both are comic athletes, and both are capable of evoking real people
out of egregious exaggeration . . . We keep thinking, "Too
much, too much," and then Mr. Ball and Mr. Burdette appear
and charm the pants off us." -New York Times
"Kevin
Burdette's droll, long-suffering Siroco nearly stole the show. His
rich bass was firm and sonorous, and he dominated the stage, whether
in madcap motion or simply arching an eyebrow in response to his
colleagues' doings." -Opera News
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photos from this performance
"Leporello
was Kevin Burdette . . . [h]is voice is as resonant and attractive
as ever, but he now seems much more at ease in his use of it, and
his performance was a tour de force of vocal splendor and comic
timing." -San Francisco Chronicle
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photos from this performance
"With
as many rubbery moves as Jim
Carrey, Kevin Burdette had a field day as Mustafá
. . . his singing had an irresistable panache." -Opera News
"Bass
Kevin Burdette was the most impressive stage presence. He balanced
a manic gift for physical comedy with solid singing, making the
role of Mustafá, the hapless Bey of Algiers, almost pathetically
absurd. He gained no sympathy for his character, and stole the show
in the process." -Washington Post
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photos from this performance
"Kevin
Burdette, he of the marvelously plummy bass, stole the show as a
hilarious Bottom, the ass for whom Tytania briefly falls."
-Chicago Tribune
"Kevin
Burdette proves an audience favorite as the Sergeant of Police.
Burdette has clearly been studying at the Groucho Marx School of
Ballet, which seems just right for the policeman's lot in this Penzance."
-Variety
"It
was strikingly obvious that the best of the lot was bass Kevin Burdette
as Grosvenor. His instrument is rich and polished, especially in
the lower register." -New York Sun
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"Unexpectedly,
a singer a good half-century too young to be Pasquale walks away with
the show. With a bass-baritone of some grit
and carrying power, and sporting a gray fright wig and a bird's nest
of a beard, Kevin Burdette proves a natural comedian, balancing broad
schtick and subtle behavioral touches with the wink-wink nudge-nudge
strain of self-parody that ripples through the production." -Washington
Post
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photos from this performance
"The
mortals included a strong ensemble . . . which fielded the evenings
standout performance in Kevin Burdettes excellent Bottom,
sung with resonance and acted with skillfully calibrated comic sensibility."
-Opera News
"Especially
good [is] Kevin Burdette, as antic and elastic as
Jerry
Lewis yet never missing a note." -New
York Magazine
"Also
good was Kevin Burdette, whose high, baritonal bass was free of
wooliness and clearly projected . . . "The people that [walked]
in darkness" had real impact while "The trumpet shall
sound" rose to glory on his strong declamation in tandem with
Mark Ridenour's shining trumpet solo." -Chicago Tribune
"NYCO's
rubber-limbed stalwart Kevin Burdette was perfectly cast as the
timid Sergeant of Police." -Opera News
"Kevin
Burdette's resounding bass brought emotional depth to the Priest's
soul-searching." -Musical America
"Bass
Kevin Burdette brought a voice of imperial steel to the Emperor
Claudius" -Montreal Gazette
"Kevin
Burdette stood out as a creaky yet intellectually vigorous Don Alfonso,
delivering lines with the wit and wide range of timbre one should
expect from this worldly-wise but not yet world-weary character.
" -American Record Guide
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photos from this performance
"The
king's astrologer, Siroco (a particularly lively, droll Kevin Burdette),
gives the operetta its title as he manipulates the plot" -Variety
"Kevin
Burdette, endowed with a beautiful, round bass voice, plays a lively
Osmin." -Le
Soleil
"Kevin
Burdette's Mustafa provided the house with endless laughter."
-Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Kevin
Burdette exudes power as menacing Minos." -Financial Times
"New
York City Opera's jokey and brightly colored version of Gilbert
and Sullivan's 'Patience' has the distinct virtues of Michael Ball
and Kevin Burdette in key roles." -New York Times
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"Bass
Kevin Burdette was sonorous and unyielding as the Priest
until the orgy, when Guarino equated his flagellation with the Villagers
excesses." -Opera News
"Gilbert
and Sullivan's tart sendup of Victorian aesthetes gets psychedelic
treatment . . . Michael Ball and Kevin Burdette are worth the trip."
-New York Times
"As
the vain Grosvenor, company favorite Kevin Burdette effectively
countered with his slinky stage presence and whiplash bass - which
is essential, since the milkmaid Patience is forced to choose between
them. The two danced winningly in the patter number 'When I go out
the door,' in which Grosvenor resolves to lose his fancy airs."
-New York Newsday
"Kevin
Burdette's Sergeant of Police is another clear favorite, and the
numbers with his cowardly cohorts - smoothly choreographed by Lynne
Hockney - are highlights." -Backstage
" .
. . the singer with the greatest spark is Kevin Burdette in the
relatively minor role of Masetto."
-New York Daily News
"Kevin
Burdettes Popolani (with the mullet, the stache, the
cheap-o white sneakers) somehow stole every scene he was in with
his goofy William
Macy loser persona and explosive Jim Carrey physicality."
-Metroland Newsweekly
"There's
so much going on -- with plenty of other characters sent in by Central
Casting -- that it's no surprise an Elvis
impersonator officiates at a wedding. He's one of several leather-clad
guises taken on by the excellent bass Kevin Burdette." -Albany
Times Union
"Kevin
Burdette, as Mustafà, turned in a highly physical portrayal
full of inventive energy and resonant singing." -Seattle Times
"His
[Burdette's] comic moves were amazingly flexible and very funny,
and his singing suited his growing importance very well." -Ithaca
Journal
"Arthur
Woodley and Kevin Burdette were both impressive bassos, the scene
between these assassins and Hvorostovsky the best by far in the
entire evening." -ConcertoNet
"The
conspirators were sung with unusual distinction by basses Arthur
Woodley and Kevin Burdette." -Associated Press
"The
words came tripping gaily from [among others] Kevin Burdette, whose
Grosvenor was richly inflected and handsomely sung."
-Opera
Magazine (England)
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"Kevin
Burdette brought high spirits and a booming
bass to the role of Masetto." -New Yorker
"Michael
Ball and Kevin Burdette are the elegant, musically apt, and hilarious
center of Tazewell Thompsons witty staging of this Gilbert
and Sullivan classic." -Village Voice
"Kevin
Burdette portrayed Bottom with an agile bass and good-hearted pomposity."
-Chicago Sun Times
"Kevin
Burdette, as the Chief of Police, seems to be part charmed snake.
Not only does he create a singular and energetic presence, he moves
with comic, undulating grace." -NYTheatre.com
"Kevin
Burdette was a stand out, with his smooth bass singing voice, charismatic,
charming, and droll stage presence, and very funny impressions of
both Dubya
and John Kerry. He really cracked up the crowd during the skit How
to Fixate Medicare. -theater2K
"[As]
Bunthorne and Grosvenor . . . Jeffrey Lentz and Kevin Burdette were
as nifty on their feet as they were adept in their singing."
-New York Times
"The
second half featured a brilliant song and dance routine by Lentz
and Burdette, who are surely two of the finest singing actors ever
paired on the Glimmerglass stage. Their comic timing throughout
the show was marvelous, too, and Burdette delivered his "Fable
of the Magnet and the Churn" with style." -Schenectady
Daily Gazette
"The
Gilbert and Sullivan operetta reaches its high point when Lentz
and Burdette pull out the stops on the the narcissistic characters
. . . [they] could not be in finer form" -Syracuse Post
Standard
"Another
poet, Archibald, eventually arrives on the scene. He's played by
bass Kevin Burdette, who gives the best singing of the night . .
. And the best number of the night comes late in Act II when the
two poets race through a dancing vocal duet." -Albany Times
Union
"In
their characterizations of the poet Bunthorne and his arch-rival
Grosvenor, tenor Jeffrey Lentz and bass Kevin Burdette gave wonderfully
true-to-form performances, with skilled voices that made their singing
the difficult numbers seem effortless. A highlight of the show in
both musical and dramatic terms was their Act II dialogue and duet
("When I Go Out of Door"), that also featured the best
dance number of the piece." -Metroland Newsweekly
"The
richness of bass Kevin Burdette's Claudius lent a paternal austerity
to the show without allowing his performance to become wholesome.
Burdette brought a nice dose of sleaze in his role as Caesar, lending
believability to the rejection of his numerous advances and proving
that it's not always good to be the king." -McGill Daily
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"In
his Opera Grand Rapids debut, Kevin Burdette, a long, lanky bass,
made a quick-thinking Figaro, humorously working his way out of
fixes, but delivering serious singing in such arias as 'Se vuol
ballare'." -Grand Rapids Press
"Kevin
Burdette, finally, plays Claudius with ease and not without majesty."
-Le Soleil
"Leading
the young cast [was] the Siroco of Kevin Burdette, looking like
a handsome version of Boris
Karloff's Mummy, manically darting about the stage."
-American
Record Guide
" Kevin
Burdette applied his solemn bass and rubber-legged dance steps to
the role of Siroco, the king's astrologer." New York Newsday
"Even
if youre of the opinion that sitting through an entire G&S
showno matter how well doneis tiresome, the performances
delivered by Ball and co-star Kevin Burdette as Reginald Bunthorne/Archibald
Grosvenor could make a believer out of you." -NEXT Magazine
"L'ile
de Merlin" also includes texts that would have been set to
the music of popular songs of the day, for satiric effect. Spoleto
had Kevin Burdette (who sang the small role of the Notary and looked
blissfully demented) accompanying those moments with sappy hymn-like
tunes on an electric keyboard." -Wall Street Journal
"Cutouts
of Alice in Wonderland and the March Hare have excellent box seats
in which to view a Sergeant of Police who seems to have been transferred
to the force from the Liza Minelli Division of the Ministry of Silly
Walks . . . . are both terrific fun, as is Kevin Burdette's bursts
of giddy strutting as the otherwise cowardly Sergeant of Police."
-Broadwayworld.com
"Kevin
Burdette really captivated in the role of the alchemist-factotum
Popolani. Costumed as a lowlife whose fashion clock was stopped
in 1973, his alternately manic-vegetative performance possessed,
or perhaps was possessed by, the spirit of true anarchy." -The
Post Standard
"Kevin
Burdette (Minos) triumphed over the spastic, shell-shocked persona
devised for him with his dark, sturdy voice and customary dignity"
-Opera News
"Even Bottom had an edge. Mr. Burdette gave his overwhelming,
bumptious self-confidence an aggressive force, and he played his
first "rehearsal" scenes as Pyramus brandishing a phallic
sword between his legs . . . Standouts among the rustics . .
. were Mr. Burdette's gawky, thrusting Bottom." -Wall Street
Journal
" Like
a dessert, lets save the surprise for last. Kevin Burdette,
the lithe and supple bass from Tennessee. His timing is sharp as
a rifle crack. With legs as long as Hugh
Jackmans, he bounces around like the tin man after Dorothy
oiled his joints. His commanding bass voice just takes over the
stage. My pacemaker shorted-out when I saw the ticke price of $120,
but by Jupiter, by George, by Jingo, Burdette makes it worth every
penny." -ArtsPass
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"But
the clean, baritonal attack of Kevin Burdette felt just right as
Masetto. Burdette acted the part terrifically, giving Masetto sharp
intelligence and a well-toned sense of
irony to counter his volatile temper." -Washington
Post
"Michael
Ball and Kevin Burdette are dazzling as rival poets" -Village
Voice
"Kevin
Burdette [as Leporello]: Wow, what a package he is -- an actor personified,
and a true-blue bass that's wonderfully deep but not too dark. Each
time he was up, he topped his previous number. Articulation, projection,
rapid-fire enunciations, and some thrilling rolled Rs left nothing
to be desired." -Oak Ridger
"A sleek
Kevin Burdette possesses a heroic smile and a supple bass voice
that gleams with equal appeal as the rival poet Grosvenor."
-Newark Star Ledger
"Kevin
Burdette contributed an Osmin who knew how to emphasize the comic
aspect of his character without turning it into a farce." -Opera
Canada
"Kevin
Burdette's dark bass suited Minos' music well." -Classics
Today
"American
bass Kevin Burdette became an imposing Claudius, although it took
a little while to reveal the richness of his voice." -Toronto
Globe and Mail
"In
the larger of these two roles, Arsamene's servant Elviro, bass-baritone
Kevin Burdette brings buffo to the baroque as he attempts to impose
sanity on his wayward superiors. Mr. Burdette's booming voice and
impeccable diction are crucial to the endeavor. On the other hand,
Mr. Burdette is not afraid to camp it up in the wobbly falsetto
in Act II as he prances about the stage disguised as a flower girl."
-Washington Times
"Kevin
Burdette is hilarious as the astrologer Siroco. He does a bizarre
dance with a wedding cake attached to one hand, worthy of Groucho's
Captain Spalding; and in a drunken duet, he and [King Ouf] walk
off with the show." -Rochester City Newspaper
"Kevin
Burdette rose and let forth the most magnificent bass
voice ever heard by this reviewer. His range was solid from
the bottom to the top. Burdette has a great stage presence to go
along with his magnificent sound. His voice rocked the walls of
this large auditorium . . . there was no limit to the strength and
power of this voice. Every word was clear and pure. Burdette's physical
presence is astounding. He shows himself to be at ease in front
of an audience and is in command of the stage every moment he is
performing . . . Burdette used his technique and skills in both
speed and delivery to highlight his musical skills." -Midland
Daily News
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