Press Reviews

"I've heard many famous tenors (and a famous baritone) as Werther; aside from the sublime Alfredo Krauss, Breault furnished the most complete portrayal musically and dramatically. Though no beginner, he proved much more credible as a youthful Romantic poet than Krauss (seen at age fifty-eight in San Francisco). Besides a ductile tenor that allows him to negotiate a full dynamic span, from silvery head tone to ringing forte, even within a single phrase, Breault offers truly superb diction. He put across the not always felicitous Norman Tucker translation (incorporating "I would fain...," a sure sign of trouble) with great aplomb; his chiseled phrasing was a constant pleasure. Alert to his younger colleagues' words and presence, Breault brought every moment of the role to life."

Opera News (Shengold) November, 2007
Chautauqua Opera, Werther, Massenet.

"Somewhat lost in the avalanche of praise for New York City Opera's new Semele was the performance of tenor ROBERT BREAULT. He gave a witty, touching account of Jupiter (with overtones of John F. Kennedy); somehow he took STEPHEN LAWLESS's rather pointlessly busy stage direction and gave the most committed performance on the stage. (His lovely rendition of "Where e'er you walk" was also the vocal highlight of the afternoon.) He has been around New York a bit: he sang Carmen and Traviata with City Opera and also turned up in Tancredi with Opera Orchestra of New York a few seasons ago. But this was, I believe, the first time I had heard Breault, and I left the State Theater with one of the great feelings you can have as an audience member — a sense of discovery...

Opera News (Kellow) November, 2006
New York City Opera, Semele, Handel

"A stylish singer and droll actor, tenor Robert Breault (looking more like the recent Clinton, but wearing at one point a Bush-style flight jacket) also put over words with crystal clarity; his incisive Loge-size tenor boasts astonishing flexibility."

Opéra Magazine, France, (Shengold) November, 2006
New York City Opera, Semele, Handel.

"Robert Breault's Jupiter was more fatherly than Kennedy-esque, with dark-rimmed glasses and silver hair. His agile, attractive tenor made for a captivating, ardently delivered "Where e'er you walk," in which Breault affirmed Jupiter's status as a deity by maintaining his benevolent loving stance, despite Futral's shenanigans."

Opera News (Rosenblum) November, 2006
New York City Opera, Semele, Handel

"...in his company debut, Robert Breault as Alfredo, Mr. Breault showed an appealing, well-managed voice without a lot of variation; as long as you wanted something ringing and healthy, he could deliver very well. He evoked and old-style Broadway leading man in the days before mikes (I mean that as a compliment)."

New York Times (Midgette) September 15, 2004
New York City Opera, La Traviata, Verdi

"Ideally, one would want the likes of Ponselle, Martinelli and Tibbett in Stiffelio: the kind of Verdian powerhouse virtuosos now seemingly near-extinct. But given the size of Norton Hall, Chautauqua Opera fielded strong contenders. Local favorite Robert Breault made an excellent impression, his mellifluous tenor boasting clarity of both tone and diction; clearly reveling in high notes, he sang with notable dynamic variety. It would be interesting to hear Breault essay Un Ballo in Maschera."

Opera News (Shengold) October, 2004
Chautauqua Opera, Stiffelio, Verdi

"Beethoven endowed Jesus with great humanity, a role as heroic and impassioned as Florestan, but much more varied, interesting and extensive — actually it's bigger. That is how the exceptional tenor in this performance, Robert Breault, felt and sang it. Drawing on his voice's unusual palette of color, range of tone and clarity, Breault launched the opening recitative, "Jehovah, du mein Vater!" with an insistency that kept growing to the climactic final outcry, "erbarm' dich mein!" ("Have pity on me!"). His voice surged to a roaring fortissimo, a level he would match in the second recitative just before the assertion "not my will but Thine be done." Then again, just before the concluding chorus, he cut loose, Jesus as heroic preacher thundering, "Defeated is the power of hell."

In Breault's rendition, the aria, "Meine Seele is erschüttert" ("My soul is deeply shaken") was stirring, the music and his feeling for it getting ever closer to Florestan's "Gott, wie dunkel hier!"."

San Francisco Classical Voice (Commanday) April 8, 2003
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Christ on the Mount of Olives, Beethoven.

"I don't remember ever hearing a finer tenor soloist in Eugene (Oregon) than Robert Breault. He has a rich, full voice that is so well focused he can bring it down almost to a whisper and still be heard. Every word and meaning of the text he sings come to life with utmost conviction. The wedding of text and music is his performance has to be heard to be believed."

The Register-Guard, Eugene (Bergquist), December 10, 2002
Eugene Concert Choir, Messiah, Handel.

"It was clear from the opening recitative, Robert Breault's ‘Comfort ye, my people', that whatever happened in this oratorio would be conveyed to the audience with unusual immediacy. Breault's forthright account had the precision and depth of fine singing, together with the ringing stature of great oratory." "Of the vocal soloists, Breault—an alumnus of the San Francisco Opera Center who was making his first appearance with the Philharmonia—turned in the strongest showing. His sound was bright and firm, his diction eloquent and his presence arresting; his explosive account of ‘Thou shalt break them' was merely the most memorable of many fine moments."

San Francisco Chronicle (Kosman), December 9, 1996
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Messiah, Handel.

"As for tenor Robert Breault's portrayal of Alfredo, his voice is strong, wonderfully lyrical with a fine ability to sustain long lines, and in addition, his words were projected with a superbly clean diction."

Buffalo News (Trotter), July 8, 2001
Chautauqua Opera, La Traviata, Verdi.

"Breault's voice has a powerful character with a sturdy range, but the most striking aspect of his singing was the emotional weight he brought to bear on the texts at hand."

Washington Post (May), Breault's Labor of Love, March 26, 1998
Recital at the Phillips Gallery, Washington DC.

"Tenor Robert Breault was astonishing, his voice is flexible, and he fearlessly aimed for all the highest notes...He tossed off an incredible amount of musical ornamentation."

Associated Press (Campbell), November 1997.
Opera Orchestra of New York, Tancredi, Rossini.

"The cast's standout was tenor Robert Breault as Hyllus, who depicted the character's lovesick and virile strains in sumptuous musical terms; his wooing of Iole in ‘From celestial seats descending' was easily the evening's high point."

The San Francisco Chronicle (Kosman), September 16, 1997
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Hercules, Handel.

"As Ismaele and Fenena, tenor Robert Breault and mezzo Marianne Cornetti sang so ravishingly that one wished these characters had more to do."

Opera News (Crook), August 1997
Atlanta Opera, Nabucco, Verdi.

"Robert Breault (Macduff) stole the show, proving to be an outstandingly clear and resonant singer."

Opera Canada (Cochran), Fall 1999.
Atlanta Opera, Macbeth, Verdi.

"With his clear unforced tones, the tenor soloist in the "Sanctus," Robert Breault certainly didn't ignore the introspection and serenity."

Toronto Star (Littler), November 5, 1998.
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Requiem, Berlioz.

"The soloists make a high-quality team. [Simon Estes, Robert Breault, Linda Childs, and Audrey Luna]...The star is tenor Robert Breault: lyrical, but with some guts to his sound."

American Record Guide (Greenfield), "DeMars: American Requiem," September/October 1996.

"The Opera was sung in English, but only Robert Breault as Don Ottavio had good enough diction to make it all worthwhile. His was an excellent account, vocally and dramatically, of a somewhat thankless role."

The Ottawa Citizen (Todd), June 27, 1997
Opera Atelier at the National Arts Center, Ottawa, Don Giovanni, Mozart

"His tenor is large without being overwhelming, the tone quality rich and full of character, and his performance evinced a technical mastery that was thoroughly impressive. Best of all, he charted the cycle's dramatic course with unerring specificity." "...there was more music within that short span of time than in most recitals twice as long. It is rare for a singer to choose so challenging and unfamiliar a vehicle for a debut—and just as rare for such a work to find as committed and skillful a champion as this one had in Breault."

The San Francisco Chronicle (Kosman), "Janácek 'Diary' in Remarkable Recital," May 11, 1993.

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