Photo credit: Gary Payne
"Tchaikovsky’s score highlights and layers every piece of the drama in ways that anticipated film scores. These elements and the greater whole are perfectly balanced by the CSO here. I caught so many little touches – punches of brass as Suarez and Smith argue, a languid clarinet anticipating a vocal melody, the harps stabbing like an accusation, casting shadows just as dramatic as the lighting.
The singing’s stellar throughout. Smith and Suarez are evenly matched, as they need to be, and singing to one another (like the Russian Roulette sequence mentioned earlier) shakes the rafters. ...Suarez shares a sweetness and a surging bluster with a beautiful, rounded tenor tone."
OPERAGENE
"Tenor Dane Suarez sang the role of the Duke of Mantua with an appealing, deeply resonant voice. He performed the hit tunes 'Questa o quella' and 'La donna è mobile' pleasingly, and his act 2 solo with emotion."
OPERAGENE
"...his hanging onto the last note of 'La donna è mobile' for a fortnight had an old-fashioned flair."
BY TIM SMITH
"Of course, the tragedy is not Carmen’s alone, as her lover makes his own fatal plunge into jealousy and murder. As José, tenor Dane Suarez matched Printz's vocal power with his intense and expressive singing, reveling in lyrical moments of love as well as opening his soul in compelling outbursts of anger. His aria in Act 2, ‘La fleur que tu m’avais jetée’ (The flower you threw at me), movingly captured José’s painful obsession with Printz’s Carmen, who played him like a fish on the hook."
SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE
"But most appealing was tenor Dane Suarez as the otherwise fairly repellant Don José. Suarez's voice has plaintiveness and bright warmth, but also an interesting rawness that works for this role."
THE OPERA TATTLER
"Next on the scene is Greg, a protector figure sporting biker gear (including black-leather chaps). That’s heldentenor Dane Suarez singing 'A Dream Aria,' a bespoke composition contributed by Daniel Schlosberg. Suarez sings this soothing command ('Stand down, release …') exquisitely – a good thing, too, because having to listen to a bad opera singer in this tiny space could prove excruciating."
NEW YORK STAGE REVIEW
"The original opera aria by Daniel Schlosberg and beautifully sung by Dane Suarez is a remarkable art song..."
THEATERSCENE.NET
"It all leads to a breathtaking scene ... A tenor voice echoes from backstage and grows louder (the spectacularly powerful Dane Suarez). Dressed vaguely like Meat Loaf in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (costumes by Montana Levi Blanco), Suarez (playing a character named "Greg") confronts death with his song. For several minutes, horror, comedy, and operatic majesty coexist on the same stage. The fact that it holds us rapt and slack-jawed is a testament to the steady hand of the director."
THEATERMANIA
"The less said about the characters played by Jacob Orr and Dane Suarez, an operatic tenor, the better, though they are played finely."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Tenor Dane Suarez looked perfect as rumpled, exasperated Scalia. Wang, like Verdi and Puccini, doesn't do him any favors, placing his vocal line high and loud, but Suarez climbs the pinnacles with strength to spare. He may be gruff, but as he says emphatically, I know I'm right. From the start, we like his passion and conviction. ... Scalia's remembrance of his father's immigrant journey to the U.S. and what he taught his son, 'He Built Stairs,' is immensely moving."
HOUSTON PRESS
"Tenor Dane Suarez, as fiery Lensky, could probably be heard on Heights Boulevard. He has a powerful boom and in the intimate Lambert he shook the rafters while he created a fully rounded character. His farewell aria to the world was extremely moving."
HOUSTON PRESS
An oft-repeated quote regarding “Il trovatore” is Enrico Caruso’s adage: “All it takes for successful performance of ‘Il trovatore’ is the four greatest singers in the world.”...And the four principals Dane Suarez as Manrico, Natalie Polito as Leonora, Nathan Matticks as the Count, and Anne Maguire as Azucena served as strong pillars on which the drama could rest...But it was good to have the feeling of being up close to the music too, as when Manrico (Dane Suarez) segued so logically into a mad sort of declamation for his cabaletta “Di quella pira” on learning that his supposed mother, Azucena had been apprehended by the Count’s men. All three of these principals would have been impressive performers live in the theater – their Act 1 trio (“Di geloso amor sprezzato”) was especially stirring.
OPERAWIRE
“Sunday's audience was thrilled with tenor Dane Suarez's high octane Puccini performance of 'Non piangere Liù' from Turandot. With Suarez's opening phrase, the emotional quotient of the room soared, and the intensity of his grandly arched phrases and opulent sonority momentarily transformed the modest Protestant chapel into a lavish opera set adorned with chinoiserie in riotous colors."
SAN DIEGO STORY
“Tenor Dane Suarez had a late star turn with Macduff’s ‘Ah, la paterna mano,’ thanks to his bright, heavy tone full of squillo and his ability to put sobs into his voice without losing the line of the music.”
SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE
“Compared with other Italian operas of the period, ‘Macbeth’ is a welter of secondary and ancillary characters (Shakespeare will do that), and West Bay’s large cast contained no weak links. … there were winning contributions as well from tenor Dane Suarez as Macduff.”
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“Chief among these others is the clarion tenor vocals of Dane Suarez as Macduff as he agonizes over the heartless murders of his wife and children. His breath-taking notes reach heavenward in their scale as he anguishes not being able to save them, with one sustained ‘God’ cutting through the air in such sad supplication to break our listening hearts. Much deserved was the audience’s response, one of the loudest and longest applauses and rounds of ‘Bravo’ of the evening.”
THEATRE EDDYS
“Tenor Dane Suarez as Macduff also turns in an impressive performance, both in his singing and commanding presence on the stage.”
ALMANAC
“Tenor Dane Suarez as Pinkerton displays heroic lyricism in all of his highlights. His duets with Butterfly ‘Viene la sera’ and ‘Bimba dagli occhi pieni di malia’ … as well as his duet with the United States Consular Officer Sharpless ‘Addio fiorito asil’ … are praiseworthy. Suarez captures the smarmy, self-serving affect of Pinkerton that makes him such a despicable character, yet his owning up for his bad deeds, along with his remorse and cowardice are also well acted.”
FOR ALL EVENTS
“The American naval officer, Pinkerton, performed by Dane Suarez, is also portrayed well; his transformation from an ignorant and cocky young man only wanting to make love to Cio-cio San to a deeply troubled man who has come to terms with his own actions is incredible to watch.”
CROWN AND SHIELD
“Dane Suarez possesses a classic lyric tenor, but one vested with just a bit of an edge – not all the way to spinto, but one capable of a little force. This serves to bring out Pinkerton’s early knuckleheadedness about cultural differences, his young man’s focus on his own needs. He’s a bit of a firecracker. … This timbral match makes the wedding-night duets into soaring tonal tangos.”
OPERAVILLE
"Tenor Dane Suarez’s brash, volatile Lensky easily convinced us of his need to challenge Onegin to a duel over the latter’s innocently mischievous flirting at a party with Olga, Lensky’s intended. Suarez’s wrenching farewell aria prior to the second act duel gave us a vocal tour de force of surpassing splendor."
SAN DIEGO STORY
SAN DIEGO STORY
“On to the powerhouse tenors—who did not disappoint! Dane Suarez, who sang the impressive title role in Opera NEO’s Idomeneo last year, gave a spine-tingling account of ‘No, Pagliaccio non son’ from Leoncavallo’s beloved Pagliacci. His magnificent, Italianate tenor continues to bloom, and his fiery verismo declamation brought roars of approval from the audience. I am eager to hear his Lensky in next month’s Eugene Onegin.”
“Senta is already in a relationship with a hunter named Erik (played by the powerful tenor Dane Suarez). ... His powerful emotions and voice grip the mind of all who’ve been heartbroken as the result of the loss to another suitor.”
“Thomas’s voice as the Dutchman was undoubtedly impassioned, as was LoBianco’s lustrous and dramatic exhibition of Senta. Hopkins’s deep baritone bursts of excitement at the prospect of acquiring riches as Daland was quite the delight. However, I was genuinely moved by Suarez’s portrayal of Erik, whose retelling of a premonition in a dream where Senta and the Dutchman disappear together at sea is deeply sobering. His aches and wails clench the walls of the heart and tear it to shreds. Bravo!"
MD THEATRE GUIDE
“The role of Senta’s would-be beau, Erik, was played by tenor Dane Suarez. Mr. Suarez’s singing was another highlight of the performance, though he looked rather suave to be a provincial, hunter type. He and Senta have a stirring duet where he reveals a dream he had of Senta going away with a sea captain dressed in black, which disturbs Erik but inflames Senta’s passion, well done by both singers…”
OPERAGENE
“I was ready to call 911 when tenor Dane Suarez as Don José reacted with equal zeal to Doche’s impassioned, seductive ‘Seguidilla’ from the same act of Carmen. Suarez topped off this fiery Carmen fix with a heart-rending account of ‘La fleur que tu m’avais jetée,’ the aria in which Don José confesses his desperate love for the fickle Carmen. Suarez also lavished his ample tenor on Lensky’s confessional aria ‘Kuda, kuda’ from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, readily engaging that trademark Russian pathos and existential remorse.”
“Soprano Anna-Lisa Hackett joined Suarez in that all too sweet finale of the first act of Puccini’s La bohème, ‘Che gelida manina’ and ‘O soave fanciulla.’ Her striking yet effortless soprano matched Suarez’s vocal power magnificently, and it was easy to imagine these two accomplished young singers tearing into these roles in a major opera house.”
“Suarez’s Mario Lanza tribute performance of ‘Be My Love’ easily stole the show."
SAN DIEGO STORY
“Dane Suarez is perhaps the most effortlessly boyish Alfredo I have yet seen, and he communicates his helpless romantic (and sexual) infatuation with Violetta with honesty and abandon. His fresh faced, puppy dog approach made him stand out from the other jaded men in Violetta’s circle, and made us understand why Violetta might be attracted to his impetuous sincerity and handsome naiveté.
Mr. Suarez has an appealing, substantial tenor, which he deployed with considerable nuance. Although he sang sturdily throughout the evening, he found his most solid vocal footing in the sardonic phrases and recriminating outbursts in Act III, where he poured out highly charged high notes that were riveting in their intensity. When Dane affected the boyish sweetness earlier on, the gears were sometimes on display as he worked (albeit successfully) to reign in his sizable tone, and to color it youthfully. ... Still, his total emotional investment in pursuing and later, comforting Violetta proved heart rending.”
OPERA TODAY
“What really makes this playful fable come together is the duo’s singing. Suarez has a big, heroic voice with an appealing, suitably romantic tone. ... When the two lovers engage in a duet at the end of Act I, they harmonize idyllically as they walk slowly into the crowd, ... it’s a transfixing moment of sublime beauty.”
LA WEEKLY
“Suarez possesses a rich, warm tenor voice with ample texture and projection in the most dramatic instances...”
LIVING OUT LOUD - LA
“Pacific Opera Project always has strong singers and this time it outdid itself. Tenor Dane Suarez was a Rodolfo with a bit of heft to his voice that gave him attractive overtones.”
OPERAWIRE
“But best of all, we get an evocative, vim-filled cast who would be welcomed on any world stage. They bring this sympathetic potpourri of dreamers, schemers, flirts, and woe-be-gone jealous lovers to amazing life. They really do seem to be these characters, not over-stuffed divas and divos who have left their youth many operas ago.
[I]t’s no surprise that horny young writer Rodolfo, tenor Dane Suarez, would instantly fall for this comely waif who crafts flowers out of paper. Can you smell the patchouli? Suarez has boyish charm for days, a lively mop top, and a golden throat that can toss off his character’s ardent phrases with poet’s ease.”
HOUSTON PRESS
“Tenor Dane Suarez as Cavaradossi displayed a handsome, full voice. His is a warm and robust tenore spinto. Suarez’s Recondita armonia in Act I was beautiful, soaring, and moving. He brought down the house (and moved me to tears) with E lucevan le stelle in Act III, rendering the magic of the pure earth-shaking lyricism of a man deeply in love about to die.”
ALLEGRI CON FUOCO