Robert Brubaker
Tenor
Press Reviews
Opéra National de Paris - Der Zwerg
"The towering achievement was Robert Brubaker's interpretation of the dwarf. Manipulating a grotesque puppet attached to his arms and feet, he sang the tortuous pages of this Expressionist piece with bronzed courage."
-Opera News
Opéra National de Paris - Boris Godunov
"... above all [was] the false Dimitri of Robert Brubaker. The American tenor's voice is outstanding in this repertoire, tireless and metallic, every phrase conquered with disconcerting ease and a cleverly constructed stage persona leading from timid monk to haughtily arrogant Tsar."
-Stephen Mudge, Musical America
"The most impressive singing at the first performance Oct. 18 was delivered by the tenor Robert Brubaker as the false Dmitri, on his shifty way to the throne, and Olga Borodina as the grossly ambitious Marina."
-David Stearns, International Herald Tribune
Metropolitan Opera - Doktor Faust
"As Mephistopheles, tenor Robert Brubaker conveys the sinister quality of his role without sacrificing vocal beauty."
- Howard Kissel, New York Daily News
"Robert Brubaker's peppery high tenor is perfect for Mephistopheles…he gives a virtuoso performance."
- Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine
"He coped manfully with the impossibly high tessitura [and] summoned considerable power and illuminated the sardonic platitudes with welcome restraint."
- Martin Bernheimer, Financial Times
"The vocal pressure seldom lets up: The unrelenting focus on the two leading characters calls for heroic singing, provided abundantly by Thomas Hampson as Faust and Robert Brubaker as Mephistopheles."
- Shirley Fleming, New York Post
"The tenor Robert Brubaker captures the needling, oily qualities of Mephistopheles."
- Anthony Tommasini, New York Times
Metropolitan Opera - The Makropulos Case
"... brightly incisive as Albert Gregor..."
- Financial Times
English National Opera - Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District
"Robert Brubaker, in his best work yet at the Coliseum, was outstanding as Katerina's lover, terrier-like in his pursuit of her, a sewer rat in his later desertion, and he made light of the role's terrifying vocal demands."
- Rodney Milnes, London Times
English National Opera - Peter Grimes
"The American tenor Robert Brubaker is singing Grimes for the first time. He has also just taken Otello into his repertory, and it shows - big, heroic sound that he can fine down for a stirringly sensitive account of the hut monologue. He makes no false claims on our sympathy; this Grimes is aggressive, paranoid, deranged rather than visionary, which makes his relationship with Vivian Tierney's highly equivocal, prying Ellen more than usually explosive."
- Rodney Milnes, London Times
"Among the principals, interest centered on a newcomer to the title role, the American tenor Robert Brubaker. In terms of scale his performance is in the rough, tough tradition of Jon Vickers as opposed to the refinement of Peter Pears. But as Vickers (or for that matter Richard Cassilly) amply demonstrated, the heroic tenor voice provides manifold possibilities for the exploration of the part, and Brubaker's fiery articulation of the text and huge dynamic variety were remarkably impressive, as was a demeanour that gave a certain crazed grandeur to this [production's] comfortless vision."
- George Hall, Opera
English National Opera - Nixon in China
"Robert Brubaker put in an incredible performance as the aged leader."
- Opera
English National Opera - From the House of the Dead
"Robert Brubaker's tenor is thrilling as Luka."
- Tim Albery, Evening Standard (London)
English National Opera - Carmen
"That Robert Brubaker manages to make mummy's boy Don José more than risible is an achievement; to steal the show with it - a miracle."
- The Scotsman
"Tenor voices at ENO are rarely as confident and problem-free as Brubaker's."
- Financial Times
"An outstanding José whose singing encompasses both the lyricism for his duet with Micaëla and the verismo violence of the later acts."
- London Times
English National Opera - Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
"Tenor Robert Brubaker led the Mahagonny cast in style, vocally and dramatically."
- Opera News
Kentucky Opera - Salome
"Brubaker sang with exceptional control over color and dynamic projection, reveling in one of Strauss' most intricate acting assignments."
- Louisville Journal Courier
Ariadne auf Naxos
"Robert Brubaker's sexy Bacchus, who makes an impossible role believable."
- Financial Times
"Robert Brubaker navigated his fiendish challenges with agility..."
- Evening Standard
"Petra Lang's Ariadne and Robert Brubaker's Bacchus sustain their final duet in a way that sheds all artifice and touches the opera's emotional core."
- The Guardian