Menu:

• Home
• Roster
• News
• About
• Contact

Other Information:

- Bio (PDF)
- Headshot
- Repertoire
- Press Reviews
- Discography
- Press Kit (PDF)

Artist Website

Return

Steven White
Conductor

Press Reviews

Opera Roanoke - Fidelio
"Maestro Steven White conducted the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and Blacksburg Master Chorale with white-hot Beethovenian intensity throughout. This "Fidelio" concluded with a quick standing ovation and yells and shouts of bravo."


Pittsburgh Opera - L'Elsir d'Amore
"The excellent cast and orchestra gave a stylish musical performance led by Steven White....(who) leads a smartly conceived interpretation of Donizetti's score. Admirable tempi are presented with restrained dynamics that are flattering to the lead singers, while his balances within the orchestra produced transparency." (Click here to read full review.)

"Conductor Steven White exhibited a rapport with the singers and brought a graceful approach to phrasing the orchestra. The use of a fortepiano instead of a harpsichord for the secco recitatives was not only historically accurate but wonderfully refreshing and winning in its more rounded timbre." (Click here to read full review.)


Baltimore Opera - L'Assedio di Corinto
"Steven White conducted exceptionally well: Rossini created some wonderful music here, mostly dark but occasionally triumphant, and White paced it to perfection and let the singers carry the day, as they should in bel canto."

"Steven White, who coaxed mostly smooth playing from the orchestra, conducted with a sure sense of melodic contour and rhythmic flexibility. He also prepared the edition of the score, borrowing a little from Maometto II, which was the precursor to The Siege of Corinth, and an aria for Futral from a much earlier Rossini opera. By and large, the result was a musically cohesive version of an opera that deserves to be better known - and to receive the benefit of more theatrical fire.


New York City Opera - La Bohème
"The always-reliable City Opera orchestra played their hearts out in this score, which they do on a regular basis. I was very appreciative of conductor Steven White's decision to let this music breathe. It was the undercurrent that made Musetta's waltz (and its swelling reprise) so moving. Rather than treat this music like a cliche, Maestro White played it as if we were hearing it for the first time."


Baltimore Opera - La Sonnambula
"White kept stage and pit in synch and had the orchestra playing with a stylish touch and applied telling fire to the most dramatic moments of the score."

"The orchestra played firmly for Steven White, whose assured conducting revealed obvious affection for Bellini's score."
"Thankfully, conductor Steven White kept everything on track, continually eliciting colorful music and artistry."


Baltimore Opera - I Puritani
"So it was during Saturday night's opener of the Baltimore production, thanks in large measure to the starry efforts of soprano Elizabeth Futral and tenor Gregory Kunde in the lead roles, and the uncommonly sensitive guidance of conductor Steven White... Except for a sadly wayward horn soloist, the orchestra was a full-fledged partner in the performance, which White shaped with an incisive appreciation for drama-enhancing nuance and rhythmic flexibility. Too bad he had to sanction some time-saving cuts in the score. This was one night when I would have gladly heard every note."


Wolf Trap Opera - L'Elisir d'amore
"On July 28, Steven White conducted a snappy performance that didn't slight the score's sweet moments or miss opportunities to apply some gentle rubato."

"On Wednesday night, Steven White, who will lead Baltimore Opera's performances of Bellini's I Puritani in November, conducted a snappy performance that didn't slight the score's sweet moments."


Sarasota Opera - Werther
"Steven White led a performance that confirmed impressions of Sarasota's orchestra as an excellent pit band and deftly balanced Massenet's delicate orchestra textures against his stormier outbursts."

"The orchestra, conducted by Steven White, gave superb support throughout the evening."

"As conducted by Steven White, the opera moved smoothly from the expository first act through to an emotionally charged final death scene...the ensuing result in this Sarasota Opera production is gripping."


Opera Colorado - La Traviata
"Conductor Steven White does a first-rate job in the pit, superbly pacing this production and animating the ensemble scenes. His skills at accompaniment are especially evident in this aria (Ah fors'è lui...Sempre libera), as he allows Futral to minutely shape the aria in her own way and makes sure the orchestra is right with her every step of the way."

"Also worthy of praise: the wonderful playing of the Colorado Symphony, led with purpose and precision by Steven White, who was in perfect step with the complex performance by Futral. But that's to be expected, since the two are married. Yes, they do make beautiful music together."

In his Opera Colorado debut, conductor Steven White displays a thorough understanding of Verdi's interweaving of themes. He extracts especially sensitive playing in the prelude to the final act.


Arizona Opera - Don Pasquale
"While the singers all contributed to the success of the production, Donizetti's lush bel canto music, conducted tightly and with feeling by Steven White, was the real star of the show."


Nashville Opera - I Pagliacci
"But Forbis was ably supported on all sides beginning in the pit, where Steven White led members of the Nashville Symphony. White kept things moving but didn't miss the chance to savor an especially voluptuous phrase."


Arizona Opera - Tosca
"Conductor Steven White's orchestra played with lusty fervor but the conductor was always careful to let the singers shine."


Vancouver Opera - La Fille du Régiment
"Thank heavens for the adept conducting of Steven White and the finely calibrated responses of the orchestra, especially the violins as they accompanied Futral, and the drummers."

"The conductor Steven White has the orchestra playing ebulliently..."


Roanoke Opera - Aida
"The redoubtable Steven White coaxed a tremendous performance from the orchestra, and the Opera Roanoke chorus maintained the high level of competence. It's demonstrated in recent productions."


Opera Birmingham - Kristine Jepson Concert
"The orchestral selections led by Opera Birmingham principal conductor Steven White complemented Ms. Jepson's nicely. The overture to Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini erupted in the best tradition of this flamboyant, unpredictable composer. The Bachanale from Saint-Saens' Samson et Delilah built to a hair-raising conclusion. Conversely, White led a fragrant, nicely understated account of the familiar Barcarolle from Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann."


Syracuse Opera - Les Contes d'Hoffmann
"Conductor Steven White and a very capable Syracuse Symphony Orchestra were the final touches in a truly memorable performance."

"In his company debut, Steven White led a well-paced performance that not only gave the singers enough leeway to make their statements but also urged the action onward. The chorus was well-directed and well-rehearsed, blending together quite cleanly. In the pit, members of the Syracuse Symphony reveled in the score's textural clarity, which was designed to allow every Syllable to be heard without ever letting down moments of high drama."


New Orleans Opera - Lucia di Lammermoor
"In the pit, conductor Steven White made a pleasing local debut leading the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. After a somewhat slow start, he moved the score with appropriate drive and bounce, paying particular attention to the detailing and color."


Vancouver Opera - Lucia di Lammermoor
"Conductor Steven White elicited a warm, rich sound from the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, at times giving a performance of white-heat intensity, particularly in the sextet and final scene."

"In the pit, conductor Steven White - himself a former singer, and Futral's husband - kept the VO Orchestra on its toes, and supplied the cast with sensitively colored accompaniments."

"Once past the stagey first act, conductor Steven White kept the orchestra in near perfect sync. The flute accompaniment to Futral's mad scene the harp that precedes her entrance, and the cello that introduces Edgardo's last aria were specially fine."

Copyright © 2006 by Bel Canto Global Arts, LLC. Design by Andreas Viklund