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Dr. Schoen / LULU
Dr. Schön
LULU
Berg
Bartok > Berg > Britten > Dallapiccola > Debussy > Henze
Janacek > Krenek > Mendelssohn > Milhaud > Puccini > Schoenberg
R.Strauss > Tippet > Verdi > Van Vlijmen > Wagner > Zender
 
BARTOK: Herzog Blaubart's Burg / Blaubart
Münster Opera—June 1996 (with Katherine Ciesinski as Judith)

"David Pittman-Jennings was a muscle-flexing Bluebeard with an impressive bass-baritone voice—a singer-actor who can fill the stage by himself alone".
Andreas Weitkamp
Münsterische Zeitung
June 27, 1996
     
  BERG: Lulu / Dr. Schön
Vlaamse Opera (with Constance Hauman as Lulu)

"One is overwhelmed by the extraordinary David Pittman-Jennings, whose metallic vocal timbre seems unalterable as Dr. Schön and which continues in his presentation as Jack".
Claude Glayman
Opera International
March 1999
Wozzeck / WOZZECK
Wozzeck
WOZZECK
Berg

BERG:
Wozzeck / Wozzeck
Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires—March, April 1995
Spoletto Festival, Charleston—May 1997
Teatro Municipal, Santiago Di Chile—April 2000
Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Montreal (concert)—May 2002
Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires—December 2002

"David Pittman-Jennings, for his part, is the ideal Wozzeck, stupendous singer and first-class actor, and possibly the best sung that we remember, including on the stages of Hamburg , Rome and Vienna".
Armando M. Rapallo
Clarin (Buenos Aires)
March 30, 1995

"A magnificent protagonist, on the mark, communicative with a beautiful voice, and a pronounced dramatic abandon, was offered by David Pittman-Jennings who realized with absolute legitimacy a success of the same proportions. Few artists have today the capacity to achieve these dimensions".
Alberto Emilio Giminez
Buenos Aires Herald
March 30, 1995

"As Wozzeck, the American baritone David Pittman-Jennings was making his U.S. debut following a distinguished career in Europe that included principal roles at the Vienna and Berlin state Opera houses, as well as performances in Hamburg , Munich and Paris. His was a Wozzeck lost in dreams and fantasy, his voice one of great power and beauty".
Robert Jones
The Post And Courrier, Charleston
June 10, 1997

"David Pittman-Jennings was an ideal Wozzeck. Vocally impeccable, his acting as the tortured soldier seems to be unsurpassed today".
Tom Rosenthal
Opera Now
October 2000

"We were fortunate in the selection of the principal protagonist. With ample experience in this role, the North American baritone David Pittman- Jennings, a strong voice coupled with a wonderful technique, traced a solid portrait of the diverse psychological facets of this complex and human private soldier, avoiding overacting".
Victor Manuel Munoz
La Segunda, Santiago di Chile
May 19, 2000

"David Pittman-Jennings was a realistic Franz Wozzeck: a poor devil subjected to medical experiments, with traumas of a soldier, with basic instincts of a man struggling between blindness and ignorance. The singer not only drew a clear profile of a soldier who finally kills his wife and then drowns himself, but also achieves a vocal interpretation equal to the challenge of the role in every way".
Claudia Ramirez Hein
La Tercera, Santiago di Chile
May 19, 2000
     
Balstrode / PETER GRIMES
Balstrode
PETER GRIMES
Britten
BRITTEN: Peter Grimes / Balstrode
Teatro Carlo Felice—Genoa (directed by Willy Decker)

"Equally admirable, the Balstrode of the baritone David Pittman-Jennings, a formidable voice and presence".
Stephen Hastings
La Repubblica
October 17, 1997

"All of the singers were celebrated. David Pittman-Jennings was a faultless Balstrode".
Robert Iovino
La Stampa
October 17, 1997
     
  DALLlAPICCOlA: Il Prigioniero / the Prisoner
CARNEGIE HALL, New York (w / Montreal Symphony Orchestra)— October, 1999
Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Montreal—October 1999 (directed by Charles Dutoit)
Theatre Chatelet, Paris—April 1992 (conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen)

"The hope in Pittman-Jennings' voice was heartbreakingly palpable. The performance was superb. It's hard to believe this was Pittman-Jennings' Carnegie Hall debut. He is an extremely charismatic American performer, who since the late-70's has carved out a successful career for himself across the Atlantic, where he recently performed Rigoletto in Leipzig as well as the title role in Milhaud's CHRISTOPHE COLOMB in Berlin and he can be heard as Moses in Pierre Boulez's DG recording of MOSES AND ARON. Pittman-Jennings' riveting presence, buttressed by a remarkable range of expression, can conjure up a whole world".
Robert Hilferty
Opera News
February 1999
 
"David Pittman-Jennings, an American of focused tone and eloquent line, made a sympathetic case for the Prisoner of the title, who seeks throughout the opera to transform his despair into hope, only to face a tragic end".
Arthur Kaptainis
The Montreal Gazette
October 6, 1999
 
"One must say that David Pittman-Jennings assumes the role of the Prisoner with authority and magnificent intensity. His brilliant singing makes one forget that he passes the majority of the opera bending and hanging from a vertical rope-ladder".
Jacques-Emmanuel Fousnaquer
Opera International
May 1992
     
  DEBUSSY: Pelleas et Melisande / Golaud
  Cincinnati Opera Summer Festival
(conducted by Stephane Deneve)

"At the center of the drama stood David Pittman-Jennings's powerfully tragic Golaud, richly detailed in characterization, with a wide variety of vocal color and dynamics".
Charles H. Parsons
Opera News
November 2000

"David Pittman-Jennings captured Golaud's torment admirably. He grew old noticeably over time, evolving from somewhat distant to agitated, suspicious and finally violent".
Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer
July 16, 2000
     
General / WELCOME TO THE RIVER
General
WELCOME TO THE RIVER
Henze
HENZE: We Come To The River / General
Hamburg Staatsoper—October 2001
(Musical Director—Ingo Metzmacher)

"For the General he enlisted the American David Pittman-Jennings who has practically corned the European market in anguished, self-hating baritone roles, and is here superbly musical and plangent".
David Murray
Financial Times
October 1, 2001

"Vocally and dramatically fabulously successful, the outstanding David Pittman-Jennings as the General".
Frankfurter Allgemeine
September 25, 2001

"In every respect magnificent—the baritone David Pittman-Jennings".
Joachim Mischke
Hamburger Abendblatt
September 25, 2001

"The General—David Pittman-Jennings—vocally and dramatically outstanding".
Joachim Misschke
Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin)
September 27, 2001

"David Pittman-Jennings gave his all as the General— not only vocally; his desperate inner strife, the expressive protests, were deeply entrenched".
Goetz Thieme
Stuttgarter Zeitung
September 26, 2001

"Only baritone David Pittman-Jennings manages, with his intense performance of the General, to rise above the polished boredom of the evening. Pittman-Jennings ignores the scenic province around him, showing with bravado singing and intelligent acting, in summary, with great theatrical sensitivity, what remains to be discovered in Henze's piece".
Uwe Friedrich
Bayerischer Rundfunk
September 24, 2001

"David Pittman-Jennings can draw the role of the General with his distinguished lyrically-controlled baritone, so strongly profiled and believable that he, on the stark realism of the stage appears like a light in the darkness".
Elisabeth Richter
Kieler Nachrichten
September 24, 2001
     
  HINDEMITH: Mathis Der Maler / Mathis
Radio Philharmonic Orchestra (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam)

"With this intense role and his lyrical and supple baritone, David Pittman-Jennings rendered a truly magnificent evocation of this Mathis...".
S. Bloemgarten
NRC Handelsblad
November 1992
     
  JANACEK: Cunning Little Vixen / Forester
Vlaamse Oper (Directed by Robert Carsen)

"David Pittman-Jennings proved as the Forester that besides his magnificent acting, he can also sing beautifully and powerfully—and even after singing so many Berg and Schoenberg performances".
Jan Neckers
Orpheus International
August 2001

"David Pittman-Jennings' Forester is an ideally-attuned counterpoint to the Vixen, a personality of an artful peasant of sharp contrasts, not relying solely on the ease of his powerful singing but with all of the inexhaustible resources for which he is well known".
Opera International
August 2001

"The Forester of David Pittman-Jennings is portrayed with musicality and a reassuring vocal health".
Christophe Vetter
Concertonet
May 2001
     
  KRENEK: Karl V / Karl V
Beethovenhalle, Bonn
Kölner Philharmonie (Concertante)

"In the principal role of Karl, the American baritone shined. With great expressive power he embodied the contradictory character of the Kaiser, and mastered this marathon role with high concentration and clarity of text".
Rainer Weber
Bonner Rundschau
October 16, 2000

Recording / MDG Label
"With wonderful singing from David Pittman-Jennings as Karl V".
Erik Levi
BBC Music Magazine
December 2001
     
  MENDELSSOHN: Elias / Elias
Flanders Philharmonic Orchestra (directed by Frank Shipway)

"...the concert was the highlight of the Festival 1992. The American baritone David Pittman-Jennings sang the sizable part of the prophet Elias by heart, and moreover in German rather than in the English version! He has remarkable expressiveness and presence. He is an excellent successor to Jose Van Dam".
Mirek Cerny
De Standaard
September 1992
     
  MILHAUD: Christophe Colomb / Christopher Columbus
Berlin Staatsoper (Directed by Peter Greenaway)

"In the crushing title role we find David Pittman-Jennings and his great baritone. With a voice of thunder, definite musicality and deeply dramatic, this singer will make an impressive Wotan".
Thomas Simon
Concertonet
November 1999
     
  PUCCINI: La Boheme / Marcello
Teatro Maestranza (Directed by Franco Zeffirelli)

"Singing perfectly with a voice of a special mellow color, the baritone David Pittman-Jennings offered a Marcello of absolute quality".
El Diario Vasco
February 5, 1995

"Of the Marcello of David Pittman-Jennings, one must say that he has a large voice with a beautiful timbre and performed very well on stage, applying his lyric qualities in addition".
El Correo
February 5, 1995

PUCCINI: Madame Butterfly / Sharpless
International Maifestspiele Wiesbaden—1995
(with Eleane Coelho as Madame Butterfly)

"Seldom is the role of the Consul Sharpless as significantly cast as with the American baritone. Already with his round, humanly warm, radiant and dynamically flexible voice alone, he wins the sympathy of the listener. Of equal interest his no less moving, dramatic portrayal, completely without clichés. The Sharpless of David Pittman-Jennings becomes, because of this, a comfortable central character".
Helmut Hampel
Wiesbadener Kurrier
May 22, 1995

PUCCINI: Tosca / Scarpia
Torre Del Lago (Puccini Festival)—July 2001
La Plata, Buenos Aires—October 2000 (with Ines Salazar as Tosca)
Arena Di Verona—July 1998
Opera Du Rhin—May 1995

"Applause for Daniela Longhi (Tosca) and Ignacio Encinas (Cavaradossi), but especially for a demonic Scarpia portrayed by David Pittman-Jennings".
La Nazione
July 24, 2001

"Very noteworthy the portrayal by David Pittman-Jennings, a professionally exemplary Scarpia with perfect diction".
Marcello De Angelis
Il Giornale Della Toscana
July 24, 2001

"The best portrayal was David Pittman-Jennings, known at the Teatro Colon for his notable Wozzeck. The American has a sonorous voice, sings with fine line and acts with command and precision".
Pablo Bardin
Buenos Aires Herald
November 7, 2000

"By far the best protagonist of the evening was the baritone David Pittman-Jennings in his personification of the cynical and authoritarian Baron Scarpia".
Abel Lopez Iturbe
Arte-Ocio Espectaculous
November 2000

"Closing the passionate triangle the baritone David Pittman-Jennings. He captured the audience with his powerful and convincing dramatic acting in the role of the evil Scarpia, also offering experience and vocal security".
Hoy
November 7, 2000

"...David Pittman-Jennings as Baron Scarpia. Vocally solid and very complete in his acting, the baritone created a profile which was very respectable".
Edouardo Giorella
El Dia
November 8, 2000

"Scarpia sung by David Pittman-Jennings is the great musical and dramatic personality of this production. He was an outstanding Scarpia".
Frederico Monjeau
Clarin
November 7, 2000
     
Moses / MOSES UND ARON
Moses
MOSES UND ARON
Schoenberg
SCHOENBERG: Moses Und Aron / Moses
Amsterdam Opera—October 1995 (Conducted by Pierre Boulez)
Salzburg Festival—August 1996 (Conducted by Pierre Boulez)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago & Berlin—June 1999
(Conducted by Pierre Boulez)

"These two roles, (Moses and Aron), in a large and excellent cast, were superbly taken by David Pittman-Jennings, a powerful and anguished Moses, and the tenor Chris Merritt, a slickly eloquent TV evangelist of an Aron".
David Stevens
Herald Tribune
October 11, 1995

"Moses, the tongue-tied prophet unable to express inexpressible divinity, is restricted to a kind of spoken speech, which was declared with powerful authority by the American baritone David Pittman-Jennings".
Mark Swed
Wall Street Journal
October 1995

"The Opera is aided by the superb casting of the central roles. In the predominantly spoken—or rather Sprechgesungen—role of Moses, David Pittman-Jennings was a figure both commanding and bowed with anxieties and doubt. His descent from the mountain—here a mechanical lift—and shattering of the tablets was a great 'coup de theatre', and his confrontations with Aron were enthralling".
Hugh Canning
The Sunday Times (London)
October 15, 1995

"Aron was opposed magnificently in the spoken role of Moses, acted with incredible force by David Pittman-Jennings".
Jacques Doucelin
Le Figaro (France)
October 8, 1995

"David Pittman-Jennings plays magnificently the role of Moses, painfully violent, and projects a voice sonorous and smooth".
Renaud Machart
Le Monde
October 14, 1995

"Both David Pittman-Jennings' Moses and Chris Merritt's Aron were fully realized performances that reflected the singers' long stage experience in these roles. Pittman-Jennings declaimed his baritonal speech-song with grave intensity".
John Von Rhein
Chicago Tribune
March 26, 1999

"Forcefully carved by David Pittman-Jennings, Moses was a badgering, demanding ultimately alienated patriarch. The opening conversation between Moses and God was beautifully realized by Pittman-Jennings and the chorus".
Wynne Delacoma
Chicago Sun Times March 25, 1999

(Of the recording by Deutsche Grammaphone) "The soloists were all admirable, with no weak links. Pittman-Jennings is a properly prophetic Moses, grand of voice".
Gramophone Magazine
October 1996
     
Kiri Te Kanawa & David Pittman-Jennings
Arabella (Kiri Te Kanawa)
& Mandryka
ARABELLA
R. Strauss
R. STRAUSS: Arabella / Mandryka
Vienna StaatsOper (with Kiri Te Kanawa)
StaatsOper Dresden (with Felicity Lott)
SANTE FE Opera Festival (with Janice Watson)

"Beside her (Kiri Te Kanawa) a remarkable debutante at the Wiener Staatsoper—David Pittman-Jennings—a Mandryka with the clumsy mannerisms prescribed by the libretto, gifted with a powerful baritone voice that he uses with daredevil verve, and candor even in the most delicate passages...he bestowed on the public, a most magnificent presence".
William Sinkovicz
Die Presse
May 1992
 
"David Pittman-Jennings—the new Mandryka from the USA—fit very well in this production. His acting was rather on the conservative side, but he was vocally convincing—through his solid cultured timbre and stamina, while his dark colored baritone appeared even richer in the higher ranges of his voice".
Gerhard Boehm
DRESDNER NEUESTE NACHRICHTEN
January 17, 1994
 
"David Pittman-Jennings was for the jovial Mandryka precisely the right choice and he sang with an outstandingly beautiful, lyrically strong baritone voice, an elegant man of the world".
Jeffrey Smith
Orpheus International
December 1997

" The baritone David Pittman-Jennings in the role of world-weary Mandryka, brought a riveting Richard Dreyfus-like intensity to his pursuit of Arabella".
Anthony Tommasini
New York Times July 30, 1997

"As Mandryka, the man who mysteriously appears and ultimately wins her heart, David Pittman-Jennings sang with a big, rich baritone".
Scott Cantrell
Houston Chronicle
August 12, 1997

" As Mandryka, Arabella's long-awaited Mr. Right, baritone David Pittman-Jennings was a whirlwind of vocal and dramatic energy, in a performance that was arresting".
Joshua Kosman
San Francisco Chronicle
August 4, 1997

"David Pittman-Jennings was solid as Arabella's rich but rustic suitor Mandryka".
Heidi Waleson
The Wall Street Journal
August 7, 1997
     
  R. STRAUSS: Elektra / Oreste
  Opera de Bordeaux (with Elisabeth Connell as Elektra)

"Oreste was David Pittman-Jennings, who in the meantime has enormously matured vocally, and who after the Hollander, will also sing Wotan".
Orpheus International
June 2001
     
Jochana'an / SALOME
Jochana’an
SALOME
R. Strauss
STRAUSS: Salome / Jochana'an
Oper Der Stadt Bonn—July 1993 (a Ken Russel production)
Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin—September 1996 (with Inge Nielson)
Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin—March 1998 (with Inge Nielson)
Leipzig Oper—December 2001 (with Janice Baird)

"David Pittman-Jennings in his violent enlightenment gives an incredible Baptist".
Peter Korfmacher
Leipziger Volkszeitung
December 13, 2001

"As the prophet Jochana'an, David Pittman-Jennings adorned his character with helden baritonal brilliance".
Michael Struck-Schloen
Kolner Stadt Unzeiger
March 18, 1998

"David Pittman-Jennings sang Jochana'an with a true voice of thunder, powerful in its baritonal brilliance".
Michael Lehnert
Das Opernglas
July / August 1993
     
  TIPPET: King Priam / King Priam
Vlaamse Oper (directed by Tom Cairns)

"David Pittman-Jennings is again an impressive Priam and puts the different aspects of the character in convincing contrast. He sings the challenging role outstandingly, with his round, full and concise baritone".
Erna Metdepenninghen
De Standaard
May 6, 1996

"At the head, David Pittman-Jennings, a poignant Priam, and an excellent baritone in addition, with a decisive and stable voice".
Jean Lucas
Opera International
May 1996
     
 
VERDI: La Traviata / Germont
Frankfurt Oper—1992
Dresden Oper—1993
Theatre Chatelet, Paris—1993
Theatre Municipal, Sao Paulo—1996
Hamburg Opera—2002
"Praises to the Italian soprano Giussy Devinu and to the North American baritone David Pittman-Jennings".
O Estado de Sao Paolo
November 1996

"Ms. Devinu shares the stage with two soloists of equally impeccable lyricism and grand theatrical presence, the Italian tenor Roberto Aronica and the North American baritone David Pittman-Jennings (Giogio Germont)".
Joao Batista Natali
Folha de Sao Paulo
November 20, 1996

"And once again he sang, aristocratic - phenomenal: the American cavalier baritone David Pittman-Jennings. Imposing physical size, vocally a giant as Giorgio Germont, he was the greatest success of the evening".
Rolfe Heron
Frankfurter Allgemeine ZEITUNG
February 1992


VERDI: Rigoletto / Rigoletto
Leipzig Opera—April 1999
Deutsche Oper Berlin—March 2002

"David Pittman-Jennings was convincing above all with his elegantly produced, beautifully timbered bass-baritone, giving an important portrayal of this role".
Bernd Hoppe
Orpheus International
July 1999


VERDI:
Un Ballo In Maschera / Renato
Bayerische Staatsoper Munich (with Julia Varady as Amelia)
Frankfurt Opera (with Helen Doese as Amelia)

"For the ill Wolfgang Brendel sang on short notice, the American Verdi-baritone David Pittman-Jennings as Graf Anckarstrom (Renato). He was visually as well as vocally, in fact, the ideal replacement. Those who didn't know that the baritone appeared on such short notice would have hardly known".
Christine Lemke
Sued Deutsche Zeitung
July 25, 1994
Rigoletto
Rigoletto
RIGOLETTO
Verdi
 
"David Pittman-Jennings sang magnificently and with power the role of Renato"
Andreas Skipis
Frankfurter Allgemeine
October 18, 1992
     
Vincent Van Gough / UN MALEUREUX VETU DE NOIR
Vincent Van Gough
UN MALHEUREUX VETU
DE NOIR
Jan Van Vlijmen
JAN VAN VLIJMEN: Un Malheureux Vetu De Noir /
Vincent Van Gough
Holland Festival, Amsterdam (directed by Axel Manthey)

"The palm of honor went to the American baritone David Pittman-Jennings, who is only a few years familiar with the German repertoire of Wagner-Strauss-Berg in which repertoire Van Vlijmen fits perfectly. He carries the whole Opera in a very intense way with a sharp profile".
NRC Handelsblad (Amsterdam)
November 1990

"David Pittman-Jennings moved freely in the role of Vincent Van Gogh, and with his impressive baritone succeeded in setting down the tormented painter in a fully credible manner, as an actor as well as a singer".
Erik Besler
Trouw (Amsterdam)
November 1990
     
  WAGNER: Fliegender Hollander / Dutchman
Lille Opera—April 1998 (Orchestre National de Lille)

"David Pittman-Jennings, a notably intelligent artist, commanded the attention. He discovered anguished subtleties in the Dutchman's music, which is more often just loudly declaimed".
David Murray
Financial Times
April 9, 1998


WAGNER: Das Liebesverbot / Friedrich
Teatro Massimo, Palermo (Directed by Filippo Sanjust)

"David Pittman-Jennings in the role of the lustful Friedrich, the enemy of pleasure, presented an attractive stage figure and a particularly beautiful and down-right instrumentally-produced bass-baritone. He made a lot out of this otherwise static role, and infatuated precisely by means of his virile voice".
Geerd Heinsen
Orpheus Magazine
August 1991

WAGNER: Parsifal / Klingsor
Teatro Liceu, Barcelona—April 2000
(Placido Domingo as Parsifal)
Scottish Opera—March 2000
Deutsche Staatsoper—Berlin 2001

"David Pittman-Jennings as Klingsor had a brilliant timbre, and knew how to convey an evil style".
Albert Villadell
El Mundo
April 4, 2000

"David Pittman-Jennings was a Klingsor sung and expressed with good resources and suitably cruel accents".
Pau Nadal
El Pais
April 10, 2000

"In place of Klingsor's magic garden, Purcarete presents a realm of crimson artifice in stark contrast to the blue grey austerity of the Knight's domain. Here the pagan necromancer—a Gary Oldman as Dracula look—alike, was David Pittman-Jennings's unforgettable incarnation".
Hugh Canning
Sunday Times (London)
March 5, 2000


WAGNER: Tristan Und Isolde / Kurwenal
Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg
(with Gabriele Schnaut as Isolde)
Palais de la Musique, Strasbourg—March 6, 1994 (Concert)
Opera de Montpellier, Montpellier—March 3, 1993 (Concert)

"David Pittman-Jennings brings to Kurwenal a strong baritone voice, secure and round, and a very theatrical performance".
Max Kaufmann
L'Est Républican (Strasbourg)
March 11, 1994

 
     
  ZENDER: Don Quijote de la Mancha / Don Quijote
Stuttgart Oper (directed by Axel Manthey)

"The role of Don Quijote appeared to be an enormously taxing role. American David Pittman-Jennings drew astonishing nuances of color and expression from his seamless baritone".
Horst Koegler
Opera News
January 1994

"The title role of the Knight of the Sad Countenance appeared precisely tailor—made for David Pittman-Jennings. He mastered with bravura all the forms of expression that Zender and Manthey demanded of him. Dramatically as well as vocally he left no wish unfulfilled".
JM Wienecke
Das Opernglas
December 1993
     
 
 

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