The Critic's Corner
Joseph
Shore
has won numerous awards, including the
coveted Bruce Yarnell Memorial Award for Baritone, the WGN-Illinois Opera
Guild National Award, and as a national winner of the Metropolitan Opera
Auditions, the
Gladys Axman-Taylor Memorial
Award.
The great basso,, Jerome Hines, had this to say about Joseph Shore in 1996:
"Sang so expertly that one flinched inwardly at the implication that Salieri murdered Mozart."
- THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Juan Pons, the originally scheduled 'Amonasro,' bowed out long before rehearsals began. No problem. A young and remarkably talented baritone named Joseph Shore proved ready, willing, and able to sing into the breach... Shore brought vocal and dramatic thrust to Amonasro."
- THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Shore's voice has a velvety quality of extraordinary beauty which could place him with the finest baritones of the day."
- TULSA DAILY WORLD
This Rigoletto is one of the triumphs of the company's history. Joseph Shore's Rigoletto is etched with enormous skill... A thoroughly believable and very musical performance.
THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR
"Joseph Shore as
Rigoletto is exceptional for a young singer beginning a career. He
plays the role with a greater physical warp and deformity than does Kostas
Paskalis of the other cast, and he was much alive, giving more variety and color
to his passages in the rather slow first act. He sings with a fine fullness,
resonance, and power and was convincingly mature as the grieving father in the
second act. Shore's performance here should do much to send him on his way."
THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
"Joseph Shore gave the demanding name part (Rigoletto) a solid, plump-voiced, slightly burly reading, singing with forcefulness" THE HOUSTON POST
“Baritone
Joseph Shore was superb as Salieri, his voice full and flexible,
his acting on a level rarely seen on the operatic stage.”
NEWSDAY
“Baritone
Joseph Shore’s magnificent voice makes him an imposing Rigoletto.
He was superb in getting across the awful dilemma of the clown who jests while
his heart is breaking. His duet with his daughter was the most touching moment
of the evening.”
THE
IRISH TIMES
“The
Rigoletto, Joseph Shore, is a fine dramatic baritone with ringing
high a flats, and he was obviously well inside this role.”
THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH
The menacing Tonio of Joseph Shore is sung and acted splendidly.
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
Joseph Shore was the best all-round voice of the evening. He sang Alfio in CAV
and Tonio in PAG doing quite well in both. His acting was believable, and his
singing powerful, expressive and artistic.
Good Show!
THE NEW JERSEY COURIER-NEWS
This Rigoletto is one of
the triumphs of the company's history.
Joseph Shore's Rigoletto is
etched with enormous skill... A thoroughly believable and very musical
performance.
THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Joseph Shore presents Salieri as a sort of Everyman turned bad, capable of
arousing sympathy and self-recognition from the audience.
He also sings the part beautifully, which doesn't hurt.
THE FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM
In the character of Macbeth
Joseph Shore gives us a man who suffers genuinely as he
is swept along by tides of greed and jealousy which he cannot fully understand.
Shore
is that rare Macbeth who almost forces us to pity him....Better yet is Shore's
virile,
powerful baritone. It seems to be an instrument under total control of its
owner. He is
able to modulate it with vivid emotion—grief, fury, fear, anything—without
distorting
the sense of the musical line. And it seems tireless. At the end of three hours
of heavy
use, it seemed as fresh and as powerful as it started out.
TUCSON CITIZEN
Baritone Joseph Shore is the
main appeal of the Arizona Opera Company's
Macbeth...Shore sings a powerful title role, one that integrates Verdi's fluent
vocal
lines with the weak and pitiable character of Shakespeare's original
tragedy...When
Macbeth withdraws from his murdered King's chamber and holds the bloody knife
aloft, it is a chilling thing indeed to hear Macbeth almost shudder the words,
'Now it
is finished.' Shore milks it for all he can, faltering ever so slightly on the
final
notes—Shore has a dusky voice, one instrument from top to bottom, and with a
gentle
edge like a properly aged Scotch.
THE ARIZONA STAR
Joseph Shore's Macbeth was
effectively interpreted, particularly in the mad sequences
when he brought to his portrayal a tension that revealed him to be both a
frightening
tyrant and a frightened, haunted ruler, unable to stop shaking after committing
the
crime of murder for fear he too will be slaughtered. Shore is as much an actor
as he is
a singer. He is more animated on stage than any of the other singers and
exhibits a
sense of importance whenever he makes an entrance, in whatever mood. He makes
an excellent Macbeth in stature and voice, and demonstrates a careful,
considered
understanding of the role. He has a rich, robust voice that fills the hall with
an open,
masculine sound that at one point in Act IV had more gusto to it than the
combined
voices of a dozen castle guards.
THE PHOENIX GAZETTE
Particularly effective in drawing his character down to the finest details,
vocally and
otherwise, was Shore as Germont. His declamation of 'Pura siccome un angelo,'
Germont's plea to Violetta, was a highlight of the production as was his
performance
of 'Di Provenza il Mar.'
THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR
The
other principle role of Germont, Alfredo's father, was skillfully sung by
baritone
Joseph Shore whose vocal equipment is mature and as smooth as molten rock.
TUCSON CITIZEN
The only excellent
performance came from baritone Joseph Shore as the elder
Germont. His rich, warm voice projected well and his 'Di Provenza il Mar was
enjoyable.
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
The two
dark, malignant characters, Anne Esch as Ortud and Joseph Shore as
Frederick, both were good. Shore, in his Act II lament about how robbers won't
even
look up at him, was a pool of astonishingly black, angry despair.
TUCSON CITIZEN
One of the strongest points
of the production is the consistent level of excellence
displayed by the cast. In addition to Neill, Cook, and Esch—all new comers to
Arizona Opera, there was old-timer Shore of Macbeth, Traviata, and Rigoletto, in
fine
form as Telramund.
THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Baritone Joseph Shore's magnificent voice makes him an imposing Rigoletto. He
was
superb in getting across the awful dilemma of the clown who jests while his
heart is
breaking, and his duet with his daughter, 'Piangi Fanciulla,' was the most
touching
moment of the evening.
THE IRISH TIMES
The
Rigoletto, Joseph Shore, is a fine dramatic baritone with ringing high A flats,
and he was obviously well inside this role. This was his European debut.
THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Joseph Shore as Rigoletto is
exceptional for a young singer beginning a career. He
plays the role with a greater physical warp and deformity than does Kostas
Paskalis of
the other cast, and he was much alive, giving more variety and color to his
passages
in the rather slow first act. He sings with a fine fullness, resonance, and
power and
was convincingly mature as the grieving father in the second act. Shore's
performance
here should do much to send him on his way.
THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
...the elegant toned Joseph Shore, a stuffy yet human Germont pere.
THE SAN FRANCISCO
CHRONICLE
As the elder Germont,
Joseph Shore revealed a rich
pleasant voice admirably suited to the role and a stage presence that was a
decided plus.
THE
UNION
Shore, who has a good sized baritone of good quality
and considerable stage presence,
scored something of a triumph as Germont
with the opening night audience.
THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Joseph Shore, in the role of
Alfredo's father, Georges Germont, also made a strong
impression. Both dramatically and vocally he is a stirring figure. His portrayal
of the
person who was the catalyst in the tragedy was powerful. Most impressive of all
was his singing. A strongly modulated voice and a penchant for ensemble singing
made
his appearance memorable.
OMAHA WORLD HERALD
Joseph
Shore has a ringing kind of baritone that was just right. And he sustained very
well as Ping.
THE TOLEDO BLADE
Joseph
Shore, a singer with a genuinely attractive baritone, gave an excellent account
of the roles of both the Mandarin and Ping.
DAYTON DAILY NEWS
Rigoletto was visually grand, dramatically believable, and emotionally moving, musically...It was a cast that filled Rigoletto with spontaneity, freshness, and that all important ingredient, life!... Joseph Shore's Rigoletto was powerful, sometimes gut- wrenching
THE JOURNAL HERALD
Joseph Shore
was delightfully bumpkinish and vocally he was totally satisfying.
THE TULSA TRIBUNE
Joseph Shore is a professional artist of tremendous promise...Shore's voice has a wide range. It is rich in the lower tones and sure in the upper register. At times it has a velvety quality of extraordinary beauty which could place him with the finest baritones of the day.
THE TULSA DAILY WORLD
Joseph Shore thrilled an
expectant audience with his sumptuous baritone voice.
THE TULSA TRIBUNE
The saga of the boorish
suitor (Joseph Shore as Sir William Walton's THE BEAR)
was done with all the vocal, dramatic, and orchestral resources one could wish
for... When opera is done this way it is worth any number of MET average night
performances.
THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Joseph Shore as Antonio
Salieri is unquestionably a baritone with a future. His voice
and phrasing gave Rimsky Korsakov's composition a flair of subdued glamour and
drama.
WVOX RADIO
WESTCHESTER
Joseph
Shore's Salieri provided the evening's finest singing, and one hopes to hear
much more of him in the future.
BYRON BELT, NEWHOUSE NEWSPAPERS
Particularly effective in drawing his character down to the finest details,
vocally and
otherwise, was Shore as Germont. His declamation of 'Pura siccome un angelo,'
Germont's plea to Violetta, was a highlight of the production as was his
performance
of 'Di Provenza il Mar.'
THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR
The
other principle role of Germont, Alfredo 's father, was skillfully sung by
baritone
Joseph Shore whose vocal equipment is mature and as smooth as molten rock.
TUCSON CITIZEN
The only excellent
performance came from baritone Joseph Shore as the elder
Germont. His rich, warm voice projected well and his 'Di Provenza il Mar was
enjoyable.
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
The two
dark, malignant characters, Anne Esch as Ortud and Joseph Shore as
Frederick, both were good. Shore, in his Act II lament about how robbers won't
even
look up at him, was a pool of astonishingly black, angry despair.
TUCSON CITIZEN
One of the strongest points
of the production is the consistent level of excellence
displayed by the cast. In addition to Neill, Cook, and Esch—all new comers to
Arizona Opera, there was old-timer Shore of Macbeth, Traviata, and Rigoletto, in
fine
form as Telramund.
THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR
The Rigoletto, Joseph Shore,
is a fine dramatic baritone with ringing high A flats,
and he was obviously well inside this role. This was his European debut.
THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH
\
THE CRITICS RAVE ABOUT CHAMBER OPERA THEATRE OF NEW YORK'S
PRODUCTION
OF RIMSKY-KORSAKOV'S 'MOZART AND SALIERI" WITH JOSEPH SHORE AS SALIERI.
"Chamber Opera Theatre's
performance and production were thoroughly
admirable, including the staging by
Thaddeus Motyka. Both operas
(sung clearly in good English translations) were cast with splendid
singing actors, including Ron Gentry as a Mozart not far removed from
Tim Curry and Joseph Shore
as a Salieri on an Ian
McKellen level.
Indeed when Shore broke down while reading the opening of Mozart's
Requiem after giving his rival poison,
it was a moving moment of truth
comparable to anything in AMADEUS." Bill Zakariasen, NEW YORK DAILY
NEWS
•Baritone Joseph Shore was superb as Salieri,
his voice full and flexible,
his acting on a level rarely seen on the operatic stage."
Peter Goodman, NEWSDAY
•
•MOZART AMD SALIERI
is almost a monologue for Salieri and it was handled
beautifully here, both musically and dramatically, by Joseph Shore,
the 1981 winner of the Bruce Yarnell Memorial Award for Baritones."
Glenne Currie,UNITED PRESS international
"Joseph Shore...gave a fully engrossing, richly
characterful portrayal,
breaking into very convincing desolation at the climactic moment
when Mozart's Requiem wells up from the orchestra."
Jack Heimenz, MUSICAL AMERICA
"The one-act, two role opera is Rimsky-Korsakov's setting
of Pushkin's
dramatic poem in which Salieri, not Mozart, is the leading figure,
a role both commandingly and sensitively dominated at the opening
performance last night by baritone Joseph Shore."
Dave Spangler, THE BERGEN RECORD
"The dominant role is that of Salieri, with
Joseph Shore giving a really
awesome portrayal of the court musician who can never fathom or hope
to gain one spark of Mozart's genius.
Jennie Schulman, BACKSTAGE
"Joseph Shore
excels in his role of Salieri. He is as fine an actor as he
is a singer, and both talents combine in an altogether convincing and
moving performance...one would want to attend the production as much
for the theatrical value of their performance as for any other reason."
Louis Morra, WKCR RADIO
'Joseph Shore's Salieri provided the evening’s finest
singing and one
hopes to hear much more of him in the future."
Byron Belt, NEWHOUSE NEWSPAPERS
'The only voice I can single out for distinction
is the sonorous
baritone of Joseph Shore." Noah Tree, AFTER DARK
"...an uncluttered, serious and moving account of
Rimsky-Korsakov's
one act MOZART AND SALIERI... Baritone Joseph Shore sang and acted a
powerfully tragic Salieri." Leighton Kerner, THE
village VOICE
"The singers in Mozart and Salieri were Ron Gentry, as the young genius, and Joseph Shore, as his jealous rival. They fulfilled their assignments so expertly that one flinched inwardly at the implication that Salieri murdered Mozart....."
Allen Hughes, THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Mozart and Salieri was so highly acclaimed when Chamber Opera performed it last season, that they decided to bring it back with the original principals, Joseph Shore as Salieri and Ron Gentry as Mozart. Both were perfectly cast to the extent where you feel no one will ever be equal to their flawless characterizations. Shore, in particular, possesses a dramatic baritone voice of limitless range. In contrast, Gentry displays a clear, crisp tenor which suits ideally. Both gentlemen conveyed convincing historical portraits of the rival Maestri/Composers."
Jennie Schulman, BACKSTAGE
".... a
very satisfying work .... Good acting blended well with good singing; the
characters came alive. It was a wonderful production."
FESTA, The First Guide to the Performing Arts in the U.S.A.
".... Chamber Opera Theater of New York ... focuses on rarely done works. All of its productions are meticulously rehearsed and minutely detailed. They have to be: in this intimate setting, everything appears close up ... the strong baritone voice of Joseph Shore (Salieri) and the silvery tenor of Ron Gentry (Mozart) complemented each other nicely ,.. The success of such groups is heartening...."
Annalyn Swan, NEWSWEEK
"CChamber Opera Theater of New York revived its hit production of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri at the Marymount Manhattan Theater Wednesday night ... Mozart and Salieri’s expert production and performance (once again starring Ron Gentry and Joseph Shore in the leads) were fully up to last season's high musical and dramatic standards."
Bill Zakariasen, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS