LUDWIG VAN TORONTO
The minor roles were all well taken, particularly the Spoletta of Canadian tenor Michael Colvin, and the Angelotti of American bass-baritone Christian Pursell.
JOSEPH SO
The Canadian Opera Company's TOSCA Is A Sweeping Opera Experience
BROADWAY WORLD
American bass-baritone Christian Pursell makes his COC debut as Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner
DENISE LAI
Review | COC’s Tosca
LA SCENA MUSICALE
There was solid singing from the supporting cast: American bass-baritone Christian Pursell in his COC debut as Angelotti
DENISE LAI
A rare and splendid Otello at Opera Philadelphia
Philly gay calendar
A great and welcome surprise was bass-baritone Christian Pursell as Elmiro, Desdemona’s hot daddy.
RALPH MALACHOWSKI
Rossinian vocal fireworks overcome dramatic torpor in Opera Philadelphia's Otello
Bach Track
Bass-baritone Christian Pursell made a memorable impression as Elmiro
CAMERON KELSALL
Otello at Philadelphia
opera today
Rising Californian bass Christian Pursell, who today sings small parts in big houses and big ones in smaller ones, was (for me) the surprise of the evening.
ANDREW MORAVCSIK
In Review: Otello
opera news
In other company debuts, mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce and bass-baritone Christian Pursell displayed beautiful, resonant instruments and fine acting ability as Emilia (a larger role here than in Verdi) and Elmiro, Desdemona's implacable father.
DAVID SHENGOLD
Opera Philadelphia excavates a fascinating rarity with Rossini’s tri-tenor “Otello”
WASHINGTON classical review
Christian Pursell’s medium weight bass-baritone pleased in the music for Desdemona’s father Emilio, though casting a younger singer as this authority figure sacrificed verisimilitude in the dynamic between the overbearing father and vulnerable daughter.
ALEX BAKER
Review: Otello (Opera Philadelphia)
The New Yorker:
Alek Shrader made for a grimly eloquent Iago, Christian Pursell a golden-toned Doge.
ALEX ROSS
Wolf Trap Opera’s Susannah: A Powerful American Opera
OPERA GENE:
Christian Pursell who portrayed Reverend Blitch is an outstanding bass-baritone who sang beautifully, but in this role also had challenging dramatic demands. He met the demands both as the charismatic preacher and as the contrite sinner who had forced himself on Susannah.
OPERA GENE