Press
Bass-baritone Christian Pursell delivered a commanding and convincing portrait of a blindly ambitious careerist prosecutor with impressive power and a frighteningly memorable voice. As the villain, he was appropriately insensitive and self-righteous.
KEVIN T MCENEANEY
Bass-baritone Christian Pursell capably portrayed Aman’s cartoonish villainy, with a huge, resonant voice and beautiful diction that underlined the character’s declarations of violence. Throughout the performance, his committed physicality lent a modicum of humor to the character to soften the impact of his stentorian vocal delivery.
LANDON HEGEDUS
Christian Pursell was potent in his opening aria, his singing thunderous as he proclaimed his credo with confidence, the voice booming into the hall. And he retained this directness throughout every one of his interjections. There was an aggressiveness throughout his performance that matched the authoritarian depiction of the Prosecution lawyer and was neatly counterpointed by Joshua Dennis’ more gentle vocalism.
DAVID SALAZAR
Bass-baritone Christian Pursell’s Prosecutor was all fury and inner conflict, his tight dark suit and briefcase fairly bursting with accusations as he resonantly defended his right to “do my job,” but ultimately confessed to doubts about what he had done.
DAVID WRIGHT
Fauré's Requiem setting does include moments of foreboding in the Libera me. Bass-baritone Christian Pursell added a welcome sense of dramatic tension to his plea.
THOMAS MAY
Christian Pursell as Sciarrone and William Meinert as the Jailer made fine impressions in their company debuts.
RICK PERDIAN
Christian Pursell as Sciarrone had a strong stage presence and look of shock as Tosca jumped to her death from the platform of Castel Sant’Angelo.
JENNIFER PYRON
Bass-baritone Christian Pursell, who earned a master’s degree at CCM, performed the role of Leporello, Giovanni’s servant and general clean-up man. His performance was often hilariously funny, and he wielded an excellent voice, to boot. His Act I “Catalog” Aria, in which Leporello describes the more than 2,000 amorous conquests of his master, was engagingly sung.
JANELLE GELFAND
Her boys ranged from Kyle Oliver’s sensitive Tom, an idealist with a criminal past transformed into union organizer; John Brancy’s engaging, fun-loving Al; and the slow-witted Noah of Christian Pursell. All three of these singing actors had firm, resonant voices and winning stage personas, but Pursell was given the meatiest scene to display his talents. A simpleton, who pretty much went with the flow, Pursell’s Noah slowly became aware that the only way he could help his family was to spare them one more mouth to feed. With a bass-baritone as commanding as his stature, Noah’s decision to commit suicide by drowning was as moving as it was horrible to watch.
RICK PERDIAN
The horrible moment when Noah (a fine bass-baritone Christian Pursell) decides to drown himself so the Joads will have an easier time surviving is set to rising major chords modulating to one major key after another. In a larger context of music full of conflict this might have had more resonance.
GEORGE GRELLA
