Information
Reviews
Countless important singers over the decades have emerged from the Santa Barbara (opera scene) including Marilyn Horne, present director.
" Showstopper,,,,, Julie Davis' Donna Elvira.... Compellingly dynamic .....expertly prepared and a pleasure to hear".
-Don Giovanni Review, Los Angeles Times, August 7, 2010, Mark Swed, in the famous Granada Theater of Santa Barbara, California
The Hale-Davis program was billed as a "Celebration of Song," and it certainly was. The "Song" ranged from hymns, through opera, to musical theatre, all illustrating these expert singers' versatility. Highlights were the opera selections. Ms. Davis' lovely lyric soprano was showcased at its best on "Marietta's Lied" from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt, and one hopes to hear more of her in the opera world. Bass-baritone Robert Hale's rendition of "Mephistophele's Serenade" from Gounod's Faust was dramatically and musically on point, illustrating why he has been a commanding presence on opera stages around the world for many years.
- Barbara Hyde, MBA, CAE
Director, Communications, May 6, 2010
American Society for Microbiology
"Into the unusual setting of a suburban church sanctuary came three sophisticated citizens of the world of music, one playing the piano and two vocalists who stood in formal wear, opening their mouths with Metropolitan Opera-quality voices in show tunes, operatic fare, hymns and spirituals. If the audience didn't understand just what they had come to hear, they had to know within minutes they were in the presence of some of the finest talents on Planet Earth. The thrill of hearing the voices of Robert Hale and Julie Davis while daylight lingered at the end of a summer day outside was akin to being scooped up and deposited on some outer star. Robert Hale's magnificent, mature bass poured over the listener like warm chocolate, and Julie Davis's bright new, operatic soprano gave hope for a future filled with exciting roles. When accompanist Ovid Young rose and moved to play the magnificent pipe organ for a solo, he mesmerized the audience with his overwhelmingly powerful choice of colorful registrations, coupled with his highly accomplished keyboard skills. It was an hour and a half of thrills, chills and pure heaven, there under the coffered ceiling of this stately sanctuary in historical Alexandria, Virginia."
- Taddy McAllister, May 6, 2010
Washington, D.C.
Robert Hale and Julie Davis bring a genuine and altogether rare glamor and classiness to the traditional American song repertoire. They shine by themselves, and glow in their duets. Robert and Julie hit it out of the park, and left our audience screaming for more.
