REVIEWS
Judge Moriarty/Stanley, Bound, Seattle Opera, Seattle WA 2023
“...her boss Stanley, bound by production demands, harasses her with hurryig (“quick, quick, quick!”) and comes off as a caricature. Bass-Baritone Daniel Klein was forceful here and in the fourth scene as Judge Moriarty, bound by Texas law but unlikely to garner sympathy”
“Daniel Klein made his SO debut playing the dual roles of the Judge and Diane’s boss, Stanley. Crossing over roles in an opera is always a challenge for a singer, and Ruo has written the characters in a way that displays dramatic power rather than beauty. Klein delivered admirably, with a voice that was easily heard and brash when appropriate.”
Ted/Dewey, Artwork of the Future, Fresh Squeezed Opera 2023 (Premier)
“...singers did an astonishing job unfurling their lyrical lines over the busy instrumental underpinnings, which offered little obvious pitch reference...Daniel Klein used his capacious baritone effectively as Ted and Dewey, the robot”
“As Ted, the windbag TED talker who fires Spearmint with centuries-spanning ambition, Daniel Klein so filled the room with his foghorn bass-baritone that one could have sworn he had amplification. As the robot museum guide and Shirl’s robot servant Dewey, Klein was less stentorian and more subtly creepy.”
“a cast who sing the bejeezus out of their parts and act up a storm...Daniel Klein’s Ted has all the smoothness of a fast-talking salesmen. He is stiff and robot-like as Dewey, every inch the proper butler, but with defiance in his eyes and disdain in his voice.”
Caspar, Der Freischütz, Heartbeat Opera, New York, NY
“On Saturday, though, we had Daniel Klein, whose edgy, angry acting turned the whole drama up a notch or two. He seemed genuinely on the edge of mania—which was true of most of the characters. But with Klein, you felt it.”
“Daniel Klein in a compelling performance... the actors carry it off, notably through Klein’s blazing intensity in Kaspar”
“This crazy, convoluted mix of styles worked, especially as embodied in the wild-eyed, desperate Kaspar of Daniel Klein... while Klein sang with a feral intensity”
Judge Moriarty, Bound (Huang Ruo), Fresh Squeezed Opera, NY, NY *NY Premier
“In the final scene, a by-the-book judge (the stentorian bass-baritone Daniel Klein) decides to teach Diane a lesson and send her to jail.”
“Judge Moriarty, a stone-faced, strident, finger-pointing caricature played to the hilt by bass-baritone Daniel Klein”
Spencer Coyle, Owen Wingrave, Little Opera Theater of New York, Brooklyn, NY *NY Premier
“Bass-baritone Daniel Klein as Coyle impressed with his sense of authority”
“The cast, especially Weyandt as Owen, Klein as Coyle and Curran as Lechmere, were excellent.”
Don Pizarro, Fidelio, Heartbeat Opera, NY NY
“Daniel Klein’s Pizarro communicated all the awful power of a little man who wants to play in the big leagues.”
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“Bass-baritone Daniel Klein’s villainous Pizarro sings “Ha! Welch’ein Augenblick” with great fire”
“Daniel Klein as the corrupt Pizarro sang strongly”
Fra Melitone, La Forza del destino, New Amsterdam Opera, NY NY
“Daniel Klein, whose bass-baritone is rather effective than lyrical, played Fra Melitone’s comic moments and hypocritical ill temper to delicious effect”
“Daniel Klein’s Fra Melitone was full of energy. Klein dug into each of his lines with extra accentuation and at times he emoted certain words. All these effects allowed for pleasant comic timing.”
Bartolo, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, LoftOpera, Brooklyn NY
“Daniel Klein made for an unusually dark, steely Bartolo.”
Monk Raval, Det Sjunde Inseglet (The Seventh Seal) International Brazilian Opera Company, NY
“American bass-baritone Daniel Klein exuded appropriate grim authority as The Monk Raval”
Mustafa, L'italaina in Algeri, Opera Company of Middlebury, VT
“Daniel Klein, a bit too young and good looking for the traditional Mustafa, overcomes that handicap with his complete commitment to being an idiot and his astonishing bass-baritone sets the bar for an evening of musical excellence.”
“Another big presence was bass Daniel Klein as Mustafa, both in the impressive size of voice and its delivery. And he was also a kingly buffoon, particularly when being initiated into the comic Italian fraternal society. ”
Emile de Becque, South Pacific, Summer Theatre of New Canaan
“Klein, an opera singer, has a smooth voice and smooth movements that are perfect for musical theatre.”
“Daniel Klein as Emile De Becque got thunderous applause after his first solo. He has one of those voices that makes you sit up and say “Wow, what a voice!” Not surprisingly, he made the vocal jump from opera to musical theater with this production, though he is scheduled to perform in a Puccini opera come August. One can only hope that he keeps jumping.”
“As Emile, Daniel Klein’s voice rings with conviction, his acting filled with sincerity.”
Monterone, Rigoletto, Annapolis Opera
“The lower-voiced male contingent was well served by Daniel Klein’s Monterone...”
“Worthy of mention in this stellar company were ...and the Monterone of baritone Daniel Klein...Since it is Monterone’s curse that precipitates Rigoletto’s impending sense of tragedy, it must be sung with devastating power and real menace; and Klein delivered on both those scores. Had he failed to project this sense of bitter and inevitable doom, the opera falls flat from that point on: There is nothing to motivate Rigoletto’s frequent bouts of fear and introspection, his suspicions, and vengefulness. As Klein intoned his curse, his terrifying words were duly amplified by Gretz’s orchestral accompaniment, and this created the essential effect — a harrowing moment upon which the plot of the eventual calamity turned”
“Baritone Daniel Klein forcefully sang the pivotal role of Count Monterone, conveying a father’s outrage and delivering his famous curse with intensity.”
Il Podestà Gottardo, La Gazza Ladra, Bronx Opera
“… the Scarpia like machinations of the Mayor. Baritone Daniel Klein brought loads of personality and good sound to this key role.”
“But, for me the stand-out caricature performance came from Daniel Klein as the Mayor, who was as fun to watch as to hear…and I must say the audience agreed with me without a doubt.”
Il Podestà Gottardo, La Gazza Ladra, Bronx Opera
“The role of Gottardo, the podesta, is a peculiar one in dramatic terms: he lusts after the soprano, but accepts his rebuff without becoming violent; in accusing her of theft, he sees a welcome opportunity to be revenged for his humiliation, but expresses remorse when it becomes apparent that she was in fact guiltless. Daniel Klein worked to resolve these incongruities by a dramatic turn reminiscent of the charmingly villainous Vincent Price. He sang with sensitive phrasing and impressive agility, as well as power, and admirable vocal consistency.”
“the greatest standout performance of them all was undoubtedly that of the lecherous and downright oily mayor, Gottardo. Daniel Klein does a superb job of giving the mayor an almost cartoonish level of villainous ire, which I imagine would be required for any character that hands out the death penalty for petty theft. ”
“…I have seen four different productions of this opera over the years, all of the others in Italy. In the first, Samuel Ramey portrayed a particularly evil and overbearing Podestà, but in others the Podestà has been more of a buffo, a blusterer. This Podestà was a self-important prick and struck a nice balance between the comic and the serious, something any successful production of this opera must do throughout, and it is a balance easier to talk about than to achieve.”
Nabucco, Nabucco, Taconic Opera
“In the title role, Dan Klein was initially tentative, but his attractive baritone quickly warmed up and he was soon comfortably inhabiting the role of the megalomaniacal king. I was especially taken by his portrayal of Nabucco’s episodes of madness; his instantaneous descent from power-hungry tyrant into defeated old man was a real theatrical triumph. In his duet with Abigaille, he pulled out all the stops, finishing the final measure with a thrilling, sustained high A-flat. And in the prison scene, the whole audience was in the palm of his hand.”
Scarpia, Tosca, North Shore Music Festival
“The charismatic Scarpia of Daniel Klein was the vocal standout of the evening. This Scarpia was indeed dangerous, but played more to the complex character’s suavity and sensualism than the brutality beneath the hypocritical surface. The sadistic pleasure Scarpia derives from his machinations was disturbingly clear. Klein sang with fine legato phrasing; Scarpia threatened with a purr rather than a snarl of menace. I felt that the corrupt baron’s erotic attraction to Tosca was more visible than her Voltairean lover’s.”
Pirate King, Pirates of Penzance, Fresno Grand Opera
“When the Pirate King, played with appealing swagger and a rousing voice by an impressive Daniel Klein, ends his big number, he fends off all his fellow pirates with a clever blade placed behind his back.”
Gifts from Grand Opera, Annapolis Opera
“Klein not only gave a robust account of the Toreador song – otherwise known as the ‘I have too much testosterone song’ – but a refined and sensitive one of a heart-tugger from Verdi’s ‘Don Carlo’ “Per me giunto e il di supremo”…”
Don Basilio, Barber of Seville, Skylight Opera
“Daniel Klein’s Basilio was the most original performance. Usually played as a prissy busybody, Klein gave the role some wacky masculine menace, costumed with dark Spanish garb and carrying mysterious baggage.”
“.. Daniel Klein’s oily, serpentine Basilio, are over-the-top affected in comic ways. The clear contrast in personalities drives the conflict and helps a crazy story make a little sense. Crucially, they all deliver the words, which in this canny translation sound a great deal like Neil Simon dialogue and are funny in a Neil Simon way.”
“Daniel Klein (Basilio), Kathy Pyeatt (Berta), Bryce Lord (Ambrogio) and Doug Clemens (Fiorello) give thoroughly enjoyable, polished performances.”
Marcello, La Boheme, Opera Company of Middlebury
“The third wonderful gift was the Marcello of Daniel Klein, who mastered sitting on stage with his back to the conductor and keeping exact time with him. He had perhaps the richest voice of the evening, and he certainly has all the earmarks of a major career, God and the theater impresarios willing. His was one of the more thoughtful Marcello’s that I’ve ever had the good fortune to see and hear.”
“Portrayed by the equally and incredibly talented Daniel Klein, Marcello is a powerhouse of a character: fun loving, passionate and loyal.”
“Baritone Daniel Klein’s Marcello was rich-sounding and convincing as the painter.”
Dick Deadeye, H.M.S. Pinafore, Lyric Opera of San Diego
““Most of the sailors are dead-on too, especially Dick Deadeye (played to the hilt by Daniel Klein).”
“Lanky bass-baritone Daniel Klein is aptly sinister (and often comical) as the dastardly Dick Deadeye, who foils the young couple’s elopement plot.”
“Then there is handsome Daniel Klein (though forfeiting his good looks in the eye-patch role of DICK DEADEYE) [who] scores effectively in the pivotal protagonist role.…”
John Proctor, The Crucible, International Vocal Arts Institute, Tel Aviv, Israel
““The leading role was sung and acted wonderfully by Daniel Klein.
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