Rousing Version of ‘Carmen’ Opens Opera Theatre’s 2022 Season

Ladue News:

Christian Purcell’s bass-baritone booms with commanding authority in the role of Escamillo, enunciating so clearly and decisively that there is no need to glance at the subtitles provided above either side of the auditorium. He captures Escamillo’s carefree spirit and love of adventure, exemplified in the famous “Toreador Song,” showing the bullfighter’s enchantment with the independent Carmen.

LADUE NEWS

ReviewSTL: CARMEN Opens 2022 Festival Season at Opera Theatre of St. Louis

ReviewSTL:

Also debuting with OTSL is the dynamic Christian Pursell as Escamillo. In his care, Bizet’s one-dimensional bullfighter becomes something richer, and more textured. Simply fantastic with Mesko, Pursell’s panache, charm, and cool demeanor serve as the perfect foil for Carmen, a woman who is the life of every party.

ROB LEVY

BWW Review: CARMEN at Opera Theatre Of Saint Louis

Broadway World:

Her two competing lovers, Don José and Escamillo, are sung by Adam Smith and Christian Pursell. Never have I heard two such splendid male voices so perfectly set against each other in romantic competition. Both men (tenor Smith and bass-baritone Pursell) are tall and strikingly handsome. Pursell's voice, in the famous Toreador Song rings quite heroic, and Smith, especially in his plea to Carmen at the end of the tavern scene, sings with such wonderful feeling and power. The two combative duets--José vs. Escamillo and José vs. Carmen--are ` stunning. Both are powerfully mano a mano.

STEVE CALLAHAN

In Review: Carmen

Opera News:

Heidi Stober’s Micaela and Christian Pursell’s Escamillo contrasted effectively with the leads to flesh out the drama: Stober’s light, graceful soprano was ideal for the good girl from Don José’s village; and Pursell’s commanding bass-baritone captured heroic élan of the toreador. GREGORY BARNETT

A vivid cast triumphs over staging distractions in Houston Grand Opera’s “Carmen”

Texas Classical Review:

Bass-baritone Christian Pursell treated Escamillo’s music to rich, resonant tones that suited the macho persona of the star bullfighter, making it convincing that Carmen would leave José for him. Pursell brought suavity and swagger to the “Toreador Song,” and in Act 4, he sang Escamillo’s little love song to Carmen with an ardor that got the message across. STEVEN BROWN

A Steamy and Entertaining Carmen Takes the Stage With Houston Grand Opera

Houston Press:

Bass-baritone Pursell, another young artist on the rise, impressively sings Escamillo as if born in a bullring. His French diction is impeccable and he swirls his overcoat like a matador. But it's his cavernous baritone that wins Carmen's heart. It wins ours, too. D. L. GROOVER

Cincinnati Opera opens season like never before at Blue Ash Summit Park

Cincinnati Enquirer:

But most memorable are Janai Brugger as Micaëla, a kind and virtuous hometown woman who longs to marry Don José, and Christian Pursell as the toreador Escamillo. I don’t know if Pursell intended his character to be a mix of bravado and comic swagger, but from the moment he lumbers onto the stage with his white fedora and salmon-colored linen suit, you just know that this is the guy your mother told you to avoid at all costs. DAVID LYMAN