NEWS

Britten's War Requiem with Christine Brewer, Alek Shrader, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Conlon

'Baritone Phillip Addis communicated with intelligence and superb diction. He riveted whenever he took the stage, but particularly in the work’s final moments, as he described 'the pity of war.'" (Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 May 2013)

Phillip Addis on his love of performing in recital

Taking time off from rehearsals for the role of Sid in Pacific Opera Victoria’s production of Benjamin Britten’s comedy Albert Herring, Phillip discusses the joy of performing in recital with Kevin Bazzana.

Read the full article on the Times Colonist's website or here in PDF

The reviews keep pouring in....Phillip triumphs as Péllèas at the BBC Proms!

"The Canadian baritone Phillip Addis brought an ideally clean, youthful voice to Pélleas, and acted with a touching, wide-eyed innocence." (Daily Telegraph, 17 July 2012)

"Phillip Addis is a star in the making; this young Canadian baritone already has an impressive C.V. which includes Pelléas with tonight's conductor and soprano, and he sang with confidence and command in this difficult role, at times recalling the young Thomas Allen - and you can't get higher praise than that." (MusicOMH, 16 July 2012)

"Addis was suitably fresh and lithe of voice as a youthful, athletic Pelléas: innocently fervent and bright of tone to begin with, he grew to a fiery outpouring of love in the Act 4 love duet, finding the ideal timbre to negotiate the high range." (Opera Today, 17 July 2012)

"...the bright-toned Phillip Addis [made] a fine Pelleas." (Independent, 16 July 2012)

"As Pelléas, the young baritone Phillip Addis placed the extraordinary range of his voice at the service of a role that is occasionally sung by a tenor. While not a true Baryton-Martin - his low notes are too full for that - Addis's vocal centre of gravity is high enough to give him a thrillingly focused upper register that is ideal for Debussy's scoring. We must hear more from him." (Classical Source, 16 July 2012)

"...a superb cast...The pallid characterisation of Pelléas was skilfully suggested by Phillip Addis, who rose to his outpouring of passion in the love duet." (London Evening Standard, 16 July 2012)

"Phillip Addis's nicely baritonal Pelléas" (Guardian, 16 July 2012)

"Phillip Addis's well-focussed baritone made him an attractive and often passionate Pelléas." (Seen and Heard, 17 July 2012)

A "sonorous" and "idiomatic" Demetrius in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma

"Phillip Addis gives us a perfectly idiomatic Demetrius...sonorous, to which is added his excellent abilities as an actor." (Forum Opéra, 29 July 2012)

"Shawn Matey's Lysander and Phillip Addis's Demetrius earned honours in sound and accent: both tenor and baritone were highly effective in the roles of friends-rivals, one might say a ready-made and excellent Ferrando and Guglielmo for Cosi fan tutte." (Drammaturgia, 25 June 2012)

Phillip will make his debut at the BBC Proms on July 15th 2012

He reprises his critically acclaimed role of Péllèas with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Sir John Eliot Gardiner. For more details and tickets, visit the BBC Proms website

For those who can't make it in person, listen LIVE on BBC Radio 3!!!

As Marcello in the Calgary Opera production of Puccini's La Boheme

"Phillip Addis was a sterling Marcello, appealing for his strong, authoritative singing." (Calgary Herald, 23 April 2012)

"Albino and Addis proved great romantic sparring partners especially in the third scene when their jealousies erupt. I loved that they both seemed to age so much as a result of Mimi's tragic end, a detail that is too often overlooked." (Calgary Sun, 24 April 2012)

 

As Roderick Usher in Debussy's The Fall of the House of Usher with Opéra national de Paris

"The young Canadian baritone Phillip Addis plays with fire and emotion a tortuous and tortured Roderick Usher." (Bruno Serrou, 1 March 2012)

"Having portrayed Pelléas two years ago, Phillip Addis returns for the role of Usher, a role he has already performed. His diction and strength are a wonder, as well as him excellent projection." (Anaclase, 9 March 2012)

"Phillip Addis, who was a young and believable Pelléas at the Salle Favart two years ago, succeeded once again in incarnating the role vocally and in seizing the stage." (ConcertoNet, 1 March 2012)

"Phillip Addis, who was a moving Pelleas at the Opera Comique under the direction of J.E. Gardiner, made Roderick tremulous and fragile…" (Webthea, 2 March 2012)

"And then comes the primary character of this story: Roderick Usher. He is played by the Canadian Phillip Addis, heard in Pelléas at the Opéra Comique in 2010. For him, too, singing in French suits his voice well. A plus is that we know him already from Massenet's Werther (baritone version) heard at the Opéra de Montréal in January 2011." (Artistikrezo, 5 March 2012)

Phillip delivers the swagger as the Don in Opera Atelier's Don Giovanni

"Phillip Addis, while delivering all the vocal richness the role of Don Giovanni requires, still managed to have a cocky, almost contemporary attitude in his swagger that made us love the man even while we despised his deeds." (Toronto Star, 30 October 2011)

"Taken individually, both Addis' and Garvanliev's performances are strong, but the measure of their excellence is in their scenes together...a score that offers a wonderful range of duets and arias to showcase their talents." (Toronto Sun, 30 October 2011)

"Baritone Phillip Addis proved himself vocally equal to the title role." (Globe and Mail, 30 October 2011)

Phillip's performance as Count Almaviva in L'Opéra de Montréal's Le Nozze di Figaro a "show-stopper"!

"The men were led by Canadian baritone Phillip Addis, who was in top form as Count Almaviva, the lecherous lord of the manor intent on making Susanna his mistress. His Act III aria Hai gia vinta la causa! was a show-stopper." (Montreal Gazette, 19 September 2011)

"Baritone Phillip Addis' Count is imposing and elegant, with a well-timbred voice... " (La Presse, 19 September 2011)

A fangtastic performance in the title role of Heinrich Marschner's Der Vampyr at Le Festival Lanaudière

"Phillip Addis [gave a] stunning performance as Lord Ruthven, the vampire. The handsome Addis...has a richly coloured baritone voice and the physical stature to play a convincingly gaunt, yet powerful villain. It is a daunting role with a demanding first act aria." (Globe and Mail, 1 August 2011)

"In the title role, the young baritone, Phillip Addis, revealed himself as a perfect incarnation of the monster: piercing eyes, menacing smile, blood-red lips, enunciating the words with a clear and formidable voice." (La Presse, 31 July 2011)

"The inevitable star, of course, was the vampire, realized with ringing tone and bug-eyed malice by Phillip Addis. His chilling opening aria, delivered from a loft on the side of the stage, made me wonder whether more dramatic baritone repertoire will soon be open to this Ontarian." (Montreal Gazette, 2 August 2011)

A triumphant debut in the title role of the rarely performed baritone version of Massenet's Werther with l'Opéra de Montréal

"In Werther's most famous aria, 'Pourquoi me réveiller'...Addis's elegant singing [and] his finely limned portrait of obsession. ...Jean-Marie Zeitouni actually produced a kind of hybrid, keeping some of the elements of the tenor original for Phillip Addis, whose lustrous baritone is blessed with a light but solid extension at its top. Indeed, Addis came to Montreal after a success at Paris’s Opéra Comique as Pelléas, another role that has been sung by tenors and high baritones.” (Opera Canada, Spring 2011)

"Phillip Addis is a talented singer and actor and is quite wonderful to take in as the troubled poet, Werther, giving a solid baritone performance." (Globe and Mail, 25 January 2011)

"...from the first moment we heard him, Phillip Addis seems born to sing Pelléas, which undoubtedly will be the major role in his life. Werther could be another…" (Le Devoir, 22 January 2011)

"Phillip Addis, a baritone, took the tenor title role, a practice authorized by the composer, who even prepared a geared-down version. Addis used this version selectively, sometimes opting for the tenor line. It was not a bad fit, since his voice is bright. Diction was excellent." (Montreal Gazette, 23 January 2011)

"In spite of this, Phillip Addis embodies a hero who is both romantic and credible. The line, having been modified (from the tenor original), the arias lose perhaps some of their attraction, but the baritone breathes a new and unexpected life into them." (ResMusica, 27 January 2011)

On Phillip's role and company debuts as Jaufré Rudel in the Vlaamse Opera's L'Amour de Loin:

"Rachel Harnisch...trouve en Phillip Addis, Jaufré idéalement exalté et sensible, un partenaire idéal qui s'identifie au troubadour avec un authentique talent." (Rachel Harnisch...finds in Phillip Addis a sensitive and thrilling Jaufré, an ideal partner who identifies with the troubadour in a truly gifted way.) - ConcertoNet, 29 September 2010

"...le baryton canadien Phillip Addis, voix corsée, très bien projetée, prononciation parfaite et présence intense, est la révélation du plateau." (...Canadian baritone Phillip Addis, with his strong, well-projected voice, perfect pronunciation and intense presence, is the revelation on stage.) La Libre, 20 September 2010

"Addis is a good baritone, very lyrical...magnificent articulation and diction of the text and very well delivered." (Mondoclasico, 18 September 2010)

June 24 - Phillip's critically acclaimed Pelléas from Paris will be broadcast Live on Mezzo TV, with rebroadcasts scheduled for July 2 and July 14

"A debut to remember" as Pelléas at L'Opéra Comique in Paris

"Gardiner chose fresh young singers: the Canadian baryton-martin Phillip Addis as an engagingly ardent, tragically naïve Pelléas." (Opera, October 2010)

"'Luminous, the Pelléas of Phillip Addis, English [sic] but with perfect diction...with a perfect voice for the role." (Le Figaro, 17 June 2010)

"Phillip Addis and Karen Vourc'h are the young Pelléas and Mélisande. The first, a real Martin-style baritone, possesses the ideal timbre for the role, the high notes negotiated in a middle voice betraying the fragility of the character." (Resmusica, 16 June 2010)

"Phillip Addis is a brilliant Pelléas, clear voice, perfect diction, tense and passionate." (Premiere, 15 June 2010)

"For his Paris debut, the Canadian baritone Phillip Addis (who was Roderick Usher by the same Debussy at the Florence Gould in New York in November 2009) offered us the youngest, the most seductive and the most idiomatic of Pelléas's...[he] entered so perfectly into the character that one could say he embodied the role. A debut to remember." (Opéra Database, 15 June 2010)

"Perfect French, with a viril and warm baritone timbre, the Pelléas of the English [sic] Phillip Addis is this adolescent 'a little strange' that is spoken about by his half-brother Golaud, a gangling, impetuous, dreamer, darkly romantic." (Télérama, 15 June 2010)

"...the stage provided some wonderful surprises, beginning with the almost-ideal Pelleas of Canadian Phillip Addis - adolescent physique, impeccable diction, the precise qualities of a Martin-baritone." (Diapason, 17 June 2010)

"Her Pelléas, the young American [sic] Phillip Addis sings for the first time in France: a discovery - a real Martin-baritone, this rare tessitura that borrows the high notes from a tenor and who is exactly, and often unfindable, a true Debussy hero. Good-looking, beautiful actor and who pronounces his French almost without accent." (Webthea, 17 June 2010)

"The protagonists are almost the same age as their characters. Pelléas, a Canadian baritone with the high notes of a tenor ("a Martin-baritone") seems to have barely left adolescence. His name is Phillip Addis. He cultivates the strangeness of the character with a portrayal of young innocence. He should rapidly become a celebrity... Their love scene is a masterpiece of sensuality... Their diction in French, so difficult in the declamation, is impeccable." (Le Journal du Dimanche, 17 June 2010)

"Phillip Addis's superb Pelléas moves from diffidence to unbridled passion in subtle stages." (Financial Times, 16 June 2010)

"A true revelation, the sensitive Phillip Addis, with an undreamt-of adolescent physique, is an ideal Pelléas. With a chameleon-like traditional baritone voice, capable of lightening at every possible opportunity and varying the colour as easily as the Martin-baritones of old, and with admirably projected high notes, all without neglecting [French] diction, that casts a shadow over our compatriots." (Altamusica, 17 June 2010)

"The Canadian Phillip Addis portrays a young Pelléas and often with beautiful fervour." (Agence France Presse, 17 July 2010)

INTERVIEWS - check out two recent interviews with Phillip
Toronto Star, 21 April 2010
Opera Canada, Spring 2010

On January 30, enjoy an interview with Phillip Addis during Radio-Canada's program 'Opéra du samedi' which will feature Verdi's Stiffelio.

Other Recent Accolades

Phillip made his Opera Atelier debut in The Marriage of Figaro

"Baritone Phillip Addis (the Count) [is] extraordinarily talented. While Addis looks a trifle young for the Count (a powdered 18th-century wig would have helped), his commanding voice rings rich and true. What a career he has ahead of him as his instrument darkens and deepens." - Globe and Mail, 25 April 2010

"This production's big newcomer is Toronto baritone Phillip Addis, who was in spectacular voice at Sunday's matinée performance." - Toronto Star, 26 April 2010

"Vocally, the stars of the show are Giunta and Addis... Addis, with his rich, powerful baritone, is one of the most impressive Counts I've seen." - EYE Weekly, 26 April 2010

"From a casting point of view, Pynkoski scores a coup or two as well, with baritone Phillip Addis turning in a triumph as a youthful and overly-amorous Count Almaviva." - Toronto Sun, 26 April 2010

As Roderick Usher in Debussy's rarely performed The Fall of the House of Usher with Opéra Français de New York, November 2009

"Citons tout d'abord Phillip Addis pour sa double performance scénique dans le rôle de Roderick Usher. Double tant ses talents de comédien étaient bien à la hauteur de ses prouesses vocales. Ses aigus rayonnants et son mezza voce expressif lui offraient la palette nécessaire pour donner vie à l'héritier maudit.

(First we must highlight Phillip Addis for his double performance in the role of Roderick Usher. Double as well his talents as an actor which were equal to his vocal feat. His radiant high notes and his expressive half-voice provided the necessary palette to give life to this cursed heir.) - ClassiqueInfo.com, November 2009

"...two young and attractive singers, the baritone Phillip Addis and the soprano Ariadne Greif, as the Usher siblings." - New York Times, 25 November 2009

"A wonderfully emotional performance by Philip Addis." - ConcertoNet, 23 November 2009

As Belcore in Atlanta Opera's production of L'Elisir d'Amore, October 2009

"Phillip Addis...sang the role of Nemorino's rival Belcore with narcissistic hilarity and vocal charm." - Opera News, December 2009

Opera Extravaganza at the Toronto Summer Music Festival, August 2009

"Baritone Phillip Addis has a delivery that is creamy, rich and compelling." - Paula Citron, Classical 96.3

"I really enjoyed the singing of Phillip Addis, whose beautiful lyric baritone never sounded better."
Joseph So, La Scena Musicale