The reviews are in for Baritone Sidney Outlaw in Greensboro Opera’s “La Cenerentola”!
“Baritone Sidney Outlaw used his even and rich voice with great skill pulling off some really fast passages with remarkable clarity. Outlaw has had a flair for comedy since CVNC first reviewed him when he was a UNC-G undergraduate.” -Classical Voice North Carolina
“Donald Hartmann and Sidney Outlaw couldn’t have better comedic chemistry. Their moments together were remarkable and brought the house down with laughter. They were helped by very clever make-up that brought a smile to the public’s faces from the moment they first entered the stage. Singing-wise, both artists were rather perfect, with good pitch control in the lower register and excellent agility during the patter songs.” – Opera Lively
“The cheeky dynamic between the disguised prince and the squire who takes his place is one of the most enjoyable aspects of “La Cenerentola,” and Outlaw was spot on. His hammy bossiness toward the prince and his hyperbolic courting of the stepsisters were side-splitting.” -Greensboro.com
“[Outlaw’s] Dandini for Greensboro Opera revealed that his abilities include plucky instincts for Rossinian comedy. Of course, the best histrionic intentions are of little importance if the voice is not equally refined, but Outlaw’s first notes withered this concern like Dandini’s deflated pride. Singing the cavatina ‘Come un’ ape ne’ giorni d’aprille va volando leggiera e scherzosa’ with unctuous self-approbation, discharging top Fs like firecrackers, the baritone sauntered through Act One like a great sprinter entering the home stretch without a competitor in sight. . .Outlaw uttered ‘Sotto voce a mezzo tono’ as though plotting to infiltrate Fort Knox and then unleashed a torrent of spot-on coloratura in the duet with Ramiro. He and Hartmann squabbled and swashbuckled through Dandini’s and Magnifico’s Act Two duet [the Act Two finale in Greensboro Opera’s production], ‘Un segreto d’importanza,’ Outlaw matching his colleague roulade for flawlessly-executed roulade. Outlaw’s blazing coloratura in the Sextet brilliantly imparted Dandini’s rôle as the fulcrum upon which the drama pivots. . . Musically and dramatically, Outlaw’s Dandini was a sidekick who scored many of the performance’s most spectacular runs.” -Voix des Arts