Messiah / New York Philharmonic
George Grella
New York Classical Review
Polenzani is an elegant singer, and he brought a sense of vigor to his tenor part not usually heard in this piece."
“A superb quartet on paper, they made for a super group in performance. Handel and librettist Charles Jennens created different styles of passages for the men and women soloists; the music for the women tends to be that of the angels, narrating the glories of the birth of Christ, while the men announce and proclaim. Capturing this contrast, Landshamer and Cooke sang with cool, graceful beauty, while Polenzani and Relyea were often intensely dramatic and characterful … Polenzani is an elegant singer, and he brought a sense of vigor to his tenor part not usually heard in this piece.”
George Grella – New York Classical Review
“The Philharmonic’s selling point is glamour. The quartet of soloists consisted of the honey-toned Christina Landshamer, a rising German soprano; the mezzo Sasha Cooke, with her stunning deep register; the clarion tenor Matthew Polenzani, a stalwart of the Metropolitan Opera; and the bass-baritone John Relyea, who delivered Wagnerian amplitude and gravitas.”
Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim – The New York Times