Critical Acclaim

Salzburg Festival - Otello

Along with Mikhail Petrenko's Lodovico and Stephen Costello's Cassio, Marina Poplavskaya made an especially touching Desdemona.

                                                                    Opera Now (Robert Turnbull)

Fort Worth Opera – Lucia di Lammermoor

Mr. Costello is one of today's hottest young things in Italianate lyric tenors. His Edgardo has romantic good looks, virile tone and focused ardor.

Opera and Dallas Morning News (Scott Cantrell)

Tenor Stephen Costello brought dashing ardor to Edgardo. In his great aria at the finale, his voice soared effortlessly and with moving conviction.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Chris Shull)

Tenor Stephen Costello sang a passionate Edgardo, Lucia’s lover, and brought the afternoon’s first excitement as he denounced her in a raging fury in the Wedding Contract scene that galvanized everyone on stage and closed the second act in an emotional frenzy. The momentum carried into the next act, where what is usually a decorous wedding party was a falling-over-drunk Highland romp. (Costello made his operatic debut here two years ago as Rodolfo in La Boheme and went on to other engagements before arriving at the Metropolitan Opera this season, where he debuted as Edgardo in his first major role there. He isn’t even 30 years old yet.)

Fort Worth Weekly (Leonard Eureka)

Baltimore Opera – Roméo et Juliette

Stephen Costello's Romeo was a lithe and charming presence, with sturdy, eloquent vocalism to match. Impressive hints of steel and just the right amount of sob in the voice flashed through his singing at the end of the street fight scene and in the tomb-set finale. Costello always made something of the text, as well as the melodic contour of Gounod's score.

Baltimore Opera (Tim Smith)

• Metropolitan Opera – Lucia Di Lammermoor

  “Stephen Costello was sufficiently imposing in the minor duties of Arturo to justify his imminent promotion to Edgardo.”

  -The Financial Times (Martin Bernheimer)

• “Debuting tenor Stephen Costello made a fine impression in his few lines as the hapless Arturo.”

  -Associated Press (Mike Silverman)

• “An appealing young lyric tenor, Stephen Costello, had a solid Met debut as the well-meaning Arturo.”

  -The New York Times (Anthony Tommasini)

• “Stephen Costello made an impressive debut as Arturo, one that makes his appearance as Edgardo, scheduled for later in the season, something to anticipate.”

  -MusicalAmerica.com (George Loomis)

• “In the small role of Lucia's short-lived husband, debutant Stephen Costello leaves a warm impression with his clear, pleasing tenor.”

  -Variety (Eric Meyers)

• “The best part for visiting Philadelphians, though, was when tenor Stephen Costello (locally born and trained) arrived for Lucia's arranged Act II marriage. In his Met debut, he looked wooden - but outside the confines of the Academy of Vocal Arts' acoustically odd theater on Spruce Street, his tenor voice unfurled as though it had found its true home. He'll switch to the leading role of Edgardo Oct. 25.”

  -The Philadelphia Inquirer (David Patrick Stearns)

• “Stephen Costello's debut as Arturo was striking indeed; the young tenor sang with perfect confidence from the outset, his voice showing real personality as it blended clarity of line with grainy richness of texture. I found myself wishing he were singing Edgardo in Giordani's place; he will do so on October 25. (We've been prepared for Costello's ascent by, La Cieca, out in front as usual.) I think I'd have to see the show again to sort out my feelings about Dessay's performance. It was amazing to behold, yet it somehow never gripped or moved me deeply. The cold, inert atmosphere of Mary Zimmerman's production undoubtedly didn't help.”

  -Alex Ross (critic from The New Yorker)http://www.therestisnoise.com/2007/09/luica-on-the-pl.html

• “The most secure singing came from debutant Stephen Costello in the small role of Arturo, his tone bright and hardy, with a strip of metal down the center.”

  -Steve Smith (Associate Editor of Time Out New York) http://nightafternight.blogs.com/night_after_night/2007/09/exit-stage-left.html

• “I can give you the musical highlights in one sentence: Stephen Costello as Arturo sang beautifully, with gleaming, compact tone and jaw-dropping confidence. If train wrecks are your thing, read on.”

  -Marion Ligana Rosenberg (Vilane Fille) http://www.vilainefille.com/vilaine_fille/2007/09/lucia-di-lammer.html

• Concert With Frederica Von Stade

  “Costello is the rarest of birds, a slender tenor — and a very good one, with steely highs, a warm middle and rock-steady sustained notes. His stylish "Che gelida manina" from Puccini's "La Boheme" earned a rapturous reception from the audience. He opened a bit more stiffly with "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" from Lehar's "The Land of Smiles," and paired nicely with von Stade in the love duet from Lehar's "The Merry Widow."”

  -Mike Greenberg, San Antonio Express News, June 19, 2007

• Dallas Opera – Maria Stuarda

  “As Leicester, young American tenor Stephen Costello showed ample signs of the great promise for whichy he has already been widely praised, his naturally heroic timbre capable of expressing lyric tenderness as well as strength.”

  -Willard Spiegelman, Opera News, April, 2007

• “Mr. Costello has a potent, pliant lyric tenor and lean good looks; opera companies will be beating a path to his door. And he certainly captures Leicester's ardor and, in the end, desperation.”

  -Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, January 8, 2007

• “…and Costello, whose ardent tenor was one of the evening's main pleasures.”

  -Matthew Erikson, Star-Telegram (Fort Worth), January 7, 2007

• Madison Opera – Rigoletto

  “The primary vocal attraction was the Duke of Stephen Costello. His is a beautiful tenor, graced with an individual, masculine timbre of substantial body at mid-range, a very fast, very appealing vibrato on high, and a suggestion of an Italianate "sob" that was judiciously and expressively applied. He cuts a handsome figure onstage as well, and while further stage and life experience will likely enable this very young vocalist to augment more fully his characterization of the cynical Duke, this really is a singer to watch.”

  -Mark Thomas Ketterson, Opera News Online, February, 2007

• “As the Duke, Costello came to Madison with a strong performance pedigree and significant advance notice, including a two-page profile in the most recent issue of "Opera News." That can often be a recipe for disappointment, but this time the attention was warranted. Costello delivered in a tenor that glistened like gold and in direct inverse proportion to the callousness of his character. His soliloquy, "Parmi veder le lagrime," at the beginning of act two earned the singer the first of several shouts of "bravo" during the evening. The famous "La donna e mobile," which opens act three, was also beautifully handled, earning enthusiastic applause.”

  -Michael Muckian, The Capital Times, November 18, 2006

• “Singling out individual singers risks undue discrimination. Still, the most exciting performer was surely Stephen Costello as the Duke of Mantua. A tenor with a voice of ringing strength matched with intelligence and dramatic flair, he is already marked for great things.”

  -John W. Barker, Isthmus, November 24. 2006

• Academy Of Vocal Arts – Rigoletto

  “As the duke, Philadelphia tenor Stephen Costello generates true Italian tenor excitement  from an unlikely package. His guy-next-door youthfulness, applied to a character who habitually helps himself to other men's wives, comes together in appropriately disconcerting ways.”

  -David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Enquirer, May 2, 2006

• “Northeast Philadelphia's Stephen Costello, seen and heard in the role of the callous and wicked Duke of Mantua Sunday night, is giving the most complete and compelling performance of that part I've ever encountered during 30 years of opera reviewing -- and he's only 24 years old.”

  “The triumph of young Costello's delineation of the Duke Sunday night was its completeness. He looked, acted and sang the part flawlessly. Costello's natural good looks became fatal beauty onstage and in character. His manner assumed a sense of power by birthright. His unaffected acting became impassioned conviction even when merely a deceptive pose. And his singing rang with a perfect balance between the pure clarity of head tones and the virile potency of chest tones, hitting and holding the part's high notes with ease and strength yet without loss of tonal cover. You could see and hear why the hapless Gilda happily decides to die for him.”

  -Michael Caruso, Chestnut Hill Local, May 4, 2006

• “Costello commands a plangent voice with a ringing top. He phrases the duke's music artfully and shades his tone tastefully.”

  -Robert Baxter, South Jersey Courrier-Post, May 23, 2006

• Fort Worth Opera – La Bohème

  “Back in 1970, Plácido Domingo celebrated his 30th birthday here by singing Rodolfo with young Mexican soprano Gilda Cruz Romo as his Mimì — a magic pairing. The two went on to major careers, eventually singing together in a season-opening production of Verdi’s Otello for the Metropolitan Opera.

  “For the Saturday performance, the second cast had something of a déjà vu quality. Young tenor Stephen Costello and soprano Christina Major brought back memories of the earlier singers.  At 24, Costello was making his operatic stage debut, and his voice, solid from top to bottom, has a radiant bloom. His musical instincts are well formed, he’s comfortable onstage, and the promise of future greatness was all over the performance. If he resists the lure of taking on bigger roles too soon and allows his voice to fill out and the top to strengthen, there may be an important career ahead of him.”

  -Leonard Eureka, Fort Worth Weekly, Wednesday 29, 2006

• Academy Of Vocal Arts – Le Villi

  “Le Villi's cast was headed by two of AVA's most vocally accomplished singers, the ever-captivating Ailyn Pérez, whose effortless emotional honesty kept her well out of the cliche zone, and Stephen Costello, whose viscerally impressive tenor did all the right things stylistically, right down to the sobbing grace notes.”

  -David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 2006

• “Stephen Costello (Roberto) dominated the performance. His rich-toned, focused tenor caressed the vocal lines and opened thrillingly on the many high B flats.”

  -Robert Baxter, South Jersey Courier Post, January 2006

• “Most impressive was Northeast Philadelphia tenor Stephen Costello as Roberto, the young man who inherits a fortune only to lose it, his love and eventually his life at the hands of the Willies of the title. Costello possesses a ringing timbre to a voice he employs to deliver a visceral impact on his audience. He covers an admirable range of dynamics, from cries to whispers, without sacrificing either the sheer beauty of the tone or the control of his phrasing and the projection of it. In some ways, one might consider his acting style a touch over the top, but I find it hard to criticize him because it never seems insincere and it always works onstage. One feels the very emotions Costello is experiencing. And, after all, isn't that what opera singing and acting is all about?”

  -Michael Caruso, Chestnut Hill Local, January 2006

• “As for Costello, when he entered AVA three  years ago, he had a lovely, light lyric voice, but it since has grown into a much richer instrument, admirable retaining the lovely timbre.  Costello unabashedly – and effectively – employs the sobbing quality that used to enthrall Richard Tucker fans.”

  -Diana Burgwyn, Opera Now, May 2006

• Opera Orchestra Of New York – Guillaume Tell

  “…with Stephen Costello giving a glimpse of his fine, soaring lyric tenor as a Fisherman in the opening scene.”

  -John W. Freeman, Opera News, February 2006

• “The evening's singing began in style with tenor Stephen Costello's fisherman's air, ‘Accours dans ma nacelle,’ in which he was able to field his own estimable high C.”

  -Bruce Michael Gilbert, TheaterScene.net

• “Stephen Costello was graceful as a fisherman who sings a lovely serenade in the first act (with its own pair of high Cs!)”

  -Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

• “Stephen Costello in the cameo role of the Fisherman sounded like a star in the making, his pearly tenor soaring effortlessly to high C.”

  -James Jordan, Gay City News, November 24, 2005