Critical plaudits for Lawrence’s recent run as Julius Caesar at the English National Opera in London:

"Lawrence Zazzo is one of those rare countertenor voices capable of vivid colouring and strong projection, and his singing of the title role is positively fruity in its richness." (The Telegraph, October 2012)

"Keegan-Dolan’s approach allows the singers to concentrate on delivering those fiendish arias. In particular the countertenor Lawrence Zazzo hurls out the title role with terrific swagger." (The Times, October 2012)

Critical Acclaim for Lawrence’s Apperance as Farnace in Mitridate in Munich

“brillante” Frankfurter Allgemeine

“mit Sexappeal und ironischer Brechung, einen der weltbesten Conter-Stimmen, mit der er den Farnace einprägsam zeichnete” Kulturvollzug

“Vor allem Countertenor Lawrence Zazzo vergisst gern alle gute Vokalerziehung und lässt sämtliche Sicherungen Farnaces durchbrennen: Natürlich könnte auch Zazzo ebenmäßiger singen.” Münchner Merkur

“Vater und Sohn, Barry Banks und der Counter Lawrence Zazzo, unerschrockene Bühnentiere.
Stimmlich allesamt in etwa so, wie man sich eine Aufnahme des Stücks wünschte. Dazu eine
fabelhafte Spiellust.” Sueddeutsche Zietung

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Universal Critical Acclaim for Lawrence’s recent appearance in Gluck’s Orfeo in Toronto

“This is why we go to music theatre; this is why it exists...It's almost a one-man show, and countertenor Lawrence Zazzo made the hero's journey to the underworld feel like a real-time adventure in the psychology of desperate measures. Orfeo's most famous aria, delivered after he loses Euridice a second time, is often criticized for being too light and pretty for the situation, but for once it felt mysteriously deep, as if beyond mere sorrow - an impression prepared by all that came before, and by Zazzo's shapely, intelligent singing.” Globe and Mail

“nothing short of sensational vocally and dramatically” Toronto Star

“Particularly impressive was the magnificent performance of American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo, who was on stage virtually the whole 80 minutes with no intermission. His Orfeo was a tour-de-force, combining beauty of tone with a searing intensity that left one breathless.” La scena musicale

<<To download a Biography in PDF click here>>

ARTICLES

-- Interview: Lawrence Zazzo on a new Radamisto at ENO
MusicalCriticism.com

--“A rare singer rises from Cherry Hill”,
Philadelphia Inquirer, April 2007

--“Sound Bites: Lawrence Zazzo,”
Opera News, July 2006

--Interview in the Muenchner Merkur, April 2005
Opera Today : Merkur Interviews Lawrence Zazzo

REVIEWS

"If Andreas Scholl is the Rolls-Royce of countertenors, then Zazzo is the Maserati. Not that he races through everything he sings — though he can certainly accelerate when given the chance, and do some fancy turns. But he’s an open-top virtuoso of a singer with, as we used to say, a tiger in his tank. Match him with some of the earliest opera written by the teenage Mozart and you’re witnessing two miracles in one." (The Times, September 2011)

"Lawrence Zazzo's Ottone, sung with beguiling tonal beauty, was a joy throughout." (Beaune Festival International D'Opera Baroque/Agrippina - Opera Magazine, November 2012)

-“Maybe the best countertenor now on the stage” René Jacobs, interview in Gramophone, May 2003

-"the evening only really comes into its own when counter-tenor Lawrence Zazzo's exquisitely sung shepherd Endimione and Monica Bacelli's elegant and irresistibly funny Diana begin their tortuously protracted foreplay. Zazzo's seductive aria atop Mount Lycaeus...is the evening's musical highlight" Independent, September 2008.

-"Un César hors normes, un timbre aux reflets dorés, souple et intense" Le Soir, January 2008.

-"Amare la sua voce è facile, ammirarla per la bellezza del timbro assolutamente malioso non basta" L'opera, April 2008.

-“Lawrence Zazzo sings the Refugee[in Glyndebourne’s Flight]…with amazing technique: this is a ballsy, direct voice that brings strange emotions to his yearning music” The Times of London, August 2005.

-“The semi-popular notion of countertenors is that they are somewhat floaty and thin-toned, more curious than vocally substantial. Zazzo put the lie to that conception in about three seconds. There was nothing reticent about how he projected sound throughout the sanctuary, nothing vague about the precision of his attacks and intonation, his exceptional dynamic control or the detail of his colouratura…All told, this was a performance to hold up, lusciously.” Louisville Courier-Journal, May 2006.

-“Lawrence Zazzo’s Ottone[in Poppea] was that rare thing, a free, easy, open, silky counter-tenor with a truly beautiful sound and a nicely understated performance as the moral centre of this equivocal piece.” The Times of London, Oct 2004.

-“Sur lui, René Jacobs est intarissable:<<Sur scéne, il est le meilleur du monde dans ce répertoire.>>” Le Figaroscope, Oct 2004

-“Zazzo[‘s] bright, eloquent, virile and properly operatic counter-tenor now seems set to eclipse the rest of his generation” The Independent of London

-“Lawrence Zazzo... shows himself a countertenor of gorgeous tone, superb control throughout the range, excellent musicianship and handsome bearing” New York Times

-“the American counter-tenor Lawrence Zazzo sang Arsamene[in Serse] with panache, nobility, and terrific power” The Times of London, Dec 2004

-“A la fin du second acte, la beauté du timbre, l’articulation idéale, le raffinement du contre-ténor Lawrence Zazzo, touchent au coeur” La Liberation

-“...There is already a touch of James Bowman’s beguiling artistry in Zazzo’s rich but never forced delivery...and signs of a keen dramatic sense in his interpretation...” The Independent of London

-“...a pure and matchlessly well-modulated voice” Svenska Dagbladet

-“the wonderful countertenor, Lawrence Zazzo...is spellbinding in the final song” New York Times

-“le contre-ténor Lawence Zazzo témoigne d’un bouleversant lyrisme” Le Figaro

-"questo magnifico cantante sa bene come far risultare sorprendentemente naturale e facile un'emissione sempre omogenea e dense di ombreggiature ambrate di colore bellisiimo. Il controllo del fiato é perfetto.." Alessandro Mormile, L'opera, December 2010.

To order a copy of Alessandro Mormile's impressively-researched new survey of countertenors, CONTROTENORI, La rinascita dei "nuovi angeli", click here: http://www.zecchini.com/collane_2.php?id=363

Critical acclaim for Lawrence's recent performances of
Radamisto at the English National Opera

"Lawrence Zazzo sings the title role with such beauty, all the while acting like an Oscar winner, that he deserves to be known as the king of countertenors." Financial Times

"Best of all was the American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo in the title role, which must originally have been written with a castrato in mind. In Handel's day, the castrati were the true stars of the opera – a stardom for which I suppose they considered their sacrifice worthwhile – but hearing the surgically unmodified Zazzo reaching the same notes in a powerful, clear and totally natural-sounding high voice is surely just as gripping as anything the 18th century could offer." Express

"But the star "international" turns come from Lawrence Zazzo (Radamisto) and Christine Rice (Xenobia), dramatically and musically a really telling alliance of male and female altos. Rice's luscious aria with aching oboe obbligato "When will cruel fortune free my heart" was a highlight as were Zazzo's great laments. "Soul and Shadow" was soulful and searching, his opulent and beautiful countertenor at the service of heartfelt musicality. Very special." The Independent