Carl Tanner sings Enzo Grimaldo in the Teatro Real production of "La Gioconda" 03.08.2008

Excerpts from Jose M. Irurzun review, "International Opera Review"

"Enzo Grimaldo was sung by American tenor Carl Tanner, returning to the Teatro Real after singing Pinkerton last July. His performance here was very convincing, showing off a brilliant voice, much better produced than before. My feeling about him is that he is truly a dramatic tenor who is in his element in the heavier repertoire, like Calaf, Samson or Chenier. He is at his best at the most dramatic moments, and finished his main aria with a pianissimo high B flat effortlessly."

"..."the final bows were a triumph for Violeta Urmana, with very warm receptions also for Tanner, Fiorillo and Ataneli, in addition to Maestro Pido."

The Metropolitan Opera's La Fanciulla del West

Wild Wild Met
By: Joseph Gualtiere
December 28, 2010

This winter marks the centennial performance for The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West. As the 100th anniversary of the opera’s world premiere at the Met, the western thrills were brought back to life with a cast to go wild for.

Among the most memorable in the cast was the ravishing Deborah Voigt who played Minnie, owner of the Polka Saloon set in a mining camp during the Caifornia Gold Rush of 1849-50. Known more for her Strauss and Wagner roles, Voigt completely took charge of the rugged, yet innocent Minnie with agility and strength that radiated throughout the entire hall. In place of Marcello Giordani, who was coincidentally sitting several seats away from me, was Carl Tanner, making his Met debut as Minnie’s love interest in the role of Dick Johnson, the disguised bandit Ramirrez. Lucio Gallo played the pretentious and sarcastic sheriff, Jack Rance, with great accuracy and dramatic presence.

Tanner gave a superb Met debut as Johnson, and is definitely one to keep an eye out for in the future. The quality of Tanner’s voice gave a lasting impression with its vastly dynamic and resonant timbre, clearly heard when he begs for mercy (“Ch’ella mi creda”).

Voices carry this staging of Classic 'Otello'

Charlotte Observer
5.7.2010

Opera Carolina relied on throats to supply what the staging only tamely suggested. In the title role, Carl Tanner made that work. His clarion tones captured the jubilation of Otello the war hero and the desperation of Otello the victim of deceit. He even brought the love duet more lyricism than Lopez, whose strengths did not include delicacy.

While Jason Howard, as Iago, couldn’t match their power, his voice contained enough darkness to show that evil was at work. The other characters drawn into his schemes came across less vividly. The Charlotte Symphony, led by James Meena, captured the broad strokes of the music’s thunder and passion. And when the sound of heartbreak finally broke into Tanner’s trumpet of a voice in the final minutes, that drove the whole story home.

Charlotte Observer-Voices blaze 'Carmen'

Charlotte Observer
3.15.2010

Shutting everyone into a theater that was blacked-out – stage and all – wouldn’t really be an option. But Opera Carolina’s “Carmen,” which opened Saturday night, could nearly get by on the voices and orchestra alone.

That’s an exaggeration, of course. But Georges Bizet’s score is a feast of melody. The sparkling, passionate music crystallizes the entire story of the fatally free-spirited Carmen and the soldier who falls too hard for her. By the time the climax arrives, Opera Carolina makes it as cataclysmic as I’ve ever heard.

That happens gradually, though. When Carmen appears, Kirstin Chavez sings with a breeziness that lets the audience meet her playful side first. Before Don Jose falls for Carmen, Carl Tanner’s poise and sunny tone enable him to seem downright gallant in his scene with his hometown sweetheart.

Then Carmen and Jose connect. As the drama takes hold, Chavez’s and Tanner’s voices surge. Hers grows fuller and gutsier, letting Carmen’s rebelliousness and stark fatalism catch fire. Tanner’s power and gleam make Jose’s outbursts dominate even the orchestra – though the Charlotte Symphony, led by James Meena, adds its own flashes of power as punctuation.

The rest of the cast complements Chavez and Tanner without equaling their power – that that anyone necessarily should.

The central character of Otello — the Moor — was sung by tenor Carl Tanner. He proved to belong to that rare vocal class, "an Otello tenor." Since the first Verdi Otello, Tamagno, the role has carried a special onus. It requires great stamina and expressive forcefulness along with a record number of high A-flats. Many of the great tenors in history have steered clear of the demands of this role. Tanner proved more than equal to the its challenges. He has a richly timbred tenor with a clear and astounding ringing force in the top register. His clarion opening act, Esultate, was bright and vigorous. The love duet with Desdemona, Già nella notte densa, was charged with warmth and passion. The dark closing scene's Niun mi tema showed Tanner at his most affecting: "un bacio, un bacci ancora, un altro baccio" (a kiss, another kiss, ah! another kiss), the beautiful Verdian triple theme underlying the lover's dying moments.