Edwin Crossley-Mercer
Clare Erskine
Shirley Thomson
Edwin Crossley-Mercer stole the show with a magnificent display of richly-toned bass legato
Bachtrack
Since the outset of his career in 2006, Anglo-French Bass Edwin Crossley-Mercer has been a regular presence on the stages of Europe’s major opera houses and concerts halls, from debuts at the prestigious Glyndebourne, Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Easter Festivals, to performances with the renowned orchestras of Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London and Los Angeles. An exemplary musicianship has allowed Crossley-Mercer to embrace a wide-ranging repertoire of roles across the baroque, classical and contemporary styles bringing collaborations with some of the finest conductors of our day including Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Philippe Jordan, Riccardo Minasi and Leonardo García Alarcón.
From an earlier bass-baritone repertoire — focused principally on Mozart, Rossini, Handel and Rameau — today, Crossley-Mercer’s bass voice lends itself to a rich repertoire of roles by composers including Beethoven, Berg, Britten, Strauss, Verdi and Wagner. With a natural affinity for the French composers, Berlioz, Gounod, Massenet and Meyerbeer firmly feature on his performance schedule marking debuts at Japan’s Saito Kinen Festival in Béatrice et Bénédicte, with Berliner Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle in La damnation de Faust, at The Dallas Opera in Manon, with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Daniel Harding in Roméo et Juliette, at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence/Sir Mark Elder in Le Prophète, and with Orchestre National de France in L’enfance du Christ.
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Most recent seasons for Edwin Crossley-Mercer have highlighted his vocal versatility with Wagner’s Tannhäuser at Osterfestspiele Salzburg/Andris Nelsons, von Weber’s Der Freischutz at Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin/Daniel Barenboim, Reimann’s Lear at Bayerische Staatsoper/Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon at Opéra national de Lyon/Daniele Rustioni and Britten’s Peter Grimes under Thomas Guggeis at Theater an der Wien. Alongside Mozart’s Così fan tutte at both Opernhaus Zürich under Riccardo Minasi and at Bayerische Staatsoper with Antonello Manacorda, he has performed Handel’s Jeptha at Händel Festspeiele Halle/Christophe Rousset, Rameau’s Les Indes galantes at Opéra national de Paris/Leonardo García Alarcón, Rameau’s Platée at Gran Teatre del Liceu and Theater an der Wien under William Christie and Rossini’s Guillaume Tell under Diego Matheuz.
Enjoying a buoyant concert career, Crossley-Mercer has amassed a broad and varied concert repertoire including Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Handel’s Messiah, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Janacek’s Glagolitic Mass, Schumann’s Paradies und die Peri, Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and Bach’s Matthäus-Passion.
A sought-after recitalist and former student of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Crossley-Mercer has presented lied and art song programmes at Bad Kissingen, Festspeiele Mecklenburg, Musée d’Orsay, Festival de Pâques, Festival International de Colmar, and at the Louvre. Twice a Grammy-Award nominée, Edwin Crossley-Mercer’s discography includes several baroque programmes (Charpentier and Lully), a collaboration with American composer Michael Linton on Carmina Catulli and Wilde Songs, a compilation of mélodies by Nadia Boulanger, and Schubert‘s Die Winterreise.
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“The supporting roles are exemplary. Edwin Crossley-Mercer, accustomed to singing dark characters, plays an obnoxious Oberthal.”
“Edwin Crossley-Mercer completed the cast with a more than solid performance incarnating the villainous Latin Lover.”
“Supporting roles are also ideally cast, notably thanks to… Edwin Crossley-Mercer as Biterolf.”
“…in excellent form, the bass-baritone Edwin Crossley-Mercer (Osiride) is just as sumptuous.”
“Edwin Crossley-Mercer plays the roles of the Mysterious Voice and the high priest Osiride boldly in his ample voice, showing his vocal power in the middle register.”
“An elegant figure in an impeccably tailored suit, the Franco-Irish bass-baritone uses a brass timbre, homogeneous throughout the range, to declaim in the third act “Before leaving this shore”. Each of his interventions are brief but perfectly in place.”
“Edwin Crossley-Mercer, never disappointing, and here excellent Osiride with a beautiful bass-baritone timbre, with a phrasing that is always neat and always elegant.”
“The other roles are all well-sung — especially Edwin Crossley-Mercer’s Hidraot, who flourishes in creating memorable moments in the first act…His voice is a sonorous bass-baritone to keep track of.”
“Edwin Crossley-Mercier plays Hidraot, ruler of Damascus and enchanter like his niece Armida, with a full-bodied voice and beautiful timbre, as well as phrasing that is always immaculate.”
“As Armide’s uncle King Hidraot, Edwin Crossley-Mercer stole the show with a magnificent display of richly-toned bass legato.”
“On the other hand, there is no reproach to the perfect Hidraot of the French-Irish baritone Edwin Crossley-Mercer, with his dark and ideally evil voice.”
“Edwin Crossley-Mercer as Hidraot is imposing with a sonorous and cavernous voice, offering a harmonious counterpoint to the more gallant and luminous tessitura of the knights.”
“Edwin Crossley-Mercer impresses in the role of Hidraot, as he asserts full and complete authority on stage and vocally, which gives all his power to the character. His bass-baritone voice thunders and resonates with all the desired darkness and an affirmation that his rich costume further amplifies.”
“The rest of the cast is impeccable…(Edwin Crossley-Mercer as Biterolf), with well-chosen voices for their roles… ”
“French-Irish baritone Edwin Crossley-Mercer sang the high priest Osiride in beautiful voice.”
“In two roles – the Mysterious Voice and Osiride – but a few lines, the Franco-Irish bass-baritone imposes a beauty of timbre and a nobility of tone acquired through his command of the French baroque repertoire.”
“In the role of Apothecary Keene, Edwin Crossley-Mercer highlights the power and brilliance of his timbre through his expressiveness coupled with the clarity of his diction.”
“As Jupiter – a fantastic Edwin Crossley-Mercer who has already played this character on several occasions with his majestic bass-baritone voice.”
“Edwin Crossley-Mercer is an impeccable Don Alfonso… his vocals unfold beautifully in the trio “Soave sia il vento” and blend in harmony with the female voices.”
