Press
Principal Tenor Roles
Return of Ulysses
"The two meatier tenor roles of the opera were allocated to non-students; University Lecturer David Kellett sang the role of Eumaeus the shepherd with a relentless protectiveness of Penelope. The register and musical style of this role clearly foreshadowed the operatic vocal style of such later composers as Handel, and Mr. Kellett was effective in maintaining the required stamina."
Town Topics
Alice in Wonderland
"Tenor David Kellett is always solid on an operatic stage, and has participated in a number of Westergaard premieres. He and Ms. Jolicoeur performed well in tandem as two heads of the "Caterpillar," and as the "Mad Hatter" (with a great purple hat), he helped bring the scene to the appropriate level of confusion."
Town Topics
"the other singers... David Kellett, tenor... were all in strong voice and met Mr. Westergaard's demands with flexibility and energy."
New York Times
The Magic Flute
"Kellett's
tenor was ardent and clear."
The Star Ledger
"David Kellett's voice has been an instrument that I have found appealing since I first heard him over 20 years ago. He had a refreshing lyric quality then that was sufficient in carrying power up to his higher register where it would take on a slightly driven quality. He always reminded me of having a smoothness like "Tito Schipa" several generations ago. Kellett's voice is a finely produced instrument, and he has retained that smoothness of line and production throughout the registers even as age has darkened the tone and added weight. Thus he has now acquired a deeper intensity to other enviable aspects of his singing... I found his performance to be both ardent and powerful as he found the right balance of stoicism and romantic aspiration in his character."
Classical New Jersey
Rigoletto
"The
third side of the triangle was David Kellett as the lecherous Duke -
who sang loudly but displayed subtlety in his second-act recitative
and aria, and who sang the final note of "La donna e mobile"
without tenors' usual excess."
The News-Times (Danbury)
"As
the Duke of Mantua, tenor David Kellett was delightful, winning admiration
for his portrayal and fine singing."
The Home Reporter and Sunset News
"David
Kellett, who was warmly received by the audience, has a pleasing, young
tenor voice. He sings with taste and refinement. Kellett's opening "Questa
e quella" was nicely done and his "e il sol dell'anima"
passages were lovely. Mr. Kellett is a fine artist and was a loyal servant
to the composer in many ways."
Boro Park Community News
Bastien and Bastienne
"Soprano
Anne McKenna and tenor David Kellett balanced each other's voices deliciously
as the young sweethearts."
The Washington Post
Belisario
"Also
outstanding is David Kellett, an elegant refined villain with menacing
poise in every gesture and a bell-like tenor."
The Princeton Packet
"Tenor
David Kellett was likewise effective as the courtier Eutropio, who gave
a brief spoken plot summary, in English before each act."
The Star Ledger
Twelfth Night (Amram)
"Set
apart from the rest of the cast was the pleasing, seamless tenor of
David Kellett in the role of Feste."
Bernard Holland, The New York Times
Albert Herring
"David
Kellett starred in the title role. A slender lad, he looked like the
perfect nebbish until his "emancipation" at the opera's end.
Kellett sang with a pure, accurate tone and with excellent diction.
His overall handling of the role was outstanding."
The News Times
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Paisiello)
"The
Rosina, Anne McKenna and the Almaviva, David Kellett were winning."
Andrew Porter, The New Yorker
Il Giovedi Grasso (Donizetti)
"...
modestly, but attractively performed by artists who showed wit and some
character. The best of them were ... and David Kellett, the Ernesto."
Andrew Porter, The New Yorker
The Barber of Seville
"David
Kellett sang the role of Count Almaviva with a tenor of unusual quality
and he made a likeable hero. His two first act serenades were meltingly
sung."
The Trenton Times
"His
clear, light tenor was especially suited to the recitative sections
which he performed with freedom, clarity of diction. His agile, full
sound lent grace and beauty to the aria sections. His acting in the
straightforward role of lover was convincing."
The Princeton Packet
Die Fledermaus
"Tenor
David Kellett was a remarkable singing-actor as Eisenstein."
New York Senior Connection
"The
Eisensteins ... David Kellett, delivered their parts with nice vocal
presence and physical aplomb."
Borough Park Community News
Blennerhassett (Giannini)
"The
cast with David Kellett and ... as the lovers, were both personalities
and artists."
The Daily News
"...
and David Kellett were the strong principals."
Bernard Holland, The New York Times
Comprimario Tenor Roles
Le Nozze di Figaro
"David Kellett's Don Basilio was a
delightfully fussy troublemaker, relishing every bit of intrigue..."
Opera News
The Tender Land
"The largest cameo-the postman, Mr Splinters-was rendered lively by the veteran tenor David Kellett.
"
Opera (November 2014)
"David Kellett was delightful and even-toned as the kindly postman Mr. Splinters."
New York Classical Review
(link)
"In the role of the postman Mr. Splinters, tenor David Kellett fit right in with the Depression Era and the Midwestern locale."
Sweeney Todd
"David Kellett put the prescribed panache into his role as the black-mailing rival Pirelli."
U.S. 1
Amahl and the Night Visitors
"An
interesting exception was David Kellett, who interpreted King Kaspar
as an old man, making the deafness more plausible, and sang with a strong,
ringing tenor."
The Princeton Packet
Falstaff
"Bardolph
was given little touches of outrageousness by David Kellett that work
splendidly in their context."
The Daily Gazette
"David
Kellett (Bardolph) and ... (Pistol) Mutt-and-Jeffed their way through
the opera, and very well, too."
The Star Ledger
"...
as Pistol and David Kellett as Bardolph made a ribald, strong-voiced
couple of troublemakers."
The Princeton Packet
"Supporting
Falstaff were his two cronies: David Kellett as Bardolph and ... as
Pistol. Both were funny and musical."
The Asbury Park Press
"Falstaff's
drinking buddies Bardolph (David Kellett) and Pistol sing strongly and
act very debauched."
The Bergen Record
Rose Marie
"David
Kellett was a lyrical Emile La Flamme."
The Advocate
"I
liked David Kellett's light tenor and darker intent as Emile."
The Darien News Review
Concert & Recital
England's Green and Pleasant Land Richardson Hall, Princeton, NJ
Vaughan Williams' Merciless Beauty featured three "rondels" based on texts of Chaucer, expertly sung by tenor David Kellett, accompanied by Ms. Lim, Mr. Parrini, and violinist Emma Powell. Mr. Kellett sang with a sensitive and well-controlled sound, with attention to the text and an ability to find phrase direction in music with ambiguous meter, showing himself to be a singer who could sell a story well in song."
Town Topics
This England Richardson Hall, Princeton, NJ
"Mr. Kellett was joined in selections from A Birthday Hansel by harpist Elaine Christy, harp instructor at Princeton University. Mr. Kellett, despite his protestations of the challenges of singing music composed for the unique voice of Peter Pears, sang with lyricism and clean diction."
Town Topics
Paulus Choral Art Society, Westfield, NJ
"The two
men, tenor David Kellett and baritone
Andrew Martens, did an excellent
job. Both have big, rich voices
and delivered their solos with drama
and musicality."
The Westfield Leader
Schubertiade Richardson Hall, Princeton, NJ
"Tenor David Kellett is an opera singer by trade, having premiered several operatic works of Princeton composer Peter Westergaard in the past. Mr. Kellett brought a significant amount of drama to Schubert's Mondenschein and Nachthelle, both set for tenor and male chorus. Mr. Kellett was also accompanied by Ms. Tao, as well as twelve men of the Princeton Chamber Choir and Mr. Crouch doubling as both conductor and singer. In both of these songs, the solo vocal line was written high enough above the choral line to create a dramatic effect. Mr. Kellett is clearly used to projecting to the back of large halls, and sang with point and attention to drama. Solo voice and chorus worked together precisely, effectively combining Schubert's mastery of Lieder melody and choral writing."
Town Topics
L'amour du poète L'Assemblée d'Alcor, Strasbourg, France
"In Schumann's lieder, David Kellett expresses all the nuances of complex feelings with accuracy and sincerity. He whispers declarations of love in heartfelt pianissimos and plunges deeply within to express the anguish in the recitative-like Ich hab' im Traum geweinet...
Moreover, the enchanted audience was able to savour a gem by way of an encore: Die beiden Grenadiere by Schumann, a wink at the Strasbourgeois, in which a soldier expresses his wish to be buried in France, Kellett unleased his theatrical prowess to the fullest."
Derniéres Nouvelles d'Alsace (DNA) - Strasbourg
Patronage Appreciated Concert Richardson Hall, Princeton, NJ
"Tenor David Kellett, also on the faculty of the University, approached "Das Blut, so meine Schuld," from Cantata Number 78, with a great deal of drama, choosing not to bring out the lightness and joy of the resolution of the piece. Mr. Kellett demonstrated good long vocal lines, well accompanied by Ms. DiFelice and flutist Jayn Rosenfeld."
Town Topics
Peter Westergaard's Moby Dick-Richardson Hall, Princeton, NJ
"Most dramatic visually was Kellett as the Parsee who predicts that he will go before Ahab as a guide. He wore a turban and sat below Ahab in their scene together. He is a fine tenor who also sang well the parts of Ishmael in the tale, Mr. Stubb, and Queequeg, who in the opera is a minor character not at all as prominent as in Melville's novel."
Classical New Jersey
Ancient Voices Concert Richardson Hall, Princeton, NJ
"The Chamber Players did not lead off with this avant-garde work (Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children), but warmed up the afternoon with four lieder by Franz Schubert, performed by tenor David Kellett and accompanied by Ms. Tao. Mr. Kellett’s voice is full of richness, with every pitch laden with color. This richness often made the words sound more ferocious than the text actually called for, but was certainly suitable for the second lied, Der Atlas."
Town Topics
Evening at Schubert's Concert Richardson Hall, Princeton, NJ
"Tenor
David Kellett, launched the evening with five Schubert lieder, including
some repertory favorites. Kellett didn't take the easy route of exaggerated
effects, for example, in the famous Erlkönig where many singers
differentiate the three characters almost to the point of parody. Rather
his interpretations were astute, subtle and smooth."
Town Topics
Lieder Concert with Richardson Chamber Players Richardson Hall, Princeton, NJ
"Tenor
David Kellett and baritone, James Demler's voices created a pleasing, unforced blend in the Mendelssohn set. Precise diction and unity of phrasing also contributed to the set's success."
Princeton Packet
An Edwardian Evening Opera at Florham
"David
Kellett, the tenor for the evening, was a perfect counterpart and blend
for Ms. McKenna. And so it should be, since they unite not only in song
but also in marriage. Most impressive for his long sustained piano tones,
Mr. Kellett nonetheless surprised and dazzled the audience with some
very heroic upper range fortes."
Classical New Jersey
The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant
"A
live interlude from "La Traviata" (nicely sung by David Kellett
and Anne McKenna)
works, too."
New York Newsday
"In
the duet, David Kellett and Anne McKenna earn bravos."
The New York Times
Excerpts from Show Boat
"...
the tenor's voice sounding light and well-produced."
The News Times