REVIEWS - PRE 2009
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2008Stravinski: The Rake's Progress, Theater an der Wien
Sehr zur Freude von Nick Shadow, jenem Teufel, der in Gestalt des charaktervoll toenenden Basses Alastair Miles ganz zeitgemaess die Spaetzuenderdaemonie eines Anlageberaters verstroemmt.
Very pleasing was Nick Shadow (the Devil) played by the characterful and sonorous bass Alastair Miles who portrayed him as a modern financial consultant waiting till the last moment to reveal his diabolic intentions. Die Presse
The latter virtue [excellent diction] was shared with his alter ego, Alastair Miles, a very plausible tempter, not too demonic until their last scene together - one of the best things I have seen from him. Opera |
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2008Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, New York (Tilson Thomas)
Best of the lot was bass Alastair Miles New York Sun |
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2008CD: La Cour de Celimene
Miles is a bubbling comic delight with a strong, enchantingly merry delivery American Record Guide
Alastair Miles negotiates the coloratura with his customary aplomb Fanfare
Alastair Miles is also at his best as Le Commandeur de Beaupré an attractive comic creation that nearly steals the show. musicalcriticism.com
Alastair Miles impresses as the affably cynical Commander, more excited by property than love. The Daily Telegraph
... it also features a sparkling score and is very ably performed by soprano Laura Claycomb and bass Alastair Miles in particular. Frothy fun. Alastair Miles enjoys himself in his role of worldly aristocrat with the attributes of a virtuoso and a buffo bass. EDITOR'S CHOICE. The Gramophone |
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2007Damnation de Faust, Welsh National Opera
Dominant throughout with sheer presence is Alastair Miles, his measured, powerfully voiced Mephistopheles sinister rather than flamboyantly diabolic, the very embodiment of evil. The Stage |
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2007Lucia di Lammermoor, Netherlands Opera
Einen Politiker der Kirche, der taktiert, abwägt und demagogisch manipuliert, präsentierte mit grosser Stimme und beeindruckender Kultur Alastair Miles [Raimondo] Das Opernglass
Alastair Miles [Raimondo] thundered impressively. Opera |
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2006Sir John In Love, English National Opera
As Brook, Alastair Miles' uptight Ford explodes like Peter Cook on speed. The Stage
Miles suggests Ford’s volcanic jealousy in a brilliantly underplayed, funny and touching account of the role. Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times |
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2006La Juive, Royal Opera House
Alastair Miles gave the performance of his life as Cardinal Brogni. Evening Standard
As Eleazar’s great rival Cardinal Brogni, Alastair Miles?authority was self-evident with chills and compassion exacted from his charismatic bottom notes. The Independent
This bravura part [Brogni] was extravagantly sung by Alastair Miles who exhibited splendid low notes, so cavernous that I expected him to emerge after the interval in pot-holing garb! musicwebinternational.com |
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2006Messiah, London Symphony Orchestra
Far more successful was bass Alastair Miles, who gave probably the best performance I've ever heard from him. To achieve such steady tone, fluid legato and powerful projection through arias such as The Trumpet Shall Sound and Why Do The Nations? is quite something for any artist. It was a shame that we didn't hear more from him. musicomh.com |
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2006Orlando, Bayerische Staatsoper
Der Drahtzieher Zoroastro wirkt umso gefährlicher, als er in Gestalt von Alastair Miles ganz ohne äusseren und stimmlichen Aplomb daherkommt; das seine Bassstimme so leicht und agil geführt wird, hat Seltenheitswert. Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Alastair Miles, ein Altmeister der Alten Musik, singt diesen Heerespsychologen noch immer nobel stilsicher und kleidet sie in eine Figur, die als Mischung aus Monty Python, Mister Q und Donald Rumsfeld angelegt ist. Suddeutsche Zeitung
Alastair Miles makes much of the sonorous, scheming Zoroastro. Financial Times |
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2006CD: Nabucco, Opera North, Chandos
Alastair Miles proves his pre-eminence among British basses today in Verdi: every note of his two solos is sung with strength and a feeling for line, and he is as happy on high as below. DISC OF THE MONTH. The Gramophone |
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2005Dom Sebastien, Roi de Portugal, Royal Opera House
Alastair Miles, as Dom Juan, was a chilling Grand Inquisitor. The Times
Alastair Miles knows how to sing the bass roles of early nineteenth century Italian and French opera like nobody else these days, and his faultless sense of style was very much in evidence. mundoclasico.com |
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2005Nabucco, Opera North
Alastair Miles, hotfoot from singing the chief schemer in Covent Garden’s Dom Sebastien, produced a wealth of dazzling virtuosity as High Priest Zaccaria, the voice admirably supported and effortlessly secure. The Independent |
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2004Ernani, English National Opera
Alastair Miles, done up to look like a darkly malevolent Don Quixote, is a splendid Silva, ferocious in attack, chillingly unforgiving, and more incisive with the text than anyone. Edward Seckerson, The Independent
The bass Alastair Miles makes a magnificent Silva, with effortless smoothness of line and firmness of tone, as well as an impressive stage presence. Rupert Christiansen, The Daily Telegraph
Alastair Miles fulfils his role's dramatic potential as a deliciously villainous Silva. The Guardian |
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2004Damnation de Faust, London Philharmonic Orchestra
....Alastair Miles’s superb Mephistopheles, mocking and menacing through every vowel. The Times
Alastair Miles revealed a dangerous and aggressively devilish Mephistopheles hidden behind a seemingly harmless exterior. The Guardian |
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2003CD: Zaira, Opera Rara
Outstanding among the singers is Alastair Miles in the role of the enlightened Muslim king [Orosmane] in love with Zaira. The writing is for a high lyric bass with the skills of a thorough virtuoso. Miles is exemplary in the evenness and fluency of his scales and gruppetti, and the tessitura suits him admirably. The GramophoneAlastair Miles is outstanding in the role of Orosmane, Sultan of Jerusalem. The Observer
Alastair Miles delivers impeccable singing. BBC Music
As Orosmane, the opera’s most sympathetic character, Alastair Miles sings with tonal excellence and the requisite agility for a role created by Antonio Tamburini. Opera... Orosmane’s aria in which florid twists and turns are encountered in phrase after phrase, though Alastair Miles, in splendid voice, is in no way fazed. His well-supported tone and clean articulation of notes allow him to realise everyvocal ornament with which Orosmane’s music confronts him. His fleet negotiation of the cabaletta tempted me to repeat it immediately. I succumbed. International Record Review |
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2003Damnation de Faust, London Symphony Orchestra
Alastair Miles' Mephistopheles matched the orchestra's dramatic sensitivity, and he relished every detail of the supernatural effects Berlioz invents for his character. He jumped up from his seat for his opening lines, just as theorchestra created a malevolent explosion of rasping trombone lines and weird string sounds. And he captured the irony at the heart of the character. The Guardian
Alastair Miles' Mephistopheles was superbly sung and characterised, the devilry not overdone and all the more sinister, while the sardonic mockery was suitably chilling. The Sunday Telegraph |
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2003La Sonnambula, Royal Opera House
Alastair Miles as the Count [Rodolfo] sounds deliciously mellifluous. Evening Standard
Alastair Miles, crisp of tone and suave of manner, is equally well cast as the Count. Financial Times
Only the excellent Alastair Miles?raffish Count (Noel Coward in Freud-land) sustains a true bel canto line ?Vi ravviso ravished. The Stage
The most stylish singer on stage was Alastair Miles as Count Rodolfo, very bel canto indeed. The Times
Alastair Miles' noble bass and striking stage presence made more than acomprimario of the shadowy Count Rodolfo. The Sunday Times |
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2002Elijah, BBC Proms, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Masur
Masur missed nothing, and he had a trump in Alastair Miles Elijah: commandingly forceful and dramatic in crunching diction, well-tuned and well up to his tricky florid passages. Financial Times
Alastair Miles isn’t the barnstorming Elijah that Bryn Terfel gave us a few years back, but a burnished, cultured presence at the centre of the work. Miles gave him nobility and strength, particularly in his great resigned recitative It is enough, accompanied by a cello tune of simmering romanticism. The Times
The drama was there both in Alastair Miles singing of the title role, firm-toned with a real unswerving authoritative edge to his voice, and in the urgent choruses. The Guardian |
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2001Nabucco, English National Opera
Alastair Miles' Zaccaria... noble, fervent, vocally spectacular yet genuinely spiritual... is second to none. The Guardian
Alastair Miles' Zaccaria is a class act of international standard, quite wonderful singing. The TimesThe great bass role of Zaccaria, the Hebrew high priest, is sung with astonishing fervour and brilliance by Alastair Miles. The Evening Standard |
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2000CD: Alastair Miles Great Operatic Arias, Chandos
This is a splendid showcase for the appreciable talents of Alastair Miles, one of the best basses ever produced in this country. Opera
The sound is well formed and beautifully placed. And everything here is sung with polish and intelligence... sometimes brilliance. American Record Guide |
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1998Don Carlos, Opera North
Alastair Miles is hardly new, but his first King Philip was simply sensational. His sense of Verdian legato is the real thing - he never seems to take a breath... and his bass tone is contained, darksome, perfectly focussed. His portrayal of this introverted autocrat, crippled by isolation and emotional impotence is already profoundly stirring. What it will be like in ten years time, heaven alone knows. Rodney Milnes, The Times |
