Opera Reviews

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER (Der Steuermann)
(Metropolitan Opera)

"The excellent young American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey gave a winning performance as the Steersman. His voice was both full-bodied and sweet-toned, and he shaped the Steersman's phrases with an almost Schubertian lyricism.”

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, December 12, 2000

THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEIK (Title role)
(Glimmerglass Opera)

“Best of all, Anthony Dean Griffey as Schweik gently but firmly commands the stage every minute, both through the appealing emotional tug of his plangent tenor and the wide-eyed, lovably
innocent character he creates.”

Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine, August 25, 2003

“Anthony Dean Griffey, a tenor of generous proportions both vocally and physically, brought good-natured humor and peerless diction to the title role, giving the production the warmth and central focal point it might otherwise have lost.”

John W. Freeman, Opera News, November 2003

"Anthony Dean Griffey as Schweik dominated the opera. With superbly musical line and a voice that goes straight to the heart, he measured up to the character of this note­worthy role, both as a towering actor and as an intelligent singer."

Karyl Lynn Zietz, Orpheus, March/April 2004

“Ms. Levine draws lively portrayals from the cast, especially the amazing tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, who worked memorably with her as Lennie in the Glimmerglass and New York City Opera productions of Of Mice and Men.
Schweik dominated the opera, but Mr. Griffey, with his beautifully lyric yet powerful and seemingly inexhaustible voice, meets every challenge. Though tall and husky, he is light on his feet. By turns demented and babyfaced, he captures the character’s ambiguity: is this all a savvy scheme to avoid [military] service, or is Schweik truly deranged? And Mr. Griffey understands that singing with keen intelligence and diction that makes a gift of every word is not incompatible with portraying a half-wit.”

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, August 11, 2003

“The title role was sung and acted with superlative aplomb by the tenor Anthony Dean Griffey.”

Michael Kennedy, Opera, November 2003

Headline: GRIFFEY SOARS IN GLIMMERGLASS “SCHWEIK”
“The hapless, eternally cheerful Schweik was brilliantly sung and winningly acted by Anthony Dean Griffey, a great performance which (like the whole show) needs to be seen in New York.”

David Shengold, Classics Today, August 2003

“The tenor Anthony Dean Griffey is superlative as a lovable shambling Schweik.”

Michael Kennedy, The Sunday Telegraph (London), August 10, 2003

“Griffey, who is in every scene, looked as though he were having the time of his life on the stage, his tenor pure and plangent from first note to last.”

Mark Swed, The Los Angeles Times, August 7, 2003

“The opera is practically a monologue for Schweik, and tenor Anthony Dean Griffey is a spectacular singing actor. With his innocent smile plastered permanently on his face, he nonetheless lets us be aware of the depth beneath, and his gloriously pure, sweet voice rings out with crystalline grace.”

Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail (Toronto), August 5, 2003

“Anthony Dean Griffey (Schweik) sang the role with a large lyric voice and an even larger than life personality, capturing all the pathos, irony and humor of the part.”

John Pitcher, The Democrat & Chronicle (Rochester, NY), August 3, 2003

“A performance of the American opera on Monday afternoon sparkled from start to finish, thanks to a brilliant performance by tenor Anthony Dean Griffey (Schweik)…” “It would seem the composer had Griffey in mind when he wrote the piece. A fine singer, the tenor comes across as a likable simpleton who frustrates the establishment with his logic….He’s seriously out-of-step in an out-of-step, rag-tag army and he goes through life with a foolish, but deceiving, grin on his face. Griffey makes it funny, most of the time, but poignancy and a message about the horrors of war always lurk just beneath the surface.”

Bill Rice, The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY), July 29, 2003

“There are so many good performances in the opera and several characters have multi-parts, but Anthony Dean Griffey holds everything together with a marvelous performance as the seemingly dull-witted Schweik. His singing is as effective as his continuous idiotic smile and funny movements.”

Jonas Kover, The Observer-Dispatch (Utica, NY), July 28, 2003

“Vocally the whole opera falls upon the shoulders of Schweik, who sings a good two-thirds of the whole show. Opera-goers who were impressed by the powerful performance of Anthony Dean Griffey as Lennie in the 1997 production of Of Mice and Men will be thrilled to hear him almost single-handedly carry an entire opera. His strong, lyrical tenor and spotless diction are unflagging and his vivid, unaffected stage presence makes him a natural for “simple” heroes as Schweik and Lennie.”

Mark G. Simon, The Ithaca Times (Ithaca, NY), August 6-12, 2003

“Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey brought the grin of a sly simpleton and a voice of extraordinary power and beauty to the title role of The Good Soldier Schweik here at Glimmerglass Opera.” “Adding to his well-honed repertory of operatic social outcasts (Peter Grimes and Lennie Small) Griffey commanded the stage with every action and vocal utterance in Robert Kurka’s 1959 opera.” “Griffey’s jail aria was beautifully sung, and his subsequent aria in the asylum was performed in bravura style with a powerful, clear voice, while his repeat of the same lines in a minor key descant was beautifully tinged with pathos.”

Stephen G. Landesman, Ithaca Journal, July 30, 2003

OF MICE AND MEN (Lennie Small)
(New York City Opera – 2003)

“It's impossible to imagine a more affecting and nuanced portrayal of the slow-witted, itinerant ranch-hand Lennie than that offered by tenor Anthony Dean Griffey. Griffey, who first mesmerized audiences in the role five years ago, wholly embodied Lennie's curious character - from his hunched shoulders, shuffling gait and fidgeting hands to the sudden shifts of expression on his often-bewildered face. Griffey's Lennie was so utterly unaware of his strength and unaccountable for his actions that even Steinbeck would have been impressed. The emotional intensity of Griffey's dramatic performance was coupled with an equally expressive vocal reading. His lithe lyric tenor was tender in its high notes and impassioned in the lower register, all the while possessing the perfect degree of stylistic simplicity for the role.”

Stacey Kors, Newsday (New York), October 17, 2003

“A major factor in its success was the tenor Anthony Dean Griffey in the leading role of Lennie Small. Lennie is a mildly retarded man with a child's brain and a giant's strength, fated always to kill, accidentally, the things he loves: a pet mouse, a puppy and, finally, his boss's wife. It is a hard role to pull off, but Mr. Griffey has made it memorably his own. A large, tender figure, he modulated his strong voice to echo his character's range from brute power to gentle innocence. He was the standout.”

Anne Midgette, The New York Times, October 17, 2003

"The ensemble was poignantly dominated by Anthony Dean Griffey as Lennie, the slow-witted giant cursed with brute strength."

Martin Bernheimer, Opera, January 2004

(Florentine Opera)

“Anthony Dean Griffey, as Lennie, led the strong cast. This tenor combines power, clarity and beauty from top to bottom. Griffey’s effortless, float-away tenor was an apt foil for the weighty, burly bass
of Ron Nelman’s George.”

Tom Strini, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 9, 2003

(Houston Grand Opera)

“Anthony Dean Griffey’s Lenny [sic.] —fidgeting, grinning, cowering and raging—is one of the most riveting impersonations that I’ve seen on any stage.”

Scott Cantrell, The Dallas Morning News, February 3, 2002

“Anthony Dean Griffey made a winningly puerile Lennie, singing with a sweet lyric tenor.”

William Albright, Opera, July 2002

“At times, Lennie is more eloquent – textually and vocally – than his simplemindedness would warrant, but the outstanding tenor Anthony Dean Griffey inhabited Floyd’s role with astonishing versatility in his Houston debut. Griffey is most widely known for creating Mitch in André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire but Lennie has become his signature role. He sang it in the premiere of this production in Bregenz, Austria in July. It was astonishing to observe how Griffey created this emotionally weak but physically powerful man-boy through his beautiful voice, beatific vision and physical presence. The eruption of physical violence when he defended himself against Curley was totally unexpected and therefore so much more explosive.”

Charles Ward, Houston Chronicle, February 4, 2002

“[George’s efforts] are constantly frustrated by the behavior of his childish, mentally retarded companion, Lennie Small, whose iron grip and obsession with petting soft, furry creatures, lead him to strangle the ranch owner's seductive wife. Lyric tenor Anthony Dean Griffey sang the role handsomely in a mesmerizing characterization.”

Carl Cunningham, American Record Guide, May 2002

(Bregenz Festival)

“Anthony Dean Griffey sang Lennie. He radiated a sunny helplessness and vulnerability, singing with true Heldentenor energy and thrust yet able to achieve surprising sweetness and grace when needed. His was a great performance, which reminded me of Jon Vickers at his best.”

Horst Koegler, Opera, October 2001

“At the show's center is the remarkable performance of tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, whose acting as Lennie is only outclassed by his sensitive singing; this is a truly world-class performance.”

Robert Levine, Andante.com, July 2001

“Griffey won the audience’s sympathy in his portrayal of Lenny’s [sic.] cheerful helplessness. His bright, sun-ripened tenor rang out, yet despite his power and size he remained utterly vulnerable.”

Horst Koegler, Opera News, November 2001

(San Diego Opera)

“Anthony Dean Griffey, celebrated for his Lennie in New York, proved a powerful singer and actor.” “He has presence and a tenor that is pure, sweet and clarion.”

Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, February 15, 1999

“And once you see and hear San Diego Opera’s exceptional new production, you may forget that Of Mice and Men was anything other than an opera. Or that anyone ever portrayed the character of Lennie as superbly as tenor Anthony Dean Griffey.” “Best of all, tenor Griffey reprises his role as the mentally disabled farm worker who’s part brute, and part sensitive soul. It’s a showcase part, a definitive portrayal. And Griffey proves himself a singing actor of rare quality. He used his large frame to fine advantage, hulking like a titanic toddler, or wringing his hands with compulsive anxiety. Meanwhile, his singing was wonderfully focused and unforced, smoothing soaring into falsetto for tenderly expressive passages.”

Valerie Scher, San Diego Union-Tribune, February 15, 1999

“Anthony Dean Griffey has already made an indelible impression on audiences and critics at Glimmerglass and the New York City Opera. As Lennie Small – the half-wit giant, small in mind but great in uncontrollably brute strength – Griffey is perfection.”
“He turns his sheer physical presence into a grotesque portrait of a leering, finger-sucking village idiot. Yet, - oh the humanity! You really felt it. And the man has a gorgeous lyric tenor voice to boot.”

David Gregson, San Diego Magazine, February 14, 1999

(New York City Opera - 1998)

“Anthony Dean Griffey repeats his heart-breaking portrayal of Lennie, the hulking, mentally challenged migrant worker who, after unwittingly killing the foreman’s wife, is shot by his agonized friend, George, before an approaching mob can lynch him. A huge man, Griffey seems born to the role, which he not only acts with frightening authenticity but also sings with a lyrical sweetness that makes Lennie all the more pitiable.”

Peter G. Davis, New York, November 23, 1998

“And once you see and hear San Diego Opera’s exceptional new production, you may forget that Of Mice and Men was anything other than an opera. Or that anyone ever portrayed the character of Lennie as superbly as tenor Anthony Dean Griffey.” “Best of all, tenor Griffey reprises his role as the mentally disabled farm worker who’s part brute, and part sensitive soul. It’s a showcase part, a definitive portrayal. And Griffey proves himself a singing actor of rare quality. He used his large frame to fine advantage, hulking like a titanic toddler, or wringing his hands with compulsive anxiety. Meanwhile, his singing was wonderfully focused and unforced, smoothing soaring into falsetto for tenderly expressive passages.”

Valerie Scher, San Diego Union-Tribune, February 15, 1999

Headline: TENOR RESCUES OPERA OF MICE AND MEN; MAKES IT SING
“If in this production, [Of Mice and Men] finally becomes riveting and unmissable, we can thank tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, who elevates the role of the simple-minded giant Lennie Small into a tragic figure far beyond the scope of Floyd's sometimes eloquent but often clumsy and sentimental score.

Griffey is a big but nimble man and from the instant he runs onstage and flings himself beside a rusted oil drum, his characterization of Lennie is one of exact and absorbing paradoxes. Lennie, an itinerant ranch hand in Depression-era California is inarticulately eloquent, sweetly timid and dangerously powerful, gratingly mannered and utterly natural. Griffey's singing is as lordly as his character is dispossessed. Executing a mumbler's part in English so neat that it made the supertitles superfluous, he somehow melds the behavior of a beclouded rustic with a sharp, soigné musicality, never letting artifice show. Lennie's curse is heavy-handedness - he crushes everything he loves - but Griffey touches soft, high notes with the gentlest caress.

Not for an instant - whether rhapsodizing about the soft furry creatures he plans to collect, or sitting massively on a rickety stool, silently twisting and kneading a rag when the music does not include him - does Griffey inch out of character. What makes his Lennie a great interpre tation is not deprivation, but having been born into America's most select society: the brotherhood of talent.”

Justin Davidson, Newsday (New York), November 9, 1998

Headline: CITY OPERA & TENOR GRIFFEY GIVE 'MICE' A POETIC BEAUTY
“If they gave out operatic Oscars, Anthony Dean Griffey would deserve one for his performance as Lennie in New York City Opera's new production of Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men. Griffey is a sweet-toned lyric tenor who can also act - a combination as rare as sunshine in Siberia - and his Lennie was no hulking caricature of idiocy, but a tortured, uncomprehending man-child whose confused longing for a better life was almost unendurably moving.”

Terry Teachout, Daily News (New York), November 9, 1998

“Anthony Dean Griffey gives us two views of Lennie: as an actor, he astutely conveys the nuances of Lennie's childlike personality; as a singer with an attractive, focused tenor, he conveys the full measure of Lennie's vulnerability.”

Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, November 9, 1998

“He simply was Lennie. In the precise angle of the stoop of his shoulders, the confused and nervous fluttering and grasping of his hands, the play of wonder, joy, befuddlement, anger, and distress across his face, he absolutely was the character, without characterization. His embodiment of the slow-witted itinerant ranch-hand was so complete that there was no room to react to the brilliance of the acting, only to Lennie. Griffey communicated depths of nuance to this character that one wouldn’t have imagined were there. More brilliant than his acting was his singing. His is a lyric tenor of the most delicate sort, but even the highest and softest notes sailed out over the orchestra into the far reaches of the house with astonishing lack of effort.”

M. K. Blackwood, ConcertoNet.com, November 7, 1998

(Glimmerglass Opera - 1997)

“At the center of the performance is Anthony Dean Griffey’s heartbreaking portrayal of the hulking Lennie, a slow-witted man who attracts trouble and misunderstanding at every turn. Griffey uses his sweet-toned tenor and refined acting skills to discover a wealth of poignant nuances hidden in the pathetic, oddly lovable character.”

Peter G. Davis, New York, August 18, 1997

“The entire cast was strong, but the soul of the performance was the Lennie of the young American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey. A tall, stocky man, he has the lumbering physique for the slightly retarded, childlike Lennie, who travels with his protector, George, a drifter with an implausible dream of owning his own farm. But while hauntingly capturing Lennie’s pitiable weakness, Mr. Griffey also projected his pent-up power and anger. And his voice, soaring and intensely expressive, brought a kind of mythic stature to the role.”

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, August 19, 1997

“The star of the show was Anthony Dean Griffey, a dramatic tenor with beautiful, free high notes and lovely portamento, who embodied the physical ponderousness and childish mental confusion of the slow-witted Lennie.”

Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal, August 12, 1997

“Everyone in the cast is deserving of praise, especially the two leading singers: Rod Nelman as a thoroughly admirable, deeply contained George, and Anthony Dean Griffey as an unforgettable Lennie. To say that Mr. Griffey, a mountain of a man with a marvelous tenor, seemed born to play the disturbed dreamer whose sweetness is as uncontrollable as his violence, is not to suggest limits; he reportedly made terrific Peter Grimes at Tanglewood last summer, and will one day, I hope, make an indelible Walther in Die Meistersinger and Siegmund in Die Walküre.”

Charles Michener, The New York Observer, August 11, 1997

“The ultimate point [of Rhoda Levine’s production] is that music and production conspire to tap into the story’s primal issue, which is everybody’s need for home and stability. Even seemingly trivial matters, such as the giant, mentally challenged Lennie’s love of furry animals, become emotionally devastating. Lot of credit must go to Anthony Dean Griffey, whose combination of boyish tenor and formidable build conveys the sense of a child trapped in a giant’s body.”

David Patrick Stearns, USA Today, August 14, 1997

“John Steinbeck’s short novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a deeply unsettling story of American misery, and Carlisle Floyd’s 1970 operatic version is faithful to the original’s grimness. There is reason to be merry, however, at the first hearing of an artist with the talents of Anthony Dean Griffey, a soft bulky man with a loud, lean tenor who could not be more perfectly cast in the role of Lennie Small. Griffey, who developed his repertoire of cringing and hand-rubbing mannerism watching the mentally retarded students he once taught, inhabited his feeble-minded character so completely it was easy to forget that he was engaged in the stylized activity of singing. But sing he did, and marvelously, making Lennie’s ode to a mouse and his desperately sad dreams of life on a little farm transcend in lyricism Floyd’s serviceable score.”

Justin Davidson, Newsday (New York), August 13, 1997

“Anthony Dean Griffey’s remarkable performance as Lennie was the stand-out in a superb cast. Rocking form side to side, knotting his gingers in perpetual anxiety, he sang with a lowing tenor of unusual mellowness.”

Shirley Fleming, New York Post, July 30, 1997

“Production requirements call for Lennie to be large, with a boyish face. Glimmerglass couldn’t have found a more perfectly suited character than Anthony Dean Griffey, who lumbers and hulks over his ‘soft and small acquisitions’ like a giant. There are moments when you’d like to throttle him, but by opera’s end, he’ll break your heart, both for his acting, and for his formidable singing. He’ll surely bring you to your feet at curtain.”

Peter Haley, Times Union (Albany, NY), July 28, 1997

“One cannot imagine a better Lennie than tenor Anthony Dean Griffey. A very large man, putty-faced with broad sloping shoulders and a shambling gait, his hands often hanging loosely at his side, Griffey was the dramatic epitome of Steinbeck’s hapless character. But Griffey can also sing and did so with great clarity and vocal beauty. It is not surprising to learn that he’s performed the title role of Britten’s Peter Grimes, another of modern opera’s dysfunctional giants.”

Stephen G. Landesman, The Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, NY), July 29, 1997

“Heading the cast is Anthony Dean Griffey, who turns in a stellar performance as the slow-witted Lennie, who can’t control his physical strength. His voice has striking clarity, suggesting a heldentenor in the making. And his articulation and feeling for the text is superb. But it is dramatically that Griffey makes his most telling effect. A big man, he lumbers around menacingly, in startling contract to his child’s mind. An extraordinary portrayal.”

Larry McGinn, The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY), August 6, 1997

“The performances are also exceptional, with Anthony Dean Griffey giving one of the best performances I’ve ever seen on an opera stage. Like a lethal Baby Huey, he tentatively moves awkwardly, head bent down. Griffey’s singing is powerful and emotionally draining.”

Gene Grey, Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY), July 31, 1997

“Anthony Dean Griffey takes on the part brilliantly. Singing in a sweet, sometimes excited, and other times high and vulnerable tenor, he is tender as well as repugnant.”

Jonas Kover, Observer-Dispatch (Utica, NY), August 4, 1997

“Perhaps the best of the reasons to celebrate is the extraordinary performance of Anthony Dean Griffey as the mentally retarded Lennie. The performance is dramatically the equivalent of its vocal excellence. Griffey’s every syllable is distinct. His every note is crystal clear.”

Joan Vadeboncoeur, Syracuse Herald-Journal, July 31, 1997

“Floyd is not afraid to let the music soar with moving eloquence, and in Rod Nelman's George and Anthony Dean Griffey's Lennie, Glimmerglass found the perfect interpreters. Their interaction, both vocally and dramatically, was riveting. Griffey's portrayal of the slow-witted Lennie was especially compelling. His tenor resonated with angst and passion.”

William D. West, Opera News, December 6, 1997

OF MICE AND MEN (Lennie Small) - Recording
(Albany Records)

“The plum roles are those of George and Lennie, and both are excellently done.”
“Anthony Dean Griffey’s Lennie is a finely-tuned account, entering entirely into the character’s limited world and succeeding in making the inarticulate articulate. It’s a masterpiece of characterization, superbly sung.”

George Hall, Opera, April 2004

“Anthony Dean Griffey's Lennie seems to emanate from a whole other realm. The character is undoubtedly Floyd's most successful creation here. Because of his childlike nature, Lennie lives at a degree of distance from ordinary discourse, which makes the quasi-poetic text seem apt. Griffey's pure, clear tenor is a perfect correlative for Lennie's innocence, and he's so temperamentally suited that he hardly seems to be ‘acting’ at all. Griffey never steps outside the role to tell us about Lennie, never forces the pathos - he simply embodies the character's fatal unknowingness. It's a masterly portrayal, and the one element of this recording that makes Of Mice and Men seem truly stage-worthy.”

Fred Cohn, Opera News, May 2004

"With his ringing tenor, Anthony Dean Griffey is ideally cast as Lennie, giving a moving interpretation of the colossus of a man with a childlike, though also dangerous, disposition."

K.-F. Schulter, Das Opernglas, March 2004

“Through it all, you have the great performance of Anthony Dean Griffey as the mentally retarded Lennie, as well as an awareness that this may be the great American opera.”

David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer/Houston Chronicle, May 28, 2004

“It would be hard to imagine a better performance, and this audio recording is so vivid as to give the feeling of being in the theater for a live performance. The interplay between the two central characters, the good-hearted work hand George who has taken on responsibility for the mentally challenged Lenny, is superbly delineated by Floyd's colorful word-setting in the consummate vocal realizations of (respectively) Gordon Hawkins and Anthony Dean Griffey.”

Robert Croan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 14, 2004

"Anthony Dean Griffey has made a specialty of Floyd’s Lennie, most recently at New York City Opera in October. Even without the physical tics and fidgets that animate his performance in the theater, Griffey brings the character to life with a heartbreaking poignancy. Simply put, this is a relationship between artist and role that unquestionably needed to be documented."

Steve Smith, Time Out New York, March 11-18, 2004

PETER GRIMES (Title Role)
(Opéra National de Paris – Bastille)

“The American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey made one of the truly remarkable debuts here in the title role. While his voice doesn’t quite have the amplitude of Ben Heppner (who did the part here in 2001), Griffey’s vocal qualities wed perfectly with those needed by Grimes.”

Jacques Doucelin, Le Figaro, January 30, 2004

“The ensemble of singers was uniformly excellent, but Anthony Dean Griffey stood out from the rest with his beautifully nuanced performance.”

Assia Rabinowitz, Le Figaro, January 27, 2004

"Griffey has a physique unprecedented in this role, his roundness making of him an immense child, a troubling image for this sailor who lets his apprentices fall so easily into the hands of death. Throughout the role, he comes closer to the poetic and hallucinatory despair of Vickers, which Britten so detested, than to the dryness and sadistic madness of Peter Pears; and in the end, despite the composer’s intentions, it’s much better this way, since the music for the opera Peter Grimes is made up of an intense poetry which belongs only to the sea and which finds its human equivalent only in the lonely, lyrical madness of its eponymous hero."

Jean-Charles Hoffelé, Concerntclassic.com, January 19, 2004

“This past week, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey has achieved a clear success for his debut at the Opéra de Paris, in the title role of the taciturn, outsider sailor of Peter Grimes. The tenor incontestably has the physique for the role in this repertoire associated with Jon Vickers and, more recently, with Ben Heppner. As tall as he is massive, he manages without difficulty to slip into this complex character, at once dreamy, idealistic and brutal, pushed to suicide by the narrow-minded residents of his village, who suspect him of beating and even killing his apprentices, one after another. His tenor voice, very clear, is sometimes surprising in a role that is so dark, but it proves highly seductive.”

A.A., Agence France Presse, January 23, 2004

“The cast is well-matched, dominated by the stature of the American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, embodying an overwhelming and enigmatic Peter Grimes, driven by strength and great endurance.”

Claude Ollivier, Radio Notre Dame, January 21, 2004

"Anthony Dean Griffey, who sang the title role in Glyndebourne in 2000, has a vocal timbre that is pure, youthful and full of lyricism that reminds one of Peter Pears [the role’s creator]. He is wholly convincing in the role."

Simon Corley, concertonet.com, January 21, 2004

"The tenor Anthony Dean Griffey was a Peter who gives the role all its grandeur, as well as its ambiguity. His extensive range is replete with warm tones."

Françoise Malettra, altamusica.com, February 2004

(Glyndebourne Festival)

“Grimes himself, astonishingly played by Anthony Dean Griffey, is a shambling animal, pitiable and moving, yet capable of terrifying brutality. Vocally, Griffey combines the lyricism of Peter Pears with the roaring heft of Jon Vickers to give what is perhaps the finest interpretation of the role to date.”

Tim Ashley, The Guardian, June 26, 2000

“The American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey was a Grimes in the Jon Vickers mould: on the verge of insanity, gripped by a terrible obsession. He sang the role with impressive sensitivity and intelligence.”

Rupert Christiansen, The Daily Telegraph, June 27, 2000

“Glyndebourne's compelling Grimes is an American tenor who plays the character as a haunted misfit, victimized by society. His voice is bright yet beefy, by turns raw and refined–perhaps the ideal Grimes in the making. His isolation is painful, one of the strengths of the Trevor Nunn production.”

John Allison, The Times (London), June 26, 2000

“Completely heartbreaking was Anthony Dean Griffey’s Grimes. His voice is a fine lyric tenor, very agile and precise with the words. But his huge physical and dramatic presence, and his ability to express anger and grief, make his Grimes far more than a theatrical study. Again, there was more than a hint of Frankenstein’s monster to him, with the additional torture of a beautiful voice that didn’t relate to any inner beauty, only to a sense of pain and loss.”

H.E. Elsom, ConcertoNet.com, July 2000

“He sang with both beauty and power, while continuing to project a slightly awkward physical presence that made touching sense of his predicament.”

Roger Parker, Opera, September 2000

(Metropolitan Opera)

“Mr. Griffey has a sizable tenor voice, with a plaintive lyric quality that is well suited to Grimes. His singing was deeply affecting and his consistently clear projection of the text was a model of communicative diction.”

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, January 7, 1998

(Tanglewood Festival)

“Tuesday night’s cast brought an unquestionable star performance by tenor Anthony Dean Griffey in the title role. He is a burly young man who boasts a lyric tenor voice of uncommon beauty of timbre, resourceful technique, genuine musical and dramatic imagination and superb English diction. This was a memorable portrayal of Grimes as poet and dreamer.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, August 1, 1996

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Mitch)
(Washington National Opera)

“Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, the sole carryover from the premiere, sang with empathy, intensity and immaculate diction as Mitch.”

Tim Page, The Washington Post, May 17, 2004

“Beautifully nuanced singing and incisive acting made Peggy Kriha Dye (Stella) and Anthony Dean Griffey (Mitch) remarkably sympathetic.”

Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun, May 17, 2004

"As Mitch, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey — who sang this role in the original San Francisco Opera production — was affecting, particularly in his lyric essay in Act II."

T. L. Ponick, The Washington Times, May 17, 2004

“[Peggy Kriha] Dye's Stella and Anthony Dean Griffey's portrayal of Mitch, Stanley's buddy and Blanche's yearning suitor, are well-crafted, thoroughly convincing characters, both musically and dramatically.”

Clarke Bustard, Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 17, 2004

(London Symphony Orchestra)

“What is undeniable is that Fleming and Gilfry put over this appealing music magnificently, as do Janice Watson and Anthony Dean Griffey.”

Richard Morrison, The Times (London), June 26, 2003

"Anthony Dean Griffey was moving and slightly disturbing as Mitch, starting out with Oliver Hardy-bumptiousness and ending in confused rage and frustration. Somehow, the beauty of his voice made his roughness all the more poignant rather than deracinating it."

H.E. Elsom, ConcertoNet.com, June 25, 2003

"Anthony Dean Griffey presents a finely judged characterization as Mitch."

George Hall, The Stage, July 31, 2003

(Pittsburgh Symphony)

“Anthony Dean Griffey has all but defined Mitch for future productions. He has mastered the combination of strength and insecurity bound up in the virtuous character.”

Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 15, 2001

"If you attend only one Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert this season, this weekend’s show should have been it.” “The only holdout from the original cast, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, was superbly judged, providing a marginally better Mitch than actor Karl Malden did on stage and screen. His every action screamed naïve mama’s boy, yet he could be inescapably tender, as in ‘You Know When It’s the Right Thing’."

Steven Singer, Daily News (McKeesport, PA), January 15, 2001

"Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, who created the role of Mitch, Stanley’s friend, in the opera’s premiere in 1998 in San Francisco, gave a sensitive, believable portrayal of the insecure bachelor."

Sandra Fischione Donovan, Beaver County Times (Beaver, PA), January 14, 2001

(San Diego Opera - 2002)

“Elizabeth Futral (Stella) and tenor Anthony Dean Griffey (Mitch), who had made the strongest impression in San Francisco, repeated the roles they had created: Griffey has grown in the role and brought to it a heart-wringing intensity.”

David Gregson, Opera News, August 2000

(Boston Symphony Orchestra – Tanglewood Festival)

"Griffey sings the role of Mitch with his big, sweet supple voice firmly tethered to his heartstrings - and thus to ours. Yearning, pathos, tenderness suffused his singing."

Susan Larson, The Boston Globe, July 13, 1999

(San Francisco Opera – 1998 [WORLD PREMIERE])

"Mitch’s short, earnest phrases (tenderly, believably sung by Anthony Dean Griffey) stand out against Blanche’s ever more extravagant hysterics."

Justin Davidson, Newsday (New York), September 21, 1998

“Anthony Dean Griffey sang touchingly and surely in the tenor role of Mitch.”

Bernard Holland, The New York Times, September 21, 1998

"Anthony Dean Griffey gave a strong performance as the desperate Mitch."

John Allison, The Times (London), September 23, 1998

"Griffey’s Mitch veered heartbreakingly between pathos and macho stolidity."

Stephanie von Buchau, Chicago Tribune, September 21, 1998

"The singing is mostly excellent, but only Anthony Dean Griffey as Mitch seems equally gifted as an actor."

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, December 30, 1998

“Anthony Dean Griffey, as Mitch, was excellent. His big tenor and shy-eager wooing delineated the role well, and his duet with Fleming that closes Act II, containing some of the strongest music in the score, was forcefully sung.”

Patrick J. Smith, Opera News, November 1998

"Anthony Dean Griffey brought a sweet, limpid tenor to the part of Mitch, bringing out the character's touching blend of insecurity and moralism."

Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, September 21, 1998

"Anthony Dean Griffey, an imposing tenor who's had considerable success as Peter Grimes, gave unexpected comic energy to the straight-arrow role of Mitch."

Alex Ross, The New Yorker, October 5, 1998

"Anthony Griffey's compact tenor and lumbering deportment generated a Mitch who was both touching and desperate; his was the finest diction of all."

Allan Ulrich, San Francisco Examiner, September 21, 1998

"Anthony Dean Griffey’s sweet, pure tenor embodies the kind of innocence that made his casting for the role of Mitch ideal. His equally unaffecting acting brought out Mitch’s insecure, shy nature, and illuminated his heart-breaking disillusionment when he finds out about Blanche’s sordid past. Griffey also summoned plenty of vocal heft for Mitch’s confrontation scene without sacrificing vocal purity or line."

Kelly Snyder, ConcertoNet.com, September 19, 1998

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Mitch) - Recording
(Deutsche Grammophon)

“Elizabeth Futral’s Stella, and Anthony Dean Griffey’s Mitch (whose idealism – not least the one brief, shining moment in Act 2 where he is able to articulate something of his belief in love – is so touching) are each outstanding.”

Author Unknown, Gramophone, April 1999

SUSANNAH (Sam Polk)
(Lyric Opera of Chicago)

“Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey scored a triumphant Lyric debut as Susannah's avenging brother, Sam Polk, singing the part exceedingly well while playing down the character's overtly cornpone aspects.”

John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, October 3, 2002

"Notably Sam Polk, Susannah's loving but ne'er-do-well drunken older brother, [was] sung by American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey. Making his Lyric debut, Griffey brought a warmly enveloping voice and unforced tenderness to the role."

Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun-Times, October 3, 2002

“As Sam, Anthony Dean Griffey proved another outstanding rising star, with ample vocal power and solid acting skills.”

William Shackelford, Opera, April 2003

Concert Reviews

Beethoven – MISSA SOLEMNIS
(Syracuse Symphony)

“Even more impressive [than the choral sound] was the quartet of soloists. Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey was strong, sturdy and intense.”

Chuck Klaus, The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY), March 6, 2004

(Choral Arts Society of Washington)

"Anthony Dean Griffey’s sweet, yet powered tenor was a continual pleasure."

Tim Smith, The Baltimore Sun, May 31, 2003

(Atlanta Symphony)

“Anthony Dean Griffey, a fast-rising star in the opera world, commanded authority with his heroic tenor, mellow with a charismatic ‘ping’ in his tone.”

Pierre Ruhe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 23, 2001

Britten – SERENADE FOR TENOR AND HORN
(Pittsburgh Symphony)

“Griffey, known for roles in opera’s A Streetcar Named Desire and Of Mice and Men, proved himself adept at orchestral song. With sharp diction, clear projection and tender expressing of the words, he illuminated the poems by such luminaries as Johnson, Tennyson, Blake and Keats. This truly is a masterful composition. I am not fond of everything Britten writes, but this work, written originally for Peter Pears, tenor, and Dennis Brain, horn, is alone certainly worth the trip to hear.”

Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 7, 2002

“Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, received a brilliant performance Friday night, and will surely be a high point of the season. Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey was impressive two seasons ago singing André Previn’s ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ with the composer at Heinz Hall. His performance last night of the Britten was a triumph. His sonority recalled that of Peter Pears, one of the artists for whom the work was written, and the accuracy of his ear for pitch was especially impressive given how little help the composer gives the performer for finding his place.”

Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 7, 2002

(New York Philharmonic)

"The texts, by several poets, including Blake, Keats and Tennyson, were in English and the tenor soloist, Anthony Dean Griffey, sang them with perfect clarity. He brought a deeply felt lyricism to his readings."

Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, October 10, 2001

Britten – SPRING SYMPHONY
(Boston Symphony Orchestra/Tanglewood Festival)

“Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey produced large and gleaming tone and displayed subtle musical and verbal intelligence. He is an altogether exceptional artist.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, August 31, 1999

(Boston Symphony Orchestra)

“Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey - Mitch in Previn's Streetcar - was superlative in a tenor part crafted for Peter Pears; Griffey has voice, technique, musicianship, diction, and poetry in his soul.”

Richard Dryer, The Boston Globe, January 22, 1999

Britten – WAR REQUIEM
(Collegiate Chorale, New York, NY)

“The baritone Håkan Hagegård, with the unenviable task of taking the Luxon role, sang strongly and made a good fit with the tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, plangent in tone.”

James R. Oestreich, The New York Times, November 13, 2004

“Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, expert in Britten's works, looked to be close to tears at times, a pained look on his face, eyes squinting into shadows. He had Britten's cadence down perfectly, and he sang beautifully and emotionally.”

Ronald Blum, Associated Press, November 12, 2004

“Anthony Dean Griffey does well in Britten’s ‘Peter Grimes’ and other music the composer crafted for his lifelong lover, Peter Pears. I greatly prefer the healthy sound Griffey makes to Pears' bloodless tone on recordings, and the American tenor certainly has the technique and diction to channel the idiom successfully.”

David Shengold, Gay City News, November 25-December 1, 2004

“Griffey sang with clarity and sweetness.”

Bruce-Michael Gelbert, TheaterScene.net, November 11, 2004

(Boston Symphony Orchestra/Tanglewood Festival)

“The performance of the War Requiem was one of the highlights of Ozawa’s last season, and indeed of his entire career as music director.” “The newcomer was tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, less baroque in inflection than his predecessor Ian Bostridge, singing straightforwardly, and with plaintive beauty of tone and infinite sensitivity to text. Afterward, audience members fell into each other's arms in cathartic hugs, and there were huge, grateful ovations for everyone.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, August 8, 2000

Bruckner – TE DEUM
(London Symphony Orchestra)

“Anthony Dean Griffey sang with majesty and authority.”

Alex Russell, musicweb.uk.net, November 2003

Elgar – THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS
(London Symphony Orchestra)

“Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, in the role of Gerontius, was magnificent, singing raptly, sweetly, with impeccable diction, hitting the high notes squarely in their center with a sense of clarion endeavor rather than human strain.”

Tim Page, The Washington Post, November 5, 2002

“The soloists were uncommonly good and well-matched to their roles. Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, a last-minute substitute for the ailing Stanford Olsen, stepped in seamlessly. He proved startlingly effective in the dual roles of the dying old man Gerontius, and later his questing soul. Mr. Griffey's diction was impeccable, his grasp of the role profound.”

T.L. Ponick, The Washington Times, November 9, 2002

(New York Philharmonic)

“Griffey sang with ardent tone and a wide range of expression that was utterly compelling.”

William V. Madison, Opera News online, June 2001

Mahler – SYMPHONY NO. 8 ("SYMPHONY OF A THOUSAND")
(San Francisco Symphony)

“[The furiously focused Lauren Flanigan immediately impressed with powerful, radiant tone.] Anthony Dean Griffey was equally outstanding, sounding in this context like a reincarnated Fritz Wunderlich; his pure, sweet tone never failed even as he sang over a blaring orchestra.”

Jason Serinus, Andante.com, June 2001

Recital Reviews

Zankel Hall/Carnegie Hall – New York, NY

“The American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey brings an unusual combination of vocal qualities to his artistry. Though in its color and character, his voice is a light lyric tenor, he sings with a power associated with heftier tenor voices. What matters most to him, though, is communicating. Surely that's why he decided to sing an entire program in English for his New York recital debut at Zankel Hall on Saturday night. Among the many impressive qualities Mr. Griffey displayed on this important night, his clear and natural diction offered a model to his American colleagues of how to sing in English.

For his program Mr. Griffey chose works that explore the cultural and political ties between British and American composers and poets during the 20th century. He began elegant performances of three seldom-heard British songs composed very early in that century by Frank Bridge, melancholic works in a late Romantic vein with intriguingly hazy harmonies, scored for voice, viola (Daniel Panner) and piano (the noted accompanist Warren Jones).

Mr. Jones was also the nimble pianist in ‘Three Poems of Fiona MacLeod’ (1918), stark and gripping works by the visionary American composer Charles T. Griffes, and in three songs from 1936 by the American master Samuel Barber on texts by James Joyce, capped by Mr. Griffey's chilling account of ‘I Hear an Army.’

André Previn took over the piano for the premiere of four songs that he wrote especially for Mr. Griffey. In keeping with the theme of the program, Mr. Previn set two poems by an Englishman, Philip Larkin, and two by an American, William Carlos Williams. The most striking elements of the music were the intricate harmonic writing (loosely moored tonality spiked with jazzy elements and sensual French colorings) and the sure feeling for the contours and content of the words. After intermission came a serenely beautiful account of ‘On Wenlock Edge,’ Ralph Vaughan Williams's ruminative settings of A. E. Housman poems for tenor, string quartet (Fountain Ensemble) and piano (Mr. Jones). But the revelation of the evening was Mr. Griffey's rendition of Copland's ‘Old American Songs.’ It's hard to rescue these works from the overly folksy performances they tend to receive. But Mr. Griffey sang a new transcription for tenor and guitar by Johannes Tonio Kreusch. With the plaintive sounds of Mr. Kreusch's guitar and the unjaded sensibility that Mr. Griffey, a North Carolina native, brought to bear, Copland's music had a fresh and earnest authenticity.

After the second encore - a tender performance of ‘This Little Light of Mine’ - the audience could hardly bear to break the spell with applause.”

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, October 25, 2004

“Anthony Dean Griffey is a young American tenor whose voice has a warm, fresh, fuzzy appeal to match this engaging singer’s friendly style, which radiated sunnily at his recent recital debut in Zankel Hall. And what an enterprising program, sung in English and involving many talents: pianist Warren Jones for songs by Griffes and Barber, the Fountain Ensemble in Vaughan Williams’s ‘On Wenlock Edge’ cycle, violist Daniel Panner in three Frank Bridge songs, guitarist Johannes Tonio Kreusch playing his own arrangement of Copland’s first set of ‘Old American Songs,’ and André Previn providing piano accompaniment for his own songs.

Griffey sang everything utterly naturally, devoid of artifice yet still full of character and nuance, whether probing the bitterness of Vaughan Williams’s Shropshire lad or slyly enumerating the treasures of Copland’s chortling farmer who ‘bought me a cat.’ I suspect there is a future Lohengrin or maybe even a Tristan lurking somewhere in Griffey’s sturdy voice and lyrical approach, but for now savor the moment and his career choices. This is a big vocal talent.”

Peter G. Davis, New York, November 8, 2004

“Anthony Dean Griffey isn’t like most tenors. Perhaps he’s too smart. Although he’s a sensitive singing-actor, his greatest stage successes have involved semi-brutish specialties – Britten’s Peter Grimes, Lennie in Floyd’s Of Mice and Men and Mitch in André Previn’s Streetcar Named Desire. For his debut recital Saturday at Zankel Hall, the subterranean venue buried between Carnegie Hall and the subway, he chose a thinking-man’s programme. Steadfastly avoiding the traditional smorgasbord of styles, he offered no Great Hit parade and indulged no operatic fantasies. He concentrated on a discerning array of American and British songs, most of them doleful, all of them difficult, and none – well, almost none – instant crowd-pleasers. Relying on vocal prowess, a sympathetic demeanour and interpretive flair, he consistently pleased the crowd anyway.

He brought along some imposing friends. Warren Jones, a pianist of unique flair and finesse, served as poised partner in the decaying romanticism of Charles Griffes and Samuel Barber. The violist Daniel Panner helped focus the bleakness of Frank Bridge. Most imposing, Jones joined a fine string quartet, the Fountain Ensemble, for the crushing pathos of Vaughan Williams’ ‘On Wenlock Edge.’ André Previn assumed keyboard duties for the premiere of his four economical studies in fragmented lyricism inspired by poetry of Philip Larkin and William Carlos Williams. Finally, in a burst of folkish cheer, Griffey turned to the simple gifts of Copland’s ‘Old American Songs,’ introducing modest transcriptions for guitar by Johannes Tonio Kreusch. The barnyard antics of ‘I Bought Me a Cat’ provided a sweet cartoon-climax for a generally pensive evening.

Griffey’s singing was persuasive throughout, some acoustical and technical disparities notwithstanding. The sonic ambience tended to wrap his healthy tone in an edgy haze, and an odd rasp sometimes compromised purity at mid-range and mid-volume. It hardly mattered. Here is an artist who savours the distinctions between piano, pianissimo and a whisper, yet rings rafters when needed. Here is an artist who articulates English brightly and crisply. Here is an artist who makes the rough places plain. He didn’t fill all 644 seats at Zankel Hall this time. Next time will be different.”

Martin Bernheimer, Financial Times (London), October 28, 2004

Headline: “A STERLING, GENEROUS DEBUT”
“Anthony Dean Griffey is a tenor people like to like. Not only was Zankel Hall reasonably full for his New York recital debut on Saturday night, but such eminences as the soprano Renée Fleming, the countertenor David Daniels, and Paul Kellogg, the general director of New York City Opera, were there to mark the occasion.

Griffey, a tall, husky Southerner, is a physical exception in an age in which most young male singers have been slimmed, pumped, and tweezed to within an inch of their lives. (Go to City Opera and tell me if I'm wrong.) True, it's hard to imagine Griffey as Rodolfo or Alfredo: his major operatic work has been largely limited to keenly sympathetic portrayals of such outcasts as Lennie in Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men and the title role in Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes.

But for those, and for his sterling qualities as a recitalist and concert artist, he has become a necessary man. He is also a generous colleague, sharing the limelight with two pianists, Warren Jones and André Previn, the violist Daniel Panner, the Fountain Ensemble string quartet, and the guitarist Johannes Tonio Kreusch, who accompanied Griffey in a world-premiere arrangement of Copland's first set of ‘Old American Songs.’

Griffey has built his career as an English-language specialist, which has certainly sharpened his professional profile. (The gentle music of Schubert and the puissant songs of Duparc would also suit his voice, which, despite occasionally dark vowel coverings, has a clarion, church-choir appeal.) It is not just Griffey's superbly pointed diction that makes him a first-class recitalist, but the sensitivity with which he can capture and maintain a song's essential mood. Floating his way into the hushed tones of ‘Is My Team Ploughing?,’ the third song in Vaughan Williams's classic cycle ‘On Wenlock Edge,’ was not just a great trick, but an avenue by which Griffey could establish the stark contrasts inside A.E. Housman's gloomy poem.

Russell Platt, Newsday (New York), October 26, 2004

“Mr. Griffey is possessed of a beautiful lyric voice. He is an easy singer, meaning that he doesn’t force – doesn’t need to. His intonation is excellent and so is his breath control. There is surely a relation. He is an intelligent shaper of songs.” “Beginning the second half of the program was Vaughan Williams’s ‘On Wenlock Edge.’ This is exposed music, in an exposed – and exposing – hall, Zankel. Mr. Griffey was amazingly clean, and accurate, and moving. Few are the tenors who could pull this off.”

Jay Nordlinger, The New York Sun, October 25, 2004

Y Music Society/Pittsburgh Symphony Classics

“Tenor Griffey, whose credits include the definitive portrayal of Lennie in Carlisle Floyd's operatic setting of 'Of Mice and Men' and the creation of Mitch in Andre Previn's 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' is a communicative performer who chooses offbeat repertory and brings it vividly to life...he never fails to get to the heart of a song.

On this occasion, despite a preponderance of slow songs, he traversed a gamut of emotion, from the eerie melancholy of A.E. Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad' to the rhapsody of Shelley's 'Music, When Soft Voices Die' and the braggadocio folk lyrics of 'The Dodger.'

Moreover, Griffey enlisted, in addition to the keyboard wizardry of Warren Jones (who is as good as you get today when it comes to vocal accompanists), a superb string quartet of Symphony players.

The full complement came to bear on Vaughan Williams' 'On Wenlock Edge' ?? a unique and gorgeous song cycle based on Housman's heart?wrenching verses. It is seldom heard because of the logistic complexities of getting together the requisite participants, and the rendition was exemplary. Barring an occasional high note that threatened to get away, Griffey braved the high?lying passages with confidence and conveyed the despair of a brokenhearted lover who may be speaking from the grave.”

Robert Croan, Pittsburgh Post?Gazette, April 22, 2004

“Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey and pianist Warren Jones offered an imaginative program featuring English and American songs on Monday night at Katz Performing Arts Center at the JCC in Squirrel Hill. Griffey is one of America's leading singers, who has added the title role in Benjamin Britten's ‘Peter Grimes’ to his opera repertoire.

Griffey and Jones presented the music with loving devotion, shaping Griffes' lines and gestures with an affecting blend of finesse and power. Jones is so winning a partner for singers that it was a particular pleasure and no surprise to hear him bring alive the turbulence of Griffes' ‘Barcarolle’ for piano solo.

The other highlight of the concert was Ralph Vaughan Williams' ‘On Wenlock Edge.’ Griffey's well?developed dramatic sensibility projected the melancholy of A.E. Housman's poetry while singing in a high tessitura that would makes many tenors uncomfortable.

Griffey and Jones were also superb in a few well?known songs by Samuel Barber and Aaron Copland, with the singer's acting of the familiar ‘I bought me a cat’ being particularly delightful.

Griffey's concert showed that recitals are an essential part of concert life, particularly when as creatively composed as this memorable event.”

Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 23, 2004

Wingate (NC) University

“Griffey let fly in the big moments with the fervor that these songs are all about. When the music needs to soar, he vaulted aloft fearlessly. In the quieter moments, he not only reined in his voice, but he pronounced the words so pointedly that they took on a whole new electricity.” “A voice with vibrancy and impact.”

Steven Brown, The Charlotte Observer, April 8, 2004

Highpoint (NC) Community Concert Association

“Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey and pianist Warren Jones are at the pinnacle of success in the world of classical music; they returned to their North Carolina home for a concert Friday night.” “One of Griffey's gifts is a magnificent stage presence; this was evident throughout the evening. His vocal ability is top?notch. Beautiful phrasing, gorgeous tone, especially in the middle register, and the ability to sing dramatically and tenderly in the same phrase is evidence of his artistry. Another great strength is his ability to genuinely convey heartfelt emotion. His English diction is splendid; one hardly needed the printed texts.”

Tim Lindeman, News & Record (Greensboro, NC), January 12, 2003

La Jolla Music Series – La Jolla, CA

“Familiar to San Diegans who witnessed his brilliant San Diego Opera appearances as Lennie in Floyd’s Of Mice and Men (1999) and Mitch in Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire (2000), Griffey displays a large-sized lyric voice.” “All his choices required a great deal of training and sophistication.” “Griffey was so successful with his English language songs by John Dowland and Aaron Copland, that one might want to advise the young man to actually ‘go for’ an all-English program in the future. He delivered his Dowland pieces with flawless diction, making even the songs’ antiquated vocabulary and odd syntax easy to comprehend.”

David Gregson, SanDiego-online.com, March 2002

As Guest Artist for David Daniels, Carnegie Hall, New York

“His [David Daniel’s] performance of Benjamin Britten's ‘Abraham and Isaac,’ for which he was joined by the wonderfully sincere tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, was a never-to-be-forgotten occasion, with Martin Katz playing piano as though the composer himself were turning his pages.”

Terry Teachout, The Washington Post, December 2, 2002

As Guest Artist for David Daniels, Carnegie Hall, New York

“His [David Daniel’s] performance of Benjamin Britten's ‘Abraham and Isaac,’ for which he was joined by the wonderfully sincere tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, was a never-to-be-forgotten occasion, with Martin Katz playing piano as though the composer himself were turning his pages.”

Terry Teachout, The Washington Post, December 2, 2002

“In one point of departure from the recital norm, Mr. Daniels brought theatrical drama, and another singer, onto the stage: Anthony Dean Griffey, the tenor, joined him and his accompanist, Martin Katz, in Britten's Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac. It was an inspired choice: the piece was lovely, and both singers performed it outstandingly, starting in the pitch-black auditorium, their backs to the audience, joining in the harmonies Britten used to limn the voice of God. Mr. Griffey was a powerful, satisfying Abraham, and Isaac's music, written for the darker-toned mezzo Kathleen Ferrier, seemed to fit Mr. Daniels like a glove.”

Anne Midgette, The New York Times, November 28, 2002

Highpoint, NC

“Griffey revealed an amazing number of colors and found drama in the texts that are often more mundanely presented.” “Griffey’s voice is an outstanding instrument, and his ability to expand the tone and then pare it down again was a delight to hear.”

Tim Lindeman, News & Record (Greensboro, NC), March 6, 1999

Concord, MA

“Griffey is as exceptional as everyone thought he was when he sang the title role in Britten’s Peter Grimes at Tanglewood a year ago, He sang with great beauty of tone, eloquence of line, and clarity of enunciation. He has a big voice to match his big frame, but be always keeps his tone floating. When he could easily be screaming his voice apart in Pagliacci on the regional opera circuit, he deserves to be applauded for following a more artistically challenging course.”

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, May 1, 1998

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