REVIEWS

OUR AMERICAN COUSIN (World Premiere Recording; Eric Sawyer, Composer): “...baritone Donald Wilkinson lends a gentle and consoling quality to Lincoln, who daydreams of his days after the White House.”

OPERA NEWS  January 2009 Joseph Dalton

BACH MAGNIFICAT (Handel and Haydn Society; John Finney, conductor): “Soprano Susan Consoli and bass Donald Wilkinson sang elegantly on the duet “Virga Jesse floruit.” ... The joyful proclamations of “Alleluia” from Consoli and Wilkinson were the musical and expressive high points of the entire concert.”

THE PATRIOT LEDGER, QUINCY  12/20/08 Julie Fay

OUR AMERICAN COUSIN (World Premiere; Eric Sawyer, Composer; Gil Rose, Conductor): “Donald Wilkinson and Angela Gooch invested President and Mrs. Lincoln with majesty and humanity. Wilkinson's aria "Hard to Look At, Difficult to See" was commanding and touching...”

SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN  6/23/08 Clifton J. Noble, Jr.

VAUGHN WILLIAMS "FIVE MYSTICAL SONGS": “Baritone Donald Wilkinson, was highlighted in this performance, accompanied by full chorus and instrumentalists. Mr. Wilkinson's deep and resilient voice brought out the strength and nobility of the piece and its transcendental qualities.”

NEW BEDFORD STANDARD-TIMES   5/19/08 Carol Tollefsen-Hoaglund

BACH MASS IN B MINOR (Emmanuel Music; John Harbison, Conductor): “Among the standouts ... baritone Donald Wilkinson, who gave a potent rendition of "Et in Spiritum.”

THE BOSTON GLOBE   4/15/08 David Weininger

AMERICAN VOCALIST (The Boston Camerata): “The singers all have voices of soloist quality, the first to announce himself being the polished baritone Donald Wilkinson in "Musical Consort"”

THE DOMINION POST (Wellington, New Zealand)   3/10/08 Lindis Taylor

THE PUZZLE MASTER (World Premiere; Eric Chasalow, Composer): “... all five singers navigated this extremely difficult score with impressive accuracy and musicality. Donald Wilkinson sang Delling with a strong yet sweet-toned baritone that captured some of his character's defiant pride but also his wistfulness and rue as he looked back on his life.”

THE BOSTON GLOBE   5/7/07 Jeremy Eichler

MOZART THE MAGIC FLUTE (Emmanuel Music; Craig Smith, conductor): “Some of the singers approached their roles with the same passion and emotion as they would in a full production. Among the standouts.....baritone Donald Wilkinson who perfectly captured the bumbling birdcatcher Papageno.”

THE BOSTON GLOBE 4/29/06 David Weininger

BACH CANTATA #72 (Seiji Ozawa, conductor): “Bass Donald Wilkinson, familiar to Boston period music fans, raised the roof with his recitative ``So glaube nun!'' (``Then believe now!'') Wilkinson's German is superior, his tone unforced and strong. He sang with only continuo support, exuding an air of graceful manliness.”

BOSTON HERALD

FINZI “LET US GARLANDS BRING" (Five Shakespeare Songs): “Wilkinson was absolutely enthralling in all of the Shakespeare Songs... Absolutely flawless, compelling singing!”

VOX IN CAMERA (Saratoga Springs, NY) Peter Gerdine

EMMANUEL SCHUBERT SERIES: “Artistic Director Craig Smith paid tribute to baritone Donald Wilkinson, associated with Emmanuel Music for 17 years, by culling a group of seven songs on texts about birds...Wilkinson delivered them with sunny tones”

BOSTON GLOBE  5/9/01 Richard Dyer

BACH CANTATA #106 (Robert Spano, conductor): “Bass Donald Wilkinson sang sternly in the admonitory “Set thine house in order” with recorders fluttering all around him; his ecstatic singing of the chorale arioso: Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” took him into his increasing eloquent high voice, which radiated a joyous faith.”

BOSTON GLOBE 10/8/99 Susan Larson

DVORAK TE DEUM: “he [Donald Wilkinson] sang with warmth of sentiment and tone the ringing, wide-ranging baritone solos in Antonin Dvorak’s spirited and tuneful “Te Deum””

CAPE COD TIMES 4/19/99 Anna Crebo

ORFF CARMINA BURANA: “Always musically articulate and vocally very stisfying, baritone Donald Wilkinson sang the extended, dramatic arioso, “Estuans interius” with fervor tempered by superb control. Long phrases that soared well up into the tenor range were excecuted with seeming ease and fine feeling for the emotional import of both music and text.”

CAPE COD TIMES 3/8/93 Anna Crebo

BRUCKNER MASS IN F MINOR: “Donald Wilkinson demonstrated eveness of quality over a wide range, singing difficult high entries with calm confidence.”

BOSTON GLOBE 4/17/92 Richard Dyer

DEBUT RECITAL: “Wilkinson sings with admirably clear diction and firmness of tone, and he boasts a formidable command of clean, accurate coloratura.:

BOSTON GLOBE 10-23-91 Richard Dyer

BACH MASS IN B MINOR: “Et in Spriritum Sactum, a bass solo, was a lovely pastorale, smoothly delivered and well focused. Wilkinson found excellent support from the symphony’s English horn to deliver the aria as one of the highlights of the evening.”

THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE 8-15-90

MENDELSSOHN ELIJAH: “Baritone Donald Wilkinson gave the role a powerful presence. The Old Testament prophet issued forth dire warnings with clear diction. Wilkinson traversed the vocal landscape with a becoming mixture of intensity and lyricism.”

THE WORCESTER TELEGRAM 5-7-90

TIPPETT A CHILD OF OUR TIME: “...baritone Donald Wilkinson’s performance was eloquent.”

THE SPRINGFIELD UNION-NEWS 1-18-88

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