Reviews
Fort Worth Opera / Don Giovanni
- Pegasus News - 5/24/10
“Call him Don Alluring, Don Irresistible, Don the Snake Charmer. By the time 2006 McCammon Competition winner Michael Todd Simpson in the title role seduced Donna Elvira’s maid, he’d won over every romantic in the house. A stylish “hottie” in cape, flowing locks, thigh high boots, and six-pack revealing poet’s shirts, his rich, powerhouse baritone evokes the cold, calculated lasciviousness of the role while imbuing it with a boyish charm at the same time. Recent successes in Dallas with Cosi fan tutte as well as 2010 Metropolitan Opera debut in The Tales of Hoffmann bode well for this attractive young man with decided acting chops as well as vocal talent and enviable technique on full display in this demanding role. Almost sad to see him descend into Hell.”
- D Magazine - 4/24/10
“The pairing of Michael Todd Simpson in the title role with Thomas Corbeil as his faithful, ever-complaining manservant Leporella was a masterstroke on several levels. Both lean and tall, with long brunette hair, they created a visual pairing that continually emphasized their embodiment of opposite aspects of humanity. While in any decent production of Don Giovanni the tension of master and servant between these two is one of the central aspects, the physical similarities between these two singing actors emphasized Mozart and Da Ponte’s subtle dig at the rotting class structure that pervaded Europe . The ability of both to move with impressive agility across the stage added to their effectiveness as a team, and the powerful beauty of both of their voices further enhanced the magic of their performance. Along with the bounding energy the two brought to their roles, director Richard Kagey introduced numerous small but significant elements—Giovanni casually wiping the blood off of a dagger on his shirt, for instance, or Leporello’s rebuffed attempt to join Giovanni at the table for a meal—that constantly reminded the audience that Giovanni, sexy aristocrat though he may be, is still a compulsive thug of the worst sort.”
Pittsburgh Opera / Le Nozze di Figaro
- Opera news - 4/24/10
“Count Almaviva, played by tall, lanky Michael Todd Simpson with commanding presence, a harsh sexuality and a pleasant lyric-baritone sound.”
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - 4/26/20
“Mr. Simpson's contentious Count had little of the 'noble' qualities associated with the role. But he certainly was authoritarian, and convincing as a sexual predator lurking beneath the veneer of his station.”
- Pittsburgh Tribune - 4/27/10
“Their nemesis, the count, received an excellent account by Michael Todd Simpson, who was nicely casual in his conceited come-ons but not lacking in anger when foiled.”
Dallas Opera / Cosi fan tutte
- Dallas Morning News - Feb 16 2010
“Michael Todd Simpson's Guglielmo, with a handsomely muscular baritone, spices ardor with an apt sense of danger. ”
Pittsburgh Opera's Meet the Artists:
Eugene Opera | Don Giovanni
Nashville Opera | Don Giovanni
- The Tennessean - October 12, 2008
“Baritone Michael Todd Simpson's Don Giovanni is a villain, but he's a sexy, charming cad who demands attention whenever and wherever he's onstage. ”
Opera Australia | Carmen
- Sydney Morning Herald - January 25, 2008
“The toreador's entrance into Act 2's Goyaesque tavern was splendid in every way.... As Escamillo the toreador, Michael Todd Simpson was tall and amiable, and a fine singer and table-top dancer: the persona and voice tended more towards the affable than the hypnotically erotic.”
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Florida Grand Opera | Così fan tutte
- Miami Herald - November 18, 2007
“Though the least well known of the cast, Michael Todd Simpson provided the finest all-around performance as Guglielmo. With a commanding baritone and dashing, charismatic presence, Simpson ideally balanced the vocalism and comedy, mining the humor from the opera's situations rather than merely mugging.”
- Miami Beach, Florida USA - November 21, 2007
“Michael Todd Simpson's voluminous baritone embodied Guglielmo. A vibrant stage figure, he exuded amorousness with the female protagonists.”
Seattle Opera | La Bohème
- P-I Music Critic - May 6, 2007
“....a robust Marcello”
- Seattle Times - May 7, 2007
“....sang well as an appropriately fiery Marcello”
Virginia Opera | Pagliacci
- Virginia Pilot - Mar 11, 2007
“Baritone Michael Todd Simpson portrayed Nedda's lover, Silvio. He sounded genuinely in love with her, his voice as handsome as his stage presence. He and Nassif certainly generated a great deal of chemistry in their long duet.”
- Portfolio Weekly - Mar 20, 2007
“As Nedda's lover Silvio, baritone Michael Todd Simpson, who was last season's sexy and befuddled Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, again finessed his good looks and silky voice into the totally believable backdoor boyfriend. His love scene with Nassif bordered on a voyeur's ultimate fantasy; his voice drips tears and testosterone.”
Dallas Opera | Lohengrin
- Dallas Morning News - Feb 16, 2007
“Chills go down the back the minute Sergei Leiferkus starts to sing the part of Telramund, his brazen baritone, his very presence, filling the place with malice. Dean Peterson is a credible King Henry, Michael Todd Simpson a sit-up-and-take-notice Herald.”
Palm Beach Opera | Pagliacci
- Miami Beach, Florida USA - December 8, 2006
“Michael Todd Simpson unfurled a gorgeous lyric baritone as Nedda's lover Silvio. With Blasi and Simpson singing verismo as bel canto, their duet became the vocal highlight of the performance.”
Glimmerglass Opera | The Pirates of Penzance
- New York Times - July 23, 2006
“Michael Todd Simpson, a young baritone, made a strong impression as the Pirate King”
- Classics Today - Aug. 6, 2006
“Michael Todd Simpson’s Pirate King was self-assured and athletic, his voice a rich baritone.”
- Times Union - July 9, 2006
“As for the pirates, they're a hearty lot who invade the theater down the aisles. Baritone Michael Todd Simpson, playing their leader, gives a great, robust vocal performance.”
Virginia Opera | Le Nozze di Figaro
- Washington Post - Feb. 20, 2006
“Joshua Winograde was a tall, stately, dark-voiced Figaro with more than a hint of temper and temperament. Michael Todd Simpson was his superb foil as Count Almaviva, even taller than Winograde, with a powerful voice and a surprising level of vulnerability, not just vengefulness, in ›Vedro mentr'io sospiro.‹"
- Richmond Times-Dispatch - Feb. 26, 2006
“Its singers, led by sopranos Jane Redding (Susanna) and Patricia Andress (Countess Almaviva), bass-baritone Joshua Winograde (Figaro) and baritone Michael Todd Simpson (Count Almaviva), are young, energetic and vocally complementary.”
“Simpson, unusually, brings out the petulant adolescence at the core of Count Almaviva, rescuing the role from the pseudo-villainy of so many portrayals.”
Glimmerglass Opera | The Mines of Sulphur
- Opera Today - Sept. 25, 2005
“Finally, I must mention Michael Todd Simpson, who has several extended scenes as Tooley, one of the actors. Mr. Simpson, who possesses a strong rich baritone voice and who handles the acting chores of his two monologues with impressive craft, was a member of Glimmerglass Opera's Young American Artists Program. He unfortunately will not be repeating the role at the NYCO. I'm sure whoever is engaged will be good, perhaps even as good as Mr. Simpson. But I doubt if he is better.”