Reviews

Don Basilio in Marriage of Figaro for Scottish Opera with Paul Whelan and Rebecca Caine (1999)

Opera Theatre Company, "Katya Kabanova" :
"...entirely convincing in the role of Tichon." (Irish Times)"...maddeningly convincing in the role of Tichon." (The Independent)

Scottish Opera,
"Grand Duchess of Gerolstein":
"The real find of this production is James Nelson. His Prince Paul is played - and sung - with such simplicity and integrity that he manages to be enormously funny and poignant at the same time." (The Stage)

Singapore Lyric Opera,
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" :
"James Nelson as a wonderfully nervous and quivering Wall provided the best part of the evening's entertainment." (Singapore Business Times)

Scottish Opera, "Makropoulos Case" :
"In a very strong cast, James Nelson's portrayal of Vitek and Hauk Sendorf were a highlight." (The Times)

Wexford Festival, Opera Scenes :
"James Nelson was a riotous Alfred in 'Die Fledermaus', a most moving Tom Rakewell in the bedlam scene from 'Rakes Progress', and a superbly comic Snout in the play scene from 'A Midsummer Nights Dream'; in a virtuoso performance of Wall, trembling with stage fright, he brought the house down." (Opera magazine)

Gala Evening at Cork City Hall:
"This tenor voice is a real find both for its beauty of tone and its wide range of emotional colours." (Cork Examiner)

"Nelson has performed alongside classical luminaries of the likes of Katia Ricciarelli and Raymond Leppard, and controls a tonal range from soft, silky quiet notes to golden, ringing climaxes. Any seasoned opera fan could identify Nelson as 'the real thing' within seconds. Pleasantly, though, he also proved relaxed as an entertainer, working the crowd and playing a good comic foil to the others between numbers."
(Mark Jordan in the "Mount Vernon News", September 2007.)

“The Celtic Tenors sing with the practiced ease of singers who know each others voices like a comfortable pillow.”
(Aaron R. Conklin, Capital Times, Wisconsin.)

“They have reinvented the whole tenor idiom.” (Phil Coulter, composer of “Remember Me”.)

“The finest version of ‘Danny Boy’ I have ever heard.” (President Bill Clinton).

“Their sound, a thoughtful fusion of opera and trad with minimalist arrangements is instantly ear-catching. Like a box of chocolates from a stranger, it’s sweet and unexpected. It’s a breath of fresh air to see real talent nurtured by a big label.” (Sunday Independent, Ireland.)

“The Celtic Tenors have taken their public by storm, and are every mother-in-law’s sexy dream.”
(Hamburger Morgenpost, Hamburg.)