Critical acclaim of Ryan’s performances, interviews & press features
When Leonard Bernstein’s Mass had its world premiere in 1971, the world was, to put in bluntly, a mess. The war in Southeast Asia was still going strong, political assassinations had shocked the world, popular culture was shifting radically and civil rights were becoming more and more important. In other words, it was a time not unlike our own. Critics didn’t...
“The opera opens with Clarence, a hearty miner (the exuberant bass-baritone Ryan McKinny), who sets up the story almost as if giving a lecture. “It was a driving, vigorous, restless population,” Mr. McKinny sings lustily over skittish, pointillist music in the orchestra. “Not dainty, simpering kid-gloved weaklings, but muscular, stalwart, dauntless young...
“David Butt Philip and Ryan McKinny made for strong vocal presences as Froh and Donner respectively. When Donner summons the weather to reveal the rainbow bridge at opera’s end, McKinny’s singing rang fully in the Shed’s copious space.” The Classical Review
“Bass-baritone Ryan McKinny brings charm and virility to the role of Figaro. Seen last season in the dual roles of Donner and Gunther in the epic RING CYCLE at WNO, McKinny here shows off his comic chops and his shining voice as the Count’s wily valet. McKinny’s “Se vuol ballare” and “Non piu andrai” were just about perfect. His...
“…a daring performance by the American bass-baritone Ryan McKinny…” Anthony Tommasini, New York Times “Bei den Sängern fällt vor allem der wunderbar volle Schmelz von Ryan McKinny als Amfortas auf” “Of the singers, especially striking was the wonderful full luster of Ryan McKinny as Amfortas.” Lucas Wiegelmann, die...
“… the singer’s comfort in the role’s music was absolute, and McKinny traversed the full range of his part without an iota of stress not required by the drama. … Brenna and McKinny sang ‘Treue trink’ ich dem Freund!’ thrillingly, their voices combining like lightning and thunder … Providing soaring accounts of ‘Brünnhild’,...