Rigoletto for Scottish Opera
Eddie Wade’s gruff, dour Rigoletto was marked by rich tone and breadth of phrasing
Rupert Christiansen – The Daily Telegraph 2011
Eddie Wade’s coarse, self-loathing Rigoletto is part music-hall entertainer, part Shakespearean fool, pushing his daughter away with his impotent desire to keep her safe…
Sarah Urwin Jones – Times 2011
Eddie Wade’s sturdy and supple baritone makes for a compelling Rigoletto
Kate Molleson – The Guardian 2011
Baritone Eddie Wade…invests the tormented fool of the title with a mesmerising palette of emotions, engagingly acted and resourcefully sung… [Nadine] Livingston’s solos and duets, especially with Wade, are quite sublime…
Keith Aitken – Scottish Daily Express 2011
The cast is superb…[Eddie Wade’s] stage presence and penetrating characterisation of the tormented hunchback probe all the ambiguities of the character
Michael Tumelty – The Herald 2011
…Rigoletto was played by Eddie Wade – and here was a brilliant performance. Wade’s unfortunate hunchback ran the whole gamut of emotions before our eyes and explored an extraordinary palette of vocal colours as he did so. His duets with Nadine Livingston (Gilda) were wonderfully tender and the contrast between that tenderness and the bitter agony of the last act was one of the things which left the greatest impression of the evening. Pure and clear when playing the over-protective parent and a shocking nasal rage when he later discovered that he had been betrayed and had lost his daughter after all…
…Wade’s Rigoletto was completely creepy and possessed of a horrifying darkness, whether jigging around at court in the manner of a deranged Max Wall or skulking around hiring others to play out his own inner violence…
…The closing duets from Wade and Miss Livingston reconfirmed, lest there have been any doubt from their performances earlier in the evening that they had been perfectly cast together. Though Wade’s Rigoletto had been deeply unpleasant, somewhere in his agony over his daughter, it was possible to find a sense of compassion for him. This was a complex, rich and dark Rigoletto completely believable in his pain and completely satisfying to listen to…
Kelvin Holdsworth – Opera Britannia
Scottish Opera’s new production delves into these deep psychological waters with Eddie Wade portraying a tragic but all too human Rigoletto and in – as far as opera will allow – a contained performance Wade used his powerful baritone voice to sound out the pain instead of relying on any over the top histrionics.
Over the last few years we’ve found out more about the inner life of our favourite clowns such as Frankie Howerd or Tony Hancock and this dichotomous existence is at the heart of Wade’s portrayal. The double life led by the jester is sharply drawn not simply by changes of costume or set but in Wade’s face and gait where the burden of his secret life seems to physically weigh him down.
Neil McEwan – TVBomb 2011
Peter – Hansel and Gretel for WNO
As the Father, Eddie Wade was very strong, seeming to point up bits of the role with an extra gleam.
Rian Evans – Opera, August 2008
Scottish Opera Concert Tour
Baritone Eddie Wade gets the evening going with a suitably intimate rendition of the Prologue from Pagliacci. The richness of his voice in no way hinders the lightness of tone in the words.
Thom Dibdin – The Stage
Elijah for Oxford Harmonic Society
Eddie Wade gave an authoritative account of the title role, singing with conviction and assurance. The dramatic urgency was well-sustained, yet there was great sensitivity in the poignant ‘It is enough’.
Nicola Lisle – Oxford Times
Foreman – Jenufa for ETO
…I particularly liked Eddie Wade’s admirably sung Mill Foreman…
Roderic Dunnett – The Independent Online
Macbeth for English Touring Opera
…Eddie Wade brings an Italianate vocal warmth to his Macbeth, moulding and colouring the vocal line with great sensitivity, opening up splendidly for the more dramatic moments. I like his cultured thane out of his depth with murder, a change from the usual hammy histrionics…
David Blewitt – The Stage
Melot (Tristan und Isolde) for Welsh National Opera
…Eddie Wade’s Melot was spirited….
Rian Evans –The Guardian
Mandarin (Turandot) Royal Opera '96, '04, '06
…Eddie Wade made a vocally resonant debut as the Mandarin…
Hugh Canning – Opera
…Very much like the Herald in Lohengrin, the Mandarin in Turandot can set the tone for the whole evening. Here Eddie Wade’s stentorian baritone made everyone sit up and listen:…
Jim Pritchard – Seen and Heard Opera Review
…Both Peter Coleman-Wright’s Ping and Eddie Wade’s Mandarin were vocally impressive…
Tom Sutcliffe – Evening Standard
….and Eddie Wade a crisp Mandarin…
Rodney Milnes – The Times
…and Eddie Wade’s Mandarin was richly sung…
Dave Blewitt – The Stage
…Eddie Wade’s Mandarin seizes the audiences attention…
George Hall – The Guardian
