CRITICISM
for Shostakovich’s Suite on Verses by Michelangelo, Budapest, May 2023
“The music appears to have the elemental opacity of an unsculpted stone block, from which the voice must use the words of Michelangelo to carve both meaning and beauty. Munn did both, singing the demanding work from memory. His lyric bass led the audience through Michelangelo’s poems and Shostakovich’s music in a performance with the emotional and intellectual depth the work requires.” Papageno.hu
for Deutsche Oper Berlin's Lieder von Vertreibung und Nimmerwiederkehr, May 2022
“The bass Andrew Robert Munn and the baritone Carl Rumstadt have no phrasing to guide them. The sentences are chopped up again and again in minimally shifted syncopations. They master this magnificently. They blast out all the injustices.”
Der Bass Andrew Robert Munn und der Bariton Carl Rumstadt haben keine Phrasierung als Orientierung. Die Sätze darauf werden in immer wieder minimal verschobenen Synkopen zerhäckselt. Sie meistern das grandios. Sie ballern all die Ungerechtigkeiten heraus.
BR Klassik
“Art cannot achieve more.”
Mehr kann Kunst nicht leisten.
Süddeutsche Zeitung
“Here, two men wait in a prison cell for deportation to their "homeland", including a trial there; a wandering woman in a worn winter jacket has nothing left but her baby and the memory of a world in flames. They are no longer at home anywhere - no matter where they come from, no matter where they go. Carl Rumstadt (baritone), Andrew Robert Munn (bass) and Antonia Ahyoung Kim (soprano) lend contour to these nameless characters, sensitively striking the balance between disturbingly poetic introspection and burning, rebellious bitterness. It is only logical that expression should take precedence over vocal beauty - magnificently supported by evocative choral passages that capture the suffering of those directly affected as well as Western decadence and self-delusion”
Hier warten zwei Männer in einer Gefängniszelle auf die Abschiebung in ihre „Heimat“ samt dortigem Gerichtsverfahren, einer umherirrenden Frau in abgewetzter Winterjacke ist nichts geblieben als ihr Baby und die Erinnerung an eine Welt in Flammen. Zuhause sind sie schon längst nirgends mehr – unwichtig, woher sie kommen, gleichgültig, wohin sie gehen. Carl Rumstadt (Bariton), Andrew Robert Munn (Bass) und Antonia Ahyoung Kim (Sopran) verleihen diesen Namenlosen Kontur, verstehen den Balanceakt zwischen verstörend-poetischer Seelenschau und brennend-aufbäumender Verbitterung sensibel zu zeichnen. Nur folgerichtig, dass Expression vor Stimmschönheit geht – grandios unterstützt durch soghafte chorische Passagen, die das Leid der direkt Betroffenen ebenso einfangen wie die westliche Dekadenz und Selbstverlogenheit
Orpheus Magazin
for Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alte Musik' L’Empio Punito, July 2020
”The American bass Andrew Munn was also outstanding as Atrace, King of Macedonia, whose performances were always characterized by dignity.”
Darstellerisch hervorragend auch der amerikanische Bass Andrew Munn als Atrace, König von Mazedonien, dessen Auftritte stets von Würde geprägt waren. Online Merker
for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' La Traviata, May 2018
"Fine work is also done by several "Gerdine Young Artists" – Simona Rose Genga as Annina, Jeff Byrnes as the Baron and Andrew Munn as the Doctor." Broadway World
"The secondary cast also holds court in both acting and singing categories. Simona Rose Genga is a powerful Annina, maid to Violetta, and Andrew Munn in the small but important role of Violetta’s doctor in the final act." The Stage Door St. Louis
"The fine supporting cast includes Briana Hunter as the fun-loving Flora, Jeff Byrnes as the villainous Baron Douphol, Simona Rose Genga as Violetta’s faithful maid Annina, Matthew Dalen as Alfredo’s pal Gastone and Andrew Munn as Violetta’s physician Dr. Grenvil." Ladue News
for Juilliard Opera's Hippolye et Arice, April 2018
"The trio of Fates play a key role in the opera--in particular their aria, "Quelle soudaine horreur," with its shifting harmonies, warning Theseus of troubles ahead--and tenor Charles Sy, baritone Xiaomeng Zhang (in a baritenor role) and bass Andrew Munn knocked it out of the park." Broadway World, April 2018
"the haunting Parques of Sy, Xiaomeng Zhang and Andrew Munn overcome Wadsworth’s noisy excesses in Hell to do justice to the most powerful act in all Rameau." Parterre Box, April 2018
"In a bit of luxury casting, the roles of the three Fates went to tenor Charles Sy, baritone Xiaomeng Zhang, and bass Andrew Munn. Their trio was a highlight of the evening." Voce di Meche, April 2018
for New York Festival of Song's Protest! March 2018
"‘Protest’ was the timely title and political theme of the New York Festival of Song's (NYFOS) program at Merkin Concert Hall, featuring a septet of excellent, expressive young singers… Munn entered, coming down the aisle, to address the company and audience firmly, in ‘Bella ciao,’ an Italian anthem of anti-fascist forces… Munn related Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson’s “Joe Hill,” relating ‘every mine and mill/Where workers strike and organize,’ to his personal experience as an Appalachian anti-coal organizer, before moving us as he sang the song, largely acapella … Marc Blitzstein’s title song from ‘The Cradle Will Rock’... was sung by Munn, joined by the ensemble, as the rousing finale." Q On Stage: New York's Performance and Art Reviews, March 2018
"The admirable forces included Shereen Pimentel, Christine Taylor Price, sopranos; Nicole Flores Thomas, mezzo; Joshua Blue, tenor; Dimitri Katotakis, Jacob Scharfman, baritones; and Andrew Munn, bass... Emotional highlights for me were Pimentel’s distinctively tangy voice on “Big Yellow Taxi,” and Munn’s forthright 'Joe Hill.'" Gay City News, March 2018
"Another very powerful song was the ballad "Joe Hill", written by Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson and performed with great depth of feeling by bass Andrew Munn who drew on his real life experience in Appalachia to give the song a very present quality that struck us right in the gut." Voce di Meche, March 2018
"Solos, duets, and full ensemble vocals abounded with tonal luminosity and compelling theatricality…. the deeply resonant bass, Andrew Munn, sang “Bella Ciao.” Jazz and Cabaret Corner, March 2018
for Juilliard Opera's Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor, February 2018
"The scene-stealer was Mr. Munn, clomping about in a great pair of work boots and speaking with an outrageous accent, he then proved to have an impressive, full bass with pleasing low notes. " Superconductor, February 2018
"Andrew Munn made a meal of Dr. Caius’s malaprop-laden Franco-German." Opera News, February 2018
for "The Genius of Monteverdi," concert of Madrigals conducted by WIlliam Christie with Juilliard415, October 2017
"Andrew Munn, Joshua Blue, and John Noh parodied the whole love/battle metaphor with mock horses, mock fleeing, mock attempts to save the world from that terrible villain Love. Like Shakespeare, Monteverdi enjoyed following tragedy with comedy, and here the comedy was (in Dante’s words) divine." The Classical Music Network
for the world premier of "The Sand Reckoner" by Nathan Davis at The Tanglewood Music Center, August 2017
"A sextet of terrific voices (soprano Alexandra Smither and bass Andrew Munn, most notably), with Greenberg on celeste and computer sounds, brought to life a piece that sounded organic in every measure." Music Critic, Keith Powers, Leonora Overture
for Juilliard Opera's Agrippina by Handel in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, February 2017
"It was a fabulous night, with performers you will hear about again: sopranos Nicolette Mavroleon and Onadek Winan; mezzo-sopranos Avery Amereau and Samantha Hankey; countertenor Jakub Józef Orlinski; baritone Jacob Scharfman; bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum; and bass Andrew Munn." Fred Plotkin, Operavore, WQXR
for Second Prisoner in Fidelio by Beethoven at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, July 2016
“excellent young singers as the First and Second Prisoners, tenor Cameron Schutza and bass Andrew Munn.” Broadway World
for Beethoven Lieder at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, July 2016
“Andrew Munn’s sonorous bass and sensitive phrasing were put on particularly good display.” The Huffington Post
for Beethoven in The Classical Style by Steven Stucky at the Aspen Music Festival, 2015
“Sonorous bass Andrew Munn made a moody and gawky Beethoven… Audience response was highly enthusiastic. The laughs kept coming, the casts delivered good comedic timing and even better singing.” Aspen Times
“This staging, performed enthusiastically by members of the Aspen Opera Theater Center, and directed briskly by Edward Berkeley, served as a rewarding vehicle for the wigged Big Three… basso Andrew Munn, suitably gruff as Beethoven. The trio displayed fine singing and decent acting, each doubling in smaller roles along with the rest of the cast.”Opera News
for Reverend Wadsworth in Emily by Eva Kendrick with the Thompson Street Opera, 2014
“Andrew Munn’s rich, velvety bass is a delightful presence.” Louisville Public Media