David Salsbery Fry : Bass

REVIEWS

As Don Bayley, Bobby & Prosecutor in Chen and Simpatico’s The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing
“David Salsbery Fry’s sinewy, wry bass makes rewarding moments of small roles such as Turing’s nosy boss, a police officer, and the trial prosecutor.”
- Hannah Edgar, Musical America (2023)

As Donkey/Messenger in Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus
“Bass David Salsbery Fry was amusing as an enchanted, cud-chewing donkey (in reality, Claus’s estranged father) who later poignantly reverted to his former kingly being once the spell over him was broken by his son’s conversion to generosity.”
- Mark Thomas Ketterson, Opera News (2021)

“Rounding out the cast was bass David Salsbery Fry as the noble-voiced donkey/messenger. His deadpan performance and rich low notes provided an amusing contrast to his silly costume.”
- Katherine Buzard, Chicago Classical Review (2021)

As Mr. Butt and Butt the Hoopoe in Wuorinen and Fenton’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories
“Much of the opera is just plain fun. One of Wuorinen’s specialties is creating gleefully cacophonous barrages of sound that perfectly represent the story’s anarchic mayhem, such as the harrowing bus journey that whisks Haroun and Rashid to the Valley of K, the first step on their circuitous voyage. ‘Driver, driver, not so fast. Every moment could be our last,’ shrieks the chorus. Butt, the nihilistic driver (sung with steely-voiced alacrity by bass David Salsbery Fry), exults in turn, ‘The snow line! Icy patches ahead! Hurrah!’ The music thunders wildly; you can actually picture the Pixar version.”
- Joshua Rosenblum, Opera News (2021)

As the Earl of Pembroke in Rosner and Stevenson’s The Chronicle of Nine
“Baritone James Demler as the Earl of Arundel and bass David Salsbery Fry as the Earl of Pembroke both acted and sang as if they had much more stage to work with, and their powerful voices easily rang through the thick orchestration and Rosner’s almost-constant doubling of the vocal lines.”
- A.Z. Madonna, The Boston Globe (2020)

“Bass David Salsbery Fry as the Earl of Pembroke and baritone James Demler as the Earl of Arundel made a comic plotting pair, ... delivering booming, full-bodied notes that coursed through the concert hall.”
- Alexandra Sourakov, The Tech (2020)

“As Queen Mary’s plotting supporters the Earls of Arundel and Pembroke, James Demler and David Salsbery Fry both possessed stentorian voices, making them both apt villains.”
- Gregory Moomjy, Indie Opera (2021)

“James Demler’s well-oiled baritone and David Salsbery Fry’s stygian bass make much of the treacherous Earls of Arundel and Pembroke.”
- Clive Paget, Opera News (2022)

As “S”, the Head of the Shin Bet in Maor and Levy’s The Sleeping Thousand
“David Salsbery Fry brings to ‘S.’, the somber Head of the Shin Bet, all the sepulchral profundity of his bass voice. Drawing from the deepest depths of his range, the low notes are strong and powerful. His voice also assumes the timbre and tessitura of a bass-baritone during the outbursts of S.”
- Céline Wadoux, Ôlyrix (2020)

“The Head of the Shin Bet is the impressive American bass David Salsbery Fry. He inhabits the subterranean depths of his register while accomplishing the basest of deeds.”
- Florence Lethurgez, Ôlyrix (2019)

“... the astonishing Head of the Shin Bet, inhabited by the American bass David Salsbery Fry, provoked chills and dizziness with his abyssal and slightly roboticized voice, symbolizing the heedless strength of those who claim entitlement to power over life and death.”
- Marie-Aude Roux, Le Monde (2019)

“American bass David Salsbery Fry displayed a strange and surreal humanity in the black tones of magical incantation hypnotizing Nurit.”
- Michael Milenski, Opera Today (2019)

Judith Shatin’s “Vayter un Vayter”
“‘Vayter un Vayter’ (2012) for bass singer, clarinet, cello, and piano showed just how far Shatin’s style developed. Shatin set three of Abraham Sutkever’s Yiddish poetry in a manner inspired by Schubert. Bass singer David Salsbery Fry recited English translations of the poems immediately before the performance. It helped the audience appreciate how Shatin illustrated the Yiddish text. The deeply personal connection Shatin has with these poems (and the culture they represent) resonated with the audience. That and the superb performance of the musicians prompted a standing ovation and three curtain calls.”
- Ralph Graves, WTJU (2019)

As Bertrand in The Maid of Orleans
“The remainder of the roles were so strongly cast that several singers in lesser roles, like the ever reliable Yeghishe Manucharyan, David Salsbery Fry (displaying the best pronunciation and diction amongst the non-Slavs in the cast), and Erica Petrocelli, could have easily assumed the primary roles in their fachs.”
- Kevin Wells, Bachtrack (2017)

Chaya Czernowin and Luk Perceval’s Infinite Now
“The young bass David Salsbery Fry thrilled with his extremely sensual and almost impossibly deep tones.”
- Andreas Falentin, concerti (2017)

“Also notable is the singing, especially when we hear bass David Salsbery Fry plumbing the unexpected black depths ...”
- Stefan M. Dettlinger, Mannheimer Morgen (2017)

“Bass David Salsbery Fry contributed a profound musical impression with his penetrating entrances.”
- Bernd Feuchtner, KlassikInfo.de (2017)

As Caliban in Summer’s The Tempest
“Caliban (Prospero’s slave), whose entrance is marked by swirling, pounding music, is sung with granite-like tone by the reverberant bass David Salsbery Fry.”
- Joshua Rosenblum, Opera News (2017)

“The vocalists all did creditable work; most notable among them were Katherine Pracht and David Salsbery Fry, who invested Ariel and Caliban with appropriately airy and earthy personalities.”
- Brian Schuth, The Boston Musical Intelligencer (2015)

As Mr. Wood in Karchin and Osen’s Jane Eyre
“David Salsbery Fry injected a note of wry humor as the minister, Mr. Wood, and became the focal point of the wedding.”
- Joanne Sydney Lessner, Opera News (2017)

As Abbot & Master Chen in Wheeler and Jacobs’s Naga
“David Salsbery Fry gave a fine, resonant performance as the Master to whom the Monk apprentices himself and whom he eventually kills.”
- David Shengold, Opera (2017)

“David Salsbery Fry’s articulation as the Abbot was unfailingly lucid and convincing.”
- Linda Holt, ConcertoNet.com (2021)

As Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea
“The strongest, steadiest voices belonged to De Vita, Nathanson and Fry, who each nimbly managed Monteverdi’s challenging passagework.”
- Marc Shulgold, Opera News (2013)

As Mosè in Mosè in Egitto
“With noble stature and flowing bass-baritone, Fry’s Moses had a world weary and endearing quality, highlighted by the prayer-like ‘Dal tuo stellato soglio (From your starry throne)’ in the final act.”
- Ronald Blum, The Associated Press (2013)

“Moses, here sung handsomely by the mellow-voiced bass-baritone David Salsbery Fry ...”
- Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times (2013)

“[Fry] brought out the inner humanity in the prophet with a sweet, plangent bass-baritone that could dip low for important notes as needed. He was absolutely authoritative in the brief final act, when leading the famous Prayer Chorus and parting the Red Sea.”
- Paul J. Pelkonen, Superconductor (2013)

As Ramfis in Aida
“David Salsbery Fry ... soared powerfully as Ramfis, the High Priest”
- Mary Johnson, The Baltimore Sun (2012)

“... wonderfully imposing sounds.”
- David Lindauer, The Capital (2012)

As Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd
“As the evil Judge Turpin, David Salsbery Fry rolled out an unctuous bass sound and was especially good in the ‘Pretty Women’ duets ...”
- Harvey Steiman, The Aspen Times (2012)

As Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia
“David Salsbery Fry, as Bartolo’s co-conspirator Basilio, hits his low-bass notes with ease, while covering each note with a slimy veneer.”
- Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel (2012)

Charles Wuorinen’s “Never Again the Same”
“David Salsbery Fry sang it with a winning fluidity and some impressive sepulchral tones.”
- Allan Kozinn, The New York Times (2011)

“Bass David Salsbery Fry was an excellent witness, singing a challenging part in a way that made the challenge its least interesting aspect.”
- Matthew Guerrieri, NewMusicBox (2011)

As the Ogre in El gato con botas
“The kids adored the coming together of a huge, ugly six-piece Giant, voiced creditably and with fine diction by the bass David Salsbery Fry.”
- David Shengold, Opera (2011)

“David Salsbery Fry lent a properly fearful bass to the ogre.”
- Ron Cohen, Back Stage (2010)

As Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande
“Especially impressive was young Bass David Salsbery Fry as the old king, the most promising voice I’ve heard in the season.”
- Haggai Hitron, Haaretz (2009)

As Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni
“The voices? They’re all marvelous. That includes the frightening passages sung by bass David Salsbery Fry as The Commendatore. I think even Mozart aficionados who know this show backwards will agree he brings fresh life to such an iconic role.”
- Evans Donnell, The Tennessean (2008)

“... the darkly sonorous Commendatore of bass David Salsbery Fry.”
- Mark Thomas Ketterson, Opera News (2008)

As Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte
“The discovery of the evening: David Salsbery Fry. Incredible! A young guy, whom you cannot imagine as Sarastro until you hear what he has to offer vocally. Wow! Rich, deep voice, stirring and overwhelming. Truly remarkable and astounding.”
- Haaretz (2008)

“The American David Salsbery Fry, who graduated from Juilliard two years ago, was astounding with his deep voice and personal mature expression, which he brought to the role of Sarastro, the representative of enlightenment and wisdom.”
- Zvi Goren, Habama (2008)

As Zweiter Soldat in Salome
“There was good work from most of the large cast, particularly David Salsbery Fry’s Second Soldier ...”
- Sarah Bryan Miller, Musical America (2006)

As Der Kammersänger in Intermezzo
“The pals, played by student singers, distinguished themselves, especially Jonathan Taylor as Stroh (another conductor) and David Salsbery Fry as an opera singer. This scene played vividly, musically and dramatically, and a got a well-deserved ovation that cut into the ensuing intermezzo.”
- Harvey Steiman, The Aspen Times (2005)

As Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea
“As Polyphemus, bass David Fry threw marvelously wild tantrums, while plunging securely down in his range.”
- Joanne Sheehy Hoover, Albuquerque Journal (2003)

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