PRESS | Eric J. McConnell

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ERIC J. McCONNELL

BASS-BARITONE, STAGE ACTOR, & WRITER

PRESS

2024: Into the Woods (Union Avenue Opera)

"Eric McConnell is a delight as the swaggering wolf..."

-Ladue News
Full Review

"Another baritone – a bass-baritone – Eric McConnell, delivers another highlight performance as the Wolf, with a blend of seductive charm and menacing undertones. McConnell’s deep voice projects exceptionally well into the sanctuary and masterfully balances the Wolf’s allure and danger..."

-PopLifeSTL
Full Review

"Bass-baritone Eric McConnell turns in yet another (ahem) killer performance as the Wolf. His “Hello, Little Girl” is the ne plus ultra in creepy carnality."

-KDHX
Full Review

"Eric McConnell sings a splendid sly Wolf."

-Broadway World
Full Review

2024: Galaxy of Stars (Utah Festival Opera & MT)
"Then it was back to opera, with the highlights of the second half of the Galaxy of Stars program including Eric McConnell’s delicious comic rendition of 'Madamina' from Don Giovanni..."

-Cache Valley Daily
Full Review

2024: Little Shop of Horrors (Utah Festival Opera & MT)

"Orin Scrivello and various minor characters are played by Eric J. McConnell, who delivers a tour-de-force performance of the deranged dentist that is hilariously over-the-top. McConnell has a distinctive baritone that makes his song 'Dentist!' memorable as a sparkling clean performance. McConnell drills in the character with a booming evil villain laugh and spot-on dialect for a 50’s sci-fi flick."

-Utah Theatre Bloggers
Full Review

"Newcomer Eric J. McConnell appeared as the sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello, who is Seymour’s rival for Audrey’s misguided affections. In addition to manically channeling Steve Martin from the 'Little Shop of Horrors' movie, a thinly disguised McConnell plays a host of walk-on roles in this UFOMT stage production."

-Cache Valley Daily
Full Review

2024: Beauty and the Beast (Opera San Luis Obispo)

"...led by the hilariously insufferable Gaston, played by impressive vocalist and well-timed comic actor Eric McConnell, a character whose ego is somehow even bigger than his bulging muscles."

-SLO Review
Full Review

"Eric McConnell hopped on a plane and flew himself and his ringing baritone out from Denver, Colorado, to join the cast as everyone’s favorite playboy turned villain, Gaston."

-The Atascadero News
Full Review

2023: Ragtime (Union Avenue Opera)

"Eric J. McConnell sings Father. He, too, appeared in Night Music (as Count Carl Magnus), but his performance as Father could not be further from the ludicrously over-confident count. He does sensitive work, given that this text allows him to go only from Father-the-clueless to Father-the-simply-bad. Yet he nicely presents the “weird despair” that Doctorow describes him experiencing as Father’s world falls apart."

-Broadway World Full Review

"Eric J. McConnell excels as the rigidly focused Father."

-Ladue News Full Review

2023: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (Opera Saratoga)

"Equally hard-working is the bass baritone Eric McConnell who plays, in succession, eight members of a noble family lineage. He fully inhabits each role with an impressive range of voices plus plenty of camp."

-Albany Times Union Full Review

"The tour de force role of a single actor playing all eight victims is a challenge that Eric McConnell savors. He offers a number of broad portrayals that never fail to garner a laugh. He has a powerful voice and an impressive stage presence."

-The Saratogian
Full Review

2022: A Little Night Music (Union Avenue Opera)

"Eric J. McConnell sings the difficult comic "tin-soldier" role of Count Carl-Magnus. He captures the ludicrous melodrama of the count's raging jealousy. Lovely work!"

-Broadway World
Full Review

"Also terrific is Eric J McConnell, who is wonderful in his UAO debut."

-ReviewSTL
Full Review

"Speaking of projection, bass-baritone Eric J. McConnell has ample vocal power as the “pea-brained” Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, whose toxic masculinity is exceeded only by his lack of insight. "

-Stage Left St. Louis
Full Review

"Eric J. McConnell mines the comedy in the buffoonish character of the doltish, hypocritical Count."

-Ladue News
Full Review

"...along with particularly strong comic turns by McConnell as the boastful, possessive Carl-Magnus..."

-Snoop's Theatre Thoughts
Full Review

2022: Le nozze di Figaro (Virginia Opera)

"Roadblocks are erected by Marcellina (mezzo-soprano Whitney Robinson) who also longs for him, and her crony Bartolo (bass-baritone Eric J. McConnell). But these two, the consummate comics of the evening, turn out to be Figaro’s long-lost parents."

-The Virginian-PilotFull Review

"Bass-baritone Eric J. McConnell put a droll, animated spin on Bartolo’s every line."

-Opera News
Full Review

2021: Das Rheingold (Virginia Opera)

"Bass-baritone Eric J. McConnell as Donner, god of thunder, gave [a] fine performance, especially considering this was [his] first foray into the Ring."

-OperaGene
Full Review

2020: Stayin' Alive Fall Residency (Virginia Opera)

"McConnell, who in addition to a vibrant voice has significant acting chops, portrayed cheerful villainy in “La calunnia” from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville."

-DC Metro Theater Arts
Full Review

2017: The Tender Land (Northwestern Opera)

"Bass-baritone Eric McConnell sang sturdily as the overprotective Grandpa Moss."

-Chicago Tribune Full Review

2016: Roscoe (Albany Symphony Orchestra)

"Standouts included the fiercely accurate bass Eric McConnell as the bee-bopping Elisha."

-Albany Times Union Full Review

2015: Concert (Champaign-Urbana Symphony)

"One of the more familiar numbers of the Oratorio, the bass aria from Cantata No. 1, "Great Lord, O Mighty King," was stirringly sung by bass-baritone Eric J. McConnell."
-The News-Gazette Full Review

2015: Intelligent Systems (SoBe Arts Institute)

"This, too, is where the most notable solo singing comes in...McConnell was almost as strong acting-wise." -Palm Beach ArtsPaper Full Review

"Eric McConnell’s powerful bass-baritone was potently utilized."
Full Review

2013: Britten Scenes (Frost Opera Theater)

"McConnell’s booming bass-baritone dominated the Moot Hall scene from Britten’s 1945 masterpiece Peter Grimes, an interlude of bright merriment before the impending tragedy."
-South Florida Classical Review Full Review

The Wolf, Into the Woods (2024)

Madamina, from Don Giovanni (2024)

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Orin Scrivello (et al), Little Shop of Horrors (2024)

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Gaston, Beauty and the Beast (2024)

Father, Ragtime (2023)

The D'Ysquith Family, Gentleman's Guide (2023)

Carl-Magnus, A Little Night Music (2022)

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Bartolo, Le nozze di Figaro (2022)

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Donner, Das Rheingold (2021)

Grandpa Moss, The Tender Land (2017)

Basilio, Il barbiere di Siviglia (2015)

Simone, Gianni Schicchi (2015)

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