Caiaphas
Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s Jesus Christ Superstar:
“Marcus Nance booms with a thrillingly powerful bass baritone as Caiaphas.”
New York Times
“No matter what he was saying, Marcus Nance’s rich dark bass was a constant pleasure.”
Tri-Cities Weekly
“Marcus Nance, a Caiaphas who sounds thrilling basso notes beneath what might have been thought humanly possible.”
National Post
Herald
Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s Camelot:
“A brief song by Marcus Nance exhibited a most amazing voice.”
Ontario Arts Review
Marcus Nance: The Voice Next Door (Debut CD):
“Fans of cabaret jazz or musical theatre have hit the motherlode here; Nance’s deep bass brings a unique flavour to these oft-heard classics… His remarkable voice transports you to an elegant evening of cabaret and sophistication. This is a truly talented artist well worth hearing.”
FAB Magazine
“It is rare to hear a voice like Marcus Nance’s… deep as the ocean one moment and soaring with pure, emotional height the next. It is gorgeously refreshing, dazzlingly impressive and makes me long for the days when such lush voices were not such an anomaly on broadway.”
twisitheatreblog.com
Tapestry New Opera Works and Luminato’s Dark Star Requiem:
“Bass baritone, Marcus Nance’s mellifluous voice lent the proper gravitas to anchor the quartet.”
La Scena Musicale
Beast/Prince
The Grand Theatre’s Beauty and the Beast:
“Marcus Nance blew the audience away. His voice reflected the beast’s torture and torment…Nance’s powerful acting likely inspired the most emotion from the audience…”
The Gazette (London, Ontario)
“… Nance’s vocal styling as the Beast can only be described as powerful. It is Nance’s voice that evokes the most emotion… truly commanding and tortured: the perfect Beast…”
Fanshawe Press (London, Ontario)
“Karen Coughlin as Belle and Marcus Nance as the Beast bring believability to the fairy tale. Their strong voices are captivating as they fill the theatre with song.”
London Free Press (Ontario)
Malcolm
Tapestry New Opera Works World Premiere of Atom Egoyan’s Elsewhereless:
(Dora Award nominee Best Actor)
“Bass Marcus Nance is utterly convincing as Malcolm, both in his youthful innocence and his subsequent disillusionment.”
Opera Now (United Kingdom)
“Marcus Nance practically carries the production with a rich powerful bass tone and a genuinely moving expression both vocally and facially.”
Musicworks Magazine (Toronto)
“Nance’s rich voice and strong stage presence made the bass-baritone a convincing Malcolm.”
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
“Marcus Nance has infused his performance with texture, incorporating the hard obsessive scars left by the cruel colonial environment in which he has grown.”
Eye Magazine (Toronto)
Queequeg
Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s Moby Dick:
“… Marcus Nance provided an impressive mix of eye-popping physique and a body language that commanded the stage with every appearance.”
Tri Cities-Echo Weekly (Guelph)
“(As) Queequeg, Marcus Nance (is) both fearsome and endearing.”
The National Post (Canada)
Olin Brit
Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s The Music Man:
“There’s the wonderful barbershop quartet of Jonathan Monro, Shawn Wright, Laird Mackintosh, and Marcus Nance- each a major talent in their own right who combine into one perfect unit of comedy and music.”
The Toronto Star
“The barbershop quartet (particularly the steady bass foundation of Marcus Nance) delivered their up-close-and-personal harmonies and modulations with conviction and flair.”
Tri Cities-Echo Weekly (Guelph)
The Rt. Rev. J.D. Montgomery
Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s My One and Only:
“Making his Stratford debut, Marcus Nance as the Rt. Rev. J.D. Montgomery, showed real comic and vocal gifts.”
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
“ Marcus Nance gave a preaching performance. His deep smooth voice was a definite testament to un-necessity of mics.”
Lucidforge.com (Canadian Arts and Entertainment Magazine)
Starbright Festival’s The Heart of Broadway in Sarnia:
“ Marcus Nance’s performance of ‘Old Man River’ mesmerized the audience. With the theatre filled with patrons of all ages, Nance manages to silence all chatter and shuffling with his beautiful voice and emotional attachment to the lyrics.”
Lambtonpride.com
Beast/Prince
Western Canadian Theatre’s Beauty and the Beast:
“Nance as beast/prince, simultaneously loved and feared, powerfully projects the duality of his role.”
The Daily News (Kamloops, British Columbia)
Malcolm
Vancouver New Music’s Elsewhereless:
“In the hands of Toronto bass-baritone Marcus Nance, Malcolm emerges as the one memorable character in the show. Nance’s deep resonant voice gives the character a commanding presence but his performance also reveals the pain and vulnerability of a man stuck in limbo.”
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
“The singers were good especially Marcus Nance’s deeply resonant bass-baritone.”
The Vancouver Sun
Porgy
Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Excerpts of Porgy and Bess:
“Denise Williams and Marcus Nance singing ‘Bess You is My Woman Now’ was to die for.”
CBC Radio Metro Morning
Ottawa Jazz Orchestra’s Voices in a Strange Land (National Arts Centre):
“What the audience gave its greatest ovation to was a controlled and heartfelt performance by Nance… he made you feel the deep sadness and resilience in the music and lyrics with his bass baritone beautifully caressing the melody…”
All About Jazz.com
Malcolm
The National Arts Centre’s Elsewhereless:
“ As Malcolm, Marcus Nance gave an astonishing performance, changing from the
inarticulate (because of language not intelligence) servant to the one betrayed,
exacting a horrifying revenge.”
ncos.ca (National Capital Opera Society Ottawa)
Reporter
Shaw Festival of Canada’s Floyd Collins:
“As the three reporter’s, Andrew Kushnir, Marcus Nance and Sam Strasfeld stop the show in ‘Is That Remarkable? With their intricate three-part harmony, their precise synchronous moves and crisp rapid delivery.”
Stagedoor.com
Sparafucile
Tacoma Opera’s Rigoletto:
“As I witness [various cast members] and Marcus Nance- the assassin, Sparafucile throw out a hand as he brings forth his sonorous, earthquake of a voice, I try to count the times in my life that I have been aware of standing in the presence of greatness.”
Tacoma Reporter (Washington)
“Marcus Nance’s clear delivery was perfectly menacing yet seductive.”
The News Tribune (Washington)
Basilio
Monterey Opera Association’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia:
“To the pleasure of many basso Marcus Nance set the highest standards of the entire performance, vocally and theatrically.”
The Coast Weekly (Monterey, California)
Reverend Moses
Queen of Puddings Music Theatre’s Beatrice Chancy:
“… glorious voices and heartfelt performances carry [Beatrice Chancy]. Marcus Nance as the black-coated charismatic preacher Moses, is equal parts grace and fire.”
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Compere
Chicago Opera Theatre’s Four Saints in Three Acts:
“Bass-baritone Marcus Nance has an unusual knack for projecting his magnetic personality into his character. He was extremely effective in complementing his voice with such a pleasant personality as the voice sparkled with an infectious grace.”
The Chicago Defender
Ali
Ash-Lawn Highland Music Festival’s L’Italiana in Algeri:
“Bass-baritone Marcus Nance was a resounding Ali, taking charge of his scenes… He has a solid vocal technique and a strong stage presence, which make him a memorable performer.”
The Charlottesville Daily Progress (Virginia)
Zuniga
Pacific Opera Victoria’s Carmen:
“While bass-baritones often have trouble reaching the back of the hall with their low notes, Marcus Nance’s Zuniga filled the Royal with delightful rumbling.”
Monday Magazine (Victoria, British Columbia)
Pistola
Chautauqua Opera’s Falstaff:
“Pistola was solidly sung and amusingly acted by Marcus Nance. He added considerably to the fun.”
The Chautauquan Daily (New York)
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