James Way

“It was set alight here in the very first aria by the tenor James Way, whose delivery, combining animation and nuance, is that of a true Handelian”

“Dulcet on top and baritonal in his lower regions, tenor soloist James Way, almost telepathically connected everyone in the house with the Word via Jennens. He somehow wove convincing speech patterns into his recitatives and arias through his gifted articulations. He kept us rapt, moved us with eloquent turns of phrase, and told a much-loved story with a disarming simplicity”

“The young tenor James Way ... in turn tender, hushed and valiant”

“Tenor James Way offered bravura passagework in a defiant and crisp ‘Thou Shalt Break Them’, and ... impressive mesa di voce in ‘Comfort ye’.”

“Deliciously sung by James Way, the first aria ‘Ev’ry valley shall be exalted’ perfectly combines power and vocal transparency, with ... intimate pianissimo. The aria ‘Thou shalt break them’ demonstrates stunning vocal precision, and the duet with counter-tenor ‘O death, where is thy sting’ ... presents subtle and elegant phrasing.”

“With a natural command of the stage, James Way, a tenor with a delicate voice, was a consistent scene stealer. As the auctioneer Sellem in “The Rake’s Progress,” his mania was skillfully vaudevillian; similarly eccentric were his Noël Coward-esque segments of “Façade.” When he returned, in the final concert, in Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella,” his voice was lush and nimble, balancing the sound worlds of 18th-century Pergolesi and 20th-century neoclassicism.”

“Of the cast we heard I would say she has picked three knockout performers... James Way as Sellem gave the auction scene more snap, crackle and pop than anyone else achieved.”

“...the humour and wit of the tenor James Way in Stravinsky’s delicious Cubist-Italian-Baroque ballet Pulcinella was especially winning.”

“It was the tenor James Way who took the breath away, however, with his immaculate tonal control and the astonishing maturity of his musicianship.”

“Tenor James Way sang with a remarkably strong virile tone, but used a nice flexibility too. His opening recitative was vivid and this continued into ‘Now vanish before the holy beams’, and on the Fourth Day Way’s ‘Let there be lights’ recitative was similarly word based, the colour and details of his performance reflected in the atmospheric orchestral contributions. His final aria, ‘In native worth’ was full of virile phrasing and relish for the words”

“James Way sang most musically as Jupiter...already his tenor has a darkness of colour in the lower register that suggests a Samson or a Jeptha might eventually be in his future. His ‘Where’er you walk’, sung in long legato lines and with immaculate diction, was a genuine highlight...hardcore Handelians couldn’t really complain given the vocal riches showered on us by Alder and Way”

“James Way, still an OAE Rising Star, is young as Jupiters go, but rattling off virtuoso semiquavers, he displayed an astonishingly assured technique. He is also blessed with a full-bodied, attractive tone, deployed to superbly expressive effect in Where’er You Walk. His distress at losing Semele was no less affecting”

“James Way’s Jupiter exuded melodious warmth”

“James Way a vocally chiselled Jupiter”

“James Way, an OAE Rising Star, was also excellent as Jupiter, revealing an exceptionally smooth and well-shaped tenor that sounded light and yet also projected well.”

“What really lifted the performance was the contribution of the two young soloists as Evangelist and Christus. Tenor James Way is still studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but his performance as Evangelist gave no sense of still being in the process of study. It was a confident and finely dramatic account, full of subtlety and rich drama. Way has a bright toned lyric tenor with an interesting depth to the tone, and he showed a lovely freedom in the high-lying line. The Evangelist is a big sing, and Way’s pacing was impressive so the end had all the virtues of the beginning. His projection of the words was strong, and he brought out the nuances of individual moments. Clearly Way will develop as an artist, but his Evangelist is already very impressive and finely moving.”

“James Way’s poised, intense performance of Um Mitternacht (from Ullmann’s Geistliche Lieder), a song that points to the grave beauty of the final quartet of Der Kaiser von Atlantis.”

“...a lied by Viktor Ullman (1898-1943) persuasively presented by clarion tenor, James Way... ”

“James Way and Adam Sullivan are young tenors to watch: the former brought an artless vocal beauty to the mystic text of Francis Quarles in Canticle I ”

“Canticle I is for tenor and piano, and sets Francis Quarles’ My Beloved Mine. James Way was a strong tenor, capable of superb melismas, a trait so crucial to fine Britten singing”

“James Way’s Holy Fool wept and keened with the violas and oboes over the cries of the starving people”

“Effortlessly clear in diction and bright in tone was the other tenor James Way whose beautiful singing as the Holy Fool perfectly underlined the innocence that both Shuysky and Boris lacked”

“ tenor James Way showed promise and style as a bewitched sailor”

“Tenor James Way’s delivery of the folk ballad was ravishing”

“...the on-stage ballad, sensitively sung by former King’s College [London] choral scholar, James Way”

“...and he [James Way] sang the ghost story both beautifully and compellingly”

“The excellent James Way insinuates this story into Owen’s ear like Quint seducing Miles”

“Tenor James Way had the latter [Lyrical Power] in plenty; ... his beautifully shaped melody complemented by the crystalline strains of off-stage choristers.”

“...the solo sung so perfectly by James Way”