Eine Florentinische Tragödie (Zemlinsky)
“Baritone Robert Mellon, in his first appearance with the company, was both the musical star of the performance and its dramatic vertex. As the merchant Simone, he delivered the role in robust, dark-hued tones that consistently rang out at the forefront of the musical texture. He made the character at once pitiable and profoundly dangerous, with a steely vocal edge that never interfered with the beauty and flexibility of his singing.” – San Francisco Chronicle
Die Zauberflöte
“Robert Mellon, as Papageno….His “Ein Mädchen” was colorful, vibrant and confident, while in “Papagena! Weibchen, Täubchen” his mahogany baritone was alternately ardent and antic.” – Opera News Nov. 2019
Cosi fan tutte
“The four lovers are manipulated by Don Alfonso, who seems to want only to prove his theory that all women are untrustworthy. The character is tailor-made for Mellon, who eschews the villainous stereotypes often associated with the role in favor of creating a robust prankster who delights in mischief. Mellon is funny as he weds his burly bass to physical comedy enhanced by extravagant facial expressions.” – Syracuse.com
“Robert Mellon, as Leporello, is a crowd favorite for his resonant voice and his physical humor.” – Syracuse.com
Le nozze di Figaro
“Robert Mellon’s excellent comic timing made Figaro a masterful mischief-maker. His flexible baritone suited this lighthearted interpretation.” – Opera News
“Where to begin? Probably with Figaro himself, sung by bass-baritone Robert Mellon. If he were not a world-class singer, he could make a career as a stand-up comic. His facial expressions as he tries desperately to explain events in the countess’ chamber are priceless, like his antics with Marcellina, sung by mezzo-soprano MaryAnn McCormick. He is perfectly cast.” – Maine Classical Beat
“Robert Mellon brought a good sense of comic timing to the title role, but also used his solo turns – his angry, scheming cavatina, “Se vuol ballare,” his comic set piece, “Non più andrai,” and his momentarily heartbroken “Aprite un po quegli occhi” – to make Figaro a more three-dimensional character.” – The Portland Press Herald
The Magic Flute
“But it is Robert Mellon as Papageno, Tamino’s sidekick, who steals the show with his comedic timing and strong voice.” – The Sullivan County Democrat
The Trial (Glass)
“Robert Mellon displayed a domineering baritone, gleaming like polished copper, best employed as the Priest, whose delivery of the cryptic “Before the Law” parable was furiously barked and howled against Glass’s grotesque glories.” – Opera News, August 2017
“Mellon presents with stunning finality the absurdity of K.’s situation as the Priest in the opera’s climactic cathedral scene.” – Jay Harvey Upstage Blog
“Blue and Mellon have remarkable vocal and comic gifts…Robert Mellon later does beautiful work as a priest who, in the evening’s longest “aria,” tells a puzzling parable to Josef.” – Broadway World
“Robert Mellon also shines as the priest who sings the opera’s only aria, a rendition of Kafka’s parable ‘Before the Law.’” – Playback St. Louis
The House Taken Over (Mendonça)
“The performers’ realization of Mendonça’s difficult music, under the leadership of Etienne Siebens, was beyond reproach. Both singers coped heroically with the spiky vocal lines. Robert Mellon’s dark, rounded baritone provided an element of sensual pleasure in a piece that offered few of its own.” – Opera News
“Mellon, with considerable experience performing new music, exhibited a robust, rich baritone, and was facially expressive…” – newopera.net
Cosi fan tutte
“The brutality of his baritone that reverberated forcefully in this little space lent his Don Alfonso an air of the embittered older man who has a bone to pick not only with the opposite sex but also with the young and naive. He embodied Don Alfonso’s foibles with a masculine wrath and rage, almost like an Old Testament God pulling the strings of his latest human subjects. Mellon’s Don Alfonso was the charismatic glue of the evening. Anytime he was on stage, he kept the pace of the story humming right along, never compromising the fun even of the recitatives, with his fully articulated Italian pronunciation. He was like an old pro up there.” – Allegriconfuoco.com
Macbeth (Ernest Bloch)
“Robert Mellon, a young alumnus, sang the title role with a dark baritone, full and fresh and quick with dramatic fire.” – Parterre.com
“As Macbeth, a long and demanding role, the baritone Robert Mellon, combined a husky voice with dramatic subtlety.” – The New York Times
“As Macbeth, baritone Robert Mellon warmed to a large, shapely tone, filling the hall with often excruciating beauty.” – www.berkshirefinearts.com
