Catapult Opera – June 2025

Catapult Opera Unearths a 17th-century John the Baptist Oratorio
“Countertenor Randall Scotting exhibited a soft-grained, flexible timbre and a tall, butch presence as the prophetic saint.” – Musical America 

The head on a cake plate
“The title role, the Baptist, was taken by Randall Scotting, whose burly, booted and Stetsoned figure made an intriguing contrast to his smooth, ornate, beautifully schooled countertenor. I have seen Mr. Scotting on many occasions, and his musical style and dramatic gifts never fail to please.” – Parterre Box

Review: San Giovanni Battista
“Counter tenor Randall Scotting played the title character, John the Baptist, looking super sexy in his denim and boots Brokeback getup. He has a gorgeous, golden voice, unusually rich and warm for a counter tenor. He’s resolutely manly in his appearance, a burly guy with a rugged beard – a fascinating counterpart to him singing in such a high register.” – Divamensch

Review: San Giovanni Battista
“Randall Scotting, singing in a smooth, attractive countertenor as John, spent time imprisoned in a large, steamer trunk-like box but underscored the pathos of the Baptist’s finest moment, the serene ‘Io per me non cangerei’, in which he welcomed his tormented state.” – Opera / Opera News

Hudson Hall with RB Schlather, Director – May-June 2025

Review: As New York’s Opera Scene Empties, Another Rises Upstate
“The countertenor Randall Scotting, as Cesare, uses his agile voice to convey first authority, then vulnerability – New York Times

Review: Handel in Hudson
“commanding and expressive” – Berkshire Fine Arts

Pinchgut Opera, Sydney : Nov-Dec 2023

Swashbuckling and Epic Story Magically Brought to Life
“★★★★½ Pinchgut Opera brings the 18th-century imagination vividly to life with outstanding young voices, genial humour and exquisite musical discernment. Completing the quintet of principals was countertenor Randall Scotting as Almirena’s father, Goffredo, combining imposing presence and gentle voice. His singing was unforced, the lines emerging with elegant care.” – Sydney Morning Herald

Rinaldo | Review
“★★★★★ Each character is perfectly cast and offers a glorious voice and dramatic ability. Goffredo played with paternal geniality by US countertenor Randall Scotting. [He] shows his craft especially in his Act 3 aria Sorge nel petto… one of the best in Pinchgut’s portfolio of over 30 productions.” – Limelight

A streamlined, dramatic Rinaldo from Pinchgut
“★★★★ There were no weak links in the outstanding cast. Goffredo was sung by American countertenor Randall Scotting, who has a nicely sweet tone with power when needed… he produced rounded tone and a convincing portrayal of a father, as well as a leader.” – Bachtrack

It’s a knock out!
“★★★★★ Randall Scotting has a powerful physical presence on stage… His voice is sturdy and capable… The audience was riveted throughout the 3 hours… Rinaldo has got to be the very best Opera production in Sydney this year. Very highly recommended. Five stars is all I am allowed to give.” – Sydney Arts Guide

Pinchgut’s premiere of Handel’s Rinaldo sets a new benchmark for contemporary baroque opera
“Randall Scotting as Goffredo, the leader of the first crusade and father of Almirena, emanates nobility and dignity through effortless singing and serene demeanour that are very difficult to achieve.” – The Conversation

Pinchgut Opera’s Rinaldo
“In Handel’s Rinaldo, all the good guys are trebles. Goffredo, Almirena’s father, is sung by another countertenor: the American singer Randall Scotting. He has a gentle, elegant voice – perfect for Goffredo’s benevolent paternal presence – and an affable stage persona.” – The Saturday Paper

Seattle Opera, Seattle : OCT 2023

Alcina at Seattle Opera: captivating, flirtatious, sometimes weird
“Randall Scotting played Ruggiero as a splendid himbo, sporting beachy waves and an open shirt. His clear, warbling countertenor and playful acting made him a believable victim of enchantment.”  – Bachtrack

Six Characters in Search of Gender Identity
“As Alcina’s paramour Ruggiero, Randall Scotting made an excellent impression. He negotiated the difficult fioratura in Act One with assurance and remained consistent throughout the evening. His dramatic conflicts were relatable and convincing.” – Broadway World

Alcina at Seattle Opera | Live Review
“Scotting sang quite well… there is attractive beauty in his voice. Highs swell in classic operatic fashion, he has a genuine trill, and he knows how to embellish the ends of da capo arias.”  – Gramophone / Opera Now

Seattle Opera makes a rare foray into Baroque opera with Handel’s Alcina
“Randall Scotting exudes masculine bravado yet unveils unexpected vulnerability when reflecting on his predicament, forming a captivating juxtaposition.”  – Seen and Heard International

Alcina: Review
“Randall Scotting’s male alto was a big (by Handelian standards) voice that was very rich and full, even in the counter-tenor range.”  – British Theatre Guide

A 21st-century reboot: Seattle Opera’s gender-bent ‘Alcina’
“A 6-foot-3-inch Viking of a man, Randall Scotting undertook the powerful countertenor part of Ruggiero and filled out a cast of six wonderful singers.”  – Oregon Arts Watch

Staatsoper Hamburg, Hamburg : MAY-JUNE 2023

Success of Salvatore Sciarrino’s new opera
“Countertenor Randall Scotting brought an athletic body and luminous singing to his appropriately smug Adone.” – Opera actual

Subcutaneous sensuality
“The two main characters of the piece are a delight for the ears. They are cast with wonderfully strong, supple intonating singers: the countertenor Randall Scotting as Adone and the bass-baritone Evan Hughes as Monster.”  – Concerti

Masters of Timelessness
“In the end, deserved thunderous applause for an excellent and courageous production“… “The soprano Layla Claire (Venere) and the countertenor Randall Scotting (Adone) as well as Evan Hughes as the Monster master the tremendous demands that this music places on the singers with bravura. They create with great intensity and subtly crystallize the melodic qualities out of the sound fabric of Sciarrino’s music.” – Klassik

West Edge Opera, San Francisco : JUL-AUG 2021

Sex, Corruption, and Song at West Edge Opera’s Eliogabalo
“Eliogabalo has a splendid moment of hubris near the end, crowing about how he can do anything, enacted with glee by countertenor Randall Scotting.” – San Francisco Classical Voice

Seattle Opera, Seattle : APRIL 2021

Seattle’s Museum of Flight as Optimal for Jonathan Dove’s Opera Flight
“American countertenor Randall Scotting is marvelous as the Refugee, his plangent, rich-toned instrument possessing just the right degree of otherworldliness to suggest his mysterious origins and the complexities of his unique dilemma. He’s a compelling actor as well, which ensures that his final aria and its dramatic reveal (no spoilers) lands with due pathos.” – Musical America

Opera News review of Flight
“Randall Scotting’s cool, lovely countertenor was perfect when the Refugee sang in Act III of the cold he had endured as a wheel-well stowaway: voice and orchestra executed icy, downward glissandi as an upward shot placed him against the cold glass and steel of the museum rafters.” – Opera News

Flight at the museum: Seattle Opera’s new film imaginatively re-locates Jonathan Dove’s opera
“At the heart was Randall Scotting’s Refugee, singing with a warm, focused and fluid tone he projected a touching naivety which, as the play with the magic stones developed, you realised was a persona, there was a craftiness there too. Yet at the end, Scotting wrenched our heart muscles with the scene where he narrates how he got there and tragedy with his brother.” – Planet Hugill

Flight in the land of Boeing: Seattle Opera delivers Dove with panache
“Scotting has a lilt and a mellow smoothness to his countertenor voice that is particularly appealing, heartbreaking in the denouement scene where we learn the details of how the Refugee has come to be at the airport.” – Bachtrack

Infrequent flyers in unfamiliar skies
“In Seattle, the role is taken by burly, bearded Randall Scotting, familiar to New Yorkers for his Handel, Bostonians for his Gluck, whose creamy, muscular alto soars suavely high when he remembers the agonizing cold of his journey.” – Parterre Box

Livestream Chronicle
“The Refugee is portrayed by Randall Scotting, a countertenor from Colorado. There is not a weak link in the cast.” – New Criterion

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London : DEC 2019

La decontestualizzazione di Death in Venice
“Apollo è cantato brillantemente dal controtenore Randall Scotting.”  |tr| “Apollo is sung brilliantly by countertenor Randall Scotting.” – Le Salon Musical

“…Randall Scotting as an embodied Apollo.” – British Theatre Guide

Boston Baroque, Boston, MA : MARCH 2019

Boston Baroque’s Jephtha – The Fate of Youth
“Randall Scotting, as her amorous Hamor, dominated the proceedings whenever he let his magnificent countertenor loose.” – The Arts Fuse

“Countertenor Randall Scotting rang a bright and ardent Hamor.” – The Boston Musical Intelligencer

Christchurch Arts Festival, New Zealand : SEPT 2017

Oresteia: a tough but worthwhile listen
“Drawing it all together was the virtuosic skill of singer Randall Scotting who was absolutely amazing, commanding the stage for two long periods of demanding extremes. There can surely only be a handful of singers on the planet that can carry this off and with his strong physical presence he really was remarkable… But I keep coming back to Scotting and his vocal wizardry. Given that Oresteia is a piece that tests one’s tolerance at times and doesn’t make friends easily, Scotting’s performance on its own was well worth turning out for.” – Christchurch Mail

Courageous Challenging of Comfort Zones
“stunningly performed by countertenor Randall Scotting… his second aria reaffirmed the initial impact of an exceptionally powerful countertenor voice.” – Theatre Review

Company XIV, Brooklyn, NY : OCT 2016

Troy Revisited
“Scotting started out as Joan Sutherland with agile coloratura leaps through a Handel aria, then he stripped during a fan dance to Leonard Cohen’s ‘I’m Your Man.’ The level of multi-talent was high. After singing, and without putting on extra clothing, Scotting played the cello during the intermission. If Scotting had offered to fix my plumbing, I would have taken him up on it.” – Dance View Times

Superb Performers Sparkle in Company XIV’s PARIS
“Juno (Randall Scotting) has a more earthbound approach while commanding center stage gloriously singing the music of Handel. When performing Leonard Cohen’s I’m Your Man, the sexy chorus strips off Juno’s female garb down to the bare necessities. Yes, he’s indeed a man (dominatrix boots and all) and his countertenor prowess is breathtaking.” – by Broadway World

Company XIV’s ‘PARIS’ Is a Sexy, Beautiful, And Incredible Burlesque to Watch
“We were extremely impressed and in awe over the fact that they decided to cast the goddess Juno with Randall Scotting who was charismatic, funny, and just plain sexy. He was definitely a person to remember and watching him undress into thigh-high stiletto boots gave us our lives.” – The Knockturnal

Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY : June 2016

Review: Handel’s Rinaldo, With Period Brass in Good Repair
“Randall Scotting possessed a flexible, expressive countertenor as Rinaldo.” – The New York Times

A Garden of Baroque Delights
“Randall Scotting in the role of Rinaldo lent the aria ‘Cara sposa, amante cara’ an emotionality that burst out into the space and pushed against the ceiling. Imbuing it with the confidence of familiarity, he made it feel like a showpiece, as though we’ve been listening to it forever… Scotting showed that it was his night. He really excelled as Rinaldo.” – Allegri con Fuoco

A Long Night’s Journey Into Handel
“As the eponymous hero we had Randall Scotting whose instrument was the most sizable of the four–but never lacking in flexibility for the elaborate embellishments so beloved of Handel. Mr. Scotting sang Rinaldo’s lament ‘Cara sposa, amante cara’ with such great pathos and dynamic control that tears threatened to spring from our eyes.” – Voce di Meche

Odyssey Opera, Boston, MA : June 2016

Odyssey Opera’s “Ezio”: What Fortunate Disloyalty!
“Scotting was visually commanding (surely he never let his gym membership lapse) and audibly amazing, such a sweet high countertenor voice, winning the audience over even as he executed dastardly deeds.” – South Shore Critic

Da capo drama: Odyssey Opera rejuvenates Gluck’s Ezio
“Scotting towered over his fellow castmates as befits an emperor… his distinctive timbre and limpid, pliant voice stood him apart.” – Bachtrack

Gluck’s ‘Ezio’ kicks off Odyssey mini-fest
“Randall Scotting’s Valentiniano was a deftly drawn portrait of imperial hauteur.” – Boston Globe

Hobart Baroque Festival, Hobart, Australia : MARCH 2014

Opera review: Orlando (Glimmerglass Festival at Hobart Baroque)
“Randall Scotting’s Orlando is highly watchable. He delivers a most convincing and dramatic musical performance… his vocal choices are imaginative and always stylish – ‘Fammi combattere’ is terrifically decorated – and he grows in intensity as the evening progresses, delivering an excellent mad scene.” – Limelight Magazine

Opera Review, Handel: Orlando / Hobart Baroque Festival
“Scotting’s stage presence was excellent, being tall and well-built as well as assertive of personality. He has a nice open sound… impressive ringing high notes and resonant deep ones, and delivered some exciting cadenzas…” – Opera Brittania

Hobart Baroque 2014 – Music Events Taking Australia by Storm
“delivered in true virtuosic style… Scotting had both the power and presence to draw us in and hold us captive whenever he was on stage.” – The Culture Concept

A Pure Delight to Savour
“Randall Scotting’s Orlando was finely, intensely sung.” – Sydney Morning Herald

Hungary & Czechia : APRIL 2015

American countertenor Randall Scotting in Třeboň, South Bohemia
“Randall Scotting sang mainly Italian works by Vivaldi. His countertenor carried a round timbre and even tone, with a seamless connection to his lower register and a resonant chest voice. In the duet from Handel’s Giulio Cesare he showed virtuosic perfection, vocal proficiency, and a perfectly formed trill.” – Opera Plus