Living in the Body (Lori Laitman) - Recording Released Dec. 2019

Naxos

2020-01: "The name Vale Rideout is new to me, but this particular tenor’s expertise in Laitman’s Two William Carlos Williams Songs (1997, revised 2008 and 2017) is exceptional. The two songs provide a striking contrast, with the more serious first one ceding to a jazz-inflected successor."

                   - Colin Clarke, Fanfare

 

Rev. 23 (Julian Wachner/Cerise Jacobs) - World Premiere

Madame White Snake Projects, Boston

2017-10: "Tenor Vale Rideout as Hades had the best time in the hall; his voice easily carried over the amplification the best, both cutting and dramatic"

                   - Ian Wiese, Boston Music Intelligencer

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Rev. 23 (Julian Wachner/Cerise Jacobs) - World Premiere

Madame White Snake Projects, Boston

2017-10: "Hades was played with Mad Max aggressiveness by tenor Vale Rideout. His voice was potent and pliant. And one could not but admire his game tackling of the character’s inherent dramatic challenges – juggling thwarted erotic desire for Persephone, nimble intellectual counterweight to Lucifer’s mercurial temper, and an unstinting frustration at being made the lackey and subordinate in his own abode."

                   - Charles Geyer, myscena.org

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Orff's Carmina Burana

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

2017-06: "Tenor Vale Rideout was equally effective in his part, singing with a wonderfully full voice of the tortured swan, moving to various areas on the stage terrace in different phases of being cooked."

                   - Chantal Incandela, Nuvo.net

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Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Winston-Salem Symphony

2016-10: "Tenor Vale Rideout soared over the somewhat stodgy Turkish March section..."

                    - Peter Perret, Classical Voice of North Carolina

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Das Rheingold (Wagner)

North Carolina Opera

2016-09: "The woebegone Mime, brother of Alberich, was sung very nicely by Vale Rideout"

                    - Ken Hoover, Classical Voice of North Carolina

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Wuthering Heights (Floyd)

Florentine Opera Recording

2016-09: "Tenor Vale Rideout brings depth to the wan Edgard Linton."

                    - Rebecca Paller, Opera News

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Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Trinity Church Wall Street

2016-05: "Four excellent vocal soloists — the soprano Sarah Brailey, the mezzo-soprano Melissa Attebury, the tenor Vale Rideout and the bass-baritone Dashon Burton — sat in the first pew of the church until their moment came in the last movement, when they rose to face the audience, seated right before them, and sang splendidly."

                     - Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

 

Britten & Finzi Debut CD

ACIS

2016-04: "American tenor Vale Rideout offers gripping performances here of song cycles by two great 20th Century English composers. ... Now comes Rideout’s performance, and I find it more powerful than either of the others. His beautifully placed voice has substance and warmth; it is both vigorous and sweet... With absolutely lucid enunciation of words and strong feeling for the texts, his reading grabbed hold of me more than any I’ve heard... A real strength of his singing is a masterly management of dynamic contrasts.”

                    - R. Moore, American Record Guide

 

Missa Solemnis

Dallas Choral Festival

2016-1: "Vale Rideout’s tenor aptly balanced lyricism and heft.”

                    - Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News

 

Die Fledermaus, Alfred

New Orleans Opera

2015-11: "In his company debut as Alfred, Vale Rideout displayed a bright, clear tenor and was the effective clown that this role so requires."

                    - George Dansker, Opera News

 

Mendelssohn St. Paul

New York Choral Society

2015-2: "Tenor Vale Rideout, sensitively voiced and well-acted, reincarnates in several roles—acting as Saul’s counterpart in the martyred Stephen, healer Ananias, and companion Titus.”

                    - Emily Snyder, The Jewish Week, NY

 

La traviata, Alfredo

Eugene Opera

2014-1: "Vale Rideout makes an excellent partner for Ms. Partridge. His voice is mellifluous."

                    - Diana Barth, The Epoch Times

 

War Requiem (Britten)

Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington Chorus

2013-11: "The standout was the tenor, Vale Rideout, who joined emotional expression with intense singing."

                    - Anne Midgette, The Washington Post

 

Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Tenor (Britten)

Trinity Church, Britten Festival

2013-09: "In the Serenade the principals were the luminous tenor Vale Rideout and the horn player Danielle Kuhlmann, who played the French horn with a smooth, firm tone. She fearlessly leaned into the natural overtones called for in the part, allowing the raw, uncorrected notes to take shape in ways that were by turns rough and seductive.

The sound of Ms. Kuhlmann’s horn blended beautifully with Mr. Rideout’s voice, which has remarkable purity in the high range and is able to maintain a sleek polish across the dynamic range. With his excellent diction and natural, smooth-flowing delivery light on vibrato, he was an ideal match for Britten."

                    - Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, New York Times

 

Our Town (Rorem), Stage Manager

Central City Opera

2013-09: "Tenor Vale Rideout struck just the right feel as the Stage Manager, who is alternately a narrator, commentator and intercessor in the action.".

                    - Kyle MacMillan, Opera News

 

The Pearl Fishers (Bizet), Nadir

Hawaii Opera Theater

2012-02: "...tenor Vale Rideout (Nadir) had the tonal brilliance and power to steal the girl and the spotlight. Rideout was especially noteworthy."

                    - Ruth Bingham, Honolulu Star-Advertiser

 

Elmer Gantry - Recording, (Aldridge) NAXOS, Frank Shallard

Florentine Opera - Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

2011-12: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" - becomes about doubt and soul-searching in context. Vale Rideout uses his robust, characterful tenor to make this a passage of compelling complexity for his character, Frank Shallard."

                    - Joshua Rosenblum, Opera News

 

Rigoletto in concert, The Duke

The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra

2011-10: "Rideout was absolutely perfect, exuding all the confidence you’d expect from a shady duke, especially performing “Questa o quella,” and his signature aria “La donna e mobile.”"

                    - Roger LeLievre, annarbor.com

 

The Inspector (Musto), Tancredi

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts

June, 2011: “With his warm tone and smooth technique, Vale Rideout proved to be quite an elegant phrase-spinner as Tancredi; he revealed a knack for comic acting as well.”

                    - Tim Smith, Opera News

 

The Rape of Lucretia, Male Chorus

Castleton Opera/Cal Performances

March, 2011: “Tenor Vale Rideout stole the show, perhaps, in a bravura performance as the Male Chorus (the role written for Britten's partner and muse, Peter Pears).”

                    - Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

 

Carmina Burana - Recording, Tenor Soloist

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

Nov. 2010: "The soloists act out their parts splendidly--in the case of Vale Rideout, the tenor in the ultra-high "Roasted Swan" episode, almost too well. He never resorts to falsetto and winds up sounding like he's about to be murdered."

                    - Robert Levine, classicstoday.com

 

Rio de sangre (Davis), Igneo

Florentine Opera

October, 2010: “The standouts were Ava Pine and Vale Rideout as Blanca and Igneo, the young lovers; their radiant singing and beguiling characterizations left a deep and lasting impression”

                    - Gregory Berg, Opera News

 

Elmer Gantry (Aldridge), Frank Shallard

Florentine Opera

March, 2010: “Vale Rideout's honeyed tenor limned Frank Shallard's vocal journey gracefully”

                    - Mark Thomas Ketterson, Opera News

 

Don Giovanni, Don Ottavio

Palm Beach Opera

Feb, 2010: “Vale Rideout was a fine Don Ottavio, with a nice, creamy tenor that held up well and was heartfelt where it needed to be, in Dalla sua pace and Il mio tesoro.”

                    - Greg Stepanich, Palm Beach Post

 

The Turn of the Screw, Peter Quint

Boston Lyric Opera

Feb, 2010: “Most notable among the cast were soprano Emily Pulley and tenor Vale Rideout… Rideout in the role of the ghost Peter Quint, was equally mesmerizing. Though somewhat stilted in his acting, he made up for it vocally with a seductiveness that was both eerie and forceful, allowing him to make the most of the mono-dimensional yet disturbingly enticing character.”

                    - Tom Schnauber, Boston Music Intelligencer

 

La Traviata, Alfredo

Pacific Opera Victoria

Oct, 2009: “The tenor Vale Rideout's performance as Alfredo grows palpably in strength and nuance, both vocally and dramatically, from act to act.” 

                    - Kevin Bazzana, Times Colonist

 

Lucia di Lammermoor, Edgardo

Central City Opera

Sept, 2009: “Looking the Romantic Byronic loner to perfection, he acted ardently and was highly affecting in the final scene. A sensitive musician, he projected the text with superb clarity.”

                    - David Shengold, Opera News

 

Lucia di Lammermoor, Edgardo

Central City Opera

July, 2009: “Deserving particular kudos is tenor Vale Rideout, a former Central City apprentice who is back for his third summer with the company as a professional. He is making his debut in the role of Edgardo, Lucia's lover from a rival clan, and he could hardly be better suited to the role. He has the dashing looks and fiery intensity this character demands, as well as the appropriate vocal weight and agility. Expect other companies to be eager to engage Rideout for this part.”

                    - Kyle MacMillan, The Denver Post

 

The War Requiem

The New York Philharmonic

June, 2009: “The relatively modest episodes were the most successful here, largely because of the fine and moving work of the baritone, Ian Greenlaw, and especially the tenor, Vale Rideout. Although Mr. Greenlaw did not always project as well as Mr. Rideout, they were superbly expressive and balanced in the duet “So Abram rose,” backed by equally fine instrumental work.”

                    - James R. Oestreich, The New York Times

 

L’isola disabitata, Gernando

Gotham Chamber Opera

Feb, 2009: “Tenor Vale Rideout was a passionate Gernando, singing with bright, forward thrust and a fine messa di voce”

                    - Joanne Sydney Lessner, Opera News

 

Susannah, Sam Polk

Central City Opera

Jul, 2008: “Rounding out the principals is tenor Vale Rideout, who captures — both in his acting and singing — the homespun nature and elusive complexity of Sam Polk, Susannah's loving yet often drunken brother. Rideout brings an aptly folksy, understated vocal approach to the character."

                    - Kyle MacMillan, Denver Post

 

The Rape of Lucretia, Male Chorus

Central City Opera

June, 2008: “Special praise is reserved for the two remarkable chorus singers: up-and-coming tenor Vale Rideout and soprano Melina Pyron, who was so stunning in last summer's Saint of Bleecker Street in Central City. Vocally and dramatically, their contributions cannot be properly measured.”

                    - Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News

 

The Rape of Lucretia, Male Chorus

Central City Opera

June, 2008: “Vale Rideout and Melina Pyron, as the Male and Female Chorus, were invariably communicative and flexible in their rich mix of song, speech and everything between.”

                    - James R. Oestreich, The New York Times

 

Cendrillon, Le prince charmant

Central City Opera

Jul, 2007: “Vale Rideout was handsome and unexpectedly human as Prince Charming, singing with assurance. A highlight was his masterfully handled love duet in red with [Leah] Wool, sung under the approving gaze of [Heather] Buck.”

                    - Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News

 

Die Fledermaus, Alfred

San Francisco Opera

Oct, 2007: “Tenor Vale Rideout, also in a company debut, was an exuberant, clear-voiced Alfred.”

                    - Georgia Rowe, Opera News

 

Roméo et Juliette, Roméo

Opera Tampa

Dec, 2006: “Vale Rideout as Romeo delivered his rich and comforting tenor from the onset with a radiant "Ah! Leve-toi, soleil" ("Arise, o sun") aria, and kept vocally solid through his somber ode to death, "Salut, tombeau" ("Hail, gloomy tomb"), nearly three hours later.”

                    - Kurt Loft, Tampa Tribune

 

Messiah

Seattle Symphony

Dec, 2006: “Vale Rideout's lyrical sound and strong high notes were balanced by the drama and authority of Richard Zeller's powerful baritone.”

                    - Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times

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