Tenor Sam Furness made his house and role debut at the Opernhaus Zürich on 22 September as Albert Gregor in Janacek's The Makropulos Case. He has received excellent reviews for his portrayal of this difficult role:
The rest of the cast, too, is absolutely exquisite. It is a hand-picked ensemble, from which the tenor Sam Furness as Albert Gregor and baritone Scott Hendricks as Jaroslav Prus … stand out. But it has to be said, rarely does one see an ensemble in which all eleven singers are so utterly convincing.
Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 22 September 2019
All the singers were very good vocally and theatrically. Tenor Sam Furness was outstanding as Albert Gregor, credibly embodying the tempestuous young man with a bright tenor…
John H Mueller, OnlineMerker, 23 September 2019
The male roles were also superbly cast, notably with Sam Furness and his nuanced tenor voice in the role of Albert Gregor...
Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 23 September 2019
… Albert, sung with warmth and beauty of voice by Sam Furness ...
Anna Kardos, Tagblatt, 24 September 2019
Sam Furness plays the nervous and infatuated Albert Gregor, singing and playing the role convincingly.
Das Opernmagazin, 24 September 2019
Last season Sam made an impressive debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as the Novice Billy Budd before returning for an equally impressive run as the Simpleton Boris Godunov. This season he returns to the Royal Opera House for roles in Britten's Death in Venice and Gerald Barry's Alice's Adventures Under Ground, before making his house debut at L'Opera di Roma as Kudryas in Katya Kabanova.
The Makropulos Case runs until 22 October at the Opernhaus Zürich, with tickets available from their website.
