Robert Burt was born in London and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since graduating his career has taken him to opera houses and concert halls around the world. He is most associated with the role of Iro in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria which he has sung for Chicago Opera Theater‚ Opera North‚ Deutsche Oper am Rhein‚ Geneva Opera‚ Teatro Real de Madrid, the Aix-en-Provence Festival and a pan-European and North American tour of a semi-staging with Sir John Eliot Gardiner. He has filmed the role twice for DVD‚ conducted by William Christie and recorded it for Gardiner on CD. Christie has also conducted him in Cesti’s Il Tito (Opera National du Rhin), Purcell’s The Fairy Queen at The Glyndebourne Festival (filmed for DVD and cinema release in Jonathan Kent’s production) and as Arnalta in the Teatro Real De Madrid production of L’Incoronazione di Poppea (filmed for DVD).
Recent and future plans include the world premiere Jonathan Dove's Itch (Opera Holland Park), Menashe Mamzer Bastard (world premiere) and Dancing Master Manon Lescaut (Royal Opera House‚ Covent Garden and on DVD)‚ Pirelli Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival and the Adelphi Theatre‚ London)‚ Snout A Midsummer Night's Dream (Rouen, Genoa and Muscat), Apollo Orfeo and Secondo Soldato L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Monteverdi Choir with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, World Tour)‚ Mopsa & Flute The Fairy Queen (Glyndebourne Festival under Laurence Cummings)‚ Peachum The Beggars Opera (William Christie, Les Arts Florissants and Thèâtre Des Bouffes du Nord)‚ Arnalta L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Montpellier)‚ Beadle Bamford Sweeney Todd and Zirkusdirektor/Principal The Bartered Bride (Bruid Te Koop) (Nederlandse Reisopera)‚ Dr Blind Die Fledermaus‚ Red Queen Alice in Wonderland (released on CD)‚ Abbé de Chazeuil Adriana Lecouvrer‚ Goro Madama Butterfly and Biaso I Gioielli della Madonna (Opera Holland Park) and Mr Fiorentino Street Scene (The Opera Group in London‚ Théâtre du Châtelet‚ Paris and Teatro del Liceu‚ Barcelona).
Further engagements include Federico L’amico Fritz (Opera Holland Park)‚ Evangelist in a fully staged St. John Passion (Nationale Reisopera)‚ Kittywake/ Landlord Ludd & Isis (Royal Opera House Production Park)‚ Mopsa/Flute The Fairy Queen at the Opera Comique in Paris‚ Caen and B.A.M. in New York with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants; King Bobeche Bluebeard at Grange Park‚ Snout A Midsummer Night’s Dream for ENO‚ L’Incredibile Andrea Chenier‚ Fiorello Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Hadji Lakme at Opera Holland Park‚ Ximenez in David Pountney’s Opera North production of Kurt Weill’s Arms and the Cow‚ and the world premieres of both Family Matters for Tête à Tête Opera and Stephen Barlow’s King - a Cathedral Opera‚ as Henry II‚ in Canterbury Cathedral.
Other operatic roles include Monostatos Magic Flute for Opera 80 and 1st Armed Man in Parma‚ Ferrara and the QEH with Gardiner; Tanzmeister/Scaramuccio Ariadne auf Naxos for ETO and at Broomhill in Jonathan Miller’s production; Goro Madama Butterfly with both the RLPO and Mid- Wales Opera. With MWO he sang Dancairo Carmen and has also performed the role of Remendado at the Bermuda Festival. On several occasions he has portrayed women‚ three of which were in works by Cavalli; Flerida in L’Erismena for Opera Theatre Company‚ Ireland‚ Atrea Pompeo Magno at the Varazdin Baroque Festival in Croatia and‚ Delfa Giasone at the Iford Festival with the Early Opera Company. As well as these‚ he portrayed Bragherona in Gassmann’s L’Opera Seria for the Nationale Reisopera to whom he returned to sing Bob Boles in Peter Grimes‚ Kevin in the world premiere of Snow White and The Queen of England in another world premiere of Hôtel de Pékin by Willem Jeths (later recorded at Het Concertgebouw for CD release).
In recent years Robert has found himself in demand as an actor. Having been a member of Sir Trevor Nunn’s National Theatre Ensemble in 1999/2000 on Candide‚ Troilus & Cressida‚ Money, Summerfolk and completing three Winter seasons at the RSC playing the role of Father Christmas in their adaptation of The Lion‚ The Witch And The Wardrobe he returned to Stratford in 2007 for the Complete Works Festival in Merry Wives‚ The Musical as The Host of the Garter Inn‚ understudying Simon Callow as Falstaff.
Robert Burt played the owner of the local tin mine, now a heritage experience, and his character benefitted from a solo where he lamented the way his grandfather's mine had gone along with the lifestyle around it. That is part of this opera's charm, Dove and Middleton manage to mix a great deal in and it never feels indigestible. Burt returned as Flowerdew's sidekick, Kinch. Again a small role, but a key one particularly in a stand-out scene in Act Two where Kinch's monologue considering what he will do with his winnings where he fantasises about a bar on the Island of Mustique leads into a terrific fantasy sequence for Burt and Garratt as the two villains get high on the Xenon gas that Itch has let loose in the car.
Robert Burt was the bluff Bob Evert, owner of the tin mine, who got a wonderful moment where Evert laments the decline of the mine from functioning entity to visitor experience. And Burt then reappeared as the delightfully thuggish Kinch, sidekick to Nicholas Garrett’s Nathaniel Flowerdew.
Robert Burt echoed Bottone’s ability to create two completely different characters in one night as Bob Evert (the owner of the local tin mine) and the rather gruffer Kinch.
Robert Burt was the bluff Bob Evert, owner of the tin mine, who got a wonderful moment where Evert laments the decline of the mine from functioning entity to visitor experience. And Burt then reappeared as the delightfully thuggish Kinch
Chaque membre de la troupe des « artisans » serait à citer, pour le parfait équilibre qu’ils obtiennent tous entre respect de la partition, dynamisme scénique… et humour décapant lors de la représentation de leur « farce tragique » au dernier acte. Bravo, donc..... à l’inénarrable « Mur » de Robert Burt...
Each member of the “artisans” troupe should be mentioned, for the perfect balance they all achieve between respect for the score, scenic dynamism… and caustic humor during the performance of their “tragic farce” in the last act. Congratulations, therefore..... to the indescribable "Wall" by Robert Burt...
Tous les artisans font preuve d’une aisance scénique, voire vocale, remarquée et à la grande joie du public, dont de nombreux jeunes présents qui n’hésitent pas à rire à gorge déployée à toutes leurs facéties et leurs extravagances... Le ténor de caractère Robert Burt campe Snout qui se transforme dans la pièce jouée en un mur parlant qui défie la gravité et sépare les amants voués au trépas
All the craftsmen show a scenic, even vocal, ease, noticed and to the great joy of the public, including many young people present who do not hesitate to laugh out loud at all their antics and extravagances... The character tenor Robert Burt plays Snout who transforms in the play into a talking wall that defies gravity and separates the lovers doomed to death
Kraig Thornber incarne un Lockit merveilleux en chef de police véreux‚ s’enfilant des lignes de coke à l’envi avant de filer aux trousses de Mr Peachum. Celui-ci est incarné par un Robert Burt plein de verve en chef de meute‚ d’une énergie fantastique‚ avec un timbre superbe et une projection divine. La mise en scène parvient merveilleusement à faire douter de qui est le plus pourri des deux… /// Kraig Thornber embodies a marvelous Lockit as a crooked police chief‚ shoving coke lines at will before heading to Mr Peachum’s heels. This one is embodied by a Robert Burt‚ a full of verve pack leader‚ a fantastic energy‚ with a superb tone and divine projection. The staging marvellously manages to cast doubt on who is the most rotten of the two...
Burt’s acting and singing are both flawless and one cannot help noticing a strong resemblance between the appearance and tone of his character and the stereotypical image of a wealthy and immoral bourgeois of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The performers were generally trained in music theatre...An exception to this‚ and also a performer with wide operatic experience‚ was the tenor Robert Burt. Remembered happily from last year’s Monteverdi cycle‚ he is an excellent character actor‚ and properly dominated the opening scenes as Peachum.
Robert Burt carried authority as a suited fixer Peachum‚ sharing lines of cocaine with Kraig Thornber’s oily policeman Lockit as both get their just desserts.
However‚ the show belonged to Robert Burt’s larger-than-life Peachum‚ who owned the stage every time he walked on and whose character seemed to expand to inhabit the space.
Le plus à l’aise est le rond Peachum (Robert Burt) au timbre de beau baryton.
Mr. Peachum dispose du beau timbre clair de Robert Burt...///Mr. Peachum has the beautiful‚ clear tone of Robert Burt...
Chaque rôle est parfaitement distribué. Peachum est campé par un Robert Burt...
...and the tenor Robert Burt offered a focused portrayal of her second husband‚ Manashe.
...Robert Burt and Anna Dennis each shone in multiple contributions.
And then we come to the overweight Falstaff here‚ Robert Burt.‚ He does have the funniest line in this play‚ when shepherd Francisco Fernández-Rueda warbles on about the joys of his pastoral animals.
“I‚” says the ravenous Mr. Burt‚ “eat your companions.”
He also has that overlong (but still entrancing) monologue about his woes‚ which could have come directly from Merry Wives of Windsor. It was a showpiece‚ to be sure‚ but a delightful one
Iro‚ the gluttonous servant of the suitors‚ was amusingly sung by Robert Burt‚ who taunted the shepherd Eumete with sheep impersonations; later his challenge to fight Ulisse confirmed him as a braggart.
The staging and music came together best for Iro’s mock lament... He hid himself in the orchestra to escape the suitors’ fates and groaned out the first notes of his lament from there. As he did‚ the lights in the Felsenreitschule turned red in an overdone parody tragedy. This matched the music: overly long notes and extreme weeping effects‚ delivered by Robert Burt in a coarse‚ nasal character tenor. His desperate search for sympathy took him to the harpist‚ who repulsed him in annoyance. Finally‚ he resigned himself to death and slunk away.
Just as much thought and care has gone into the smaller roles. Robert Burt makes a real tour de force of Irus’s parody lament aria in the final act;
And so on: the 16 soloists‚ five of them doubling roles‚ were all vivid creations. Robert Burt did a virtuoso act as the drunken gluttonous coward Iro...
Rick Fisher’s chiaroscuro lighting evokes the dramatic painted canvases of the era‚ while the rub of high emotion with low comedy is deliciously done. Every yearning sigh of desperate love is balanced with a belch‚ every tender expression of affection echoed by a lustful lunge and a fumbled zip. Robert Burt’s hungry‚ larger-than-life Iro even jostles with the instrumentalists arranged‚ tableau-like‚ either side of the stage: annoying the harpist‚ tapping a chitarrone‚ weeping on the conductor.
Iro can be a problem on disc. The vocal burlesque and caricature needed to propel the glutton’s scenes on stage can jar in the inevitably music-privileging context of a recording. There’s plenty of the grotesque to Robert Burt’s performance. Wheedling, whining and storming his way through his Act 3 lament, he’s an uncompromising figure, but never less (or more) than human – pitiable, rather than horrifying even at his blustering extremes.
Robert Burt brought a lovely pompousness to Dr Blind.
Robert Burt’s Queen of Hearts - all heaving indignation and histrionic solipsism - corpulently real
There is not a weak link in the cast‚ in terms either of singing or acting...Robert Burt’s Queen of Hearts‚ while larger than life‚ is a cut above the typical pantomime dame
Director Laurence Dale evidently worked extensively on characterisation with the soloists...Robert Burt was inflection- and gesture-perfect as the abhorrent marriage broker‚ Goro
Kleine maar uitstekende bijdragen waren er van Ruth Willemse (Kate Pinkerton)‚ Robert Burt (Goro)‚ Peter Brathwaite (Yamadori) en Vitali Rozynko (Il Commissario Imperiale) /// Small but outstanding contributions were received from Ruth Willemse (Kate Pinkerton)‚ Robert Burt (Goro)‚ Peter Brathwaite (Yamadori) and Vitali Rozynko (Il Commissario Imperiale)
Among the individual performances...Robert Burt generated a storm of synthetic ‚bustling outrage as the Red Queen – very much a sister to Miss Trunchbull
Robert Burt was the cynical and scheming Abbé de Chazeuil
...one of the joys of this performance. So was Richard Burt as the Abbé de Chazeuil — his slightly camp stage presence was a source of continual amusement‚ and his attempts to rearrange the flowers were a hoot
Simon Wilding and Robert Burt excel as the Prince de Bouillon and Abbé respectively
Simon Wilding and Robert Burt make an entertaining Prince and Abbé
More roundedly written are l’Abbé de Chazeuil (the ever-dependable Robert Burt)
I very much enjoyed the Queen of Hearts’ song giving a brief history of beheading...The transformation of Alice’s affectionate but slightly frazzled parents into the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter‚ equally well acted and sung in each role‚ is a nice take on more traditional doubled roles in older operas
A special plaudit goes to soprano Fflur Wyn‚ who embodies innocent and playful Alice‚ and to Robert Burt‚ who plays both Alice’s father and the Red Queen. Both their voices combine perfectly with their facial and bodily expressions‚ turning them into the most expressive characters
Each eccentric character is brilliantly realised...and Robert Burt is pure caricature as the Red Queen lending her a fierce but delightful theatricality
The star of the performance was the Evangelist‚ played by Robert Burt. He lived the story as he told it‚ breaking down as Jesus is chastised and seeking refuge with Mary as they weep over him. This light‚ pleasant tenor is a narrator through and through
The evangelist (gripping Robert Burt) is a chronicler - journalist - writer behind a desk with a few books
Tenor Robert Burt raakte aan de uiterste grenzen van zijn expressiviteit‚ verend tussen schrille uitroepen en fluisterzachte verzuchtingen /// Tenor Robert Burt touched the borders of its expressiveness‚ cushioned between shrill cry and whisper soft sighs. His huge commitment‚ both vocally and scenically‚ changed the Evangelist from a neutral outsider to the beating heart of the evening
Robert Burt flounced mightily as the Red Queen‚ with a climactic‚ decapitatory number of considerable force
...when the Red Queen comes on to sing ‘Off with their heads’ – Robert Burt as a high-camp psychopath – we’re almost back in the world of “The Mikado”
The show climaxes in a reappearance of Robert Burt’s properly terrifying Red Queen‚ whose Off With Their Heads! number provides one of several moments that arouse spontaneous applause...Opera Holland Park has gone for a high-quality cast‚ several of them regulars at this venue in full-scale operatic productions...Burt steals his scenes as an alarming Red Queen but without actually scaring the kids away
...there were excellent contributions from Robert Burt‚ Neal Cooper and Barnaby Rea
Robert Burt revealed a useful character tenor as Goro
The Goro of Robert Burt was commendably annoying (and better sung than most)... This is no ordinary production of Butterfly‚ despite its traditional garb. It is a must see for the exceptionally high level of artistry from all involved and‚ if London’s aberrant weather holds‚ for the experience of a lifetime
...a first-rate pool of supporting singers including Patricia Orr’s protective Suzuki ‚ Robert Burt’s cross-dressing marriage broker Goro
The singing was at a very high level and the “Ice Cream Sextet” by itself was worth the price of admission
The closest we get to aria are the comedic solos for the two nurses‚ Octavia’s unnamed nurse and Arnalta‚ (José Lemos and Robert Burt‚ respectively). Indeed‚ Arnalta is the character who steals the show with her song about how her own fortunes rise along with Poppea’s
Mention tout à fait spéciale pour la remarquable Arnalta de Robert Burt /// A very special mention for the outstanding Arnalta of Robert Burt
This entertainment for Titania and Bottom celebrates the harvest and fertility‚ with randy Coridon (David Soar) attempting to steal a kiss from Mopsa (Robert Burt)‚ who’s having none of it. Emerging from a tumble in the haystack‚ the pair played the comedy for all it was worth...
Soprano Carolyn Sampson‚ tenor Robert Burt and bass David Soar are outstanding among the cast of young singers
The triumph of this production lies in the imagination and wit with which these potentially tricky masques are handled. They’re impeccably sung by a large cast – among whom Carolyn Sampson‚ Robert Burt and David Soar provide some of the highlights
Some of the cast are familiar...Robert Burt’s Mopsa / Flute‚ who has us in stitches with his merry cavorting and flirtatious singing – and that was before the interval and its customary lubrication
Tenor‚ Robert Burt who sung Arnalta was very good. This role is Poppea’s nanny and was originally written for tenor because it is comedic clown role. He got to sing the best aria in this opera‚ “Oblivion soave” and he sung it wonderfully
And there’s some assured support‚ chiefly from Robert Burt as rival barber Pirelli
Robert Burt delights as flamboyant‚ extravagant Pirelli
The supporting roles were all well cast‚ with tenor Robert Burt as the Italian barber and Dr. Dulcamara-like character Pirelli
Strong support from a few cast members helps to move this musical along. Robert Burt’s Pirelli should remind the audience of the Go Compare ad‚ except he is more funny and less irritating
...with Robert Burt giving an excellent cameo as Pirelli the fake Italian barber
Robert Burt had some good notes and considerable comic gifts as Pirelli
...and Robert Burt makes a particularly comical Pirelli
Other strong performances come from Robert Burt as Pirelli...
Todd’s first victim Pirelli is well played by Robert Burt
Pirelli (Robert Burt) was a delight and he‚ of course‚ gets the first blooding which this production does not avoid‚ there is blood and plenty of it‚ no representational deaths here!
Todd’s first victim‚ the itinerant barber and purveyor of bogus medicaments‚ gives Robert Burt some effective moments‚ which he seizes with both hands so one is quite sorry in a way when he is laid to rest in Todd’s trunk
There’s strong support from...Robert Burt as that grandstanding pseudo-Italian shyster Pirelli. What else can I say? Book your haircut now
...and there were lively cameos from Robert Burt and Simon Wilding as Fritz’s drinking companions Frederico and Hanezo
The small roles of Federico and Hanezò‚ Fritz’s friends‚ were fleshed out by Robert Burt and Simon Wilding respectively
Ces effets de scène rendent possibles des touches comiques‚ notamment de la part de Robert Burt‚ qui‚ à l’instar de la production madrilène‚ se donne à corps perdu dans le comique et le grotesque lors de son dernier air‚ ce qui lui vaut d’ailleurs des applaudissements fort nourris
Robert Burt‚ comédien‚ et aussi ténor‚ se tire fort bien du rôle travesti - et désopilant - d’Arnalta‚ et rend justice au recitativo cantabile Oggi sarà Poppea
...and Robert Burt‚ interpreting a stupendous Arnalta‚ which made the audience laugh when he sings of his joy at being turned into a confidante of the Empress
One of the most memorable scenes comes right at the end of Act III‚ Corydon and Mopsa (a hilarious Robert Burt‚ who skips about the stage like a little girl)...
...and Mr. Burt‚ here making a speciality of hilarious cross-dressing‚ was Flute/Thisbe as well as the falsetto Mopsa
Kent emphasizes the farcical aspects. One highlight is the love duet between two peasants‚ Corydon (Andrew Foster- Williams) and Mopsa (sung by tenor Robert Burt)
...le public hurle de rire à chacune de leurs interventions (notamment à celles des géniaux Desmond Barrit‚ en Bottom‚ et Robert Burt‚ en Mopsa)
Four artists were standouts in the cast of fifteen...Character tenor Robert Burt has made a speciality of Iro — considered the first true comic character in the history of opera — and it’s easy to understand why: he transformed this sketchy portrayal of a glutton and coward soldier at the service of Penelope’s suitors into an impersonation of human frailty with a depth akin to that of Shakespeare’s or Verdi’s Falstaff
...and good acting. Very good acting indeed‚ especially in the case of Desmond Barrit and Robert Burt‚ hilarious in drag‚ who are primarily singers
There’s a very funny duet for Robert Burt and Andrew Foster-Williams as a pair of preposterous pastoral lovers
...and Robert Burt was a very funny Mopsa... appearing as an hilarious Thisbe in the final act...
...Robert Burt displayed a winning comic touch in the cross-dressing dialogue between Coridon and Mopsa‚ an earthy duet that brought the house down
Coridon and Mopsa (Andrew Foster-Williams and Robert Burt) are a priceless pair of rustics who can’t agree about kissing and eventually disappear into a haystack to settle their differences
Much of the singing was immaculate and the variety of mood contained in the score immense‚ from the agonized melancholy of "The Plaint" to the rough-and-tumble rural humor of the duet between shepherd-and-shepherdess pair Coridon and Mopsa‚ hilariously delivered by tenor Burt and bass Foster-Williams
...and of Robert Burt‚ who sings the role of Irus‚ raw‚ thick and rude‚ with a dramatic quality worthy of the deepest praise
Robert Burt en Irus‚ rôle bouffe qu’il interprète à la perfection
...the supporting cast‚ among them an engaging drag act (Robert Burt’s majestic Delfa‚ a lusty maidservant oblivious to her own grossness) are uniformly excellent
a superbly vain King Bobeche from Rob Burt
Good support comes from...Robert Burt as Fiorello.
As the gluttonous and tragicomic Iro‚ Burt shows that Monteverdi was Shakespeare’s equal in the creation of truly comic characters.
Robert Burt was compelling in the emotional instability of Iro’s bravura suicide solo
...Robert Burt’s hot-headed‚ high-pressure tenor for the passionate unstable monarch
Robert Burt nearly steals the show as the gluttonous Iro.
The direction is fluid and allows skilled actors (such as Robert Burt who plays Iro) to milk the audience a little.
Robert Burt a deftly comic Irus.
Particularly striking in the cast...Robert Burt as Iro.
The singers in smaller roles contributed importantly as well. Among them...Robert Burt’s broadly comic rendering of Iro.
Robert Burt hilariously brought Irus’s hunger aria at the beginning of the third act close to being the evening’s highlight.
The glutton Iro was a ripely comic portrayal by Robert Burt.
Acres more outstanding singing...Robert Burt‚ who has been a member of Trevor Nunn’s ensemble at the National Theatre‚ as the glutton Irus.
Robert Burt a deftly comic Irus.
Robert Burt en Iro‚ le parasite goinfre et patapouf des prétendants‚ fait un numéro comique irréstible
Robert burt’s pantomime-camp Flerida was not only the most alert of characterisations but showed a fluidity of inflection with word and music that was elsewhere in too short a supply.
All were upstaged by the obligatory comedy-nurse turn - a panto-dame trouser role - of tenor Robert Burt.