- “Kunde was a vocal Samson from beginning to end. His performance overflowed with energy and dedication from the very first phrase, with impeccable mask singing that makes his voice fill the entire theatre, despite not having any stage element that served as a sounding board. His voice sounds firm, with brilliant high notes and plenty of expressive and dramatic nuances, and at the same time he knows how to lessen the flow at the most intimate moments, but without losing support or sound definition.” Andrés Moreno Mengíbar (Diario de Sevilla)
- “Amazing and admirable are the only words for Gregory Kunde’s current vocal state, with his 65 years of age. This fact, that of his age, needs to be remembered, because his instrument seems to defy the passage of time. […] the admirable thing about Kunde is that his voice rings out without effort even in the ungrateful space of the Maestranza, which is so open. His familiarity with the French repertory is evident and he produces each bit of text with maximum precision. It is not in vain that he has been and continues to be one of the most highly respected performers of Berlioz and Meyerbeer of our days. After making his debut in the role of Samson in the Palau de Les Arts of Valencia, the part served Kunde well in his much-anticipated return to the stage of the Metropolitan of New York, after having also sung this role in emblematic venues such as the Mariinsky of San Petersburg. His Samson is powerful and vibrant, while not sidestepping the score’s most lyrical passages, where he successfully pulls his voice back. Kunde still has a high range that sounds easy and intense, as could be heard in his final intervention, crowned with that complicated B flat.” Alejandro Martínez (PlateaMagazine)
- “The cast was headed by Gregory Kunde, who debuted the role in Valencia in 2016 and then took it on again, more recently, at the Met. Kunde has become a tenor spinto yet he also has a great command of belcanto and thus responds perfectly to all of the demands of the score. His voice has remained good and it is firm, with hardly any vibrato, always being sufficiently projected.” Gonzalo Alonso (La Razón)
- “The evening had two proper names: Gregory Kunde as Samson and Nancy Fabiola Herrera as Dalila. The former showed himself to be an outstanding tenor of great experience and versatility, tackling the complicated role of a leader who betrays his principles for love and ends up betrayed by the woman he loved. Thus, the heroic nature of his performance in the first act, with ‘Israel romps ta chaîne’, becomes melancholic and loving in the scene with Dalila in the second act, and then grieving and angry in ‘Vois ma misère hela’. With a round deep timbre, each of his interventions, whether singing alone or in a duet, was warmly received by the audience.” Gonzalo Roldán Herencia (OperaWorld)
- “The other great voice was that of Gregory Kunde, one of the most solid tenors of the moment. His Samson was irreproachable from start to finish.” Jacobo Cortines (Scherzo)
