Ithaca College

Opera Lafayette presented one of the highlights of the Washington musical season so far at the Kennedy Center on November 27th, presenting their semi-staged version of Vivaldi's Catone in Utica with the sublime countertenor, John Holiday.

Had it been possible to steal a show of the length and complexity of “Catone,” the 30-year-old countertenor from near Houston, John Holiday, who sang Caesar, would have done so. Holiday has it all going. His voice is powerful and agile and has an immense range, with seamless registers top to bottom. He is able to project majesty, rage, ambiguity or tenderness with ease and authority. His production is natural and healthy, his Italian diction impeccable. His voice is almost ravishingly beautiful: He is a musician of rare gifts and cultivation. The clincher is that every syllable that Holiday sings sounds straight from the heart. Given the opportunity, this is certainly a talent that will grow in interesting and unexpected ways. But what we heard Saturday night is already more than enough to be grateful for.

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