Robert Everett-Green, The Globe & Mail
Purcell's King Arthur
"Music in this piece is mostly associated with magic and celebration, and the tiny orchestra (led by artistic director Larry Beckwith) performed Purcell's score as if it were a festive catalogue of marvels ... Bass Giles Tomkins shivered effectively through the famous ice song, shadowed by a masked dancer who gradually thawed as the scene did ... Toronto Masque Theatre needs, and this production deserves, a co-producer with the resources to realize the exciting potential shown on Thursday. Stratford Festival, what are you waiting for?"
March 2009
Michael Johnson, The Classical Music Network (www.concertonet.com)
James Rolfe’s Inês
“The strongest performer is bass-baritone Giles Tomkins who has a solid, rich voice and clear diction.”
May 2008
Kenneth Walton, The Scotsman
Verdi’s Falstaff
“... a dazzling staging that combines earthy humour and a theatricality that buzzes so intensely that the three-plus hours sweep by in a flash ... Giles Tomkins is a bold but sycophantic Pistola ...”
May 2008
Richard Wigmore, The Daily Telegraph
CD Review of Purcell’s Theatre Music Volume #1
“...under Kevin Mallon, the Toronto-based Aradia Ensemble play with verve and rhythmic imagination, while soprano Nicole Bower and bass Giles Tomkins are the pick of a personable bunch of young soloists. A Purcell bargain.”
May 2008
Mark Sealey, Music Web International (www.musicweb-international.com)
CD Review of Purcell’s Theatre Music Volume #1
“...a first class recording of highly charged and melody-rich music played with great style and originality by Mallon’s forces... Giles Tomkins’s expressive bass seems ideally suited to this repertoire for the words are always clear and amply endowed with meaning...”
May 2008
Nicholas Anderson, BBC Music Magazine
CD Review of Vivaldi’s Griselda
“...a rewarding performance ... Giles Tomkins’s Gualtiero has riveting authority ...”
May 2008
Göran Forsling, Music Web International (www.musicweb-international.com)
CD Review of Vivaldi’s Griselda
“Of the men Giles Tomkins as Gualtiero is expressively dramatic ... no one can deny that the aria Se ria procella (CD 1 tr. 4) is thrilling and he manages the extensive runs with assurance.”
October 2007
John Allison, The Sunday Telegraph
Rossini’s Il Barbière di Siviglia
"...we get true wit rather than tiresome gags... it is a very beautiful staging, that takes inspiration from the crumbling, pastel-coloured palacios of Havana...Giles Tomkins supplies louche, Lord Lucanesque presence as Don Basilio.”
August 2007
Jeffrey Johnson, The Hartford Courant
Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte
“...Giles Tomkins was great as a young Don Alfonso. He never seemed evil the way an older Alfonso easily can...Conductor James Levine brought energy and expertise to the score...This Così is one that you should beg, borrow, or steal your way into tonight”
April 2007
John Terauds, The Toronto Star
CD Review of Beethoven’s An die Ferne Geliebte
“...Tomkins' rich voice and careful phrasing make nice work of the Lieder (Beethoven’s An die Ferne Geliebte).”
April 2007
Robert Franner, Opus Magazine
CD Review of Beethoven’s An die Ferne Geliebte
“Tomkins demonstrates an unfailing sensitivity to phrasing essential to the idiom ... he evinces a Fischer-Dieskau-like purity of tone ...”
December 2006
Anna Lisa Eyles, The Live Music Report (www.thelivemusicreport.com)
Concert Review Giles Tomkins & Canadian Brass
“...a special treat was the voice of up and coming, handsome and debonair baritone, Giles Tomkins. He showed that he is equally at home singing either popular or classical music, by leading the audience in a Christmas favourites sing-along ... Performing “Jacob’s Ladder” with back-up by the Elmer Iseler Singers, every note went “higher, higher” showcasing Tomkins’ impressive vocal range. Tomkins’ success on the international stage is almost guaranteed.”
June 2006
S. James Wegg, JWR Reviews (www.jamesweggreview.org)
CD Review And So It Goes
“...Tomkins employs a clear, reedy tone with characteristically impeccable diction... Billy Joel’s title track (nicely introspective and an impressive late-measure change of register) reveals the promise of greatness to come. Yet, unquestionably, it’s the Neapolitan warmth of the Donaudy (O Del Mio Amato Ben) that whets the appetite for more.”
December 2005
Peter Phoa, Opera Canada Magazine
Sokolovic’s The Midnight Court
“Look forward to hearing more of Giles Tomkins, who has developed so appealingly as a young artist.”
March 2005
Paula Citron, Opera Canada Magazine
Handel’s Semele
“...a droll and clever vision that could grace any opera house... Baritone Giles Tomkins as Somnus was the sole stand-out...”