Martin Lamb
Opera Singer
Writer & Director

Brontë: the Opera, Keynote Opera, Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre, 2023

"It’s refreshing to hear the bass-baritone of Martin Lamb who, following brief turns as patriarch Patrick Brontë and Belgian professor Constantin Heger, becomes Mr Rochester, with [Elena] Garrido Madrona as Charlotte morphing into Jane Eyre. The latter is one of the most moving sequences, conveying the tenderness and appreciation that Charlotte longs for, and could only experience through her writing."

(Julia Rank, The Stage)

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"Rochester, the towering presence in Jane Eyre and Jane’s thwarted bridegroom, is played in a doubling role by Martin Lamb, whose main real-life character is the Rev’d Patrick Brontë, patriarch of the family.  An established performer, Lamb’s rich bass-baritone lends an air of authority to the mirrored roles of Brontë and Rochester. "

(Mark Aspen)

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La Boheme, Diva Opera, Festival de la Vezere, 2017

"The truculent Martin Lamb embodies Benoit and Alcindoro as if he has just emerged out of a Dickens novel."

(Bruno Villien, Opera Magazine, France)

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The Sorcerer/The Yeomen of the Guard, National G&S Opera Company, 2016

"The ensemble singing is superb, with Bruce Graham as jailer Wilfred Shadbolt and Martin Lamb as Sergeant Meryll standing out."

(Tully Potter, Daily Mail)

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"Martin Lamb was a splendid Sir Marmaduke, getting off with Fiona Mackay's graceful Lady Sangazure... Lamb returned as Sergeant Meryll, looking a dead-ringer for Henry VIII, and was well-partnered by Pauline Birchall's Dame Carruthers.

(Martin Dreyer, York Press)

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Wagner Society Singing Competition, 2014 (Audience Prize Winner)

“Martin Lamb, was already inside the character before he bowed into the audience and launched into a stunning, insolent Schätze zu schaffen. He made this killer role sound so easy and he relished the words like a ripe Rhine wine. It was a nice touch to keep his hands in his pockets, keeping the Ring out of sight: even in his brief hour of triumph, this Alberich remained insecure. Klingsor's Ho! Ihr Wächter, another outburstfrom a tyrant, was likewise excellent. His closing item, Alberich's curse, simply brought the house down, and his sudden dismissiveness at “behalt’ ihn nun” made “meinem Fluch” all the more overwhelming”

(Wagner News)

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The Marriage of Figaro, English National Opera, 2014

Special mention should go to Martin Lamb’s thoroughly convincing Antonio: quite inside the role vocally and on stage.

(Mark Berry, Seen and Heard)

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La traviata, English National Opera, 2013

"Minor roles – and they were stripped down further with the cuts to the second scene of Act II – were effectively taken, especially Martin Lamb’s Grenvil, still donning his party hat and under the influence of alcohol when attending to Violetta."

(Mark Pullinger)

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W.S. Gilbert's Eminent Victorians, Rosemary Branch Theatre, 2011

"As part of the Charles Court Opera season at the Rosie celebrating the centenary of Gilbert’s death, Martin Lamb’s lecture recital introduces the real life people behind the Savoy Operas. His lecture is interspersed with songs from Patience, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, and many others... Martin Lamb’s illuminating lecture covered much more than the two examples I have given here. His recital of some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular songs, accompanied by David Eaton, was truly beautiful."

(UKtheatre.net)    

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Five:15, Scottish Opera, 2010

"Martin Lamb as the bullish, sharp-suited money man is a tour de force." 

(Kenneth Walton, The Scotsman)

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"The Money Man was, in fact, the first three scenes of a work in progress, a topical story about a stock market trader who is on the brink of losing it all. It had the strongest vocal (and physical) characterisation of the evening in Martin Lamb and a humorous score to accompany an amusing text, such as the cumbersome bassoon that accompanies an inept declaration of love."

(Simon Thompson, Seen and Heard)

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Barber of Seville, Opera UK, Bloomsbury Theatre 2009

"Martin Lamb is a splendid, bourgeois Bartolo, so small‑minded you believe him capable of tyranny."

(Kieron Quirke, London Evening Standard)

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Iolanthe, Charles Court Opera, Pleasance Theatre 2009

"The highlights of the evening were the ensemble piece at the end of the first part and (Martin Lamb) Private Willis' solitary performance at the beginning of the second."

(The Londonist)

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"vocalization was all that could be desired, diction [...] up to the demands of Gilbert’s lyrics when taken at the requisite full gallop [from several cast members and] exceptionally so, Martin Lamb as Private Willis as the private soldier who opens the second act."

(Barry Grantham, Extra Extra)

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Cinderella, Scottish Opera, Edinburgh 2008

"This classic fairytale is given a new lease of life by a seven strong ensemble that are not only all virtuoso singers but talented character actors as well - a rare treat. This was mainly due to the comic timing of Martin Lamb and Amanda Forbes, whose jealous, childish and greedy portrayals of the Baron and his daughter were extremely effective"

(Three Weeks)

 

Marriage of Figaro, Heritage Opera, touring 2008

"Martin Lamb's beefy Bartolo (hilariously doubled with Barbarina's earthy dad)... amongst their finest players".

(Roderic Dunnett, Opera Now)

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The Merry Widow, Bloomsbury Theatre, 2007

"Best of the principals are the Baron Zeta of Martin Lamb and the experienced Njegus of Gregory Cox, who both know exactly how to deliver their material and do so with spirit."

(The Stage)

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Don Giovanni, Pavilion Opera, 2005

"Martin Lamb was a feisty Masetto, with a strong voice and a clarity of diction that would set an example to many."

(Serena Fenwick, Musical Pointers

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Peter Pan: The Return of Captain Hook, Brewery Arts Centre, 2005/6

"Star of the show is Martin Lamb, clearly relishing the role of villain Hook, whose delivery of his dry one-liners is spot-on, and he dominates the stage with is baritone voice during the musical numbers." 

(Westmorland Gazette)

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