• “Wes Mason has the vocal and dramatic chops for the eponymous hero. Virile, handsome, energetic, he played Hamlet as more madcap than melancholic. This was a performance to remember.” -Opera News

• ”Now to Hamlet … what a voice! Wes Mason masterfully sang the role that holds many challenges for a baritone, as it was originally written for a tenor and retains much of that range. Mason had the notes and the characterization gripped firmly in his fist. In Act Three, I found Mason’s acting particularly moving as he sang to his father’s corpse lying in a glass casket. Whenever he interacted with his fellow singers, Mason caused the others around him to step up their acting level to the next rung. “
  -The Column Online

• ”Mason is remarkable as Hamlet. His acting chops come not just from opera, but from his theater training and work in musical theater. Handsome, buff and brooding, he spends much of the opera in a tight T-shirt. His acting is always believable. He sings the role with a mid-sized but rich baritone voice that is remarkably even from top to bottom. He wisely never pushes it beyond its capabilities, which is very tempting to do, adding intensity rather than vocal heft to create the bigger moments.”
  -Theatre Jones

• ”A vivid dramatic presence, Mason’s Hamlet has a modest-sized but beautifully focused baritone and clear French. “
  -Dallas Morning News

• ”Baritone Wes Mason as Hamlet was properly a dominant figure both musically and dramatically.”
  -Star Telegram

• ”I tried and failed to find a weak spot in the cast, which is the best reason to see the show. One reason for the recent Hamlet revival is that it provides a great showcase for a baritone, and Wes Mason (who sang Marcello in FWO’s La Bohème last year) grabbed the chance with both hands. He turned in a worthy account of the “To be or not to be” aria (“Être ou ne pas être”) and Hamlet’s drinking song (“Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse”) and was dynamic onstage, leaping through the air, wielding a sword, and causing a suitably ugly drunken scene when the prince uses the play to expose his uncle as a murderer.”
  -Fort Worth Weekly

• ”The singing in this production is beyond compare. Wes Mason was a Hamlet not to be trifled with. Commanding and yet brooding in appearance, fully committed to Hamlet's heartbreak and rage, and able to convey all the heightened emotion with highly skilled singing that one wished would never end. His tone is even and free throughout, beautiful to hear, with an easy high voice that suits Hamlet's music very well. The drinking song "Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse" and the monologue "Être, ou ne pas être", two highly contrasting scenes, were both beautiful and passionate, and Mr. Mason's commitment to the text and character were abundantly clear.”
  -Taminophile

• Role: Hamlet

• Directed by Thaddeus Strassberger

• Conducted by Joe Illick

• Fort Worth Opera