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"Kevin Burdette’s Doctor Bartolo was also awesome for a number of reasons: the guardian to Rosina, he plays a lovable dufus who gets manipulated and messed with throughout the show. His physical comedy was the most potent of any performer and solicited countless belly laughs from audience members who were eating up what he was earnestly serving." -Bill Chenevert, PhillyNow
"I'd seen Kevin Burdette in Nico Muhly's Dark Sisters several seasons ago, and was impressed with his singing and acting in two quite different roles. As Dr Bartolo, he was pompous and smarmy and weak and lecherous. He reminded me of John Cleese's character Basil Fawlty, with a few other John Cleese characters thrown in when needed. His singing was quite good, and the rapid-fire patter in his Act I aria was breathtaking – again, at an almost break-neck speed. "- David Browning, Bachtrack
"Burdette is especially amusing in the role of the bumbling Bartolo, with a knock-kneed stance and poncey demeanor, along with his servant cohort, a wordless part in an uncredited role. Their chemistry created the funniest moments of the opera." -Kansas City Star
"Kevin Burdette (Bartolo) was the star of the night. From his first appearance to his last, he held the cast and audience in his grip. He was the only singer who seemed fully engaged in his acting and the unfolding of the plot. He performed with masterful panache, as expected from ‘a doctor of his sort.' Burdette's surprisingly large bag of tricks included-but were not limited to-imitating other singers, singing out of tune, and swift changes of voice color. His bold choices and commitment enhanced other singers' performance, as well." -KCmetropolis.org
"Kevin Burdette practically stole the show as a comically smarmy Dr. Bartolo. His voice was richer than what we usually hear from that character and he expertly handled the rapid vocal embroidery. Many in the audience wondered what to make of the multiple rooster images in the set by Shoko Kombara. My guess is that they refer to Dr. Bartolo, who acts like a cock-of-the-walk and who keeps his hens (his ward Rosina and his servant Berta) caged as if in a chicken coop. This production definitely makes Bartolo the center of attention. That wasn’t Rossini’s intent, but Burdette rose to the occasion."-Steve Cohen, Broad Street Review
"Even funnier was the Dr. Bartolo of Kevin Burdette, who displayed something of a genius for physical comedy—he has not merely a rubber face but a rubber body. His negotiation of the part’s tongue-twisting patter, too, was spectacular." -Bernard Jacobson, See and Heard International
"The production has its greatest asset in Kevin Burdette, who may be the funniest man in American opera. He is certainly its best physical comedian (as was already apparent in the New York City Opera's La Périchole). As Bartolo, a character who never knows how ridiculous he is, he is a one-man ministry of silly walks, incessantly switches multiple pairs of glasses and, in “A un dottor della mia sorte,” has an eye exam go horribly wrong. It only helps that, tall and skinny with a mustache, he looks like an actual optometrist. His bass is smooth, reliable, excellent in patter, and plenty loud. Opera companies: you need to put on Don Pasquale with him." -Micaela Baranello, Likely Impossibilities
"Bass Kevin Burdette gave a bravura performance as Dr. Bartolo. Dare I say “Baccaloni-esque?” He was always in a whirl, acting, re-acting, slapstick, slaphappy: a great comic performance. The audience adored him." -Roy Wood, Parterre Box
"There were many fine performances in this version of Barber, but bass Kevin Burdette as the ludicrously evil Dr. Bartolo absolutely stole the show–hands down. I hardly recognized Burdette from his earlier star turn with Opera Philadelphia singing the loathsome Prophet in their stunning 2012 production of Dark Sisters. What a versatile talent Burdette is–as convincing in great comedic roles as he is in great dramatic ones! He is also obviously a human rubber band with the ability to twist his body into more convolutions than an unbaked pretzel all while seamlessly carrying off his vocals to great effect. He simply put the audience in stitches with each appearance." -operatoonity
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