Rigoletto, San Antonio Opera

David Hendricks, Express-News (June 20, 2010)

Tenor Michael Wade Lee, as the duke of Mantua, executed the role of the despicable villain to the hilt. The story wouldn't work without the duke's shameless attitude toward women. Yet, Lee effortlessly tossed off, wonderfully, what may be opera's most famous aria, “La donna è mobile,” without making it sound like a cliché.

Midland Symphony

Roger Bryant, Midland Daily News (Nov 9, 2009)

The warmest audience response was for guest soloist Michael Wade Lee, a tenor whose powerful and pleasing voice is accompanied by a winning personality. Rather than simply coming out in a tuxedo and singing, he was dressed for each of his arias in a different semi-costume and he put real feeling into each one. All three (arias) were very good, but perhaps most compelling was “Vesti la giubba” from Leoncavallo’s “I Pagliacci,” the famous aria in which the clown Canio talks himself into performing despite his heartbreak. Lee beautifully conveyed the pain of the character...

Madama Butterfly, Musica Viva, Hong Kong

Peter Gordon, South China Morning Post (Jan 12, 2009)

Lo King-man's recent production of Madame Butterfly was everything I think opera should be. Tenor Michael Wade Lee as the glamorous-yet-feckless American naval lieutenant Pinkerton was an import; but, again, he was what one hopes to hear in a performance of this kind: a young, personable singer who might just be going places.

Carmen, San Antonio Opera

Jennifer Roolf Laster, Express-News (September 28, 2008)

...tenor Michael Wade Lee's voice was velvet — a warm, brown velvet for snuggling. His reading of Don José's “La fleur que tu m'avais jetée” was smooth and showed impressive warmth. ...the best moments of this production were between(Carmen -Audrey) Babcock and Lee, whose interplay turned the spectacle of the opera into an Ibsen-like domestic drama that was thrillingly intimate.

Shcherbachov, American Symphony Orchestra

Steve Smith, New York Times (January 28, 2008)

Michael Wade Lee...sang with attractive tone and stamina in the final movement, a lurid Dantean fantasy...

L'Elisir D'amore

Marty Clear, St Petersburg Times (December 30, 2007)

The lead performers - Kathy Pyeatt as Adina, Michael Wade Lee as Nemorino, Richard Cassell as the huckster and Wade Thomas Belcore, Nemorino's rival - all wield wondrous voices and handle demanding roles facilely.

Carmen, Chautauqua Opera

Michael Wade Lee is that rarity among operatic tenors, a really good-looking, virile, well-built and gifted thespian with a wide-ranging voice to match. [in the last act]...in his despair, Lee continued to pour forth exciting high notes unstintingly.
Clair W. Van Ausdall, The Chautauquan Daily (July 23, 2007)

[Carmen] has a great foil in Michael Wade Lee, who plays Don José. Low-key at the start, Lee grows in presence and vocal power until, at the opera’s end, he steals the show. The aria in the last act when he declares his love for Carmen was the most moving moment of the night. His high notes were clear and ardent.
Mary Kunz Goldman, The Buffalo News (July 22, 2007)

Michael Wade Lee had a robust and unforced top register which made his Don José a standout.
Robert W. Plyler, The Post Journal (July 18, 2007)

Rigoletto, Connecticut Lyric Opera

Lee Howard, The Day (November 20, 2005)

The lustful Duke, played by tenor Michael Lee, [is] a cad of the first rank. So it seemed appropriate that Lee gave the Duke an impulsive edge, emphasizing his highly charged emotional state through his ardent musical phrasing. His demeanor was that of a penned-up bull, yet his singing couldn't have been lovelier, especially in the show-stopping “La donna e mobile!”

The Rape of Lucretia, Merola Opera

The best singing came from the two choruses, mediating smoothly between the roles as remote observer and engaged near participants in the drama. … strong was tenor Michael Wade Lee, who combined heroism and honeyed tenderness in equal measure.
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle (July 20, 2004)

Most impressive in the cast was Michael Wade Lee, in the role of the Male Chorus, with an oratorio-sized, well-articulated tenor voice, of clarity and remarkable color. The young Texan has outstanding diction, a natural, "speaking" manner of singing, the ability to communicate clearly and effectively through voice and acting.
Janos Gereben www.sfcv.org OPERA-L(July 17, 2004)

The Mikado, Nashville Opera

Leo Sochocki, Nashville City Paper (January 30, 2001)

Michael Wade Lee, tenor, as Nanki-Poo is…suited to the task. His character is the romantic lead, and most of the show’s focus and plot revolve around him. He lives up to these demands admirably. His is, as it should be, the strongest voice in the ensemble. And the real treat in Lee’s performance is his acting ability. Simply put, unlike an older school of opera, acting is no longer considered secondary in vocal performance education, and Mr. Lee proved himself to be a fine actor as well as singer. Each of his solos was beautifully executed with a keen eye to character and timing.

Wozzeck, Indiana Opera Theater

Peter Jacobi, Bloomington Herald (October 26, 1999)

Michael Lee’s tenor grabbed hold of all those Bergian high notes that leap from the score, this as he dramatically developed the part of the slimy Captain.

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