NEWS + REVIEWS

Review: Viva la Mamma at San Diego Opera

"Working on the bare Lightbox Theatre stage adorned with but a few chairs, a small table and music stands, Director Adam Cioffari nevertheless pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat with an exciting, fast-paced production whose tight ensemble was built on Music Director and pianist Carl Pantle’s adroit work on the digital keyboard, which bravely covered Donizetti’s daunting orchestral score."

Columbus Monthly: Adam Cioffari’s Hometown Refrain

For Adam Cioffari, singing at the Ohio Theatre is akin to a trip down memory lane. The 34-year-old resident of New York City remembers sitting in the theater’s upper reaches at 10 years old and hearing acclaimed classical pieces for the first time.
On March 29–30, he will take that stage himself to display his bass-baritone in the chorus quartet for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Mozart’s “Requiem,” the composer’s unfinished funereal masterpiece.
Music runs in the Cioffari family, which moved from Bowling Green to Westerville when Adam was 9 after his mother, Cynthia, landed a gig with the CSO. Adam was drawn more toward opera and musicals, and following graduation from Westerville North High School and Indiana University, his singing career took him to Houston, Germany and New York...

Columbus Dispatch: Young singer’s vocal talent provides opportunity to live musical fantasy

As a young singer, Adam Cioffari never had an opportunity to play the principal part in “Amahl and the Night Visitors.”
As an adult, however, Cioffari, artistic administrator for Opera Project Columbus, found himself in a position to help select the singer in a new production for the company.
This weekend in the Lincoln Theatre, “Amahl and the Night Visitors” will be performed with 15-year-old Upper Arlington resident Claire O’Shaughnessy in the lead.

The irrepressibly wily Leporello in Opera in Williamsburg’s May 2023 production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, bass-baritone Adam Cioffari returned to the Historic Triangle to direct Die Fledermaus, proving to be as clever in devising stage antics as in executing them. Supported by the company’s founder, Artistic Director, and producer Naama Zahavi-Ely, Cioffari earned the audience’s laughter with stage action that manifested comprehensive knowledge of the score and consummate comedic timing. Unlike productions filled with staging business that competes with the music, this Fledermaus was propelled by direction guided by the rhythms, textures, and moods of the score.

Voix des Arts

Die Fledermaus at Opera in Williamsburg 2023

Bass-baritone Adam Cioffari exuded authority and control in “Thus Saith the Lord” and, particularly, ‘Why Do the Nations So Furiously Rage Together?’

The Columbus Dispatch

Handel's Messiah

Adding strength to the Bohemian antics in the garret scenes were Peter Johnson as Schaunard and Adam Cioffari as Colline. Cioffari gave his Act IV ‘Vecchia zimarra’, a touching goodbye to his beloved overcoat, a wonderful poignancy.

Arts Knoxville

La Bohème

Speaking of dedication, let’s discuss Dick Deadeye, played by Adam Cioffari. The man deserves an award just for maintaining that awful grimace. Cioffiari succeeded in his performance—in a grotesque, nightmarish sort of way, sure, but commendable no less.

The Riverview Reporter

H.M.S. Pinafore at Delaware Valley Opera

Adam Cioffari is stage director and he makes the whole affair lots of fun, which in the end is the desired result… The Merry Widow is one of the company's best productions. I may very well show up for Tuesday night's last performance to enjoy it again.

Talkin' Broadway

The Merry Widow at St. Petersburg Opera Co.

Presiding over the proceedings, which are loosely structured as a series of trials meant to test Scalia’s character (perhaps in the fashion of Mozart’s “Magic Flute”), is The Commentator, sung by bass-baritone Adam Cioffari, who has a suitably commanding voice.

The Washington Post

Scalia/Ginsburg at Castleton Festival

As Marcello, Adam Cioffari displayed a remarkably trusty bass-baritone that did not lack for emotional color. His opening lines showed a light-hearted character that came across well as he and the other bohemians finessed their way to expelling the rent-seeking Benoit.

Act two saw the character well on the rebound from his prior romance with Musetta, directing his phrase of “Which of you girls wants love?” to the female-heavy chorus, while tingeing his later exchanges with Mimi with a fair amount of jadedness. His earlier interactions with Musetta strongly conveyed his refusal to play her games shortly before succumbing to them entirely, his voice being a strongly-grounded compliment to Burgess’ electric tones. After their bickering quartet in Act three, the fourth act saw Cioffari almost painfully smitten with Musetta as he described her haunting influence on his art.

Opera Wire

La Bohème at Seton Hall

Bass Adam Cioffari, a young singer with a warm, flexible tone and strong middle range, led off with Verdi's lumbering version of Death.

Post and Courier

Verdi's Requiem at Charleston Symphony

Bass Adam Cioffari made Juliette’s father, Count Capulet, a benevolent host in Act I and a vengeful head of the Capulets after Tybalt’s death.

Sharps and Flatirons

Romeo et Juliette at Central City Opera

Though the Judge is sinister and creepy. Even though his actions will make you squirm, Cioffari humanizes Turpin with a modicum of sympathy. The Judge knows he’s evil and he can’t help himself, and it makes him a terrific baddie.

Burgh Vivant

Sweeney Todd at Pittsburgh Festival Opera

Adam Cioffari had a powerful and vibrant basso voice that, coupled with precision and dramatic flair, made for a very strong opening to the opera. Immortal basso Ezio Pinza (1892-1957) made a recording of this and it was like a storytellers passage to those who heard it. Cioffari continues a great tradition.

Brooklyn Discovery

Il Trovatore at Regina Opera

I often muse about how it might have been to hear Mozart’s or Rosssini’s or Verdi’s music in their day when there were no recordings, videos, or music streaming services. Attending an MDLO Institute concert is as close as it comes to experiencing opera as it might have been, close enough that I will add this one to my list of transcendent experiences. In Mozart’s day, all music was live. Folks, there still is live music today, at least for the present, and the future if we support it. Come, join your neighbors; leave the world’s troubles behind and experience an evening of beauty and civility…

First up were excerpts from The Marriage of Figaro beginning with Adam Cioffari as Figaro. With his shining baritone laced with anger, he delivered the message that the Count has picked the wrong man’s wife to dally with.

Opera Gene

Maryland Lyric Opera