Press
Performance Archive · Discography
2026
2026-07-23 | Handel: Tolomeo, Araspe; Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale; Peter Whelan; Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
Dashon Burton was a luxury casting choice as Araspe, with his booming bass-baritone, masterful diction, and musical intelligence on full display.
Michael Zwiebach · San Francisco Chronicle / San Francisco Classical Voice · 2026-07-24
2026-05-24 | Beethoven: Fidelio, Don Fernando; The Cleveland Orchestra; Franz Welser-Möst; Severance Hall, Cleveland
Dashon Burton unleashed a warm and resonant bass-baritone as Don Fernando
Cameron Kelsall · Parterre Box · 2026-05-27
2026-04-16 | Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer; New Jersey Symphony; Xian Zhang; NJPAC, Newark
Burton’s sympathetic understanding of the text made for a fine interpretation.
Courtney Smith · NJArts.net · 2026-04-23
2025
2025-03-13 | Michael Tilson Thomas: Whitman Songs; Boston Symphony Orchestra; Teddy Abrams; Symphony Hall, Boston
singing with majestic tone and prophetic purpose
Jonathan Blumhofer · Boston Classical Review · 2025-03-14
2024
2024-12-19 | Handel Messiah; National Symphony Orchestra; Masaaki Suzuki; Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington DC
Bass-baritone Dashon Burton brought a keen theatrical sense to the bass’s recitatives and arias
Alex Baker · Washington Classical Review · 2024-12-20
2024-10-28 | Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Schoenberg reduced orchestration; Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Jaime Martín; Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara; CAMA International Series
brought the right degrees of gravitas and vulnerable sweetness to the Mahler.
Josef Woodard · Santa Barbara Independent · 2024-11-01
2024-10-04 | Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony: Wanderers Awaken!
He found a great tender sound in gentler moments
Brendan Fox · Shepherd Express · 2024-10-08
2024-03-16 | MTT: Copland and Tchaikovsky
With his clear diction, Burton can spin a lyric with the intimacy of a folk-pop artist.
Lawrence Budmen · South Florida Classical Review · 2024-03-17
2023
2023-12-09 | The Christmas Story
Baritone Dashon Burton sang with an elegant restraint in his initial recitatives.
Patrick D. McCoy · Across the Arts · 2023-12-11
Sanctuary & Storm | Vancouver, November 2023
Burton is commanding as the Angel of History, his voice rich with passion.
Emily Lyth · Stir · 2023-11-19
2023-10-19 | MTT Conducts Beethoven 9
Baritone Dashon Burton summoned the proceedings to order with an authoritative cry of “O Freunde!”
Joshua Kosman · San Francisco Chronicle · 2023-10-20
2023-07-20 | Handel: Acis and Galatea
His impeccably enunciated ‘O Ruddier than the cherry’ brimmed with wicked humour.
Christopher Sallon · Seen and Heard International · 2023-07-26
2023-03-09 | Meditations on Rilke
Cooke’s luminous voice and Burton’s rounded, slightly grainy tone gilded this music
George Grella · The Classical Review · 2023-03-11
2022
2022-05-25 | Immortal Dreams; Celebrity Series of Boston; Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music, Cambridge; Lindsay Garritson piano; Kemp Jernigan oboe
watching him sing feels like looking directly at the sun — he is alight with the spirit of the music.
A.Z. Madonna · The Boston Globe · 2022-05-26
2021
2021-12-17 | Handel: Messiah
Bass baritone Dashon Burton was clear and articulate in the rapid-fire notes
Louis Harris · Third Coast Review · 2021-12-18
2020
Smyth The Prison, Chandos CHSA5279
Dashon Burton is outstanding as the pensive Prisoner.
Erica Jeal · The Guardian · 2020-08-06
2020-02-23 | Michael Tilson Thomas: Meditations on Rilke
Sasha Cooke and Dashon Burton were ravishing soloists, easily sending their voices out above some complex orchestral textures.
Daniel Hathaway · ClevelandClassical.com · 2020-03-09
2020-03-07 | Roomful of Teeth: Composer & Citizen, Chamber Landscapes
featuring the operatic brilliance of Dashon Burton
Lisa Lanzi · Theatre Travels · 2020-03-08
2020-01-10 | Shostakovich and Mahler
sang throughout with uncommon lyricism
Jeremy Eichler · The Boston Globe · 2020-01-13
2019
2019-12-17 | Handel: Messiah
he made the text speak eloquently in “The people that walked in darkness,”
David Wright · New York Classical Review · 2019-12-18
2019-12-01 | Handel Messiah; Handel and Haydn Society; Masaaki Suzuki; Symphony Hall, Boston
Burton’s steady conviction returned us to the story.
Lee Eiseman · The Boston Musical Intelligencer · 2019-12-02
2019-11-30 | Handel: Messiah
In his featured arias, Dashon Burton sang with authority and sublimity.
Aaron Keebaugh · Boston Classical Review · 2019-12-01
2019-01-27 | Brick by Brick: Changing America Through Song; San Francisco Performances PIVOT; Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; Lindsay Garritson piano
robust, sinewy vocal tone, probing interpretive mastery and charismatic communicative directness
Joshua Kosman · San Francisco Chronicle · 2019-01-28
2019-01-04 | Ned Rorem: War Scenes; American Iconoclasts III, Brooklyn Art Song Society; Brooklyn Historical Society; Michael Brofman piano
What better instrument to convey this poet’s passion and fierce irony than the massive yet hyperarticulate bass-baritone of Dashon Burton?
David Wright · New York Classical Review · 2019-01-05
2018
2018-10-04 | Mozart Magnified
Mezzo-soprano Meg Bragle and bass-baritone Dashon Burton produced some beautifully rounded tones
Truman C. Wang · Classical Voice · 2018-10-06
2018-09-27 | Dvořák: Stabat Mater; Houston Symphony and Chorus; Andrés Orozco-Estrada; Jones Hall, Houston
he brought ardor and urgency to the prayer “Fac ut ardeat.”
Steven Brown · Texas Classical Review · 2018-09-28
2018-06-13 | Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast; Grant Park Music Festival; Carlos Kalmar; Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago
a bass-baritone with a rich, rounded voice, faultless diction and a natural, expressive style
Lawrence A. Johnson · Chicago Classical Review · 2018-06-14
2017
2017-02-12 | Misty; Barber Dover Beach and Hanns Eisler Ernste Gesänge; A Far Cry; Calderwood Hall, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Burton’s gorgeous singing rose (with the Criers) to just the right level of real dramatic intensity
David Schulenberg · The Boston Musical Intelligencer · 2017-02-13
2016
2016-12-16 | Handel: Messiah
delivered with sovereign certitude and the fervor of a revivalist preacher
Terry Blain · Star Tribune · 2016-12-18
2016-11-20 | Roomful of Teeth
Burton was able to step into the spotlight and fill the entire theater with his booming voice.
Maria Elharaoui · Maryland Theatre Guide · 2016-11-21
2016-04-08 | Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (four-hand piano/chamber choir version); Seraphic Fire; Patrick Quigley; All Saints Episcopal Church, Fort Lauderdale
With firm low notes and a rich timbre, Burton brought powerful declamation and real expressive drama
Lawrence Budmen · South Florida Classical Review · 2016-04-09
2014
2014-11-21 | Roomful of Teeth: MIT Sounding
Wells’s “Otherwise” was anchored by a resonant Dashon Burton.
Jeffrey Gantz · The Boston Globe · 2014-11-23
Roomful of Teeth: Tiny Desk Concert
Dashon Burton’s operatic baritone soars above it all.
Tom Huizenga · NPR · 2014-11-10
2013
2013-03-18 | Roomful of Teeth
the rich soaring baritone of the singer Dashon Burton
Anne Midgette · The Washington Post · 2013-03-19
2013-03-13 | Mendelssohn: Elijah
the lead singer, baritone Dashon Burton, was the standout.
Robert Battey · The Washington Post · 2013-03-14
2012
2012-10-28 | Princeton Pro Musica: Bach and Mozart
Burton combined self-assuredness, a commanding voice, and precision
Nancy Plum · Town Topics · 2012-11-06
Further reviews · 2016–17
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, Sarastro; Opéra de Limoges, November 2017 production
“Dashon Burton n’éprouve aucune peine à infuser une grandeur quasi wagnérienne à Sarastro.”
Emmanuel Andrieu, Opera Online, 2017-11-09
Michael Tippett: A Child of Our Time; Harvard Choruses, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Children’s Chorus; Andrew Clark; Sanders Theatre, Cambridge
“bass-baritone Dashon Burton led us across the deep river to the promised campground.”
Lee Eiseman, The Boston Musical Intelligencer, 2017-04-24
Dashon Burton: Light Year; Resonant Bodies Festival, Roulette, New York
“handsomely showing off his deep tone”
Bruce Hodges, Seen and Heard International, 2016-10-05
Bach: Mass in B minor; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan; Strathmore
“His “Et in spiritum sanctum” was a highlight.”
Anne Midgette, The Washington Post, 2016-05-27
Schubert: Winterreise, Harold Birston transcription; Diderot String Quartet; Washington National Cathedral
“possessed of the rare poetic soul of a lieder singer”
Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post, 2016-01-17