“The singing of tenor Stanley Cornett throughout the afternoon was a model of expressive beauty.”–Theodore W. Libbey, Jr., TheWashington Star ((3/24/80); Bach: St. Matthew Passion,Washington Bach Consort.

“Mr. Cornett’s voice has that beguiling sweet, bright timbre possessed by the finest lyric tenors in the Baroque, song, and lyric-operatic repertories.”–Lon Tuck, The Washington Post (5/25/83); Capitol Hill Recital Series.

“Best of all were the vocal soloists. . . Mr. Cornett in particular, possesses a florid tenor voice of exceptional beauty.”–Tim Page, The New York Times (10/28/84); Bach: Christmas Oratorio, Musica Sacra, Avery Fisher Hall.

“Tenor Stanley Cornett has a superb voice that he uses intelligently.”–Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post (5/10/80); “The Glory of the French Baroque,” Oratorio Society of Washington, Kennedy Center.

“And tenor Stanley Cornett’s expressive and uncontrived singing as the Evangelist (narrator) stood like a protective icon amid the gathered forces. Cornett’s warm, facile and full-bodied voice reached the back rows with ease. He was master of the lengthy and demanding role, knitting the work together and disguising any effort. His performance alone was worth the price of the ticket.” –.Robert V. Palmer, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (4/1/85); Bach: St. John Passion, Rochester Bach Festival.

“The ten vocal soloists were not all on the same professional level, resulting in shaky coordination with the orchestra during a few arias. Stanley Cornett, however, was a model oratorio tenor in the part of the Evangelist with his precise articulation and penetrating upper register.”–Stuart Low, Rochester Times Union (4/1/85); Bach: St. John Passion, Rochester Bach Festival.

“Two of the soloists were wonderful: Stanley Cornett brought elegance and intensity to the tenor numbers. From his entrance in the ‘Domine Deus’ duet, his singing was refined and attractive. He has a very beau­tiful timbre, evenly produced throughout the range, even at the modest trill on the word ‘Patris.’ His musicianship and control in the difficult but very rewarding ‘Benedictus’ gave much pleasure.”–Octavia Roca, The Washington Times (3/21/89); Bach: Mass in B minor, Paul Hill Chorale, Kennedy Center.

“The solo quartet proved exceptional. . . Stanley Cornett, making his first appearance with the Atlanta Symphony, unveiled a lovely, limpid tenor, strikingly mellifluous, with a wide coloristic range. He demonstrated outstanding musicality as well.”–Derrick Henry, The Atlanta Constitution (12/21/85); Messiah, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Robert Shaw, conductor.

“Tenor Stanley Cornett brought a flurry of unusual and fascinating ornaments to his performance. It is certainly appropriate for soloists to improvise around the given notes, as they surely did in Handel’s day, and Cornett does this more extensively than most. He has a rich sound to his voice, and sings without either squeezing or stretching the high notes out, as many tenors do.”–Richard Devinney, TheGrand Rapids Press (12/7/88); Messiah, Calvin Oratorio Society.

“Tenor Stanley Cornett projected with a rich sound. . .”–Joanne Sheehy Hoover, The Washington Post(3/24/80); Bach: St. Matthew Passion, Washington Bach Consort.

“Fortunately there were those who made direct contact with the expressive intensity of the music. . . there was the sweet-voiced and elegant tenor Stanley Cornett. . . When these people were playing and singing the performance leaped to another level, which was Bach’s, containing everything that music can possibly say.”–Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe (4/1/83); Bach: St. Matthew Passion,Handel & Haydn Society, Symphony Hall, Boston.

“The most consistently arresting of the three soloists was Cornett. His mellifluous tenor voice produced tones of seamless beauty and delicacy. That was especially true in his aria in Part II, ‘In native worth and honor clad.'”–Owen Hardy, Louisville Courier-Journal (10/23/82); Haydn: The Creation, Louisville Bach Society.

“. . . Stanley Cornett contributed an exceptionally sweet tenor line.”–Joanne Sheehy Hoover, TheWashington Post (4/18/81); Bach: Mass in B Minor, Oratorio Society of Washington, Kennedy Center.

“Tenor Stanley Cornett sang with special fervor in the ‘Benedictus.’ His voice is light and arching.”–Owen Hardy, Louisville Courier-Journal {10/24/81) Bach: Mass in B Minor, Louisville Bach Society.

“The eight principal singers were quite fine, with a particularly rewarding set of tenors. There was true beauty and simple greatness when Gene Tucker sang the Virgin’s name and the sound returned in Stanley Cornett’s tenor with freshness all its own.”– Octavio Roca, The Washington Post (l0/30/81); Monteverdi: Marian Vespers of 1610, Oratorio Society of Washington, Kennedy Center.

“The seven soloists were all in good voice, with particularly outstanding work by soprano Jane Bryden and tenor Stanley Cornett.”–Joseph McLellan, The Washington Post (12/13/82); Monteverdi: Christmas Vespers, Oratorio Society of Washington, Kennedy Center.

“Bach’s Cantata No. 10 succeeded on the strengths of the non-choral sections, particularly in the Recitativo and Duet portions that featured the splendid tenor Stanley Cornett.”–Charles McCardell, The Washington Post (1/31/83); Washington Bach Consort, Washington National Cathedral.

“Stanley Cornett, who sang the tenor arias, did so with vocal aplomb. . .”–Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post (4/17/84); Bach: St. John Passion (arias), Paul Hill Chorale, Kennedy Center.

“If this sterling performance had any weak point, it may have been the soloists, whose performances were mostly routine. The brilliant exception was tenor Stanley Cornett, whose achingly beautiful Benedictus remains in the memory.”–Daniel E. Gawthrop, The Washington Post (3/22/89); Bach: Mass in B minor, Paul Hill Chorale, Kennedy Center.

“. . . Stanley Cornett possesses an equally agile tenor for oratorio. Yet the most memorable vocal excursions were moments of operatic intensity, individually and in duet (with soprano Jane Thorngren). Highlight of the evening: Cornett’s silken recitative that opened ‘Summer.'”–Harvey Siders, Los Angeles Daily News (5/30/85); Haydn: The Seasons, Pasadena Chamber Orchestra.

“Sowerby required a clear tenor voice of exceptional agility and absolute tonal security for the Evangelist. Cornett found relaxed paths over every hurdle, adding a ringing conviction in the many dramatic lines.”–Lawrence Sears, The Washington Star (3/23/72); Leo Sowerby: Forsaken of Man,Christ Church, Georgetown.

“The young American tenor Stanley Cornett sang a persuasive narrator, his intense timbre lending the oratorio an idiomatic color.”–Kenneth Herman, Los Angeles Times (12/22/84); Berlioz: L’Enfance du Christ, San Diego Symphony, ­David Atherton, conductor.

“Cornett, who was the centurion and the narrator, put his tenor to good use, singing with clarity and mellow tone that caressed the ear.”–Valerie Scher, San Diego Tribune (12/21/84); Berlioz: L’Enfance du Christ, San Diego Symphony, David Atherton, conductor.

“Tenor Stanley Cornett has the evenest scale we have heard in many a year, linking a robust lower register and a clear upper head voice with a remarkably smooth transition.”–Peter Trump, Albany Times-Union (5/16/77); Handel: Judas Maccabaeus, Capitol Hill Choral Society, Albany, NY.

“Handel must have had an exceptional tenor in mind (or one he didn’t like) when he wrote ‘Judas,’ as the tenor recitatives and arias are nearly as tricky as any for soprano. The florid lines of ‘Sound an Alarm: would scare a flute player, but Stanley Cornett had the facility and light quality to breeze through it all”.–Bill Rice, Schenectady Gazette (5/16/77); Handel: Judas Maccabaeus, Capitol Hill Choral Society, Albany, NY.

“. . . while tenor Stanley Cornett was absolutely magnificent, and sang as perfectly as anyone could hope to.”–Dennis Ira Ruck, Montgomery County Sentinel (5/3/83); Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Maryland Masterworks Chorus.

“Special merit was earned by tenor soloist Stanley Cornett, whose studied instrument–a voice of distinction–set him apart from the rest of the soloists.”–Vincent Patterson, Virginia Journal(5/20/83); Mendelssohn: Saint Paul, Arlington Metropolitan Chorus.

“Haydn’s glorious ‘Theresa Mass’ featured some distinguished solo ensemble singing. Tenor Stanley Cornett was outstanding on his own . . .”–Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post (2/21/82); National Shrine Music Guild.

“Cornett, with his even, controlled tenor and clear diction, was the most successful (of the soloists)–in ‘Maria,’ and in the ‘Jet Song’ from West Side Story.“–Lloyd Grove, The Washington Post (1/1/83); “The Best of Broadway” Pops Concert, National Symphony, Kennedy Center.

“Tenor Stanley Cornett’s pleasing sound contributed to the high quality of the performance.”–Joanne Sheehy Hoover, The Washington Post (11/22/79); Mendelssohn: Elijah, Southern Maryland Choral Society.

“. . . and the tenor of Stanley Cornett that can best be described as delectable. After his ‘Every Valley’ I could hardly wait for ‘Thy Rebuke.'”–Jean Alexander, Montgomery County Sentinel (12/15/81); Messiah, Maryland Masterworks Chorus.

“Cantata 130 contained one of the most beautiful moments of the afternoon in the recitative duet for soprano Kathleen Regneri and tenor Stanley Cornett. Cornett, who was featured throughout much of the first half, performed in a warm, emotive manner that displayed the glories of Bach’s vocal writings at their finest.”–Martha Elson, The Louisville Times (4/22/85); Bach: Cantata No. 130, Louisville Bach Society.

“Tenor Cornett managed the highwire lines of the letters with panache and a seamless, lovely voice. His clear delivery of the words (even those in the fast and furious J.S. Bach letter) must have been a joy to Argento, who was in the audience.”–Gordon Sparber, The Columbia Flier (2/15/90); “An Evening of Music of Dominick Argento” (Letters from Composers), Peabody Conservatory Faculty Artists.

“Tenor Stanley Cornett showed an especially sweet bel canto sound, one that I would like to hear in some Rossini operas.”–Lon Tuck, The Washington Post (3/8/82); Rossini: Petite Messe Solennelle,Cathedral Choral Society, Washington National Cathedral.

“Lyric tenor Stanley Cornett, who sang a splendid recital last night at St. James Church on Capitol Hill, is one of the freshest talents of the young singers who now sing regularly in Washington. While not a large voice, it has two great compensating qualities. One is that beguiling sweet, bright timbre possessed by the finest lyric tenors in the Baroque, song, and lyric-operatic repertories–and at this point the quality is relatively even throughout his range. And further, Cornett knows how–and when–to color it. He also is a fastidious musician with a personable stage presence. The fact that his best moments embraced a wide range of styles is an encouraging sign. There was the beautifully characterized aria from ‘Giulio Sabino,’ an opera by Giuseppe Sarti, a Mozart contemporary. Schubert’s poignant ‘Nacht und Traume’ was beautifully shaded. Two Faure settings from Verlaine were idiomatic. And Britten’s arrangement of the folk tune ‘The Foggy, Foggy Dew’ was bracingly conveyed. Cornett wisely chose not to push his voice beyond its size, the kind of problem that has caused such strain for the best-known current American lyric tenor, Rockwell Blake, at the Met.”–Lon Tuck, The Washington Post (5/25/83; (recital)..

“Cornett contributed several expressive solos during the evening, including an especially intense opening to Hindemith’s ‘Wahre Liebe.'”–Joanne Sheehy Hoover, The Washington Post (10/18/82); The Norman Scribner Choir, Kennedy Center.

“Tenor Stanley Cornett joined soprano Kathleen Regneri in ‘Domine Deus’ for some of the finest baroque ensemble work in this listener’s memory. The articulation and ornamentation were a total joy.”–George R. Hubbard, The Louisville Courier Journal (4/22/91); Bach: Mass in B minor, Louisville Bach Society.

“Faure’s incidental music to ‘Shylock,’ the centerpiece of the concert, includes three lovely selections for orchestra and tenor, here sung with finesse and control by Stanley Cornett.”–Arthur R. Smith, The Washington Post (5/30/95); National Gallery Orchestra.

“The quartet was well blended and sensitive to the music’s solitude. Cornett’s lyric tenor was the most evenly effective.”–Robert V. Palmer, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (9/22/86); Bach: Mass in B minor, Rochester Bach Festival.

“. . . and tenor Stanley Cornett did a smooth job of another Sarti air.”–Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post (2/10/82); “Parisien Concert Spirituel,” Smithsonian Chamber Players.

“I’ve worked with some marvelous singers, including some from Washington whom I am meeting again on this visit. There are three young Washington tenors whom I find particularly promising: Stanley Cornett, Douglas Robinson, and James McDonald. It is a pleasure working with them.”–Sir Peter Pears in an interview with Joseph McLellan for The Washington Post (3/26/80).