- … Monteverdi was not kind to his singers, giving them an almost impossible range of pitch, a difficulty that Peter Bates manipulated with skill, singing with great clarity of diction and tone.
Monteverdi: Il Combattimento … (Review – Henley Standard, November 1973)
- Peter Bates as St Nicholas, proved a stylish tenor soloist, maintaining a finely-contoured lyrical line throughout … his singing was deeply felt.
Britten: St Nicholas (Review – Somerset County Gazette, May 1983)
- [The Royal Liverpool] Philharmonic Choir and cathedral lay clerks combined – with Peter Bates making a stunning Cantor –…
Rachmaninov: Vespers (Review – Liverpool Daily Post, April 1999)
- … unusually excellent soloists … such warmth of expression
Handel: Messiah (Review – Huddersfield Daily Examiner, April 2003)
- … your singing … was stunning, from your first note to the last. It was thrilling to hear your youthful-sounding tenor voice echoing around the building. I also loved the more tender, heart-moving moments …
Handel: Messiah (letter from choral conductor, April 2013)