Opera News stated "Roy Cornelius Smith has crossed into the dramatic repertoire, his voice darkening and gaining power, but without loss of its inherent sweetness and trumpet-like metallic top.
Last season also included his first Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West with Lyric Opera of Chicago opposite Deborah Voigt, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.
He showed remarkable command of the technical challenges of his part and his top register sounded particularly bold and sonorous...At the end of the evening, the audience rewarded him with a standing ovation.
His highly successful debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with the Vienna Volksoper led to an invitation to sing Calaf in a new Barbe/Doucet production of Turandot for which he received rave reviews.
"[This quote needs a citation] His international debut occurred in 1998 at the prestigious Salzburger Festspiele, where he sang Fatty, the Bookkeeper, in Kurt Weill's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny.