Superstar soprano Kathryn Lewek returned to the esteemed Salzburg Festival last month for Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann. Ms. Lewek portrayed Stella, Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta in the production, or all Four Heroines as they're often called. Her tour de force performance received universal acclaim from reviewers. Check out a few highlights below.
All photos: Monika Rittershaus
...the night was ruled by Kathryn Lewek. I think we can all agree that it’s extremely commendable for a singer to perform all four female roles in one night. While Lewek’s performance throughout the opera was outstanding, her Antonia act was clearly the highlight...never before have I heard a lyric voice with such refinement and care, especially in the dramatic scene where she overhears the spectral voice of her mother. Lewek’s tone, full and rich, achieves moments of high dramatic tension without compromising the elegance of her sound. Her Antonia is, above all, a class act—refined and smooth. Her Olympia showcases her extremely flexible voice and charming coloratura, which has captivated Met operagoers in her many performances as the Queen of the Night (and proved that she should be much more than that one role there)...her Barbarella-inspired Olympia aria was actually amusing without resorting to the usual operatic gimmicks—perhaps the best scenic solution of the night, in my opinion...
The American soprano Kathryn Lewek, on the other hand, appears both visually and acoustically to be an extraordinary master of transformation. As requested by Offenbach, she sings all four major female roles herself...In doing so, she makes it clear, psychologically quite understandable, that the Stella in Hoffmann's framework story is identical to the three lovers in his "tales". The fact that a singer can portray the mechanical coloraturas of Olympia, the human warmth of Antonia and the cunning of Giulietta equally convincingly is sensational.
In Kathryn Lewek, who sings all of Hoffmann’s women, Clément has found an ideal protagonist — strong, charismatic and with both secure coloratura of bell-like purity and a warm, seductive lower range. This doll is nobody’s plaything; this woman is an artist on the hunt for equality.
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