"Oh my. Let’s start with Carmen herself, sung with mesmerizing command by mezzo-soprano Audrey Babcock. One has to wonder what on earth Babcock would have done with her life if she hadn’t found opera and if Bizet hadn’t written this role for her. She is so perfectly suited for this demanding part, physically and vocally, that it’s hard to imagine her doing anything else but bringing this mercurial seductress to life on stage. Hard to imagine her singing any other role, for that matter. But this is because her acting is as compelling as her singing. It is probable that before the singer dons her costume each night before a Carmen performance, she is a perfectly amiable woman who wouldn’t dream of stealing your boyfriend. But once she drapes a gypsy shawl over her shoulders and sticks a rose in her dark lustrous curls, watch out! . . . Right about then the tall, dark and handsome Richard Ollarsaba as the toreador Escamillio came striding in. Who cares what un-PC things he was probably saying? All the girls on stage got seriously fluttery and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only gray-haired lady in the audience who went a little weak in the knees as his deep, rumbly voice projected so thoroughly throughout the theater it felt as if he were singing right in your ear." -Mount Desert Islander Read full review.

“Conceived, written, and performed by Babcock. . . Babcock was unequivocally spellbinding, both vocally and dramatically, as Lily, calling up both specters of darkness and moments of optimism with a voice that can range from raw, guttural despair to powerful clarity with perfect, seemingly effortless diction. Dramatically, Babcock was able to paint her smoky, dark character with a controlled sense of physical desperation, but also with expressions of tenacity that defines such survivors existing in down-in-the-gutter hardship. Babcock’s performance was also a feast of subtle facial communications and body language, certainly made possible by the intimate theatre space.” - Arts Knoxville

"Wm. Clay Thompson’s Father Palmer and Timothy Bruno as the General were strong contributors to this stirring performance" -Opera News Read full review. "Ideally cast as Father Palmer, Wm. Clay Thompson delivers a Christmas mass in Latin for soldiers from all three camps." -Operatoonity Read full review.

"Mahogany-timbred bass Wm. Clay Thompson was an imposing presence as the oafish, lying Poacher" -Opera News Read full review.

“Corey Bix sang the role of the Captain, Wozzeck’s corpulent superior who constantly berates him. Bix’s tenor voice soared through Berg’s complex score, traversing an insanely wide vocal range as he jumped from dark low tones to brassy high notes. His performance of the Captain came off as a familiar villain (aka the kind that doesn’t even realize that he is the bad guy). The Captain is too self-absorbed to even comprehend how poorly he treats Wozzeck, and Bix conveyed that narcissism with the perfect touch of malevolent humor.” -Schmopera Read full review. “Corey Bix put his stentorian tenor to good use as an abusive, bloated Captain. When his assured eruptions weren’t laced with venom, Mr. Bix skillfully found a way to make them drip with irony. His sturdy instrument had tightly focused presence in all registers.” -Opera Today Read full review. “Bix’s brilliantine tenor is on full display, as is his enormous (prosthetic) belly: He is his company’s smug, well-fed officer-bureaucrat.” -Kansas City Independent Read full review.

“Persuasive and powerful, too, was Jennifer Zetlan as the tormented psychoanalytic patient at the center of “Ellen West”; Ms. Zetlan was focused through rangy, angry vocal lines and sweetly plangent in nostalgic reflection. . . The text is an enigmatic and poignant expression of a self that feels itself unreal…Gordon’s elegantly impassioned score drew dusky lyricism from the Aeolus Quartet, conducted here by Lidiya Yankovskaya.” –Zachary Woolfe, New York Times Read full review. “Soprano Jennifer Zetlan gave a committed performance as the unstable, tormented Ellen, sounding strikingly at home in the music of Gordon, with whom she collaborated on the 2018 album Your Clear Eye. Zetlan embodied Ellen’s vulnerability in moments of vivid introspection as well as her frantic agony. In one therapy session, in which Ellen delivers a monologue about Maria Callas, weight and Tosca, Zetlan personified the somber situation of a mentally ill woman born both in the wrong time and as the wrong sex. . . Gordon’s music captures the tumultuous emotions of the libretto. The vocal lines are at times punchy, then achingly simple; the instrumentation sometimes becomes so frantic that it sounds like a first-rate thriller score. Lidiya Yankovskaya conducted the Aeolus Quartet with passion: the ensemble played behind a scenery window, and was visible through the mullions.” -Opera News Read full review. “Zetlan gave an outstanding performance of Ellen West, Dr. Binswanger’s pseudonymic patient… Zetlan accurately portrayed someone who wanted to jump out her skin, out of her body and the sickening feeling of being hemmed in by a corporeal world. She pushed out into the audience an itchy, claustrophobic vibe that was thick and palpable. That was the key ingredient in bringing the audience along with her as she communicated Ellen’s tormented inner life. Gordon wanted Zetlan in this role, and after seeing her perform, he was spot-on in his selection. . . Tension from beginning to end… The Aeolus Quartet conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya sets the instrumentalists into a mild pizzicato frenzy.” -Opera Wire Read full review. “The central pillar of the production is Jennifer Zetlan’s captivating performance as Ellen… her firm soprano has a way of grabbing the listener’s attention and not letting go. Titles were projected above the stage, but they were hardly needed, as Zetlan’s delivery brought intention and clarity to every syllable. From beginning to end, she disappeared entirely into the painful psychology of her character. . . Lidiya Yankovskaya brilliantly led the orchestral accompaniment, finding meaning in every gesture.” -New York Classical Review Read full review. “Jennifer Zetlan’s portrayal of Ellen is brilliantly executed, he voice wide-ranging, powerful and displaying considerable tonal variety. . . Lidiya Yankovskaya’s musical direction is an equal partner, lending the piece plenty of emotional weight and dramatic tension.” -Musical America “For me, the highlight of the evening was the portrayal of the afflicted title character by the brilliant soprano Jennifer Zetlan. Zetlan did outstanding work in making the tale of gender and eating disorder issues an emotional tour-de-force with the material she was given. Her strong soprano showed off some of the best aspects of Gordon's score…Music director Lidiya Yankovskaya and the Aeolus Quartet did a fine job in bringing out the best elements of Gordon's score…” -Broadway World Read full review. “The soprano Jennifer Zetlan copes tirelessly in the title role… Lidiya Yankovskaya fluently conducts a string quartet, bass and piano.” -The Financial Times Read full review.

"Jennifer Zetlan, with her resplendent tone and dazzlingly clear delivery, gives a ceaselessly compelling, emotionally complex performance. . . Other high points include a passage for Blanche, the snobbish beauty Rochester has no intention of marrying, who can scarcely disguise her class condescension when referring to Jane. Katrina Thurman leaps through this bouncy aria with enjoyably imperious agility.” -Opera News Read full review.

"Not 5 minutes past the curtain call we wanted to see Pauline Viardot 's Cendrillon over again. Where was the repeat button? We relished every moment of this charming work brought to the stage by City Lyric Opera , a most worthy company with high ideals. . . Career advancement is not easy for female conductors and we were thrilled to see the young rapidly rising Maestro Michelle Rofrano on the podium leading an energetic and light-hearted reading of Pauline Viardot's telling of the Cinderella tale. The chamber orchestra was with her every step of the way. There were the requisite strings augmented by one each of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn. The plangent sound of the harp wove it all together. The melodic score has the flavor of French music hall, which we see as a good thing. Mo. Rofrano played the score as a light-hearted and enchanting bauble." - Voce di Meche

"Guest conductor Robert Wood underscored the drama and sonority of the music for Austin Opera’s latest staging, which plays through Sunday at the Long Center. For her part, stage director Tara Faircloth highlighted the concrete and specific psychologies of the characters rather than the general and pictorial elements in a story about a venal Duke of Mantua pitted against Rigoletto, his cruel and vengeful jester, and Gilda, Rigoletto’s innocent daughter and one of the Duke’s prime sexual targets." -Austin 360 Read full review. "From the moment the curtain rose I was fully entranced by every aspect of the production. Stage Director Tara Faircloth presents an extravagant work of art in every aspect, her playfulness shows in small moments that bring chuckles from the audience. Conductor Robert Wood guides Verdi's iconic music and leaves our hearts humming." -BroadwayWorld.com Read full review.

"The estimable American festival, Des Moines Metro Opera, ventured confidently into Stephen Sondheim territory with an enthralling new production of Sweeney Todd. The first great asset in its favor is that the company entrusted the stage direction to the confident skills of Kristine McIntyre. This endlessly inventive director revels in character motivation, ever-shifting stage pictures, and a rich inventory of detail-oriented business. Ms. McIntyre is also well-acquainted with the idiosyncratic strengths of the Blank Theatre’s thrust space, with its mid-stage sunken pit, and capitalizes on them. She moves her players through their inexorable paces with murderous glee, and a dark humor firmly fixed in Gothic reality. This was quite a driven rendition of this now-familiar tale, and the entire cast seemed electrifying in its delivery. While there were blissful moments of momentary musical comedy repose, the whole performance was underscored by a restlessness that kept us on edge even as it kept us entertained. . . Tobias Ragg is often presented as a somewhat hapless puppy dog. Not so here, with Christian Sanders characterizing him as more a coltish street urchin, his steady, shining tenor ringing out in the house. His version of “Not While I’m Around” was a production highlight, infused with such an appealing boyish determination that it earned a prolonged ovation. . . Sondheim wrote two cruelly high tenor roles, and both were well taken on this occasion. . . As the Beadle, Corey Bix somehow successfully sang in a register only dogs can hear, and when not in the stratosphere, his meaty tenor amused and delighted in the parlor scene before his demise. . .this was a minor miracle of a Sweeney Todd: By turns intimate, grand, in your face, out of this world, over-the-top, restrained, musically impeccable, and, having seen the original Broadway production (‘pace’ Mr. Prince et al), DMMO’s thrilling up-close-and-personal experience is even better. " - James Sohre, Opera Today "As you enter the theatre, your eyes can't help but focus on the intricate set designed by R. Keith Brumley. What I loved was how as the story unfolded, so did the set. Each reveal during the show was just as exciting as the previous. While many productions of Sweeney Todd tend to use a black and white palette for colors, this production is daring and plays against that palette and uses color with the set and Jonathan Kipscher's beautiful costumes. Another of my favorite technical elements of the show is Kate Ashton's lighting. Her lighting allows Sweeney's shadow to almost look down on stage at the show's opening when he makes his first entrance and also allows the sets to light up and appear to be factory ovens being worked during the show. All of this is tied together under the fantastic direction of Kristine McIntyre. Her staging puts the audience right in the center of the show's action. It does a beautiful job of transitioning between when the audience is being told what is happening and times where the audience is getting to watch what is happening in the show. It's as though the proverbial fourth wall doesn't exist. . . On the other side of the coin is Corey Bix and Wayne Tigges as Beadle Bamford and Judge Turpin. When we first see them on stage, they do a fantastic job of coming across as the vile characters the show will reveal them to be as it goes on. . . The evening continues with a very charismatic performance from Christian Sanders as Tobias. He not only commands the audience's attention whenever he is on stage but exudes a charm that will have the audience members themselves wanting to purchase miracle elixir or meat pies right from him. . . From the incredible sets and costumes to the terrific direction and the outstandingly superb cast, Sweeney Todd is a production you won't want to miss." - DC Felton, Broadway World

"As the eldest March girl, Meg, mezzo Laura Krumm was exquisite. Her lyric instrument had the warm shimmer of a lyric soprano combined with the best mezzo depth. Her Meg was utterly lovely, elegantly swept up in John Brooke’s courtship and generous with her family." -Opera News Read full review.

"Cavalleria” also featured a gorgeous contribution by mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm as Lola, the focus of all the men’s desires. Krumm has been a strong, reliable presence on local opera stages since her time as an Adler Fellow several years ago, but I’ve never before heard her sing with such a combination of force, rich vocal color and sheer self-assurance. This performance – brief but entrancing – felt like a major step forward." -Datebook Read full review.