"Soprano Karin Wolverton dazzled in Minnesota Opera’s “Silent Night” and shines as Fiordiligi. . . Baritone Sidney Outlaw and tenor Javier Abreu ham it up as Guglielmo and Ferrando. They’re never evil, just young and kind of dumb, led around and misled by Don Alfonso. They sing beautifully, too. All the singers in this production do." -MinnPost Read full review. "Soprano Karin Wolverton and mezzo-soprano Sarah Larsen made a strong impression as Fiordiligi and Dorabella, deftly balancing the occasional frivolity of the characters with their deeper emotional complexities. Manich’s astute take on “Così’s” characters extended to Ferrando (Javier Abreu) and Guglielmo (Sidney Outlaw), who emerged as desperately immature and short of life experience, not deliberately cruel and unlikable." -Star Tribune Read full review. "And how splendidly sung that music is in Mill City’s production. I’ve been experiencing soprano Karin Wolverton’s artistry in productions for years, and I’ve never heard her sound better than in her portrayal of the older sister, Fiordiligi. As their fiances, both Javier Abreu and Sidney Outlaw sink their ample talents into some sweet, sadly wistful solos and enjoyable comedy. (The disguised Outlaw’s moustache wouldn’t stay put in the high humidity and he actually made it work to comic effect.)" -Twin Cities Read full review.

Karin Wolverton delivered a terrific Foreign Princess with a big, refulgent soprano voice that dominated proceedings with her every utterance." -Opera News Read full review.

"The score makes generous use of polyphony and call and response. Robbins’ widow Serena (soprano Karen Slack) fired off vocal pyrotechnics during her aria, “My Man’s Gone Now.” Some moments felt oddly upbeat, but the virtuosic solo was a reminder that coloratura is not solely the domain of Mozart." – FWWeekly.com Read full review. "Karen Slack was a fetching Serena" – DallasNews.com Read full review.

"Billie, the hardscrabble mother (the feisty, rich-voiced soprano Karen Slack), works in a chicken factory to keep her family fed and as stable as possible." -The New York Times Read full review. "The gifted soprano Julia Bullock shines in her role...So does dark-voiced soprano Karen Slack as Billie, a strong woman who finally manages to tell her youngest son that she loves him" - Saint Louis Today Read full review. "powerhouse Karen Slack" -ReviewSTL.com Read full review. “The third spectacular voice we hear is that of Karen Slack as Charles's mother Billie. Her participation in the wonderful shouting gospel scene is a high-point of the evening.” -Broadway World Read full review. "Bass-baritone Davóne Tines and soprano Karen Slack supply rich tones and ardent personifications as Charles and Billie." -The Dallas Morning News Read full review. “Karen Slack, as Billie, Charles’ mother, gives us a beautifully drawn, very human wife and mother whose hands are full with her rat of a husband and five little boys. Her voice is warm and full and extremely satisfying.” -St. Louis Eats & Drinks Read full review.

"While this comic opera in two acts provided plenty of laughs, Corigliano’s score was sensational: Its color, intensity and clarity without sacrificing volume; how it slithered, thundered, or wailed for effect; or how effortlessly it moved from 18th-century style to Harry Potter mystery. Music director Joseph Colaneri conducted a superb orchestra." -Daily Gazette Read full review. "The fine soprano Joanna Latini was Rosina . . . Corigliano’s score is a riotous mix of styles — Gilbert & Sullivan, Mozart, Rossini, Strauss, as well as his own — and Joseph Colaneri masterfully blended them into a cohesive whole. The orchestra underpinned all of the madcap escapades, tender love scenes and heartache with shimmering sound. Colaneri and Lesenger are quite a team as demonstrated by the finely honed characterizations and superb musical performances of this excellent young cast." -Seen and Heard International Read full review. "Just as the director worked dramaturgical magic onstage, conductor Joseph Colaneri whipped Corigliano’s porous score into shape in the pit. On opening night, the Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra played with the lightness of a chamber ensemble, with particularly piquant contributions from the nimble woodwinds. Yet when Corigliano called for brass explosions or jutting violin arpeggios, Colaneri and the musicians delivered. . . soprano Joanna Latini made an elegant Rosina. Her duet with Cherubino (mezzo Katherine Maysek), “Look at the green here in the glade”, was ravishing." -Bachtrack Read full review.

"Marcello’s love interest was Joanna Latini, the production’s Musetta. With a voice as strong as Mimi’s, but perhaps with a more innate dramatic quality, she delivered all the was needed in the famous Waltz Song in the Cafe Momus act, her infuriating actions (at least to Marcello) filled with comedy and impressive wilfulness—Musetta’s underlying quality. Latini made a strong impression and earned her full share of applause at the end." -Calgary Herald Read full review. "Joanna Latini’s sweeping entrance as Musetta is worthy of any stage diva, complete with jaw-dropping vocals. She sizzles with one of the production’s show-stopping numbers, nd in the opera’s conclusion, Latini succeeds in offering a Musetta who is capable of seeing beyond the superficial, especially when her friend is in need." -Schmopera Read full review.

"Singing was high-quality throughout the opera. The clear-voiced soprano Eleni Calenos was a sympathetic Mimi opposite the robust tenor Mackenzie Whitney as Rodolfo, who relaxed in his high register as he went along." -Cleveland Classical Read full review. "As the poet Rodolfo, tenor Mackenzie Whitney brought a lightness of tone and earnestness of demeanor to a difficult role that requires the singer to walk the line between ardent lover and callous cad, a distinction Whitney managed admirably. . . But the opera really hinges on the role of the consumptive seamstress Mimi. Soprano Eleni Calenos was an inspired choice, with her rich tone and exquisite control, shifting easily from timid introvert to passionate (and deeply wronged) lover. Her death scene in Act Four was wrenching and entirely believable." - Cleveland Plain Dealer Read full review.

"All the performers excelled musically and dramatically, led by soprano Eleni Calenos, who was radiant as Eisenstein’s wife Rosalinde...Calenos is well-known to New York’s Greek-American Community and her star is rising in the opera world. During the premier she lit up the community’s social media accounts as her friends in Athens reported her triumph and Greeks in New York posted congratulations." -National Herald Read full review.

"L’interprétation très exigeante de la partition acrobatique d’Aïda a été mise en vedette par Elaine Alvarez, pleinement engagée, qui a incarné les complexités théâtrales du personnage principal avec un équilibre dramatique et un lyrisme époustouflants.“/ "The very demanding interpretation of AIDA's acrobatic score was featured by fully engaged Elaine Alvarez, who embodied the theatrical complexities of the main character with a dramatic balance and breathtaking lyricism." -Olyrix Read full review. "The Cuban American soprano Elaine Alvarez portrays the heartrending, suffering Ethiopian king's daughter Aida, who is torn between her love for her fatherland and her love for the enemy Radamès. As Aida must also be the servant of Amneris, who also loves and desires Radamès, she is fatal. It is an impossible love, a silent suffering of fate, which Verdi demands from his Aida with enormous emotional outbursts. Alvarez is vocally convincing, even in the high register." - Barbara Röder, Klassik.com Read full review. "“… the cast offers an excellent level and tries with great courage to recreate the splendor of Verdi’s grand opera, starting with Elaine Alvarez in the title role, who had already delighted us like crazy in Ernani in 2015, and then in Jerusalem (also by Verdi) in 2017. If the width of the voice forces us to mourn the possibility for thinly spinning sounds in the Aria of the Nile, one can only admire the way in which the Cuban-American soprano faces all the obstacles of the spinto soprano range that this part calls for (and which she possesses!), also bearing a deep low register and a fleshy middle: without ever forcing her means, she draws a passionate Aida and moves us deeply in her great aria of the third act, as well as in her farewell to life.” - Opera Online Read full review.

At the behest of Ricard Muti, Elaine Alvarez has been asked to step in last minute for an ailing colleague to sing the remaining performances of Verdi’s “Aïda” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The performances, which mark Ms. Alvarez’s CSO debut, are June 23rd and June 25th, 2019. Ms. Alvarez previously sang with Maestro Muti in 2008 on tour with the Ravenna Festival performing the Soprano Soloist in Rossini's “Stabat Mater.” She made her Chicago debut in 2007 at the age of 27 as a last-minute replacement as Mimi in “La bohème” with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and returned again to the company in 2010 as Micaëla in Carmen. This past spring, Ms. Alvarez prepared and debuted the role of “Aïda” at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liege in a new production by Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera and under the musical direction of Speranza Scappucci, who was previously Maestro Muti's assistant. For more information on the performances, visit the CSO website: https://cso.org/ticketsandevents/production-details-2018-19/chicago-symphony-orchestra/muti-verdi-aida/

"Katie — played by pulsating soprano Jasmine Habersham." -Star Tribune Read full review. "Habersham’s brief but memorable appearances are an integral part of this male-centric story and grounding our understanding of (and sympathies) for “Shoeless” Joe." -Twin Cities Arts Read full review. "At the center the opera, Shoeless Joe played by Joshua Dennis and his wife Katie, an exquisite Jasmine Habersham create a believable couple's chemistry. -Broadwayworld.com Read full review.

"Mezzo Alissa Anderson, in the scene-stealing role of Mistress Quickly, did just that, her chest voice offering a passive-aggressive "Reverenza!" to Falstaff that he fell for completely. She was also capable of lightening her tone for ensembles. Her Mrs Lovett must also be a delight and she is slated to sing her first Erda soon. . . Lyric soprano Jasmine Habersham has a stunning, glowing sound and she looked right as Nannetta" - BachTrack "Alissa Anderson is a wonderfully funny Mrs. Quickly, the messenger who convinces Falstaff to tumble right into Alice Ford’s trap. . . Other standouts in the cast include Jasmine Habersham, who plays Nannetta, the daughter of Alice Ford and her jealous husband." - Berkshire On Stage "Alissa Anderson’s Dame Quickly was a rather staid affair, devoid of the broad comic touches which mezzo-sopranos generally indulge in. Her voice had the richness and depth for the role. . . As Nannetta, Jasmine Habersham sparkled both visually and vocally. Over and over again, the promising young soprano floated beautiful high notes effortlessly. Habersham too can command the stage, as she proved in the final scene when summoning the fairies, goblins and witches to torment Falstaff." - Seen and Heard International