Ernani at the Metropolitan Opera (Elvira)

February 23rd, 2012

“Her voice is plush and penetrating, though the power comes effortlessly from the body and richness of her sound. Her top notes soared over the orchestra. Yet just as impressive were her finespun pianissimo phrases. She can be a cautious singer, and she started tentatively here. But as the evening progressed, she gained confidence and conveyed the pathos, anguish and torment of a young woman being pulled apart by three controlling men, one of whom she adores.”

“Ms. Meade’s Elvira showed what this uncommonly gifted rising artist is capable of.”

— The New York Times, Anthony Tommasini (February 2012)

“She is one vocal thrill after another. Her forte notes are true to the top of the register, her piano notes glisten and her improved lower tones growl with ferocity. Her cavatina “Ernani, Ernani, involami (Ernani, Ernani, save me)” was among the moments of the Met season, with Meade displaying disciplined breath control in her coloratura.”

— Associated Press, Ronald Blum (February 2012)

“She has a sumptuous voice—lush, blooming, bright and majestic as sunlight—and her proud stage presence is that of a diva to the manner born. She negotiated the peaks and valleys of Ernani, involami with ease and commendable agility, and her cadenza was a thing of heart-stopping beauty, a buoyant, shimmering pianissimo that recalled Montserrat Caballé.”

—The Classical Review, Marion Lignana Rosenberg (February 2012)

“Angela Meade as Elvira offered plenty of sound, her shimmering soprano soaring effortlessly to repeated high C’s.”

—New York Post, James Jorden (February 2012)

“In her first act blockbuster aria, “Ernani! Ernani, involami,” she turned from doleful urgency to a warm and tender girl in love (particularly in a syrupy, expressive lower register), adding in some Sills-ian trills for good measure….a true star-making Met performance.”

— Operavore, Olivia Giovetti (February 2012)