Press
Critical Acclaim | Features
Ernani at the Metropolitan Opera (Elvira)
“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)
Verdi Requiem
“Could Meade be the next great Verdian soprano? I might take that bet.”
— Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun
Richard Tucker Foundation Gala 2011
“As gala concerts go, this one had enough star power for a whole galaxy. With such guests on hand as tenor Jonas Kaufmann, bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and powerhouse mezzo-sopranos Stephanie Blythe and Dolora Zajick, the excitement level was up several notches Sunday night for this year’s benefit for the Richard Tucker Music Foundation. It helped that the 2011 honoree (and $30,000 prize winner), soprano Angela Meade, is already an accomplished artist who can hold her own in such high-powered company. Meade’s opening number, an aria from Verdi’s ‘Attila,’ showed off her large voice, resplendent high notes and technical agility.”
— Associated Press, Mike Silverman (November 2011)
Anna Bolena at the Metropolitan Opera (Anna)
“The promising young American soprano rose to the challenge, putting her own stamp on the role and drawing prolonged cheers from the audience at Friday night’s final curtain … She has a strong, supple voice, a knack for floating soft high notes, and an unusual agility in the rapid-fire technique of bel canto singing so crucial to this 1830 masterpiece … Anna’s first aria and cabaletta was sung with impeccable phrasing and included a couple of high pianissimos that seemed to be spun out of finest silk. There were more of those in the final scene, and at one point Meade accompanied a hushed high note by extending a hand in the air as if reaching for a thread of the delicate fabric.”
— Associated Press, Mike Silverman (October 2011)
Il Trovatore in concert (Leonora)
“Last year’s operatic high point in Oregon was the pairing of Angela Meade and Richard Zeller in Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘Il Trovatore’ at Washington Park. The soprano sensation from Centralia made her Portland debut singing into the sun amid chatting picnickers and wandering toddlers, and even in those less than ideal conditions she shone alongside her fellow Northwesterner and Metropolitan Opera colleague Zeller. She’d have raised the roof if there’d been one. This year’s high point was the same, with the added benefit of a room – Astoria’s handsome Liberty Theater – to display their sound to full effect … As Leonora, she combined bel canto finesse with power and profound musicality. She delivered fine filigrees of crisp coloratura and, especially in the fourth act, lingered on stratospheric pianissimos as the audience collectively held its breath.
— The Oregonian, James McQuillen (Astoria Music Festival, OR, July 2011)
Boston Symphony Orchestra debut at Tanglewood 2011
“Most of the buzz surrounded soprano Angela Meade, recent winner of the Richard Tucker Foundation award, who was making her BSO debut. Meade has been honing the role of Norma in concert performances (most recently at the Caramoor Festival), and her poised voicing of ‘Casta diva’ was stunning.”
— Opera News, Judith Malafronte (July 2011)
“Meade held the audience rapt in Casta diva, the priestess’s gorgeous, trance-like prayer to the moon, and later, singing of her love for the despised proconsul, Meade sent coloratura passages flashing like streaks of lightning through her cabaletta.”
— The Classical Review, David Wright (July 2011)
Verdi Requiem with Baltimore Symphony
“[Meade] gave a sensational account of the pivotal soprano solo on Thursday. The way she floated the ‘Sed signifer’ portion of the ‘Offertorio’ matched perfectly the text’s description of a ‘holy light.’ Could Meade be the next great Verdian soprano? I might take that bet.”
— Baltimore Sun, Tim Smith (Baltimore Symphony, June 2011)
“There were some shining solo moments, particularly from soprano Angela Meade, whose projection and ability to change the color of the voice in any register set her apart.”
— The Washington Post, Robert Battey (Baltimore Symphony, June 2011)
Associated Press
“Meade gave a performance of power and poise that had the audience repeatedly interrupting with cheers … she has a remarkable career ahead of her.”
— Mike Silverman, Associated Press
Norma in concert at the Caramoor International Music Festival (Norma)
“Ms. Meade’s stunning Norma was the big news. From the first lines of Norma’s entrance — in which the druids, chafing under the degradation they suffer from the Romans, are poised to rebel — Ms. Meade sounded in complete command of the role, delivering the character’s charged, defiant dramatic recitative with gleaming sound and incisive attack. The druids await the blessing of their prophetic high priestess on the plan to battle the Romans. Norma counsels peace in ‘Casta Diva,’ and Ms. Meade sang it beautifully, filling the long-spun lines with rich, unforced sound, shaping the phrases with bittersweet poignancy, gracing the melody with tasteful embellishments and lifting her voice to majestic highs … Vocally, Ms. Meade handled the emotional shift brilliantly, unleashing hard-edged, piercing phrases to denounce Adalgisa. As an actress, Ms. Meade had a Junoesque presence and conveyed disarming honesty … She was even more impressive when she caressed soulful pianissimo phrases.”
— The New York Times, Anthony Tommasini (July 2010)
A Miraculous Belle of Bellini
NEW YORK POST | While the rest of the civilized world rallied ’round the World Cup finals Saturday, opera buffs flocked to Caramoor for something they found just as thrilling: the emergence of a brilliant new interpreter of “Norma.”
Bellini’s 1831 tragedy of a Druid priestess who violates her vow of chastity for the love of an enemy Roman general requires the utmost of a soprano’s vocal and emotional range.It’s tempted most of the great divas of history to try to meet its demands. Now Angela Meade, 32, has shown she’s ready to join the exclusive sorority of great Normas.