Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danae at Opera Carlo Felice

May 3rd, 2025

“As expected, the cast is dominated by Angela Meade’s Danae, a soprano who turns everything she sings into gold. The powerful, extended, dense, enveloping instrument finds in the magnificent writing of the character yet another stage on which to make the precious vocal qualities of the American soprano shine: bright high notes and ethereal pianissimos crowd together a very controlled and plastic singing line, capable of passing with disarming naturalness from lyrical abandon to moments of more heated drama. Meade does not limit herself to showing off technique: she sculpts intense phrasing, chisels every expressive nuance and sketches a complex, fragile and strong-willed Danae, fully restoring that moving humanity that Strauss was able to enclose in one of his most successful female portraits.” L’Ape Musicale – Antonino Trotta

“The vocal cast sees the star of Angela Meade shine. The soprano’s broad and burnished vocals are ideally suited to Strauss’s writing and, once again, one is impressed by the roundness of the emission and the extraordinary projection of the middle-upper register. Also noteworthy is the interpreter who, thanks to the ductility and modulation of the line, manages to paint Danae’s emotional nuances throughout the story, from the arrogance with which she rejects every suitor, to her dreamy and tender love for Midas.” Opera Libera – Marco Faverzani | Giorgio Panigati

“And then there is that force of nature that is Angela Meade who, by necessity, recreates the title character with only her sumptuous voice bent to the minimal expressive inflections with pianissimo high notes and an intensity of tone that infallibly recalls the future Vier letzte Lieder. L’Opera Oggi

“Angela Meade, in the role of Danae, conquers with a powerful and controlled voice, capable of transmitting the emotional fragility of the character” HuffPost Italia – Massimo Bernardini

“The cast of “Die Liebe der Danae” impressed with their talent and interpretative ability. Angela Meade, in the title role of Danae, captivated the audience with an acclaimed vocal performance, demonstrating sensitivity and expressive power.“  Wepascience – Marc Nicolas

“ The cast shone above all thanks to the magnetic presence of Angela Meade, who played Danae with authority and intensity, and to John Matthew Myers, generous and engaging in the role of Midas.” Liguria notizie – Elisa Prato

“American soprano Angela Meade, recognized as one of today’s exceptional singers, excelling in both the most demanding Belacanto roles and in Mozart’s operas, interpreted Danae with the right intensity. Hers is a beautiful voice, with a great range, easy to sing with agility, capable of playing with dynamics even in the high range.” Arts Life – Francesca Camponero

“Angela Meade‘s mastery is thus fully evident in this role, both grandiose and ethereal: beyond her vocal qualities, she embodies a disturbing Danae, for whom gold is also a curse, a deadly seduction. The confession of love for Midas, to the inconsolable Jupiter, “Ew’ge Pfanne trennen sich,” is a highlight. Meade forms an excellent duo with tenor John Matthews Myers, who combines the power needed to rise above the orchestral mass with expressive qualities.“ Premiere Loge – Marie Gaboriaud

“The dominator of the evening was American soprano Angela Meade, Danae, with a powerful voice characterized by soaring and perfectly timbred high notes, an instrument that expands, with refined smorzandi and a singing that ensnares, a purity of singing that reflects the soul of the protagonist. Perfect in the initial rendition of Danae’s amorous enigma, a soul that oscillates between dream and realization, between imagined atmospheres and acceptance of the human condition. Captivating in the love duets with Midas and Jupiter, enveloping the spectator in a sensual reference to primordial sentimental forces. One never stops discovering her as an interpreter, profound and fascinating, offering in a passionate rendition, a true hymn to love” Corrierre dello spectacolo – Previtali Rosti

“The undisputed star on stage, for me, is Angela Meade‘s Danae, a voice very suited to the role and the orchestration that supports her, capable of sound power and chiseled nuances, an expressiveness that in the final act leads to emotion.” Opera Click – Michele Gallo

“The ensemble at the service of a high-quality cast in which we cannot fail to highlight the performances of Angela Meade, a Danae with a voice that is always crystal clear and never forced, and of John Matthews Myers (Midas) with a powerful tenor voice.” Gagarin Magazine – Maria Dolores Pesce

“Angela Meade was a wonderful Danae, perfect in her role with an exceptional stage presence and with the perfect vocality for this role” Corriere Dello Spectacolo – Stefano Ceniti

“The best-known name in the cast was undoubtedly that of the American soprano (Washington State) Angela Meade, who portrayed a Danae with a rigorous bel canto line and a beautiful volume of sound, in keeping with the flagship roles of her repertoire.“ Opera Click – Vittorio Mascherpa

“He and Angela Meade form a couple whose vocal harmony is constant. Nothing alters the soprano’s breath, which seems to flow naturally, and she exercises a control that allows her to produce sustained sounds, without the effort ever being perceptible. The range clearly poses no problem for her, the high notes are darted or reached flexibly, it is magnificent from the start and will remain so until the end, a challenge that her predecessors do not always maintain. The ovations at the bows will greet his performance with gratitude. We will conclude by expressing ours to the management of the Carlo Felice, for having programmed the work and the talents who have resulted in this luminous performance.“ Forum Opera – Maurice salles

“From a musical point of view, the theatre fields a cast of more than excellent performers. Above all, Angela Meade’s Danae, who provides a performance and interpretation of stratospheric level. Meade, a favourite of the Carlo Felice, where she triumphed in the great belcanto roles, such as Anna Bolena and Beatrice di Tenda, reveals herself with this performance as one of the greatest Straussian interpreter of the current operatic panorama. The power of her voice, which emerges without any difficulty above the magma of sound of Strauss’s great orchestra, is combined with a silvery timbre and a cantability that adapt perfectly to the soprano vocal register favoured by the Bavarian composer. Also worthy of praise is the ease with which her voice bends to pianissimo, such as the one that closes the opera “Siehe: ich liebe”,resolved in amasterly manner. It is to be hoped that the artistic directors of the theatres take note of this interpretation and cast her as Ariadne and even as Kaiserin.” Opera Diary – Michele

“Another winning choice was to have cast Angela Meade as Danae: we had acclaimed the American soprano last year in the performances of Beatrice di Tenda here in Genoa and in February we applauded her in an operatic Lucrezia Borgia in Rome. For three years, together with Fabio Luisi (the director scheduled for this opera), she had been thinking about a debut with Strauss’s music, a long and complex work, a careful selection, which led to the deepening of such an articulated role. From the initial duet with Xanthe, Angela Meade reveals her crystalline, adamantine, very precise voice: a singing line that emerges above everything and everyone in a refined chiseling work. The love duets with Midas are placid oases, where the Wagnerian legacy is refined, concentrated in explosions of passion. Angela Meade establishes an indissoluble bond with Midas, John Matthew Myers (her husband in real life) that reaches its climax in the third act, in a white-hot duet. Strauss himself considered this his best act…The long preparation of the part together with his wife Meade has allowed an unparalleled understanding.” Il Trillo Parlante – Fabio Tranchida
“Danae played by the American soprano Angela Meade – now a regular at the Genovese theater and her presence alone is worth the ticket – always in crescendo, up to an extraordinary finale with a voice with a great range that never holds back.” Arte e Arti – Stefano Sartini
“The singing company was well composed, dominated by Angela Meade‘s Danae, with great vocal talent, although somewhat restrained in her sensuality.” Le Salon Musicale – Patrizia Luppi
“Angela Meade, in the role of Danae, is the main reason why it is worth attending the penultimate opera by Richard Strauss, Die Liebe der Danae (The Love of Danae), in the hall of the Carlo Felice in Genoa, which the composer never managed to see debut on stage. Strauss finished composing it in 1940 and its first performance should have been held in Salzburg four years later, but the closure of all theaters ordered by Goebbels after the attempted assassination of Hitler prevented this. It was necessary to wait until the end of the war: Die Liebe der Danae, in fact, was finally presented to the public in 1952 conducted by Clemens Krauss. Strauss had died three years earlier. To the title role, written for the beloved soprano voice, Strauss gives the best musical pages of the senile score: from the sublime moment in which “the voice” of Danae (transformed into a statue) chooses the love of Midas in poverty rather than the golden temple and divine honors promised by Zeus, to the poignant solo “Wie umgibst du mich mit Frieden” (How you surround me with peace) during which the girl expresses her joy at having married Midas. All these passages, magnificently sung by Meade, with excellent vocal control and splendid pianissimo high notes. These are the moments, which so much recall Strauss’s last masterpiece, the poignant Four Last Lieder, the most exciting of the evening.” Connessi all’opera – Giancarlo Arnaboldi