“Maria Sensi Sellner and the instrumentalists in the orchestra turned in a sterling performance… it easily ranked among the very best orchestral performances of the year…
[Maria Brea’s] voice is gloriously luxurious, well developed and lovely throughout its range, and well suited to the demands of the part. Her warm tones rang out with freshness and clarity, and she acted the role of the naïve, hapless and doomed young lady with a most becoming, subtle innocence…
[Andrew] Cummings gave Rigoletto a much welcomed, slightly higher level of dignity than the role usually gets…
[Sergio] Martinez possesses a bass voice of cavernous resonance and carrying power, and he acted the part with fitting discretion. Ms. Williams sang with a mezzo-soprano voice of excellent quality and quantity, and made the listener wish that Verdi hadn’t saved her vivid character for the last act only.
The opera abounds with small roles that add up to a great ensemble, and allows for the hearing of a number of fine voices. There seems to be nothing on the operatic stage that Robert Frankenberry can’t do, as he proved again last night, in the role of Borsa. Patrick McNally, as Marullo, Graham Fandrei, as Monterone, and Powell Brumm, as Count Ceprano, were other standouts. But Jenna Ziccardi (Countess Ceprano), Thespina Christulides (Giovanna), Sarah Austin (Page) and Andrew Bloomgarden (Usher) all lent their talents in a way that each earned notice, and each deserved a share of the long and loud applause at curtain call time at the opera’s conclusion.”