Liv Redpath - Press

Press

Thomas Hamlet at Komische Oper Berlin

“Enthusiastic ovations after a good three and a half hours of musical delight and – something that hadn't happened for a long time – frenetic, never-ending interim applause, especially for Liv Redpath's breathtaking insane aria by Ophélie "À vos jeux, mes amis". Equal to the former bravura aria by Maria Callas. Especially since the young American soprano also visually embodies the ideal Ophelia. Such a radiant voice, effortless even in the highest register and breathtaking coloratura, has probably not been heard for a long time.”

“This act belongs solely to Ophélie, the blond, curly-haired angel in a white dress: Liv Redpath. She, too, is a gifted actress who, right from the start, plays Ophelie's strangeness in this stiff society, with its much too heavy burgandy robes, with those fine nuances that make the theater a place of illusions. A look here, a step there, and you know already how much this young woman is tormented, even before the real suffering (of Hamlet's 'Madness') begins. But now that everything seems decided, Ophélie has her grand entrance. And she makes use of it with a gleaming solo about "to be or not to be", which lacked neither vocal brilliance (what light, lucid heights!) nor dynamic variation”

“The casting of the two main roles in the Berlin premiere is one of those rare strokes of luck, in which the visual and musical impression merge into an ideal stage presence…[with] the pretty blonde curly-haired Liv Redpath, whose technically superior, bell clear soprano voice retained its warmth even in dizzying coloratura. That she even found the energy to climb the stairs during the touchingly sad madness aria – running down without endangering the vocal line for a moment increased the strength of the applause by several phonons”

“This personal drama of two young people is very appropriately played and sung by two exceptional young artists: Huw Montague Rendall with a supple and powerful baritone and Liv Redpath with her wonderfully dazzling soprano, which never gets shrill even in the highest register…With her, every note sits and radiates effortlessly, as if a happy little bird were chirping over a spring meadow. The audience listened as quietly as a mouse and immediately thanked her with thunderous applause.”

“At the end of this premiere at the Komische Oper Berlin there was great cheering from all ranks, after the madness aria by Ophélie even ecstatic bravo shouts, because the American soprano Liv Redpath really made a coloratura event of the first order out of this mammoth scene, in which one as a listener caught his breath as Redpaths' voice climbed to the highest heights with lyrical ease and stayed there floating. Which already gives two main reasons to watch this "Hamlet": These two young singers in the central roles are a stunner. And a real enrichment of the everyday repertoire of the local opera scene.”

“This evening is supported by a fantastic couple: Liv Redpath as Ophélie and Huw Montague Rendall in the title role. Rarely do you experience such believable lovers and sufferers in the opera. Both are agile like straight theater professionals, courageous, agile, touching - and sing so grandiosely that your ears ring…Liv Redpath's coloraturas are as bright as a bell, effortless, seductive, but never act as acoustic ornamentation, but are an honest expression of inner conflict…Anyone who loves opulent opera and misses out on this spectacle has only themselves to blame.”

“On the other hand, there were extraordinary performances from the singers…The blond, curly haired Ophélie by Liv Redpath is already visually ideal. Above all, however, she is a brilliant virtuoso of coloratura, who knows how to sing her two bravura arias – especially her madness aria – with a flexible soprano voice that is sure of heights.”

“...what is best known is Ophélie's mad frenzy in ‘À vos jeux, mes amis’, an aria also made famous by Maria Callas. There was never-ending interim applause.”

“And then on Sunday you see a production that you haven't seen in Berlin for a long time, not even at the Komische Oper Berlin, which always surprises…What Liv Redpath achieves as Ophélie afterwards is almost sensational: At the moment she switches from elegiac melody or friendly dalliance to ragged coloratura. The initial very innocent sound begins to ache with sadness at the moment of her freaking out. With her as well as with Huw Montague Rendall in the title role, one notices a special focus of the voice on the role from the first note, it is immediately clear what facets these characters encompass.”

“Liv Redpath is simply a vocal wonder. She also masters the skyscraper location…as an outcast going insane. I find the clear soprano voice, which in my ears is rather cool and therefore clear, refreshing, and it also goes very well with Montague Rendall's baritone and the extremely youthful role. Incidentally, the perfect intonation, which is particularly noticeable with the flute, is also fun when making music together. Redpath is rightly celebrated frenetically by the audience.”

“Liv Redpath as Ophélie impresses with crystal-clear, razor-sharp coloratura, which demands a lot of vocal artistry in the madness scene. Playful, attractive and with an intense expression, she is an ideal partner for her Hamlet.”

“{In Huw Montague Rendall,} physical and mental agility are perfect, and the intensity and naturalness of his playing and singing go hand in hand. As his partner Ophélie, Liv Redpath is absolutely equal. Like Hamlet, she is blond and brightly costumed. Thomas wrote two arias for her role that are considered highly challenging in the coloratura soprano repertoire. Redpath masters them both, especially the madness aria, with a lyrical, even soaring, sure-footed high. One could hardly wish for a more beautiful and more suitable pair of lovers. Both with good French pronunciation.”

“It is said that the eye eats, but the eye also listens, and so it is a great asset for this production that the protagonists are extremely attractive people, who are also the youthful age for their roles…Liv Redpath's Ophélie is a delicate blond creature and is therefore visually ideal. She masters her two bravura arias with a crystalline, treble-proof soprano of fine sweetness and has a beautiful melancholy in her voice for the song by Willis.”

“There was cheering and more cheering in the Komische Oper at the premiere of Ambroise Thomas' opera "Hamlet" on Sunday.”

Der Rosenkavalier at La Monnaie/De Munt

“Liv Redpath offers a Sophie of a rare vocal thickness, without the freshness of the character ever having to suffer. The timbre is superb, the vocal colors varied, the vocal line constantly mastered, the emotion constant. What's more, the actress is endearing: an artist that French theaters would be honored to invite!”

“Liv Redpath is a very pretty, childlike Sophie with a glowing voice and plays with provocative girlishness.”

“Perfectly matched in timbre and phrasing in enchanting duets, Liv Redpath offers a remarkable Sophie, with argentine suspended highs and a full-bodied midrange.”

“The American Liv Redpath has a slightly more lyrical instrument than is usual in her role as Sophie, but with a limpid, diamond-like treble that radiates the viewer's ears with harmonics…she is one of the best singers, in a battle more inextricable than the trial of Paris and her goddesses.”

“Sophie finds here in Liv Redpath a particular figure, combining humility and simplicity of playing with an extremely ornate and lyrical soprano up to her highest notes, of great purity revealing her sweetness.”

“Liv Redpath quickly established herself as one of the major protagonists of the evening, as her crystalline soprano gained momentum to show the courage and determination of this little piece of woman that nothing scares.”

Lucia di Lammermoor at LA Opera

“{Liv Redpath}, currently developing an exciting international career, made her first starring appearance on this stage. Her vocal qualities are indisputable for a role of this caliber, showing depth, variety of colors in the registers, bright and clear high notes.”

“Redpath has a terriffic voice with plenty of power and range, and she looks the part of an attractive teenage girl that every man in the story wants…the audience was eager to stand and shout their approval for the young soprano”

Der Rosenkavalier at Bayerische Staatsoper

“Liv Redpath (a graduate of Harvard University and The Juilliard School) had silvery high notes and nice phrasing. Munich is a place where we have had some of the strongest Sophies: Lucia Popp made it a speciality, Barbara Bonney made her mark here, and Redpath is a worthy successor”

“Liv Redpath shone in the role of Sophie with a beautiful, onomatopoeic soprano voice.”

“New in the ensemble is Liv Redpath as the self-confident, so finely lyrical to vocally gripping Sophie.”

“The sometimes majestic, sometimes tomboyish Sophie (wonderful Liv Redpath)...An all-round successful evening, uplifting in difficult times. Thunderous applause. Rightly so.”

“Liv Redpath, winner of one of the recent Viñas competitions in Barcelona, was a practically ideal and very combative Sophie.”

“the young American Liv Redpath, another revelation…a pleasant physique and a voice just big enough, which deliciously knows how to float in the treble.”

“Liv Redpath, for her part, portrays a Sophie bursting with energy, bubbling with a desire to bite into life and live in the present time…The chemistry between the three singers obviously contributes to the success of the evening: The final trio, centrally, is executed to perfection and unfolds all its facets, detailing all the unspeakable nuances of bittersweet happiness.”

“...the character of Sophie, sung by Liv Redpath with a truly beautiful voice and a high technical and artistic level”

“Liv Redpath is a very fresh and very seductive Sophie…the treble passages, the hold on the breath are remarkable and particularly gripping and moving.”

“Redpath was a charming Sophie, more determined than most, with a beautiful voice, excellent technique, good and firm treble, and an already mature character.”

Les Huguenots at Deutsche Oper Berlin

“Queen Marguerite, who vacillates between a good heart and the pose of a queen, is lent her sensually attractive soprano by Liv Redpath (in the pompous Queen Elizabeth costume). The voice has an elegiac beauty of tone and always has the right virtuoso finish ready, filigree execution included.”

“But when it came to setting the stage alight it fell to Liv Redpath in the coloratura role of Marguerite de Valois. She was simply radiant in her delivery of her big number ‘O beau pays de la Touraine’

“Liv Redpath is not to be outdone, with more opulent and operatic material, so comfortable in the vocalism”

“Liv Redpath was a delightful Marguerite de Valois, deliberately played as a drug-ridden air-head, but still Redpath captivated with her endless roulades and effortless stage presence”

Hansel & Gretel at LA Opera

“Always a standout with her buttery soprano, Liv Redpath was every inch the child Gretel, romping with the loose-limbed vigor of a ten-year-old”

“Liv Redpath’s gorgeously sweetened soprano was a perfect match for her spirited, pretty, Gretel. Redpath’s biggest vocal asset is a soaring upper range highlighted with polished crystal notes, and she deploys them in her element. The two [Cooke and Redpath] blend together adorably with lots of physical comradeship and duets that touch the heart. One of the most famous folk music-inspired tunes, Act Two’s ‘Evening Prayer’, is a special one that showcases the pair’s gift to capture a child’s innocence and hope most tenderly and affectingly."

“Liv Redpath, whom I’ve admired since I first heard her beguiling soprano in a range of character parts, was spot on as Gretel. The role’s difficulty is often underestimated and it’s not an easy sing. She was particularly enchanting in the forest scenes and her voice increased in size as the evening progressed and her confidence grew.”

“Sasha Cooke and Liv Redpath as the two kids were cute as buttons and once they got off the steeply raked porch outside their house you could hear just how brilliantly each of them sang. Director and designer Doug Fitch gave them a lot of business to do on a stage with at least fourteen animals, little mounds of grass, and giant glowing, growing mushrooms; they responded with more than enough voice and charisma to burn.”

“Dwarfed by this exaggerated fantasyland, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and soprano Liv Redpath were effectively shrunken into playful young siblings. As Gretel, Redpath was lithe and engaging, matching Cooke’s effortless midrange power to create perfectly matched duets."

“The cast is well chosen. Liv Redpath is a wonderfully spunky, resourceful, and lyrically bright Gretel — an admirably empowering role model for the young ladies in the audience. It is she, not her brother, who proves clever enough to save the day. Her bull-in-a-china-shop brother is sung with rambunctious energy by Sasha Cooke. The two siblings play well off each other as they explore the forbidden wood with its menagerie of creatures, are trapped by the witch, defeat her evil intentions, and free the enchanted gingerbread children."

“A stellar cast was assembled to inhabit this fantasy world. Thanks to lively direction (also by Doug Fitch) and theater magic, Sasha Cooke and Liv Redpath look and act like two fidgeting, mischevious teenagers, singing their lines in childlike pure tones, whose similar timbres suggest their sibling kinship. (This Gretel even manages to slide down a lollipop flagpole at the witch’s house like an intrepid fireman!)"

“At the forefront are mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and soprano Liv Redpath…The two share a convincing chemistry as compassionate siblings who stay relatively optimistic despite the pangs of hunger. Their rice cream dance will make attendees smile…Vocally, Redpath and Cooke sound smooth and wholesome in Act One, when they sing their ‘Cuckoo’ ditty, and particularly in Act Two, upon waking from atop a large hedge in the forest, [as they] dulcetly recall of the guardian animal angels who encircled and stood vigil at their slumber."

Ariadne auf Naxos at Santa Fe Opera

“The most impressive of the cast is soprano Liv Redpath as the feisty Zerbinetta. At only 26 years old, Redpath is a powerhouse. Her soprano penetrates the air and pierces the ear, reminiscent of a young Beverly Sills. She exudes all of the carefree, nymph-like attitude of the character, and is particularly coquettish in her grand aria, which received the biggest ovation of the night. It was a privilege to see Redpath at such an early stage in her career, for she will surely be a recognizable name in a few years.”

“Liv Redpath was a sparkling Zerbinetta”

“Liv Redpath is a Zerbinetta less ditzy than usual, more sympathetically grounded, with lower-range warmth as well as all the stratospheric glitter you could want for the ‘Größmächtige Prinzessin’ aria.”

“Liv Redpath’s Zerbinetta stole the show with her intricately varied ‘Großmächtige Prinzessin’.”

“The 45-minute first act firmly establishes the stars of this production: Majeski’s Composer and Redpath’s Zerbinetta. Not only are they charismatic on their own, but they find their way to each other for a romance that practically throws off visible sparks. The fantastic performances from both women could not be more different, but come together with chemistry so exhilarating, I doubt Strauss could ever have imagined its effect on audiences an ocean and a century away…And now for the timeless humanity: Zerbinetta, in a flawless and acrobatic rondo, essentially tells the slumped figure in the egg to get over herself. Praise be to Zerbinetta (and, in turn, Redpath)! She emerges as the true heroine of this story.”

“Former Apprentice Liv Redpath, making her Santa Fe Opera debut as coquettish Zerbinetta, was enchanting. She completely immersed herself in the role. Her tour de force aria in Ariadne’s cave was stunning, pure, silvery perfection.”

“Redpath was a revelation: she had the most interesting part, after all — as the leader of the burlesque troupe, she comments snidely on all the action. And that voice — facile, very high, light, and colorful — made her the linchpin of the performance..”

“Soprano Liv Redpath makes her official house debut with a winning portrayal of Zerbinetta, the lead comedienne. Rather than play her as merely a flirtatious coquette, as one sometimes sees, she rendered the character as naturally chipper, charming, and optimistic. She had the role firmly in hand, tossing off the trills and high E’s in her famous aria ‘Größmächtige Prinzessin’ as if the part was not all that difficult. (Oh, but it is.)”

Orphée et Eurydice at LA Opera

“Liv Redpath veritably shone in the role of Amour. Her character as part of the real world was Orpheus’ young male assistant, so nothing fantastical except her voice, which was clean and bright and exceptionally attuned to the tricky rhythms in Gluck’s writing. She brings great pleasure when she sings and remains a voice to follow.”

“Redpath has a beatific essence about her projection…and, although she has the least amount of stage time of the three principal roles, [she] has a presence that tangibly lingers."

“Liv Redpath was a honey-voiced and expressive Amour.”

“Liv Redpath as Amour, is a fully fledged star now at LA Opera, and rightly so. This reviewer has enjoyed three of her tremendous performances this season.”

“Liv Redpath’s beautifully sung Amor was charming and resourceful."

“Amour is performed with unforgettable delicacy by soprano Liv Redpath."

Ariadne auf Naxos at Cincinnati Opera

“Coloratura Liv Redpath sang her show-stopping 12-minute ‘Großmächtige Prinzessin’ with uncanny ease and accuracy. Her seemingly limitless top voice – coupled with great looks and spontaneous acting – poises her on the brink of a major career”

“Her showstopping aria was breathtaking in execution, high notes spun out effortlessly and never without expression. I’ve never heard or seen Zerbinetta portrayed with so much heart, hinting at a more tragic side.”

“...Zerbinetta walked away with the show. Presented with one of the great operatic showstoppers (her 10-minute aria “Großmächtige Prinzessin”), few sopranos fail to bring the house down, sometimes regardless of actual merit —calculated to overwhelm, this solo invariably does. Liv Redpath came by her ovations fairly and squarely. The lyrical span of “Noch glaub’ ich dem einen ganz mich gehörend” was realized as satisfyingly as the endless trills, runs and staccato of “So war es mit Pagliazzo und Mezzetin.” The high C-sharps, Ds and Es were always integrated into the musical line. In short, every twist and turn of Strauss’ vocal line was executed with polish and eloquence — words equally true of her handling of the exquisite “Ein Augenblick ist wenig” back in the Prologue.”