Amenaide — Tancredi

2018 performance

Teatro Nuovo  |  Purchase, NY

Conductor:  Will Crutchfield

Reviews:

“Amanda Woodbury, a soprano who made at least one stunning debut last year, displayed a limpid tone across a broad vocal range as Amenaide, able to run crisply through challenging fioriture. Impeccable intonation and a cushioned approach to every note made her melancholy prison scene in Act II exquisite” — Charles T. Downey, The Classical Review

“Amanda Woodbury met every high expectation I brought with me this evening: she soars through the coloratura with spot-on accuracy and fluidity and daring, but also can descend into dramatic despair. Savor her singing. Brava!” — Opera Metro

“As the bereft Amenaide, Woodbury showed off a secure, broad range from the start, with ‘Come dolce all'alma mia,’ and obviously has a future ahead of her, starting with Leila in Les pêcheurs de perles at the Met this year.” — Richard Sazanow, Broadway World Opera

“As Tancredi’s beloved, Amenaide, rising soprano Amanda Woodbury displayed a lovely lyric voice that blossomed over the course of the evening. Her exquisite high pianissimos and splendid trill conveyed the character’s feminine fragility.” — Susan Brodie, Classical Voice North America

“Amanda Woodbury has a sumptuous soprano that she employed in grand manner as Amenaide. Rapid runs catapulted skyward, culminating in high notes that emerged as shimmering, soft blooms of sound. The downward descents that followed were equally dazzling.”
— Rick Perdian, Seen and Heard International

“Ms. Woodbury matched […] handsomely, with a big, clean sound and accurate pitch.” — Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal

“Soprano Amanda Woodbury showed why she is a star on the rise, singing the thankless role of Tancredi's very put-upon wife Amenaide with a secure top and impressive control in the upper reaches of her voice. This is a long and complicated role with difficult arias and a wide emotional range, and the singer met all of its demands. She provided the biggest vocal fireworks of the night, rolling out clouds of creamy tone in the slow cavatina sections and then making big notes burst in the cabaletti.” — Paul J. Pelkonen, Opera Review: The Start of Something Beautiful

“The most difficult role in the opera, however, belongs to Amenaïde, the focus of all the attention. Amanda Woodbury, a much-heralded young coloratura, gave the most interesting performance of the evening. The voice is strong and attractive, with a fine trill and a ravishing swell, both building and fading.” — John Yohalem, Parterre Box