“The Courtesan” – such a success!

“After ÓPERA ACTUAL listing my new album “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐧” as their Selection of the Month and Oper Magazin naming the recording their CD of the Month, I’m super happy about the following new recognitions: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐧 is the March “CD of the Month” of the German Opernwelt magazine and the CD of the Week of the German radio station NDR Kultur! Here below you will find a few quotes from their features. ” – Sonya

𝗗𝗶𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗹𝘁:

“… 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘴 – 𝘴𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤) 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮, 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘭’𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

(…)

… 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 [𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘴] 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵, 𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭.”

Jürgen Otten

𝗡𝗗𝗥 𝗞𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿:

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘠𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘷𝘢 – 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘗𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘪, 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘪, 𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵-𝘚𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.

(…)

𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘠𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘷𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 – 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘭’𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘠𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘷𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘴.”

Friederike Westerhaus

❝ Yoncheva’s vocalism proves well suited to the bulk of the items—all but a couple of them in her repertoire—which she performs with assistance from Charles Castronovo as Thaïs’s Nicias and Violetta’s Alfredo.

Delicacy and subtlety are on offer from both artists in a duet from Act 1 of Massenet’s Egyptian opera, Yoncheva maintaining accomplished vocalism… .”

As Massenet’s Manon she is in close alignment with the character’s conflicted nature—tremulous with emotion, for instance, in the recitative preceding ‘Adieu, notre petite table’.

There are two versions of La Bohème. From Leoncavallo’s comes the jocular Act 1 solo in which his Mimì presents Musette to her Bohemian friends; Yoncheva’s light yet widely varied tone is deployed with intelligence and discretion, and is amply lavish at the top of the voice. Represented by her familiar aria di sortita, Puccini’s Mimì sounds relaxed yet full of personality.

Stephana in Giordano’s Siberia is a role Yoncheva has recently made her own. Her delicately impassioned interpretation of ‘Nel suo amore rianimata’ proves ideal, the piece itself a lovely fragment from an underrated score. (…)

To Butterfly’s ‘Un bel dì’ she brings all the necessary resources, her clear, clean, never over-applied tone always in the service of the drama… .

For Mascagni’s Iris she locates a refined set of vocal colours and initially an almost childlike vocal demeanour. There’s never a routine or conventional moment and high notes hold no fear for her: once again, she makes you listen to the music with renewed attention. As Puccini’s Manon, her ‘In quelle trine morbide’ is a resplendent piece of singing, her registers perfectly matched, while she supplies full vocal value to ‘Sola, perduta, abbandonata’, riding the climaxes with ease.

Though Saint-Saëns requires a mezzosoprano for Dalila, Yoncheva has all the notes… .

‘Parigi, o cara’ from the final act of Traviata is nicely done, Yoncheva’s Violetta lightening up to match her tenor partner… . The sensuous lyricism of ‘In trutina’ from Orff’s cantata proves congenial.

Fine playing from the Genoese players, while the conductor Marco Armiliato supplies sensitivity and detail. ❞