Marie-Adele McArthur, soprano :: REVIEWS

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·Aida ·Lina ·Donna Elvira ·Leonora ·Abigaille ·Fiordiligi ·Tosca ·Liù

Aida
Aida, masterfully sung by Marie-Adele McArthur, is an Ethopian princess, though known only to her Egyptian captors as a prisoner. From previous peformances, McArthur has been described as "the perfect Verdi heroine, richly musical and emotionally touching." McArthur proves to UFOC audiences to be that and more as she falls in love with the Egyptian warrior Radames.
Utah Statesman

Marie-Adele McArthur, a native of New Zealand, excels as the slave Aida, not only with her strong, beautiful voice, but also with her ability to capture the conflict Aida feels between loving Radames and loving her father and her homeland.
Deseret News

Verdi wrote some of his most moving, exotic music for "Aida," and soprano Marie-Adele McArthur sings it with beautiful tone colors throughout her wide vocal range and high-voltage emotion.
Salt Lake Tribune

Lina (STIFFELIO)
Marie-Adele McArthur, Sarasota's Lina, has a large, well-focused soprano that could be heard with excellent clarity in even the most frantic numbers. Lina's prayer for forgiveness, "A te ascenda o Dio clemente,'' was touchingly delicate. She has the sort of voice that the orchestra loves, fitting into its texture with an easy warmth.

The Stiffelio-Lina duet in Act III was profound, as she appealed to him to hear her not as her husband but as her minister.
Opera News

What really matters is the singing, and we were given great stretches of superlative vocalism, primarily by Marie-Adele McArthur in the taxing soprano role of Lina, the adulterous but loving wife.

As the cuckolded minister Stiffelio, Todd Geer brought his rich tenor and musical intelligence to a complex role, matching McArthur ringing note for ringing note in their duets, and responding to her lustrous, dramatic intensity in their emotional confrontations.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Marie-Adele McArthur as Lina produced lustrous, full voice tones on a column of unbroken air. Her "O, most clement God" showed her talent to develop an extraordinary full range of color. . . .Together, McArthur and Geer were palpably dynamic in their confrontations. Their voices blended beautifully and their attacks were precise and exhilarating.
Venice Gondolier Sun

Marie-Adele McArthur sings the role of [Stiffelio's] wife, Lina, with imperious feminine charm. There could not have been a better match.
Pelican Press

As Lina, Marie-Adele McArthur made a fine showing in a difficult role. The soprano's bright and flexible voice handled the coloratura with agility and brought a sensitively shaded rendering of Lina's prayer to her dead mother, "Ah! dagli scanni eterei".
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

All of these artists outdid themselves, but we were most impressed with Todd Geer and Marie-Adele McArthur in the lead roles. Ms. McArthur was especially commanding as Lina, possessing a rich soprano voice that actually matched in power the rousing strains of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra.
SCENE magazine

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Donna Elvira (DON GIOVANNI)
Marie-Adele McArthur, as Donna Elvira, proves she is the perfect foil to [Giovanni]'s wit and charm, winning us over immediately with her splendid opening aria, 'Ah, chi mi dice mai.'
Capital Times

. . . a splendid Donna Elvira: well in command of the technical challenges, possessed of a rich voice with just a hint of steel behind it, and blessed by a personality that communicates effortlessly across the footlights.
Opera~Opera Magazine - Australia

Marie-Adele McArthur as Donna Elvira displayed a thoughtful and sinuous voice and her enthusiastic acting gave the role a delicious sensuality. National Business Review

Marie-Adele McArthur as Donna Elvira, sang her achingly beautiful arias with glorious command and conviction.
Manawatu Standard

Marie-Adele McArthur creates a lusty, busty heroine out of Donna Elvira, and is a whirlwind on stage.
New Zealand Herald

Marie-Adele McArthur as Donna Elvira is vocally secure and entirely believable. Dominion Post

Donna Elvira is in sexual thrall to Giovanni and you can believe it from Marie-Adele McArthur's vivid performance.
Sunday Star Times

I loved Marie-Adele McArthur as Donna Elvira. Actually both of the ladies, the main roles, were really good. But Marie-Adele McArthur, last time I saw her was maybe nearly eight years or so ago when she sang the small role of Zerlina in the same opera and it's a treat to see how her voice has developed. And she's one of those marvelous singers who just - you know, the personality sails across the footlights - so she I was really impressed with.
Adrienne Simpson on NEWZTEL News Broadcast: RNZ "What's Going On"

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Leonora (IL TROVATORE / LE TROUVÈRE)
The glorious soprano voice of Marie-Adele McArthur as Leonore fulfilled all the demands of the gorgeous arias. . . . McArthur's vocal beauty reached its peak in the fourth-act aria 'D'amor sull ali rosee' as Leonore plans to save Manrique. The round purity of her tone as she reached the D above high C was ravishing.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Leading the cast were two excellent young singers, a soprano from New Zealand, Marie-Adele McArthur, and an American mezzo-soprano, Malin Fritz. As Leonore, McArthur showed an excellent sense of style, a well schooled voice of wide range and even scale. She appeared to be a very promising young dramatic soprano, one who can carry the long span of Verdi's phrases, and ride the crests of his phrase peaks with authority. Her tone is rich and colourful, if not outright opulent, and she made an excellent effect with Leonore's two great arias. She capped the ensembles with generous, ringing top notes and, further, is a grand, stately presence on the stage.
Opera~Opera Magazine - Australia

As Léonore, Marie-Adele McArthur was the standout. Looking like a young, less starchy Joan Sutherland, the New Zealand-born soprano displayed a lovely lyric-dramatic voice. . . McArthur sang with limpid tone and offered natural, understated acting.
Opera News

Marie-Adele McArthur is both musically and dramatically adept in the famous arias here [Act I, Scene II], known in the Italian as "Tacea la notte' and "Di tal amore"(sic). Her moderately textured voice conveys the passion and hopes of our heroine while negotiating trills, runs and coloratura passages. . . . Dramatically, this [Act IV, Scene I] is McArthur's finest hour as she paces and frets while a monk's chorus is heard in the distance. . .Her voice throughout these florid lines is clear and supple.
Longboat Observer

McArthur's strong and mellow soprano eloquently warms the otherwise passive scene, telegraphing her intense longing and love. Here, as through the entire production, her sympathetic interpretation gives flesh and blood to a character often seen as little more than an onslaught of notes.
Pelican Press

Especially delightful was the New Zealand soprano McArthur. Her Leonore was lyrical, her voice smooth and elegant throughout wide-ranging arias.
St. Petersburg Times

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Abigaille (NABUCCO)
With scores of characters on stage and much movement involved, it went off without a hitch and all ensemble numbers were particularly strong. But 'strong' only scratches the surface of the performance of McArthur in her thrilling presentation of Abigaille. She was never out of character. Her voice was tremendous and well-trained. At the side of the stage, while attention was cast to her sister or father, McArthur could be seen seething and plotting. In a heartfelt number with changing dynamics and varied emphasis, McArthur wins the audience's heart and keeps each one firmly in her hand when, late in Act One during a solo, she also declares a love for Ismaele and ponders liberation for the Hebrews. Even in ensemble numbers, McArthur can be heard above the din and eyes and ears are always on Abigaille when she is on stage.
Utah Statesman

Of all the various aspects that surround opera, this year's producers have gone for the (musical) gusto and really gotten some incredible vocalists. Marie-Adele McArthur, who plays Abigaille in 'Nabucco', leads them all with her powerful vocal presence. Her clear, strong, rich voice is - by itself - worth the price of the ticket. Wisely, she is surrounded by a cast that can keep up with - but not rival - her vocally....
Deseret News

McArthur's Abigaille soared through the many high C's with glorious brilliance and raged downward to the low A's with vocal fervor.
Logan Herald-Journal

Marie-Adele McArthur negotiated the vengeful Abigaille's highly demanding fioratura with aplomb.
Classical New Jersey Society

As any seasoned operaphile knows, the leading soprano part in this opera demands a singer of extraordinary ability. Their choice was the New Zealand born soprano, Marie-Adele McArthur. Having begun her career as a mezzo, she had well-developed low notes, but it was her beautiful high extension which led her to become a dramatic soprano. As Abigaille, she had a commanding presence on stage and her sizable voice had a good variety of color which enabled her to handle both the visual and vocal demands of the role.
Opera Japonica

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Fiordiligi (COSÌ FAN TUTTE)
Marie-Adele McArthur performed admirably as Fiordiligi, both vocally and dramatically.
Opera News

With a majestic soprano voice, Marie-Adele McArthur plays a nearly unshakable Fiordiligi
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

This cast is filled with wonderful young singers whose musical astuteness turns the evening into a masterpiece. Marie-Adele McArthur's Fiordiligi could be a little more passionate, but we give her many accolades for the care she gives her singing in two killer arias: "Come scoglio" and "Per pieta, ben mio, perdona." Mozart takes the soprano from the depths to the very heights of her range, and McArthur handles the leaps, bounds and coloratura with beauty and agility.

New Zealander Marie-Adele McArthur, a brilliant soprano, was especially effective as Fiordiligi in her beautiful but oh-so-earnest arias.
Times Argus

Tosca (TOSCA)
Marie-Adele McArthur continues a line of New Zealand Puccini sopranos including Frances Alda and Kiri Te Kanawa.
Philadelphia City PaperSarasota Herald-Tribune

Liù (TURANDOT)
Soprano Marie-Adele McArthur gave the role of the slave girl Liù a combination of sweetness, vulnerability and strength. Her first act aria, 'Signore ascolta,' was magical - a pleading cry for mercy sung with gorgeous, polished tone and impeccable phrasing.
Salt Lake Tribune

McArthur has a beautiful soprano. Her voice exudes a vibrancy and warmth that give her singing depth and definition. One of her finest moments was in the aria 'Signore, ascolta!' from Act One.
Deseret News

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"Her tone is rich and colourful, if not outright opulent, and she made an excellent effect with Leonore's two great arias. She capped the ensembles with generous, ringing top notes and, further, is a grand, stately presence on the stage."
Opera~Opera Magazine - Australia