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  25 Oct 19 RIMSKY-KORSAKOV The Golden Cockerel
  Dallas Opera

  “Making her Dallas Opera main stage debut, Olga Pudova was a vocal standout in the cast as the Queen of Shemakha. Her soprano lilted effortlessly throughout the lush and exotic legato of the character’s showpiece aria, the “Hymn to the Sun.” Her coloratura is clear and accurate, notably the melismatic phrases, with a dizzying high E above the staff at the end of Act II.”

  Richard Sylvester Oliver, Texas Classical Review, 31 October 2019

  ” Olga Pudova…delivers some ear-popping notes that reside far above the staff.

  But her vocal range is just the beginning of the dazzling abilities she brings to the role of the Queen of Shemakha. Her voice is capable of producing stentorian and steely high notes as well as a magically floating pianissimo. Her coloratura work is superb, which is not a surprise considering that she was originally hired to sing the high-flying Queen of the Night in TDO’s concurrent production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. But it was her performance of the well-known ‘Hymn to the Sun’ that entranced The Golden Cockerel audience.

  As an actor, she easily makes the character transitions the role requires, from an ethereal vision of royalty to a femme fatale. She also has the physical attributes that allow her to pull off the steamy strip tease that she uses to undo the permanently adolescent Tsar Dodon (perhaps a play on the Dodo bird).”

  Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theatre Jones, 26 October 2019

  “Rounding out the cast was the Queen of Shemakha as embodied by the delectable coloratura soprano, Olga Pudova. First, she is an attractive, pert, petite young woman with the requisite beguiling physical presence. There are precious few sopranos who could not only sing the role this ravishingly, but could also simultaneously, uninhibitedly, strip from a flowing gown and headdress to a skimpy, two-piece harem showgirl bikini.

  Ms. Pudova’s gleaming voice is on the smaller, lyric side, but she has a superior sense of line and focus that easily communicates in the house. Her coloratura is flawlessly rendered and her sly manner with a comic turn of phrase imbues her singing with infectious joy. While she vamped the King without inhibition, she could turn on a dime and become a deadly, manipulative siren when the drama demanded it.”

  James Sohre, Opera Today, 31 October 2019

  “The other role calling for formidable vocalism is the Queen of Shemakha, a seductress who’s sort of a cross between Mozart’s Queen of the Night and Strauss’ Salome. Venera Gimadieva, who sang the role in Santa Fe and was to do so here, had to withdraw only 10 days before rehearsals were to begin. Miraculously, Olga Pudova, who had been booked as Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute that opened a week earlier, knew the Rimsky role and took over on late notice. (This called for cast shuffles in the Dallas Flute.)

  Pudova…dispensed a soprano that could blaze imposingly or ooze seduction, in words rife with double entendre; top notes held no terrors. She also looked wholly comfortable with the bit of strip tease.”

  Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 28 October 2019

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  07 Dec 18 STRAUSS Arabella
  Dresden Semperoper

  “Estupenda Olga Pudova en el breve papel de Fiakermilli, la reina del baile, con sus endiabladas coloraturas realmente bien resueltas, y bien el resto de comprimarios.”

  [Translated] “Great Olga Pudova in the brief role of Fiakermilli, the queen of the dance, with her devilish colors really well resolved, and well the rest of the tablets.”
  Jesus Aguado, Mundo Clasico, 21 December 2018

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  27 Jul 17 OFFENBACH Les Contes d'Hoffmann
  Bayerische Staatsoper

  “Olga Pudova was outstandingly good, the sweetness of the voice, timing and intonation never faltering. She also clearly adores doing the role, executing the “clockwork running down” moves brilliantly and staying in character through the extended applause at the end of “Les oiseaux dans la charmille”.
  David Karlin, Bachtrack

  “Soprano Olga Pudova was an impeccable Olympia, reaching all the notes and performing well on stage. Nowadays she is great demand for the role of Queen of the Night.”
  José M. Irurzun, Seen and heard International

  “Olga Pudova è arrivata, alla fine dei giochi, per ricoprire il ruolo di Olympia e lo ha fatto con professionalità, snocciolando acuti e sopracuti di rito ed esibendo un gioco scenico accattivante; mostra inoltre una vocalizzazione sicura, pur se non sempre ostentata con brillantezza adamantina. Per lei successo entusiastico, sia dopo l’aria, sia alle uscite finali.”

  [Translated] “Olga Pudova came, at the end of the games, to fill the role of Olympia and did it professionally, reciting sharp and usual rituals and exhibiting a captivating scenic game; it also shows a sure vocalization, even if not always flaunted with brilliance adamantina. For her enthusiastic success, both after the air and at the final releases. “
  Silvano Capecchi, Opera Click

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  18 Jul 16 MOZART Die Zauberflöte
  Gran Teatro del Liceu

  ‘Olga Pudova va convèncer en la segona ària de la Reina de la Nit’

  [Translated] ‘Olga Pudova convinced in the second aria of the Queen of the Night’
  Xavier Cester, Cultura

  ‘una superba Olga Pudova, straordinaria regina della nott’

  [Translated] ‘a superb Olga Pudova, extraordinary queen of the night’
  Anna Maria Monteverdi, Teatro e Critica

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  24 Apr 16 MOZART Lucio Silla
  Tour

  ‘Mozart hat als 16-Jähriger für Mailand wahre Koloraturfeuerwerke komponiert, Olga Pudova singt die Rolle der bedrängten Giunia, und wie die im siebten Monat schwangere Russin die Anforderungen bewältigt, ist geradezu fabelhaft.’

  [Translated] ‘Mozart composed true coloratura fireworks for Milan as a 16-year-old, Olga Pudova sings the role of the beleaguered Giunia, and how the seventeen-month-pregnant Russian copes with the demands is downright fabulous.’
  Ernst P. Strobl, Salzburg.com 

  ‘Du côté de ces dames, Olga Pudova , enceinte de sept mois, est éblouissante. Elle incarne Giunia, le rôle psychologiquement et vocalement le plus éprouvant de l’ouvrage ; et elle le fait avec passion, mais aussi avec calme et intensité. Sa voix est posée, sans faille, et ses airs des deuxième et troisième acte sont des monuments.’

  [Translated] ‘On the ladies’ side, Olga Pudova, seven months pregnant, is dazzling. She embodies Giunia, the psychologically and vocally the most trying role of the book; and she does it with passion, but also with calm and intensity. His voice is poised, flawless, and his second and third acts are monuments.’
  Michael Egea, Destimed.com

  ‘the role of Giunia was impressively sung by Russian soprano Olga Pudova. The part covers an extraordinary range from low A to top D above the stave. Even at 16, Mozart wasn’t going to indulge his divas. Giunia’s pyrotechnic “Ah se il crudel perigilio” aria certainly foreshadows “Martern alle Arten” and is no less technically demanding. The eight measure roulade on “gelarmi fa” reaching a top D natural demands extraordinary breath control and accuracy which Miss Pudova handled with ease. It was in the tender Act III “Sposa mia vita…Fra i pensier” scena however that she was even more impressive. The chest notes were rich and plummy, the piano top A naturals delicately nuanced and long phrases in the Andante section stylishly shaped.
  Jonathan Sutherland, Bachtrack 

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  22 Oct 15 MOZART Die Zauberflöte
  Teatro la Fenice

  “Cast vocale di grande equilibrio, in cui spiccano il bilanciamento tra pronuncia e lirismo -[…] brava, in ogni registro Olga Pudova (Regina della notte), voce di spessore anche nelle agilità”

  [Translated] “Vocal cast of great balance, in which the balance between pronunciation and lyricism stand out – […] good, in every register Olga Pudova (Queen of the night), a thick voice even in agility.”
  Mirko Schipilliti, Il mattino di Padova

  “Olga Pudova padroneggia la parte della Regina della Notte e la sua tessitura siderea senza problemi tecnici, ma anche senza dar l’aria di voler strafare; riesce in tal modo a raggiungere due obiettivi: non solo a cantare con elegante scioltezza «Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen», ma pure a conferire quegli accenti di pateticità materna che sono indispensabili alla prima delle sue arie, «Zum Leiden bin ich auserkoren».

  [Translated] “Olga Pudova masters the part of the Queen of the Night and her sidereal texture without technical problems, but also without seeming to overdo it; in this way she manages to achieve two objectives: not only to sing with elegant fluency” Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen “, but also to confer those accents of maternal patheticism that are indispensable to the first of his arias,” Zum Leiden bin ich auserkoren.”

  Francesco Rapaccioni, Teatro.it

  “Molto buona ci pare la prova di Olga Pudova, capace di spogliare la Regina della Notte da ogni retorica, rendendola umana ed in qualche modo tragicamente irrisolta nella sua natura di madre. Le agilità sono messe, per una volta, a completo servizio di una visione drammaturgica non rimanendo prova di mero virtuosismo.”

  [Translated] “The test of Olga Pudova seems very good, capable of undressing the Queen of the Night from all rhetoric, making her human and in some way tragically unresolved in her nature as a mother. Agility is put, for once, at the complete service of a dramaturgical vision not remaining proof of mere virtuosity.”
  Alessandro Cammarano, Opera Click

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  27 Aug 15 MOZART Die Zauberflöte
  Edinburgh Festival Theatre

  “Olga Pudova’s Queen is immaculate and airy”
  Kate Molleson, The Guardian 

  “Tying up Olga Pudova’s Queen of the Night, by contrast, unleashes some magnificently controlled coloratura”
  Guy Dammann, The Spectator

  “An outstanding Queen of the Night from Olga Pudova attacked her victims with glittering coloratura arrows, devastatingly precise, and was neatly supported by a stylish trio of Ladies”
  Alexandra Coghlan, The Arts Desk

  “Being static helps create strong and vibrant vocal performances. Olga Pudova, with only her face visible as a screen-filling arachnid Queen of the Night, nailsthe coloratura.”
  Thom Dibdin, The Stage

  “Russian soprano Olga Pudova as an enormous spider with bayonet legs nailed her Queen of
  the Night aria, making the high notes sound completely natural rather than freakish.”
  David Smythe, Bachtrack

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  26 May 15 MOZART Die Zauberflöte
  Opéra National de Paris

  ‘Olga Pudova, avec son medium d’airain et ses aigus meurtriers a  su faire de l’air du deuxième acte plus qu’un exploit vocal — un véritable moment de théâtre.’

  [Translated] ‘Olga Pudova, with her brazen medium and murderous highs, was able to make the air of the second act more than a vocal feat – a true moment of theater.’
  Brigitte Cormier, Forum Opera 

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  22 May 14 MOZART Die Zauberflöte
  Opéra de Nantes

  “La colorature russe fait mieux encore en offrant une version juvénile et sincère du personnage. L’air d’entrée dégage une émotion singulière, notamment par des nuances remarquablement intelligentes et des piano subito prenants. Familière de la figure de Reine de la Nuit qu’elle a interprétée dans les institutions prestigieuses de Saint-Pétersbourg, Berlin ou Vienne, elle l’incarnera à nouveau la saison prochaine à Zürich et Paris.”

  [Translated] “The Russian colorature does even better by offering a juvenile and sincere version of the character.The entrance air exudes a singular emotion, especially by remarkably intelligent nuances and piano subito prisants Familiar with the figure of Queen of the Night that ‘she performed in the prestigious institutions of St. Petersburg, Berlin or Vienna, she will play it again next season in Zurich and Paris.”
  Tania Bracq, Forum Opera

  “Olga Pudova est la plus mordante – jusque dans la stratosphère de suraigus décochés à  la perfection – Reine de la Nuit qu’on ait croisée depuis Edda Moser ; non pas colorature mais ce que les allemands désignent par Hochdramatischkoloratur – exactement ce que voulait Mozart.”

  [Translated] “Olga Pudova is the most biting – even in the stratosphere of superaigus shot to perfection – Queen of the Night that has been crossed since Edda Moser, not coloratura but what the Germans refer to as Hochdramatischkoloratur – exactly what Mozart wanted.”
  Jean-Charles Hoffelé, ConcertClassic.com

  “Olga Pudova affronte sans détour une Reine de la nuit à l’impact indéniable”

  [Translated] “Olga Pudova is facing an undeniable Queen of the Night”
  Gilles Charlassier, ConcertoNet.com

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  09 May 15 MOZART Lucio Silla
  Komsiche Oper Berlin

  ‘Alle Ohren richten sich auf die russische Sopranistin Olga Pudova, die die zentrale Figur der Giunia singt: technisch nahezu perfekt.’

  [Translated] ‘All ears are aimed at the Russian soprano Olga Pudova, who sings the central figure of Giunia: technically almost perfect.’

  Udo Badelt, Der Tagesspiegel

  ‘Eine andere Dimension vokaler Sinnlichkeit schließt die Gastsolistin Olga Pudova als Giunia auf. Hier ist der Ton bereits Ausdruck und Präsenz, bevor er sich durch die dramatische Situation erklären müsste. Enorm weicher Schmelz, eine ungeheuer entspannte Koloraturtechnik und schier endlos strömender Atem sind beeindruckend.’

  [Translated] ‘Another dimension of vocal sensuality is included in the guest soloist Olga Pudova as Giunia. Here the sound is already expression and presence, before she would have to explain herself by the dramatic situation. Enormously soft enamel, a tremendously relaxed coloratura technique and seemingly endless flowing breath are impressive.’
  Peter Uehling, Berliner Zeitung

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  10 Jan 14 MOZART Die Zauberflöte
  Teatro Regio Torino

  “Brilla l’Astrifiammante di Olga Pudova che, specie nella seconda Aria, dà bel risalto al tipo dello Zaubersopran e alla vorticosa vocalità della pagina, ricevendone un applauso entusiastico dal pubblico.”

  [Translated] “The Shining Star of Olga Pudova shines, which, especially in the second aria, gives good prominence to the type of Zaubersopran and to the whirling vocalism of the page, receiving an enthusiastic applause from the public.”
  Giancarlo Landini, Opera Click

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  17 Nov 13 MOZART Die Zauberflöte
  Wiener Staatsoper

  “Die sehr junge Olga Pudova feuert als Königin der Nacht klangvoll und blitzsauber ihre Hochtöne ab.”

  [Translated] “The very young Olga Pudova fires as queen of the night tonally and squeaky clean her high tones.”
  Stefan Musil, Tiroler Tageszeitung

  “Sicher meistert die Hausdebütantin Olga Pudova die Koloraturen und Spitzentöne der Königin der Nacht.”

  [Translated] “Certainly, the house debutante Olga Pudova masters the coloratura and top notes of the Queen of the Night.”
  Ernst Naredi-Rainer, Kleine Zeitung 

   

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  04 Jun 13 MOZART Die Zauberflöte
  Opéra National de Bordeaux

  “la distribution est cependant dominée par la soprano russe Olga Pudova qui, dans le rôle de la Reine de la nuit, fait preuve d’un incroyable aplomb, en alliant agilité dans la vocalise et réelle puissance dramatique”

  [Translated]  “The cast is however dominated by the Russian soprano Olga Pudova who, in the role of the Queen of the night, shows an incredible aplomb, combining agility in the vocalise and real dramatic power”
  Emmanuel Andrieu, Concertonet

  “Les dames nous offrent des sentiments des plus contrastés. Sur les sommets trône la Reine de la Nuit d’Olga Pudova. Ce n’est pas tant la vocalise (impeccable) ou les suraigus (d’une grande sûreté) qui marquent, mais plus la couleur inhabituelle de la voix. On est ici aux antipodes de la soprano légérissime que l’on nous sert trop souvent dans le rôle. Timbre inhabituellement corsé et émission plutôt droite, cette Reine-là a un caractère bien trempé!”

  [Translated] “The ladies give us the most contrasting feelings, and Olga Pudova’s Queen of the Night dominates the summits.It is not so much the vocalise (impeccable) or the suraigus (of a great safety) that mark, but the more unusual the color of the voice – here we are at the antipodes of the light-hearted soprano we all too often play in. Unusual and rather straight-forward timbre, this Queen has a strong character!”

  Antoine Brunetto, Forum Opera

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  10 Feb 13 Mozart Die Zauberflöte
  Opera de Nice

  “L’interprétation est excellente grâce à une distribution solide.
  On notera plus particulièrement la prestation exceptionnelle d’Olga Pudova en Reine de la Nuit : la soprano russe, véritable spécialiste du rôle, montre une aisance inouïe dans ses airs aux vocalises aériennes, dans ses suraigus qui passent sans difficulté, dans un ‘In der Hölle Reche…’ impeccable de rage et de passion.”

  [Translated] ‘The interpretation is excellent thanks to a solid distribution.
  Of particular note is the exceptional performance of Olga Pudova as Queen of the Night: the Russian soprano, a true specialist of the role, shows an unprecedented ease in her tunes to the aerial vocalises, in her superaigus who pass without difficulty, in an ‘In der Hölle Reche … ‘impeccable with rage and passion.’

  Channel Riviera  

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  13 Dec 12 Mozart Die Zauberflöte
  Vlaamse Opera

  “Dans un rôle dévolu aux sopranos colorature, Olga Pudova possède un médium dont la densité rend la précision du suraigu encore plus stupéfiante. La violence de l’expression, en totale osmose avec la scénographie, fait que l’on reçoit cette Reine de la Nuit comme un choc.”

  [Translated] “In a role reserved for sopranos coloratura, Olga Pudova possesses a medium whose density makes the accuracy of the suracial even more amazing.The violence of the expression, in total osmosis with the scenography, makes that one receives this Queen of the Night as a shock. ”
  Christophe Rizoud, Forum Opera

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  17 Mar 11 Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos
  Mariinsky Theatre

  “Zerbinetta was beautifully performed by Olga Pudova. Technically adroit, the singer was very much into her role as a vivacious and frivolous yet compassionate actress. With ten years as a soloist with the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers under her belt, Olga Pudova attracted great acclaim with her stunning performance in the international project “The Infernal Comedy” — a literary and musical production performed last summer at the Mariinsky telling of the exploits of a serial killer, in which the lead role was performed by the renowned Hollywood actor John Malkovich. Pudova’s beautiful fiorituras are now winning the singer plum roles in both the bel canto repertoire and expressionist early 20th century operas such as “Ariadne.”
  Galina Stolyarova, The St. Petersburg Times