“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