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  22 Feb 20 ROSSINI Il turco in Italia
  Teatro alla Scala, Milan

  “Il cast è dominato da Rosa Feola, che trova in questo genere di personaggi, il mezzo per fare valere la sua esuberante voce di soprano. Ammiccante, graffiante, sussiegosa, frivola e patetica, a seconda dei casi, la Feola è una Fiorilla che si impone, aiutata anche dal physique du rôle e da una notevole abilità di attrice. La cantante ha belle carte da giocare sia nel canto legato che in quello di agilità, che nel Turco in Italia presenta momenti particolarmente ardui. È il caso della stretta dell’Aria del II Atto, “Ah! l’infelice che opprime sventura”, con quelle note ribattute che mettono a dura prova tutte le Fiorille.”
  (Translated) “The cast is dominated by Rosa Feola, who finds in this type of character the means to assert her exuberant soprano voice. Flirtatious, feisty, haughty, frivolous, pitiful, depending on the situation, Feola is a Fiorilla who stands out, aided also by her physique for the role and notable ability as an actress. The singer has excellent cards to play, whether that be in her legato singing or vocal agility, of which Il Turco in Italia presents particularly demanding instances. This is the case in the critical moment of the aria in Act II, “Ah! l’infelice che opprime sventura”, with those repeated notes that put all Fiorillas through their paces.”
  Giancarlo Landini, L’opera, March 2020

  “the fine cast made ensemble numbers sparkle through their mechanical precision… The luxurious Rosa Feola (Donna Fiorilla) suggestively rippled through coloratura.”
  James Imam, Financial Times, 24 February 2020

  “l’aria finale di Fiorilla, “Squallida veste e bruna”, vero cameo drammatico, che la bravissima Rosa Feola ha affrontato con estrema disinvoltura dopo aver fatto per due atti la fraschetta, dando prova di vocalità e presenza scenica di gran classe. Meritatissimi i lunghissimi applausi dopo questo drammatico exploit.”
  (Translated) “Fiorilla’s final aria, “Squallida veste e bruna”, a truly dramatic moment, that the wonderful Rosa Feola tackled with extreme ease after having played the flirt for two acts, demonstrating her top class vocality and scenic presence. The extended applause after this dramatic accomplishment was very well-deserved.”
  Stefano Jacini, Il Giornale della Musica, 22 February 2020

  “Rosa Feola was very suited to this part; she displayed a confident command of coloratura and a beautiful, silvery soprano with great projection. When a Turkish prince – Selim – arrives in Naples, as a tourist, she starts flirting with him and all sorts of gags ensue… The duets with Feola were delightful, the two of them flirting like crazy, their voices perfectly intertwined like their desire.”
  Laura Servidei, Bachtrack, 24 February 2020

  “L’interprétation de Rosa Feola semble ignorer la difficulté du rôle. Son agilité et sa virtuosité vocales illuminent les vocalises nombreuses du personnage, et son legato maîtrisé avec art donne une envergure tragique à son air de désespoir « Squallida veste ». Également crédible scéniquement, Feola s’impose comme une belcantiste d’exception.”
  (Translated) “Rosa Feola’s performance seems to discount the difficulty of the role. Her vocal agility and virtuosity illuminate the character’s coloratura, and her artfully-mastered legato gives a tragic scope to the aria of despair “Squallida veste”. Also theatrically credible, Feola establishes herself as an exceptional bel canto singer.”  
  Jules Cavalié, Avant Scene Opera, 22 February 2020

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  17 Jan 20 Recital with Iain Burnside
  Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington

  “With the mellifluous beauty of her lyric soprano voice, so polished and balanced from top to bottom, and consummate clarity of diction, Feola brought this music vividly into the best light…

  Feola treated each song as a sort of dramatic scena, elucidated with gestures, stances, and facial expressions outlining each narrator’s character.

  Ottorino Respighi once studied with Martucci and like him often looked back to forms predating the advent of opera in Italy. His Quattro Rispetti toscani are reminiscent of folk songs and medieval poetry. The melodic simplicity could become tiresome in a lesser voice, but Feola held attention with an exquisite legato line and perfectly placed and sustained high notes, as at the end of the lullaby “Venitelo a vedere il mio piccino“ and of the lament “Viene di là, lontan lontano.”..

  Rossini composed the three songs of La regata veneziana among his late Péchés de vieillesse. Feola again brought the narrator of the songs, Anzolata, to life with charming declamation and dramatic sensibility as she encouraged her beloved rower to win a prize in a Venetian boat race…

  Liszt’s Three Sonnets by Petrarch, composed during a long stay in Italy, provided the evening’s greatest drama. Feola easily negotiated the choppy starts and stops in “Pace non trovo,” assisted by Burnside in assiduously applied freedom with the tempo. These pieces featured the top end of Feola’s vocal range, as at the ecstatic C-flat that crowns the poem at the words “ed amo altrui” (but I love another).

  Feola did not take the optional D-flats in the first two songs in the set, but that C-flat and the high B in “Benedetto sia ‘l giorno” were high points in an evening without any weak links.”

  Charles T. Downey, Washington Classical Review, 18 January 2020

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  13 Jan 20 Recital with Iain Burnside
  Park Avenue Armory, New York

  “2020 began with a superb recital by one of today’s shining young stars whom we hear too little of in the US. Soprano Rosa Feola and her fine accompanist Iain Burnside brought an unusual and absorbing program to the Park Avenue Armory Monday evening featuring works by Martucci, Respighi, Rossini, Ponchielli and Liszt… Feola’s provocative choices proved seductively compelling especially when performed with such persuasive specificity and gratifying vocal splendor.

  When singers who perform primarily opera give recitals, one never knows quite what to expect, but Feola immediately established with her first group, Martucci’s Tre Pezzi, that she’s a serious artist who brought to the concert format both a warmly appealing coppery soprano as well as detailed and savvy dramatic instincts…

  In the Martucci and the Quattro rispetti Toscana by Respighi that followed, Feola moved freely about the raised platform with affecting subtlety; there was no over-emphasis for an audience likely unfamiliar with the texts of the songs…her full, rich soprano bloomed securely from a healthy vital top to warmly enveloping middle and bottom registers. In the more familiar La regatta veneziana by Rossini, she cunningly delineated Angelina’s many moods as she observed her lover Momolo negotiate the boat race…

  Her beautifully expansive, utterly spellbinding Liszt as well as the ravishing Ponchielli “Sonetto di Dante” that preceded it demonstrated definitively that she is no lightweight soubrette but a deeply expressive artist clearly coming into her considerable own… Her operatic encore, Liù’s pleading “Signore, ascolta” from Puccini’s Turandot, was unusually slow and resolute ending with a sweetly floating high note that gradually swelled to a stirringly vibrant fortissimo that only increased the sincere and hearty cheers that greeted her through the evening.”

  Christopher Corwin, Parterre box, 15 January 2020

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  08 Nov 19 MOZART Idomeneo, re di Creta
  Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

  “La prima ad uscire in scena staccando un monologo lirico denso di ombre, dolcezze e sospiri… è intanto il soprano napoletano Rosa Feola, Ilia d’incanto e dunque voce lucente per la prigioniera troiana in terra straniera, figlia del re nemico Priamo ma amante riamata da Idamante. Per quanto assai dimessa in abito moderno di semplice maglina, piumino e stivali, svetta nobile e dolcissima nella tonalità del dolore mozartiano, colorando di lacrime e vivide suggestioni la sua celebre aria di sortita “Padre, germani, addio!”, così come nella sua seconda aria “d’affetto” del successivo atto”
  (Translated) “The first to enter the scene, giving a lyrical monologue full of shadows, sweetness and sighs …is the Neapolitan soprano Rosa Feola, an enchanting Ilia of dazzling voice as the Trojan prisoner on foreign ground; the daughter of the enemy King Priamo but lover of and loved by Idamante. Although very shabbily dressed in her modern costume of a simple jersey, quilted jacket and heels, she stands out noble and of beautifully sweet tonality in her Mozartian torment, colouring her famous exit aria “Padre, germani, addio!” with tears and vivid expressions, as well as in her second aria of ‘affection’ in the following act”
  Paola De Simone, Connessi all’Opera, 13 November 2019

  “Pure bravissima Rosa Feola nel ruolo di Ilia, dotata di una musicalità davvero sorprendente, sempre omogenea in ogni singolo passaggio, arricchita di grazia raffinata.”
  (Translated) “Also wonderful is Rosa Feola in the role of Ilia, gifted with a truly astonishing musicality, always consistent in every single passage, enriched with a refined grace.”
  William Fratti, Liricamente, 12 November 2019

  “Rosa Feola (Ilia) è super”
  Enrico Girardi, Corriere della Sera, 14 November 2019

  “Bravissima Rosa Feola che torna a Roma nei panni della troiana Ilia: lo scavo nel fraseggio, la dizione chiara, l’emissione della voce controllata e omogenea dalle note più gravi alle più acute, l’interpretazione convincente anche a livello scenico ne fanno una Ilia di riferimento per questi anni.”

  (Translated) “Rosa Feola, who returns to Rome in the role of the Trojan Ilia, is wonderful: the meticulous phrasing, the clear diction, the projection of the controlled and consistent voice from the lowest to the highest notes, and the convincing performance also on a scenic level, render hers an Ilia of note of these years.”

  Michelangelo Pecoraro, Opera Click, 23 November 2019

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  10 Sep 19 DONIZETTI L'elisir d'amore
  Teatro alla Scala

  “The soprano showcased her light and agile voice, relying on a sound breathing technique that allowed her to produce a variety of colors, perfectly coupled with her theatrical skills.”
  Silvia Luraghi, the Opera Critic, 04 October 2019

  “Deliziosa l’Adina di Rosa Feola, ormai cantante di riferimento sul palcoscenico scaligero per questi ruoli di mezzo-carattere: voce…controllata in modo esemplare, timbro luminoso, acuti facili e squillanti. Allieva di Renata Scotto, se ne ritrova l’attenzione per il fraseggio, la cura dei dettagli espressivi, l’attenzione alla recitazione: la Feola è infatti anche ottima attrice, curata nel gesto e nella mimica in modo da rendere ancor più accattivante il personaggio”
  “Rosa Feola, now a singer of note on the Scala stage for these character roles, is a delicious Adina: exemplary voice control, luminous timbre, an effortless and bright high register. A pupil of Renata Scotto, attention is paid to phrasing, expressive details and acting: Feola is actually also a wonderful actress, taking great care over her gestures and mime, making the character even more captivating”
  Giordana Cavagino, GB Opera, 29 September 2019

  “Rosa Feola veste i panni di un’Adina dall’emissione particolarmente controllata ed elegante, vitale ma mai eccessiva nel gesto, ineccepibile dal punto di vista dell’intonazione; lo strumento è ricco di colori e facile all’acuto, ottimo il controllo dei fiati.”
  “Rosa Feola takes on the role of Adina with a particularly controlled and elegant performance, dynamic but never excessive in gesture, irreproachable from an intonation point of view; her instrument is rich in colour and at ease in the high register, excellent breath control.”
  Simone Manfredini, Opera Click, 10 September 2019

  “l’Adina di Rosa Feola la cui intelligenza musicale e scenica appare come sempre con estrema naturalezza.”
  “Rosa Feola’s Adina, whose musical and scenic intelligence appear, as always, extremely natural.”
  Gian Francesco Amoroso, Le Salon Musical, 10 September 2019

  “Rosa Feola è un’Adina vocalmente impeccabile, con quella sua ricca musicalità piegata a un canto pulito, lineare, sicuro nella salita agli acuti, vario nel fraseggio e spigliato nel recitativo.”
  “Rosa Feola is a vocally impeccable Adina, with her rich musicality lending itself to immaculate, consistent singing, secure in the leaps to the higher register, varied phrasing and natural acting.”
  Fabio Larovere, Connessi all’Opera, 11 September 2019

  “Una dimensione da favola non poteva dunque fare a meno di una protagonista da favola e tale è Rosa Feola nei panni di Adina: l’emissione è impeccabile… eleganza e colta musicalità. Nel giovane soprano ormai consacrato alle scene internazionali sono soprattutto il gusto per la misura, la grazia ora nel gesto ora nel porgere, a definire un personaggio che non cede mai alle lusinghe del patetismo melenso né strizza l’occhio all’esibizionismo goliardico, ma fa sfoggio di una femminilità irresistibile costruita con arguzia e seduzione, candore e risolutezza.”
  “This fairytale dimension could not do without a fairytale protagonist, and such is Rosa Feola in the role of Adina: her performance is impeccable… elegance and cultured musicality. The young soprano, who is now acclaimed across international stages, shows above all a taste for measure, grace in both gesture and recitation; a character who never succumbs to the pandering of inane soppiness or nods to Goliardic exhibitionism, but demonstrates an irresistible femininity built with wit and seduction, candour and resolve.”

  Antonino Trotta, Ape Musicale, 4 October 2019

  “Non si riesce a toglierla, invece, all’Adina di Rosa Feola in virtù dell’arte del giovane soprano che realizza un’interpretazione magistrale… Forte di una voce pregevole per timbro e colori, di una tecnina decisamente raffinata, Rosa Feola coglie lo specifico della vocalita di Adina: quel canto capriccioso, ma non lezioso, che apre al lirismo. Cosi il racconto della regina Isotta, fraseggiata con gusto, detto ad arte, risulta affascinante. In ‘Prendi: per me sei libero’, la linea melodica è delicatamente affettuosa. Altrove la Feola è pungente e piccante, come occorre, scintilla nei passi fioriti. Spumeggia nel Duetto con Dulcamara senza mai scadere in atteggiamenti soubrettistici. Non perde una parola, lega sempre la frase al gesto, è attrice spigliata, è donna avvenente, disegna cosi un personaggio completo e pertinente.”
  “…This does not, however, succeed in taking [the soul] out of Rosa Feola’s Adina, due to the artistry of the young soprano who gives a masterful performance… With a voice of exquisite timbre and colour with decidedly refined technique, Rosa Feola captures the characteristics of Adina’s vocality: this whimsical but not affected singing that blossoms into lyricism. Thus the tale of Queen Isotta, tastefully phrased and artfully told, is fascinating. In ‘Prendi: per me sei libero’, the melodic line is delicately tender. At other times Feola is biting and fiery, as is needed, and she sparkles during the embellished passages. She is vivacious in the duet with Dulcamara without ever succumbing to showgirl-esque mannerisms. She never fumbles a word, always links her phrases and gestures; she is a natural actress, an attractive woman, and thus she creates a rounded and accurate character.”
  Opera magazine, October

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  30 Jul 19 CHERUBINI Médée
  Salzburg Festival

  “Rosa Feola is perfect as the clueless Dircé”

  Shirley Apthorp, Financial Times, 1 August 2019

  “Médées junge Rivalin, die ohnehin von Anfang an kein gutes Gefühl bei der ganzen Sache hat, verkörpert mit Lebendigkeit und sängerischer Strahlkarft die italienische Sopranistin Rosa Feola.”

  [Translated] “Médées young rival, who from the beginning does not have a good feeling about the whole thing, is embodied by the Italian soprano Rosa Feola with liveliness and vocal beam”.

  Dreh Punkt Kultur, 1 August 2019

  ” Molto più riuscite, almeno sul piano musicale, le prove dell’intensa Rosa Feola come Dircé”

  [Translated] “Much more successful on the musical level is the intense evidence of Rosa Feola as Dircé”

  Giornale della Musica, 6 August 2019

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  26 Apr 19 VERDI Rigoletto
  Metropolitan Opera, New York

  “Ms. Feola has a warm, full-bodied voice with natural bloom and a touch of darkening richness. She dispatched coloratura runs and filigree with ease and agility. There was nothing generic about the beauty of her singing. Depending on the dramatic urgency of the moment, she would inflect a phrase with an earthy, even steely sheen. She seemed at home in Michael Mayer’s garishly colorful production, which sets the story in 1960s Las Vegas, with the Duke (the tenor Matthew Polenzani, in excellent voice) presented as a sort of headliner on the strip. In fact, the contemporary trappings allowed Mr. Feola to tease out contemporary resonances from Gilda’s character.

  From the start, you could sense how exasperated this restless Gilda was with her smothering father, the jester Rigoletto (the baritone George Gagnidze), who tries to keep her in seclusion at home. When the Duke, pretending to be a poor student, romances her, Ms. Feola’s Gilda practically trembles with pent-up longing. Even in the wrenching Act II scene when Gilda, having been kidnapped by the Duke’s men and brought to their boss, confesses all to her father, Ms. Feola’s Gilda was alternately consumed with shame and afire with helpless ardor.”

  Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 28 April 2019

  Rosa Feola Shines As Gilda

  “Making her highly anticipated Met debut as Rigoletto’s prepossessing young daughter Gilda, Italian soprano Rosa Feola revealed herself to be enchanting in the role. Feola’s mellifluous sound is of rich color and features a lovely quick spin that paints her as a youthful, energetic, if not somewhat naïve soul. A soul so pure and innocent that it will attract tragedy with magnetic force.

  Her “Caro Nome” was the perfect balance of passionate and delicate. Jay Goodwin, the Met’s Editorial Director, mentions in the Program Note that because “Rigoletto” is driven constantly forward in an “arioso-like mixture” of recitative, aria, and ensemble numbers, it is important that Gilda’s signature aria (among other solo numbers) be “handled by the performers with tasteful understatement to avoid seeming out of place and stalling the crucial momentum.” As she sang of her beloved Gualtier Maldè, the Duke in disguise, Feola tenderly delivered skillful coloratura and jubilant trills, evoking the feeling of Gilda’s rapidly fluttering heart. Her staccato notes were punctuated with youthful anticipation, as if the young beauty could hardly catch her breath in her state of joy and excitement.

  In revealing her disobedience to her father in the second Act, Feola initially presents her Gilda as distraught and embarrassed. However, as she relives the events leading up to that night – the discovery of the handsome young man at church, their romantic eyes-only conversations – she makes it clear that her distress has more to do with fear of hurting her father than her abduction and affair. In those moments, the infatuation of “Caro nome” could be still heard in her voice, gentle yet carrying an intense emotion, suggesting that she would remain beguiled by the Duke.

  Feola performed Gilda’s final moments, as she chose to sacrifice herself for her lover, with a moving (almost frustratingly so) woefulness. Maintaining a warm, “pure” sound to the end, even through her sorrows and the thunder storm, the soprano highlighted Gilda’s youthful innocence in a way that not only made her death more heart wrenching but made Rigoletto’s loss all the more painful to experience.”

  Operawire ‘Rosa Feola Makes Triumphant Met Debut Alongside Matthew Polenzani & George Gagnidze, 1 May 2019

  “Rigogliosa, piena e rotonda è la vocalità di Rosa Feola, una Gilda molto ben cantata con voce non solo bella, ma soprattutto omogenea come è raro ascoltare in questo ruolo, spesso affidato a soprani dalla voce più sbilanciata nel volume verso il settore acuto. Le agilità sono sgranate con perizia, ma è soprattutto la chiusura della vendetta a impressionare, con un folgorante mi bemolle, pieno e sicuro, che entusiasma la sala del Met. E, per inciso, in un Rigoletto eseguito con parsimonia di puntature di tradizione (in pratica c’è solo questa, oltre a quella della “maledizione” finale del protagonista) le stesse acquistano anche una valenza espressiva più forte rispetto a esibizioni più generosamente circensi.”

  [Translated] ‘Rosa Feola’s vocals are lush, full and round, a very well sung Gilda with a voice that is not only beautiful, but above all homogeneous which is rare to hear in this role, often entrusted to sopranos with the most unbalanced voice in the volume towards the acute sector. Agility is skilfully shelled, but it is above all the closure of revenge that impresses, with a dazzling E-flat, full and secure, which excites the hall of the Met. And, incidentally, in a Rigoletto performed sparingly with traditional punctuation (in practice there is only this, in addition to that of the final “curse” of the protagonist) they also acquire a stronger expressive value compared to more generously circus performances.’

  Fabrizio Moschini, Opera Click, 25 May 2019

  “Surely everyone enjoyed the evening’s soprano and tenor. Gilda can be a striking, high-wire Met debut role. Gianna d’Angelo, Mariella Devia, June Anderson, and Sumi Jo all pulled it off, and so, splendidly, did Italian-born Rosa Feola, after doing the part in Naples, Munich, Chicago, Zurich, and elsewhere. Feola made the naive girl both appealingly vulnerable and understandably chafing at her father’s evasions and restrictions. She made much of the text and sang in a limpid, well-projected lyric-coloratura that could ride the orchestra when necessary. Brava! She seems like a major addition to the company roster.”

  David Shengold, Gay City News, 23 May 2019

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  19 Oct 18 DONIZETTI Lucia di Lammermoor
  Theater Basel

  “Without question, however, Rosa Feola’s performance as Lucia carried the production. Over almost three hours, her voice never faltered, despite the role’s major physical demands and the rash sequence of conflicting psychologies she had to portray: from deepest affection, to resignation and supreme disillusionment. Maria Callas said that a Lucia must “always find the meaning of a trill or a scale that will justify a feeling of happiness, anxiety, sadness.” Those very same words clearly found resonance in Basel.”

  Sarah Batschelet, Bachtrack, 20 October 2018

   

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  03 Aug 18 MOZART Mostly Mozart Festival
  Lincoln Center, New York

  “The second half opened with “Bella mia fiamma,” which has no piano accompaniment, and the concert was transformed. The lighter and drier instrumentation gave Feola plenty of space, which she filled with lovely, elegant, substantial singing. One could hear her at low dynamic levels, where she had a penetrating, haunting quality. Her musical emphasis on the repeated phrases for “o cara” and “addio per sempre” was artful and quite touching.”

  George Grella, New York Classical Review, 4 August 2018

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  14 Jul 18 PUCCINI Il trittico
  Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich

  “Buena también la prestación de Rosa Feola como Lauretta, cantando con brillantez y mucho sentido su aria ‘O, mio babbino caro’.”

  “Rosa Feola as Lauretta sang her aria, ‘O mio babbino caro’, with brilliance and sensitivity.”

  José M. Irurzun, Beckmesser, 16 July 2018

  “…enfin la Lauretta bien chantante de Rosa Feola”

  Bertand Bolognesi, AnaClase, 16 July 2018

   

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  05 Apr 18 DONIZETTI Don Pasquale
  Teatro alla Scala, Milan

  “Rosa Feola casertana di 32 anni è stata l’affascinante Norina del “Don Pasquale” scaligero diretto ad aprile da Chailly. Favorita dall’abilità del maestro nel coordinare e dare riconoscibile identità ai diversi piani sonori della partitura, il suo canto non è mai stato riassorbito dalla fitta trama orchestrale e si e potuto dispiegare liberamente esibendo timbro pieno e ricco di mordente agilità turbinose e un fraseggio vario e sensibilissimo.”

  Riccardo Lenzi, Cultura July 2018, Voci nuove 

  “Rosa Feola was a smart and very dynamic Norina, with a shining soprano, ringing at the top and nicely colored throughout the range. ”

  Silvia Luraghi, The Opera Critic, 19 April 2018

  “Rosa Feola was an exceptionally elegant Norina, with an extremely bright register and a priceless verve in the fashion show when, in the preparation for the joke to be played on Don Pasquale, the false attitudes that she will have to assume (proud, simple, spinster, rascal; a twisted neck, a narrow mouth) turn into haute couture stylings.”

  Renato Verga, Bachtrack, 5 April 2018

  “Al centro della tresca e dello spettacolo si staglia come una stella del firmamento la Norina di Rosa Feola. Soprano lirico. Senza acidule petulanze, vocina da colibrì o colorature da bambolina meccanica. Piena di una vitalità prorompente, pirotecnica, debordante ed inarrestabile sin da subito con colorature che suonano leggere e briose, trilli prolungati e scale ascendenti sicure, con maliziosi allargando, come in “So anch’io la virtù magica”. Sa essere sensuale, spiritosa e ricca di charme ed eleganza, come nel lungo duetto con Malatesta, che prepara l’intrigo nel bel mezzo di una coloratissima sfilata di moda, con anche note ribattute scalpitanti: “Vedo, corro al gran cimento”. Agisce da vera maliarda, supportata da tecnica affinata, ricca di espressività: dolcezze affettate in “Idolo mio, vi supplico”; vibrante nel quartetto, a cui fa seguire una furia crescente temibile, da vera strega, nel finale secondo. Perfetta musicalmente nel notturno e, non ultimo, assai raggiante negli acuti.”

  Ugo Malasoma, Operaclick, 5 April 2018

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  24 Jan 18 BELLINI La Sonnambula
  Royal Opera House Muscat

  “One of Rosa Feola’s greatest strengths is the ability to combine restraint and passion. And nothing illustrated it better than her heart-melting final sleepwalking scene. When Amina found the violet Elvino had given her on their engaging day as a symbol of love had been dropped accidentally on the ground, she squatted down and stretched out her hands toward the flower without touching it as if wanting to caress it yet daring not, and she began the seamless phrase of “Ah! Non credea mirarti.” The tension in her hands and in her voice complemented each other that together they created a striking scene being more than the sum of individuals. Feola’s legato phrasing followed just as how Bellini marked–“Andante cantabile.” Beautifully lyrical and in a moderately slow tempo usually associated with “Andante,” her singing was like a creek, subtle yet always keeping a forward flow. While sustaining the smooth line, Feola never sacrificed the clarity of words,  her way of coloring the text imaginative. How she murmured about the “fiore!” one could hear the lacrime nella voce. Unsurprisingly, her careful way with words made the extensive recitative (about five-minutes long!) before the aria satisfying, of which most of the music didn’t lie in the notes but the articulation and rhythms of the language. This also applied to the final cabaletta… Feola succeeded in giving emotional meaning to every small note, especially in the repetition, as she applied interpolated ornamentations. Not very often could one hear these sung in style adding to the climax rather than distracting.”

  Yige Li, Opera Wire, 24 January 2018

   

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  07 Oct 17 VERDI Rigoletto
  Lyric Opera of Chicago

  “Much of the excitement came from a superb performance by the luminous Italian soprano Rosa Feola, making her Lyric debut as Gilda, the virginal daughter of the title character, a bitterly angry jester in the court of the libertine Duke of Mantua. Feola sang ravishingly and acted touchingly as a trusting young naif who casts her lot with her seducer, knowing full well that it will cost her her life. Feola earned herself a thunderous reception, and rightly so.”
  John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, 8 October 2017

  “Rosa Feola made a quite sensational company debut as Gilda, Rigoletto’s innocent daughter…But none of those events prepared one for the luminous vocalism and dramatic power of her doomed Gilda Saturday night. Feola’s youthful, quicksilver soprano is ideal for this role and her “Caro nome” had it all—tonal purity, fine flexibility and a gleaming high register with pinpoint accuracy in the cabaletta’s top notes. The duet “È il sol dell’anima” with Matthew Polenzani’s Duke was simply gorgeous, tenderly sung with nuanced expressive poise by both artists.

  Her characterization of Rigoletto’s trusting daughter was just as remarkable. Feola completely embodied the role, conveying the girlish excitement of being in love with the Duke (masquerading as a poor student), her shame at her kidnapping and seduction, and despair at seeing the Duke’s moral vacuity firsthand (in the Quartet). The opera’s final scene rarely comes off as it should, but Feola made it devastating, with Gilda’s dying phrases softening and ebbing away as she tells her father that she will soon be reunited with her mother and watch over him in heaven. Rosa Feola’s Gilda was nothing less than a star-making performance.”
  Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review, 8 October 2017

  “In an altogether sublime cast is Feola, the Italian soprano with a voice of honey-coated warmth and easeful technical brilliance that is paired with exceptional acting skills and natural beauty, who steals the stage. Her performance of the extended aria “Cara nome” is breathtaking – full of the surprise and fever of first love.”
  Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times, 8 October 2017

  “There we find Rosa Feola’s Gilda, who’s a standout vocalist. The higher she goes, the more relaxed she sounds, until she is nearly lounging in the upper ranges… She sings her “Caro nome” facing the audience, with both arms outstretched behind her and grasping a rail, as if holding herself back from melting into the hall. The performance, both visually and vocally, was one of fearless directness.”
  Dan Wang, Bach Track, 10 October 2017

  “Feola’s outing as Gilda is phenomenal. She conveys innocence and youthful earnestness with ease. She creates a young woman who is lovably sweet and she sings with the same sweetness. Her top notes are luscious and her phrasing blooms beautifully. It is a difficult task to convince an audience that such a horribly betrayed maiden could give her life to save her abuser, but Feola makes this fateful decision believable and therefore all the more tragic.”
  M.L. Rantala, Hyde Park Herald, 11 October 2017

  “Feola was a mesmerizing and dazzling Gilda in terms of phrasing, lyrical quality and stage presence. Her “Caro nome” was without a doubt the most spectacular moment in a night full of them. Feola captured the innocence and naïvete of a sheltered young woman yearning for love. Even the way she spoke the name “Gualtier Malde” before launching into “Caro nome” highlighted Gilda’s chasteness and simple nature.”
  Santosh Venkataraman, Opera Wire, 1 November 2017

  “Se in quel ruolo la giovane cantante spiccava per la voce purissima, qui si distingue per la maturita con cui affronta il personaggio di Gilda, di cui tratteggia con maestria l’innocenza e la spensieratezza, il genuino amore per il padre e la nascente passione per l’amente, il supremo coraggio e il dolore che non cancella la dedizione. La voce, sostenuta da una tecnica ferrea, risponde splendidamente a ogni intenzione espressiva, dai suoni filati e il tono sognante di “Caro nome” alla sofferta confessione di “Tutte le sere al tempio”, alla successione dei bellisimi duetti.”
  Marta Tonegutti, Dall’estero, November 2017

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  28 Jun 17 BIZET Carmen
  Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Terme di Caracalla

  “Rosa Feola si divora la parte di Micaela, mostrando una capacità di sprezzatura non indifferente, fraseggio e dizione ottimi, interpretazione scenica e bel timbro”

  Michelangelo Pecoraro, Opera Click, 4 July 2017

  “La performance de Rosa Feola dans le rôle Micaëla est également à applaudir notamment dans le solo du troisième acte avec des mediums maîtrisés et des aigus brillants.”

  Emma, Garnier, Bachtrack, 2 July 2017

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  19 May 17 DONIZETTI Don Pasquale
  Teatro Verdi, Salerno

  “…si è rivelata un’autentica punta di diamante. Anzitutto colpisce la voce, dal timbro pieno, omogeneo a tutti i livelli, dai toni caldi e con un’intelligente gestione di una tecnica di ferro.”

  “… She was excellent. Most importantly, her voice has a warm timbre, full and round from the top to the lower register. Moreover, she showed a rock-solid technique.”

  Bruno Tredicine, Operaclick, 25 May 2017

  “…Rosa Feola, una Norina arguta e civettuola: voce corposa in tutti i registri, squillante, ben proiettata…”

  “…Rosa Feola, a perfect and coquettish Norina: her voice is round and  well-projected in every register…”

  Luigi Raso, Ape Musicale, 19 May 2017

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  12 Apr 17 ROSSINI La gazza ladra
  Teatro alla Scala

  “…Rosa Feola and Serena Malfi were my picks of the cast. Feola had bags of charm and pristine fioritura as Ninetta…”
  Mark Pullinger, Bach Track, 13 April 2017

  “Gli interpreti tutti hanno dato prova di grande disinvoltura in scena e di un’ottima prova canora, prima fra tutti Rosa Feola come Ninetta, sicura ed elegante in ogni passaggio.”
  Stefano Jacini, Il Giornale della Musica, 14 April 2017

  “Ninetta, the central character who is wrongly accused of the theft of a spoon and thence sentenced to death, is taken by the excellent Rosa Feola…Here, she was in total command, finding pathos as well as humour, her agile, bright voice perfectly chosen for the role.”

  Colin Clarke, Seen and Heard – International, 22 April 2017

  “Rosa Feola… with astounding technical savy… projected it (her voice) with impressive ease. her unique musicality ,her varied accentsm her myriad colours, her intense acting – everything contribueted to an enchanting potrayal”

  Emanuele Senici, Opera Magazine, August 2017

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  10 Jan 17 VERDI Rigoletto
  Teatro di San Carlo

  “Tra i cantanti svetta la prova meravigliosa Rosa Feola,  una Gilda brillante nel timbro, morbida nel fraseggio, pirotecnica nella concitazione del terzo atto appaia determinata e quasi furente.”
  La Recensione, January 2017

  “A Rosa Feola il ruolo di Gilda calza a pennello. La voce è di stampo lirico, l’emissione di leggerezza ammirevole, i colori ci sono tutti cosi come la giusta espressività. Già nel duetto col padre viene fuori non una povera ingenua, ma una ragazza innamorata e ben consapevole dei suoi gesti. Sorprendente la decisione con cui il carattere viene fuori ancora di più nel finale, mentre l’oasi lirica di Caro nome è stata condotta con grande precisione ed equilibrio fra tecnica ed espressività. Nell’insieme una prova eccellente.”
  David Toschi, Opera Click, January 2017

  “Tra i cantanti e svettata la prova meravigliosa di Rosa Feola, salutata alla fine da un tripudio di pubblico.

  Il giovane soprano e briliiante nel timbro, morbida nel fraseggio, pirotecnica nella agilita (Caro nome, per l’appunto, ci ha lasciati a bocca aperta), da brivido nelle messe di voce perfette. Ed e anche scenicamente autorevole: com’e giusto che nella concitazione del terzo atto appaia determinata e quasi furente!

  Considerato che ha appena trent’anni, Rosa Feola, e a nostro avviso una delle realta piu entusiasmanti dell scena lirica.”
  Sandro Compagnone, Attualita, 18 January 2017

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  22 Jul 16 MOZART and MENDELSSOHN arias BBC Proms 2016
  Royal Albert Hall; Jérémie Rhorer and Le Cercle de l’Harmonie

  “In Mendelssohn’s Infelice her voice appeared small and delicate, but so perfectly controlled across the range that it took on a huge power,
  filling the hall, and our hearts, effortlessly. In Mozart’s Ah, lo previdi she surprised us with real fire and fury, and gave a touching
  purity to the final farewell to the beloved.’
  Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph, 31 July 2016

  “Unmodified rapture came from Feola…
  the fully finished, stage-confident lyric soprano article. A surprising
  thrust in her armoury of colours suggested something beyond your usual
  sweet Mozart heroine…”
  David Nice, The Arts Desk, 23 July 2016

  “In this perfectly balanced programmed of Mozart and Mendelssohn, she featured in two concert arias – long, quasi-operatic pieces written for star singers. Her gleaming, supple soprano shone in Mendelssohn’s Infelice, riding the choppy waves of the stormy orchestra in the closing section, and she soared in duet with the oboe in Mozart’s Ah, lo previdi.”
  Erica Jeal, The Guardian, 24 July 2016

  ‘… Rosa Feola, who uncorked a secure, radiant and unforced timbre in Mendelssohn’s Infelice and made light of the coloratura challenges of Mozart’s Ah, lo previdi.”
  Richard Morrison, The Times, 25 July 2016

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  03 Jul 16 MOZART Le Nozze di Figaro
  Glyndebourne Festival Opera

  “Rosa Feola as Susanna was poised and elegant, again with an inner
  strength combined with suppleness of line. You felt that Feola could
  have easily taken on the role of the Countess, and her account of Deh vieni gave us some of the finest singing of the evening.”
  Robert Hugill, Planet Hugill, 4 July 2016

  “But it’s the women who are exceptional. It’s hard to imagine finer
  soprano singing or more exuberant portrayals of Susanna and the Countess
  than those supplied by Rosa Feola and Golda Schultz respectively…”
  George Hall, The Guardian, 4 July 2016

  “… a nicely balanced Act III duet with Susanna (impressively sung Rosa Feola, allying the role’s quick-wittedness to an ideal steely clarity in
  the voice).”
  Edward Bhesania, The Stage, 4 July 2016

  “Most winning of all is young Italian soprano Rosa Feola as Figaro’s wife Susanna. She runs rings around the men, laying traps into which they obediently walk, all the while singing in a pert, crystal-clear soprano. She’s clearly a star in the making.”
  Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph, 5 July 2016

  “Rosa Feola, a witty and spirited Susanna…”
  Stephen Pritchard, The Guardian, 10 July 2016

  “Rosa Feola was a delicious Susanna…”
  William Hartston, The Telegraph, 5 July 2016

  ‘Rosa Feola is excellent as Susanna…’
  Clare Colvin, The Express, 10 July 2016

  “Rosa Feola is a lissom soprano who, in this interpretation, makes a hard-edged Susanna.”
  Hannah Nepil, Financial Times, 8 July 2016

  “Best of all were Davide Luciano and Rosa Feola as Figaro and Susanna…. Feola acted and sang from start to finish with charm, wit and endless musical intelligence.”
  Roger Parker, Opera Magazine, August 2016

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  16 Apr 16 MAHLER Symphony No. 4
  Chicago Symphony Centre

  “In addition, in the symphony’s brief but haunting fourth (and final) movement, the human voice comes into play as a soprano (in this case the altogether beguiling Rosa Feola) sings Mahler’s enchanting setting of a traditional German poem, “Das himmlische Leben” (“Heavenly Life”), with its naive and enthusiastic description of  that other world.”
  Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times, 15 April 2016

  “The finale, a setting for solo soprano of a German folk poem about a child’s vision of heaven, brought lovely singing from Rosa Feola, who’s in town to sing Nannetta in the Muti “Falstaff” performances. The freshness and purity of her sound were an apt match for the naivete of stanzas in which angels bake bread and St. Peter goes fishing in God’s lake.”
  John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, 15 April 2016

  ‘Rosa Feola was a lovely Nanetta, captivating in her aria as Queen of the Fairies…’
  George Loomis, Financial Times, 28 April 2016

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  31 Dec 15 Musica e Poesia
  Opus Arte

  “Her singing is marked by poise and eloquence, and she spins out seamless phrases with unflagging care for the words, whether in Respighi’s Tuscan songs, Martucci’s more expansive Tre Pezzi, or parallel Dante settings by Ponchielli and Pinsuti.”
  Erica Jeal, The Guardian, 7 January 2016

  “… refreshing with a hint of sweetness, and a pleasant glow of Mediterranean sunshine. The soprano responsible is Rosa Feola, a rising star…”

  “…the charm here is listening to Feola’s pure tone and immaculate diction…”
  Neil Fisher, The Times, 8 January 2016

  “…a beautiful voice in its youthful prime, an artist on the threshold of an auspicious career.”

  “The two groups by Respighi are typical of the minor treasures to be found among this neglected song composer’s legacy. His Quattro Rispetti toscani, sophisticated settings of four folk‑like poems, show off the light, bel canto beauty of Feola’s soprano…”

  “…her poise is impeccable. She takes some of the higher options for the voice, though not all. In one, at the close of ‘Pace non trovo’, she rises to an effortless D flat – a high point, in every sense, of singing that is graced everywhere with an elegant sweetness without ever feeling sentimental or saccharine.”
  Richard Fairman, Gramophone, February 2016

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  18 Dec 15 ROSSINI Il Viaggio a Reims
  Opernhaus Zurich

  ‘There was some fine singing from the quartet of ladies, Rosa Feola, Anna Goryachova, Julie Fuchs and Serena Farnocchia.’
  John Rhodes, Seen and Heard, 20 December 2015

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  11 Sep 15 BELLINI I Puritani
  Welsh National Opera

  “The Italian soprano Rosa Feola, a protégé of the great Renata Scotto, sings the dippy heroine Elvira with all her mentor’s questing intelligence. Warm and easy in her top register, she phrases sensitively, shaping the line into expressive meaning and colouring words with imagination. Her Mad Scene in Act 2 was exquisitely done, as was the miraculous…recovery of her senses that ensues…Feola can act too, radiating considerable personal charm throughout Elvira’s neurasthenic travails. There is blazing star potential here…”.
  Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, 12 September 2015

  “Musically this is most rewarding, with Feola’s coloratura gracefully poised”.
  Rian Evans, The Guardian, 13 September 2015

  …”the Elvira of Rosa Feola,
  a marvellous singing actress, in full command of the part’s range and
  coloratura, and with poise and a fine sense of nineteenth-century visual
  idiom… Her mad scene, especially, is a masterclass in
  refined excess…And, by the way, it’s exquisitely sung”.
  Stephen Walsh,The Arts Desk, 12 September 2015

  “Musically too, this is a magical evening. Rosa Feola…effaces all memories of Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland by singing a soaring, secure, beautiful and vulnerable Elvira”.
  Mark Valencia, What’s On Stage, 14 September 2015

  “In this production Rosa Feola gives a genuinely affecting and moving performance…full of deep passion”.
  Peter Collins, Wales Online, 12 September 2015

  “..Elvira – wonderfully sung by Italian soprano Rosa Feola…Vocally, this is a rewarding evening…Feola’s exceptional Elvira…”.
  George Hall, The Stage, 14 September 2015

  “As Elvira, Rosa Feola is mesmerising…her obsessive-compulsive shredding of a bridal bouquet is the show’s most memorable image”.
  Richard Morrison, The Times, 15 September 2015

  “The evening would be a triumph whatever the setting thanks to the magnificent Rosa Feola, singing the part of Elvira for the last time on this tour. Feola was a pupil of Renata Scotto, and it shows both in her acting ability and in the expression and purity she brings to every acrobatic note in the fragile vocal line.

  There’s no mistaking this heroine’s febrile mental state even as she light-heartedly cradles her wedding dress in Act 1. Then her exquisite… subtle control in Qui la voce, the most musical of all mad scenes, when she seems to hear Arturo’s voice, left me open-mouthed in admiration”.
  Colin Davison, Gloucestershire Echo, 21 October 2015

  “There is an Ophelia-like fragility about Rosa Feola’s
  unforgettable Elvira, possessed not only of delicate coloratura and a mixture
  of vocal purity and attack; she enhances those essential musical attributes by
  sustaining the made scenes across each of the three acts, rather than seeming
  arbitrarily to drift in and out of them. Feola’s silvery tone is ideal in the polacca, ‘Son vergin vezzosa’. No
  soprano ought to sing this part without studying Callas’s recordings, yet Feola
  seems to have taken these lessons and made something such as ‘Vien, diletto è
  in ciel la luna! entirely her own- necessarily, given her much lighter
  instrument, yet this cabaletta has a pliancy and musical intelligence that
  marks out the singer as a self-effacing star”.

  
  John Allison, Opera Magazine, November 2015

  “But the discovery of the night was soprano Rosa Feola, who spun Elvira’s long, winding melodies into gold. Her coloratura was gorgeous – and heartbreaking – with no histrionics but a myriad, delicate inflections. Quite simply, a star in the making.”
  Steph Power, The Independent, 14 September 2015

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  05 Oct 14 MOZART La finta giardiniera
  Glyndebourne Touring Opera

  “Rosa Feola has a voice you can’t ignore: it is honey and cream with a kick of champagne, and she brings a magnum of star quality to the key role of Sandrina/Violante. We must hear more of this fabulous young Italian soprano.”
  Mark Valencia, Whats on Stage, 6 October 2014

  “Although no-one is weak, two principals stand out in particular. The first is Rosa Feola who as Sandrina has a voice of immense smoothness and beauty. There is an almost wispy, spiritual quality to her soprano and yet it is possessed of the utmost clarity.”
  Sam Smith, Music OMH, 31 October 2014

  “Fine young singers also grace Glyndebourne Touring Opera’s revival of Frederic Wake-Walker’s handsome but silly production of Mozart’s silly youthful opera La finta giardiniera. The new fake gardener is surely a star in the making: Rosa Feola, apparently a future Glyndebourne Susanna in Figaro, for which I can’t wait on the basis of her gorgeous singing here.”
  Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times, Culture Magazine, 09 Nov 2014

  “Italian soprano Rosa Feola, sparkles as Sandrina/ Violante.”
  Tim Frost, The Public Reviews, 5 Nov 2014

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  10 May 14 DONIZETTI L'elisir d'amore
  Opera di Roma

  “Adina è stata cantata da Rosa Feolacon impeccabile musicalità, precisione nelle agilità e gusto interpretativo curato, sorvegliato e mai manierato o artefatto, esprimendo l’evoluzione psicologica della parte attraverso un sapiente uso delle sonorità e del fraseggio ed una gestualità scenica sempre appropriata e spontanea anche quando costretta a cose forse discutibili e di certo inutilmente rumorose come le pagine strappate nell’aria di sortita.”

  Francesco Giudiceandrea, GB Opera Magazine, 11 May 2014

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  06 Feb 14 SCHUBERT Mass
  Chicago Symphony Center

  “Rosa Feola’s ethereal pure soprano brought just the right degree of expressive poise to her solos.”
  Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review, 7 Feb 2014

  “Of the solo singers, the pure, angelic soprano of Rosa Feola gave particular pleasure.”
  John von Rhein, Chicago tribune, 7 Feb 2014

  “Three young Italian soloists — soprano Rosa Feola, tenor Antonio Poli and bass Riccardo Zanellato — and Austrian mezzo Michaela Selinger were absolutely matched and in sync with an ability to capture lightness and even sweetness without the slightest touch of syrup.”
  Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun Times, 7 February 2014

  “They are chosen for varying textures as well as pitches, Rosa Feola in the soprano part sang with ethereal beauty, a pure tone piercing to the hall’s ceilings.”
  Susan Hall, Berkshire Fine Arts, 7 Feb 2014

  “Muti, an opera maestro who knows something about singers and matching them up, put together an ideal blend of voices for the solo quartet: soprano Rosa Feola, mezzo-soprano Michaela Selinger, tenor Antonio Poli and bass Riccardo Zanellato.”
  Lawrence B. Johnson, Chicago on the Aisle, 7 Feb 2014

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  09 Jan 14 Rosenblatt Recital
  Wigmore Hall

  “London likes to think it lies at the centre of the musical universe, but many great singers had relatively small careers here and most of today’s up-and-coming stars make their names elsewhere. No one fits that description better than the Italian lyric soprano Rosa Feola. Her recital in the Rosenblatt series, eloquently accompanied by Iain Burnside, was far from sold out but she is a classic Rosenblatt find – scarcely known on this side of the Channel but with a potential that impresarios elsewhere have been quick to spot.
  There was nothing predictable about her programme of love songs, evenly divided between canzonettas and opera arias. It played to her strengths, which are many – one of them being a gift for making an audience want more. Before she even sings a note, Feola wins my vote: she has a pleasing presence, unfussy in a damsel-like way, with enough self-confidence to hold the stage on her own – without a score – while steering clear of prima donna mannerism. The timbre is natural – not obviously schooled or over-produced – and the technique flawless.

  This was clear not only from an open-hearted “Caro nome” (Rigoletto), showcasing her stylish bel canto, but also from her clean, radiant upper register. Every top note rings out with lustre, giving “Je veux vivre” (Roméo et Juliette) and “E strano” (La traviata) the wherewithal to bring the house down. Her stage debut as Violetta surely can’t be far away, for Feola gives every impression of having a big-time temperament.
  Her French diction let her down a bit in “Sombre forêt” (Guillaume Tell), but the aria, one of Rossini’s loveliest, proved that Feola could be equally persuasive in a gentler musical atmosphere. Her encore, Lauretta’s song from Gianni Schicchi, made a similar point: the emotion she expresses is touching, not overwrought.
  As for her non-operatic choices, Tosti’s “Sogno” and “Non t’amo più” demonstrated her ability to respect the simplicity of the song, while Villa-Lobos’s “Tarde uma nuvem rósea” showcased her seductive vocalise. But the key to Feola’s artistic personality is not just her vocal prowess: what counts is that she never gives less than a performance.”

  Andrew Clark, Financial Times, 12 January 2014

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  11 Nov 12 VERDI Rigoletto
  Ravenna Festival, Italy

  “Particolarmente luminosa la Gilda di Rosa Feola, capace sia di brucianti accensioni drammatiche che di estatici abbandoni lirici.”
  Guido Barbieri, La Repubblica, 11 November

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  22 Sep 12 ORFF Carmina Burana
  Chicago Symphony Orchestra

  “Feola had an attractive sound from her first entrance, but as the evening went on she became increasingly seductive and even delicate.”
  Andrew Partner, Chicago Sun Times, 22 September 2012