Critical Acclaim

Opera Boston – Ernani

With her performance as Elvira, Barbara Quintiliani showed that the brilliant potential of her early years has ripened, and the fruit is now rich, juicy, and delicious. The shimmer of her high notes and her deep, sexy chest voice are more resplendent, and with every note she brings underlying dramatic intent and conviction. All the major companies should be scrambling to sign her.

"Quintiliani is one of the few singers who can offer up shades of gold. She can float a long line and coloratura with seamless ease, and her ability to shift the weight of her sound to serve the emotional dimension of the line is amazing. In the cabaletta of her opening aria, she integrated the interpolations beautifully, with radiant spontaneity; the high triplets came off like flashes of beaming sun.

                                                                       Opera News (Wayman Chin)

Local favorite Quintiliani probably commands the most genuinely exciting and beautiful Verdian soprano on the continent; full and shining, it might eventually serve Wagner too. Her work - sincere and undeniably impressive- steadily improves, but remains uneven and provincial in terms of musical refinement (trills, phrase endings) and expressiveness. Like many a world-class talent today, she awaits her Tullio Serafin-like mentor.

Gay City News (David Shengold)

Barbara Quintiliani's singing grew more nimble as the night progressed, and she ultimately made a technically strong, musically intelligent Elvira.

         Boston Globe (Jeremy Eichler)

Soprano Barbara Quintiliani was altogether superb in the role. She looked magnificent in her elaborate, jeweled gowns of cream and fuchsia. Her instrument is in beautiful condition. It is a voice that can cut through granite, let alone an orchestra and chorus, and her forte singing was breathtaking. Yet, she was able to float creamy pianissimi, which, in the upper-middle range of her voice, were exquisite. Her intonation was dead-on. Musically, as well as dramatically, she was all over the role. The "Ernani involami" went well, and included some original virtuoso embellishments; but it was in the final trio that she did her best singing of the evening. Totally in gear, the voice sounded truly resplendent. Hers was a stellar interpretation.

The Edge (Ed Tapper)

As Elvira, the object of his entitled affections and Ernani's significant other, Quincy's own Barbara Quintiliani raged and swooned in enormous dresses, producing superhuman sounds with superhuman ease and heartrendingly human emotion.

Bostonist.com (C. Fernsebner)

• Opera Boston – Lucrezia Borgia

  SOPRANO SPARKLES IN LUCREZIA BORGIA

  “Barbara Quintiliani blazed through the title role of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia last night and left the audience on its feet, screaming and shouting.

  “To one of the most demanding parts in the bel canto literature, the Quincy soprano brought opulent tone, temperament, ample flexibility, a serviceable trill, a colorful low register, a strong middle voice and money notes all the way up to top E-flat.  She has conquered most of the intonation problems that compromised her Verdi Requiem with the Cantata Singers last fall, and if her acting was sometimes rudimentary, she delivered the rudiments with conviction.

  “As one of history’s most celebrated serial murderesses, she made a spectacular diva entrance in a gondola, costumed to kill, wigged in scarlet.  She is not yet 30, and refinements await her, but everything basic is present in ample measure; you don’t hear voices and singing like this every day.”

  “Not long ago Quintiliani received an international vocal prize from the hands of the legendary diva Montserrat Caballe, who, 41 years ago, became an international star overnight when she sang this role.  If Quintiliani had sung last night’s performance for the opera fanatics of New York, the same phenomenon would have repeated itself.”

  -Richard Dyer, Boston Globe, April 29, 2006

• DIVA DELIVERS PASSION, POISON

  “Some operas survive because their music is just too beautiful, their construction too masterful, for them to ever disappear. Others come and go depending on the presence of a singer capable of breathing life into formulaic music and old-fashioned theatrics.

  "Donizetti’s 1833 opera “Lucrezia Borgia” is the latter kind of opera, and the young soprano Barbara Quintiliani – now starring in the title role of Opera Boston’s handsome production at the Cutler Majestic Theatre – is just the kind of singer it needs. It’s no wonder her performance in the show’s opener Friday night drew enthusiastic cheers from the audience. Hers was a true diva performance of a true diva role, the notorious 16th century Italian poisoner of history and legend.”

  “And what the Quincy-born Quintiliani does with the role is almost unheard of these days: With her rich, dark-toned but surprisingly agile soprano, she fills every note and every word with such honest commitment and almost superhuman passion that she becomes her character and makes you believe her against all odds.”

  -T. J. Medrek, Boston Herald, April 30, 2006

• “It marked the return of the sensational Boston-born soprano Barbara Quintiliani, singing a role that has not been heard here in over 150 years. It was not hype....she was fabulous!”

  “Apparently, Lucrezia Borgia was Quintiliani’s choice; and it was obvious she felt strongly for the music. Her performance surpassed all expectations. It was amazing to hear the extent to which her voice had changed and matured since her Luisa Miller of last season. It is much larger, and more focused. In fact, the sell-out crowds were not prepared to be blown out of their chairs by the massive sound she produced. Apart from its size, the voice has taken on a richness, and a lovely, burnished timbre. It was like a velvety blanket, which, at full tilt, could have easily covered the orchestra and supporting cast. Though huge in scale, her instrument was supple enough negotiate the requisite coloratura passages. She plummeted into chest voice, tore into glottal attacks, and soared to some stratospheric high notes, making for an absolutely thrilling performance.

  “Dramatically, she was volcanic on stage, bringing the character of Lucrezia to vivid life. The Act II duet with the bass featured some of the most white-hot acting I have ever witnessed on the operatic stage. She quite literally spit out her lines, doing so with such passion, that audience members clung to the edges of their seats. At the same time, her performance was subtle enough to convey the many facets of this psychologically complex heroine. She garnered a thunderous and well-deserved standing ovation for her impressive portrayal. Considering some of the embarrassing broadcasts it has turned out this season, the Met would do well to snap her up ASAP; providing they leave her free to return to Boston next season.”

  -Ed Tapper, EDGE Boston, May 1, 2006

• “If the myth surrounding the real life and times of Lucrezia Borgia is bigger-than-life, who better to bring this characterization to the stage than Quincy Massachusetts native, dramatic soprano Barbara Quintilliani? Ms. Quintilliani put her heart and soul into this production and it paid off with a bigger-than-life performance (which is probably why the theater was so full on a Sunday afternoon) in a role that is perfectly suited to her. She soared, both vocally and dramatically and made her Lucrezia both menacing and uncaring, and almost sympathetic when she finally succumbed to and admitted her own emotional attachment to her son. Her final scene, pleading with Gennaro to drink the antidote to the poison was a true Kodak moment, so to speak.”

  -Paul Joseph Walkowski, OperaOnline.us, April 30, 2006

• “Lucrezia demands more than the average coloratura. She requires power, depth and personality. Barbara Quintiliani brings all of these qualities to her performance. In the first act she displays Lucrezia's tenderness and vulnerability as she encounters her son.

  “In the second act she channels Lucrezia's wrath as she confronts her jealous husband. In the third act Quintiliani successfully combines these two qualities, culminating in a spectacular coloratura aria that showcases her powerful dramatic voice. This performance makes the production a success.”

  “When all is said and done, this production is about Lucrezia, and more specifically, about Quintiliani as Lucrezia. All of the production values and the supporting performances cohere around her magnificent voice. Her voice is strong enough to temper the production's faults, and as the curtain rises and Quintiliani comes forward to graciously accept her applause, the audience rises gratefully to its feet.”

  -Garen Nigon, Tufts Daily, May 1, 2006

• “Soprano Barbara Quintiliani heads a beautifully performed production of this Donizetti bel canto classic.

  “Run out to see and hear Barbara Quintiliani if you get the chance, but beware of the character she plays, Lucrezia Borgia.”

  “And in Opera Boston's production of Gaetano Donizetti's eponymous opera, soprano Barbara Quintiliani plays up the passionate side of this role with her robust soprano singing - singing that brings a high drama Verdi quality to this bel canto opera. Quintiliani is phenomenal.”

  “But it's in the dramatic pleading scenes where this production takes off, particularly when Lucrezia and her current husband, Duke Alonso d'Este – played in one of the most consistently outstanding performances of the evening by bass Bert Johnson - fight in Act 2, Scene 1 ("Oh! A te bada, a te tesso").”

  -James A. Lopata, In Newsweekly, May 3, 2006

• Licia Albanese-pucini Foundation Annual Gala

  “Barbara Quintiliani proved once again that she is one of the most promising sopranos around”

  -Brian Kellow, Opera News, January 2006

• Austin Lyric Opera – Il Trovatore

  “Barbara Quintiliani, as Leonora, sounded like a woman whom men would fight over.”

  -David Mead, Austin Statesman, October10, 2005

• Jordan Music Hall (boston) – Recital

  “Quintiliani displayed a plush and voluminous soprano with lustrous high notes that really rang the rafters.  The soprano was an appealing recitalist with natural stage presence, outgoing personality and communicative skills.”

  “With her ideal Verdi timbre, Quintiliani before long seems destined to illuminate this role and other Verdi heroines.”

  “The soprano began with two arias from 18th-century Italian composers that demonstrated the size of her well-supported voice, its powerhouse top and her remarkable breath control.”

  -Peter Knapp, The Patriot Ledger, April 4, 2005

• “Soprano Barbara Quintiliani’s debut recital…was as much a Jordan Hall love-fest as a musical event.”

  “Quintiliani…again displayed all the ingredient necessary to become one of her generation’s brightest operatic stars.”

  “Her voice is beautiful, even and wide-ranging, and her program of arias and songs…was well chosen to show it off at its best.  And even better Quintiliani’s soprano has a kind of built-in urgency and size that commands both attention and admiration.  Un other words, when she sings you listen – as you’ve rarely listened before.”

  -Boston Herald, April 3, 2005

• Carnegie Hall – Recital

  “She may have the best natural pipes of any American soprano since Leontyne Price, and she is learning how to use them – and, more, why she is using them.  She never fails to make her singing meaningful.”

  -Richard Dyer, Boston Globe, June 11, 2004

• Opera Boston – Luisa Miller

  “The audience in the Cutler Majestic Theatre was almost certainly present at the advent of the Verdi soprano the world has been waiting for, Barbara Quintiliani.”

  “From broad facial structure that recalls that of Joan Sutherland emerges a major voice, large and glamorous in timbre across a wide range extending at least to high D.”

  “Quintiliani boasts a grasp, instinctive and acquired, of the sweeping Verdi style, and she is also a natural actress—not subtle but genuine.  While most of the others offered generalized “emotion,” Quintiliani in the title role projected a range of feelings with conviction.”

  -Richard Dyer, Boston Globe, May 2, 2004

• “In particular, soprano Barbara Quintiliani, the 27-year-old Quincy native on a fast-track to stardom, was a revelation in the title role.  I’ve seen several sopranos sing Luisa, but none made this innocent farmer’s daughter, trapped in one typically operatic impossible situation after another, so real.  There wasn’t a single false note, musically or dramatically, in her performance.”

  “Her big, full-bodied voice had a magnificent natural gleam that grew in warmth throughout the evening.  But, more important, Quintiliani has the ability to launch and shape Verdi’s long, luxurious phrases with an energized, impassioned Italianate thrust that is a rare quality these days.”

  -T.J. Medrek, Boston Herald, April 2, 2004

• Sarasota Opera – Il Corsaro

  “Barbara Quintiliani's Gulnara is a strong-willed woman willing to do whatever it takes to escape the slavery of harem life. Corrado catches her eye, but when he will not murder Seid for her, she simply does it herself. In the midst of it all, there are a few memorable musical moments that she powers up to the heights of her soprano register.”

  -Gayle Williams, The Herald Tribune, March 11, 2004

• Washington Opera – Don Giovanni

  “Most of the praise went to singers in two of the opera's most problematic roles, soprano Barbara Quintiliani as Donna Anna and tenor Matthew Ryan Wolff as Ottavio -- both artists of great potential. Quintiliani, whose acting is as impressive as her voice, managed to convey the intense emotions, ambivalence and fiery determination of her role without ever making Anna look (as sometimes happens) like a nag.”

  -Joseph McLellan, The Washington Post, April 7, 2003

• Washington Opera – Idomeneo

  “Saturday night's audience, which applauded her warmly, saw the beginning of a significant operatic career.”

  “She has a bit of recitative, which Quintiliani sang with verbal clarity and fine dramatic sense; she also has arias in each of the three acts. The first two are well crafted but not exceptional, and Quintiliani handled them intelligently, gracefully and eloquently, with glowing tone and fine musical instincts.”

  “Quintiliani took its challenges as opportunities; for the length of the aria, at the end of which Elettra collapses and dies, her voice and gestures dominated the stage and held the audience transfixed.”

  -Joseph McLellan, The Washington Post, November 24, 2002

• Longy School Of Music – Recital

  “....when everything was working for her, the effect was thrilling. This was true in her fiery performance of Elettra's big scena, 'D'Oreste, d'Ajace,' In this scorching expression of fury and despair over the loss of Elettra's beloved to a rival, Quintiliani hurled vocal lightning bolts.”

  “During the encore…listeners got a glimpse of the Quintiliani of the future: the voice molten, the communications intense, instrument and interpretive impulse perfectly attuned.”

  -Ellen Pfeifer, The Boston Globe, August 6, 2002

• Naxos Records – The Pleasure Dome (griffes)

  “Soprano Barbara Quintiliani offers a lucid and beautifully sung rendering of the text”

  -Victor Carr Jr., ClassicsToday.com