Critical Acclaim

Washington National Opera - La traviata

Miss Futral, in perfect voice Saturday evening, was a superbly believable Violetta. She sang beautifully throughout and imposed a subtle measure of restraint on her instrument after her exuberant Act I champagne duet with Alfredo, "Libiamo ne' lieti calici," making her gradual consumptive decline quite believable.

Washington Times

Violetta, the title role, is both fiendish and grateful; if a soprano is able to get through it, she is almost guaranteed a smashing success. Elizabeth Futral was able to get through it, very respectably, and deservedly bathed in much applause. The role is said to require three voice types: a coloratura soprano to negotiate the high-wire singing in the first act; a lyric soprano for the emotional outpourings of the second act; and an even fuller, lirico-spinto sound for the death scene. Futral does not have three voice types; she has a thin ribbon of a voice that wove through the first act with agility, and then used that voice adroitly and marshaled resources that weren't immediately apparent with some forceful chest singing in the tortured drama of her last solo aria.

Washington Post (Anne Midgette)

Fort Worth Opera – Lucia di Lammermoor

Ms. Futral lacks a true trill, but otherwise hers is vocalism most singers can only dream of. She can flicker, glow or blaze, high – very high – or low. She makes coloratura gracefully musical, not just a lot of notes. And she makes the doomed Scottish woman less a dramatic cliché and more a believable human being.

Opera and Dallas Morning News (Scott Cantrell)

Elizabeth Futral starred as Lucia. Manipulating her dark, vibrant soprano with exquisite natural control she expressed Lucia's downward spiral from giddy girl in love to wary political pawn, shell-shocked by intrigue and unforgiving circumstance. Her Mad Scene was executed with supple phrasing and harrowing psychological flourishes - she brandished her knife at different party guests, convinced Arturo was still standing before her.

                                                                            Opera Now (Chris Shull)

Futral is acclaimed for previous portrayals of Lucia, and in exciting vocal flights, airy trills, and fleet, flawless runs, Futral conveyed her character's innocence and then her deteriorating state of mind. Her effortless delivery and natural vibrato put a halo around her sound the way floral notes blossom after a taste of fine wine. The signature scene in Lucia is Lucia's Mad Scene, and Futral executed it with exquisite phrasing and harrowing psychological flourishes.

      Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Chris Shull)

Collegiate Chorale – Giove in Argo

“Elizabeth Futral was a magnificent Calisto, sometimes limpid and graceful, elsewhere fiery and virtuosic”.

Allan Kozinn, New York Times, April 30, 2008

Pittsburgh Opera – L’Elisir d’Amore

“Futral's Adina was flighty and feisty, supported by tremendous acting and solid technique. She crafted a natural and believable demeanor, with quick facial expressions, shifts of vocal timbre and mastery of coloratura.”

                Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Novembre 12, 2007

“At the end of Friday night’s performance, Futral received the strongest applause from the audience, with good reason. Not only did her voice convey the varying emotions of her conflicted character, but her acting carried scenes when her co-stars could not.”

                                     Alex Ewing,  The Tartan Online, November 19, 2007

Lyric Opera of Chicago – La traviata

“Lyric's season opener last night was a revival of Verdi's "La Traviata." It was a personal triumph for American soprano Elizabeth Futral, who used her vocal and acting skills to shine some new light into the familiar tragedy.”

                                                                                                                                                          Associated Press, September 30, 2007

“The Lyric also demonstrated that it can do just fine, thank you, with home-trained vocal artists, as American soprano Elizabeth Futral demonstrated Saturday with her dazzling interpretation of the opera's tragic young heroine, Violetta. Futral, an alumna of the Lyric's Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, brought the house down with Violetta's first-act cabaletta, "Sempre libera,"

                                                  Bill Gowen, Daily Herald, October 1, 2007

• Los Angeles Opera – La Traviata

  “Thank God for Elizabeth Futral, who as Violetta, hoisted the show on her consumptive shoulders and carried it home.”

  “Thus, set against the grimly smiling crowd and the uninspiring visuals, the slinky, brassy, charming Futral popped out like a floodlight in fog: fierce dark eyes and a 1,000-kilowatt smile, full of energy and urgency, with a voice to match -- a full, lush, focused tone; a bright, clarion high end; elegant phrasing and an impeccable sense of timing.”

  -Peter LeFevre, Daily Breeze.com (Los Angeles), June 9, 2006

• “Locally beloved ever since her triumph as Handel's Cleopatra (milk bath and all), American soprano Elizabeth Futral sings a Violetta whose pure, high coloratura still preserves a marvelous sense of urgency.”

  -Alan Rich, Variety, June 8, 2006

• Musica Angelica – Acis And Galatea

  “Elizabeth Futral, who laid down such solid, seductive baroque credentials as Cleopatra in Handel's ‘Giulio Cesare’ for Los Angeles Opera in 2001, brought a plumy soprano, a statuesque beauty and a committed sense of character to Galatea, especially in the final air transforming her dead lover into an eternally bubbling fountain.”

  -Chris Pasles, Los Angeles Times, May 8, 2006

• Washington National Opera – L’elisir D’amore

  “Not surprisingly, the strongest singing came from Elizabeth Futral, in the role of Adina. She is a charming artist, one of the few coloratura sopranos who don't sound as though they would rather have been born birds. Instead of fluty twittering, she gave us spunk and spirit and a warmly engaging, fully human personality, all the while hitting the notes right in their center.”

  -Tim Page, Washington Post, April 3, 2006

• “Soprano Elizabeth Futral was a charmer, pure of tone and capable of executing coloratura ornamentation rapidly, accurately and without any sense of strain.”

  -T. L. Ponick, Washington Times, April 3, 2006

• “Among all of the excellent performances, the two standouts are soprano Elizabeth Futral as Adina, the feisty universal love interest, and Steven Condy as the traveling salesman Dr. Dulcamara.

  “Futral has a most agile voice delivering much sweetness in the higher registers and a subtlety of expression that she can pour forth on demand. In her stage demeanor and sculptured good looks, she brings to mind a thirtysomething Jane Fonda, a nobody's-fool heroine with a brain and a bit of composure. Remarkably, she is nevertheless very

  convincing when she suddenly begins to see her prime suitor Nemorino -- a heretofore ungainly peasant -- as marriage-worthy material. This is the kind of emotional about face that rarely passes muster in the realm of opera yet she pulls it off.”

  -Kate Wingfield, Metro Weekly (Washington, D.C.), April 6, 2006

• “Elizabeth Futral assured acting created a winsome, capricious, ultimately knowing Adina...her agility and variety of phrasing paid rich dividends.”

  -Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun, April 4, 2006

• “However, the real treasure was soprano Elizabeth Futral, whose Adina was superlatively sung, the right combination of spirited minx and bitch on wheels. Her high notes and runs, as in ‘Prendi, per me sei libero’ in Act II, were as sure and sound as could be.”

  -Charles Downey, DCist.com, Spril 3, 2006

• Washington Bach Consort – Bach And Orff Concert

  “How special to hear soloist Elizabeth Futral display her radiantly sweet voice so effortlessly”

  -Grace Jean, Washington Post, March 23, 2006

• Opera Rara – Mozart The Supreme Decorator

  “Futral sings both numbers with spirit and aplomb.”

  -Richard Wigmore, Gramophone, November 2005

• Metropolitan Opera – Lucia Di Lammermoor

  “Let no one underestimate Ms. Futral's achievement in singing the role with such command, vigor and accuracy. In a bright, focused and sizable voice, she spins out streams of florid coloratura roulades and makes embellishments seem natural elaborations of long melodic lines.”

  -Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, October 29, 2005

• Lincoln Center – Orpheus And Erudice (ricky Ian Gordon)

  “How Futral can sustain long, lush phrases in her sumptuously even tone while she's being tossed or glided back and forth in the arms of Varone's ensemble…these are marvels to those of us for whom music in the theater generally occupies an undisturbed place in the orchestra pit.”

  -Michael Feingold, Village Voice, October 7, 2005

• “Soprano Elizabeth Futral as Euridice and Palmer as Orpheus perform their regular musical duties to maximum effect while joining in the dance without a suggestion of hesitation or awkwardness.”

  -Peter Davis, New York Magazine, October 24, 2005

• “Eurydice played by a lovely, physically pliant Elizabeth Futral”

  -David Noh, Gay City News, October 2005

• Los Angeles Opera – Der Rosenkavalier

  “The singing is every note as glorious as this enlightened production deserves…the airborne shimmer of Elizabeth Futral’s Sophie…still floats in my ear like enchanted quicksilver.”

  -Alan Rich, L.A. Weekly, June 2005

• “The alluring Sophie, dressed like a Hollywood version of Helen of Troy, was Elizabeth Futral…[who] quickly picked up energy to become the dominant voice in the final trio, so that one read the entire ensemble more as a greeting to the future than as a farewell to the past.”

  -Simon Williams, Opera News, August 2005

• “the lithe-voiced Elizabeth Futral”

  -Josef Woodard, Opera Now, September 2005

• New York City Opera – Daphne

  “New York audiences will probably flock to Daphne, for love of Strauss and also of Elizabeth Futral, who creates a beguiling figure in the title role.”

  “Futral deals gracefully with the herione’s many moods”

  “She clearly delights in the role of Daphne, attacking the mercurial vocal demands as energetically as she handles the athletic stage business.  In her extended apostrophe to the tree in her first scene, she sustains the extended lines with strength and purpose, keeping her diction crisp amid the melismatic flow.”

  -David J. Baker, Opera News, December 2004

• “Her unblemished soprano shapes the vocal line’s lyrical contours ravishingly, and she even makes Daphne’s dilemma seem almost appealing.”

  -New York Magazine, September 2004

• Opera Colorado – La traviata

  “Wow!”

  “That interjection leaped to mind over and over again Saturday evening during Opera Colorado's glorious, heart-rending new production of La Traviata (The Fallen Woman).”

  “Anticipation ran high for Futral's debut with the company, and she more than lives up to expectations. With a commanding performance vocally and dramatically, she transforms Violetta into a complex, empathetic person whose death sparked tears among some listeners.”

  “The coloratura soprano possesses a dream of a voice, combining abundant power with appealing agility and naturalness.”

  “Violetta's long aria at the end of Act 1 – one of the great arias in all opera – is everything it should be, an extraordinary display of vocal virtuosity and a potent dramatic showcase of a woman trying to come to terms with her hopes and fears.”

  -Kyle MacMillan, Denver Post, May 4, 2004

• “The star of the evening was Elizabeth Futral, who looked as ravishing as she sang on Saturday. She triumphed as Violetta, never descending to caricature, never relying on stock expressions or gestures. She captivated in her huge Act One aria as she examined her feelings for Alfredo, nimbly traveling from wonder to acceptance to resistance with controlled acting and gorgeous, full-throated singing.

  “Act Four provided her most unforgettable moments, as she desperately struggled to overcome her fate.”

  Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News, May 4, 2004

• Opera Rara – Zelmira

  “Elizabeth Futral brings an even, easily produced voice to the title role.  Her creamy, attractive middle voice ascends to a bright, spinning upper ranger, and the florid writing poses few problems for her. She begins her final cabaletta – part of her only solo set-piece – with incisive authority, then melts into a gentler tone as the mood changes; in the embellished repeat, she takes the caulting leaps accurately and in stride.”

  -Stephen Francis Vasta, Opera News, December 2004

• “Elisabeth Futral is wonderfully edgy and precise in the title role”

  -Andrew Clements, The Guardian, September 3, 2004

• Lyric Opera Of Chicago - The Pirates Of Penzance

  “Lyric audiences have adored Futral, a distinguished alumna of the company's Center for American Artists training program, in the high-flying coloratura of Handel's ‘Partenope' and Leonard Bernstein's ‘Candide.’ In Mabel's entrance song, ‘Poor wandering one!’'’

  “Futral was dangerously demure, clad in striped summer gown and fetching hat and all but stripping Frederic naked with her delirious vocalizing as the love-struck young maiden. Much too well-bred to approach him directly, she sent seductive vocal runs, wide leaps and crystalline, twisting lines sailing across the stage, mesmerizing the handsome young pirate with the musical equivalent of nibbled earlobes and caressed cheeks.”

  -Chicago Sun-Times, February 4, 2004

• “But, if the eye is sometimes frustrated in this production, the ear is always blessed. Even the comic roles are treated with vocal respect by the likes of Neal Davies and the overall effect is to make the score sound better than ever.

  “Nowhere is this more evident than with the lovers, Mabel and Frederic. She is Elizabeth Futral, a raven-haired beauty whose tartly witty manner mixes nicely with her honey-sweet voice.”

  -Toronto Star, February 18, 2004

• Washington Bach Consort

  “Sunday's concert at Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria was a knockout. Along with stellar Washington Bach Consort players on period instruments, coloratura Elizabeth Futral soared through secular cantatas of Vivaldi (‘Lungi dal Vago’) and Bach (‘O holder Tag’) and a recently authenticated Gloria of Handel.

  “Futral's stylistic versatility has made a lasting impression since her debut in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan (and later Washington) Opera. On Sunday she launched her coloratura on three divergent courses worlds apart in dramatic focus.

  Yet her astonishing breadth and resonance made her virtuosity sound effortless, and her expression of even single words was infinitely moving. Futral snatched barely visible hints of drama from the scores -- as in the Vivaldi, where she carefully weighted exaggerated despair over thwarted passion and spun out mesmerizing accelerated trills to mimic bird calls. Here, as in the Handel and Bach, her radiantly prismatic voice tackled endless passage work with seeming ease, supreme endurance and radiant exuberance.”

  -Washington Post, February 2004

• The Met In The Parks – Lucia Di Lammermoor

  "The highlight was Elizabeth Futral in the role of Lucia. Projecting delicacy and vulnerability over the amplification system may sound impossible, but Ms. Futral  did just that, singing with a rich and pure voice that had perfect quotient of power and sensitivity in the right places. ... her most captivating moments came in the famous third-act mad scene.

  “Even in an unstaged performance Ms. Futral brought dramatic flair to this scene. The wind cooperated by coursing through her hair as she sang portions with the eerie detachment of a woman who has parted with reality. During the scene's gorgeous cadenza, one could revel in the soaring wordless vocal lines, the voice at last freed from the burdens of language."

  -The New York Times, June 2003

• Lyric Opera Of Chicago – Partenope

  “Listening to the delectable soprano Elizabeth Futral as the founder and queen of Naples toss off some of the most difficult and florid music ever written, you appreciate the astonishing vocal virtuosity Handel demands of each of the singers in this opera.   Futral’s Partenope, a randy beauty with a canary voice and curves that reduce macho warriors to Silly Putty, reached for vocal stratosphere, and, once she was warmed up, conquered it effortlessly.”

  -Chicago Tribune, February 2003

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