Critical Acclaim

Urban Arias – Orpheus and Euridice

Futral floats the songs on a voice that sounds tender and radiant and intimate, scaled to the space she’s singing in.

Anne Midgette, The Washington Post, April 1, 2011

Minnesota Opera - La traviata

Futral, an internationally known soprano who has performed just once with the Minnesota company, about 15 years ago, is exceptional as Verdi's doomed courtesan. She has the vocal energy and effervescence to portray one of opera's great party girls in "Sempre Libera," but she hints from the beginning at her character's world-weariness without becoming sentimental. By Act Three, as Violetta nears the end, with her hair frizzed out and her nightgown disheveled, lying curled up on the stage as she sings with enough vitality to fill the house, Futral is completely spellbinding.

Jay Furst, The Rochester Post-Bulletin, March 10, 2011

Futral, who moves as expressively as she sings, is attuned to both the vulnerability and the steeliness of her character; her crystalline soprano encompasses both the brilliant coloratura of Act 1 and the more lyrical writing of the later, darker scenes.

Larry Fuchsberg, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 7, 2011

Violetta is a role for which Verdi asks a soprano to adopt three very different singing styles: Flighty coloratura in the first act, tortured lyric lines in the second, and dark mezzo material as death approaches. Futral executes each exquisitely while offering a convincing portrayal of a conflicted, consummate party gal who gives it up for love and encounters little but loss.

Rob Hubbard, The St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 6, 2011

Florida Grand Opera - Les Contes d'Hoffmann

The main focus of interest at FGO was the appearance of Elizabeth Futral in all four soprano roles for the first time. This is a major undertaking for any artist, and Futral emerged a champion. Her Olympia was a physical and vocal tour de force; the sustained one capping the doll song was spectacular. Her Giulietta was firm vocally and seductive in an extravagant Barbe creation. But most affecting was Futral's Antonia, sung with exquisite delicacy where needed and blazing power in the challenging trio. Her final trill was floated in a heartbreaking manner.

Ira Siff, Opera News, April 2011

Soprano Elizabeth Futral pulled off her four-heroine assignment with apparent ease Saturday, moving from coloratura acrobatics to wistful emoting without noticeable strain. Futral has an agile, pretty voice that was especially attractive during her ‘Elle a fui, la tourterell’e as Antonia, and her singing as a whole was confident, warm and secure.

Greg Stepanich, The Miami Herald, January 24, 2011

Futral's performance of an empty puppet is anything but lifeless. As Olympia, she brilliantly displays her effortless comedic timing and mesmerizing vocals, especially during the reception scene . . . Futral was perfect, and so was our night at the opera.

Victor Gonzalez, The Miami New Times, January 24, 2011

Futral, singing all four heroines for the first time in her career, succeeded triumphantly.

David Fleshler, The South Florida Classical Review, January 23, 2011

The Vocal Arts Society Recital, Washington DC

Futral was ultra-refined . . . She excelled in the dazzling pyrotechnics of Victor Herbert's saucy song "Romany Life" and was at her open-throated best in a duet from Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore."

Charles T. Downey, The Washington Post, December 8, 2010

Soprano Elizabeth Futral commanded the attention of the audience. In the songs, Futral was absolutely charming. Dans l’herbe was exquisitely sung with a hushed, lyric soprano that beckoned the hall to silence. Futral was in full command of the French, enunciating every word. Only a singer of Futral’s regal presence could pull off the contemplative nature of these songs.

Patrick McCoy, The Kennedy Center Examiner, December 8, 2010

Samford University Recital

With her parents and former Samford University mentor Eleanor Ousley proudly listening at a packed Brock Recital Hall, soprano Elizabeth Futral returned to her alma mater Tuesday a gracious recipient of a fine education.

That the opera superstar has thrilled, and continues to electrify, audiences throughout the world, was hardly apparent in her coy demeanor and friendly smile. After all, despite her fame, she's a Southern girl at heart. But from the opening notes of a Berlioz aria, what came from her 47-year-old voice was singing of the highest order.

Michael Hubner, The Birmingham News, November 17, 2010

Long Beach Opera – Orpheus and Euridice

Clothed in a tasteful short yellow gown and matching wrap by Emmy-nominated designer Marcy Froelich, Futral was a vision of physical loveliness who sang with equal vocal beauty.

Maria Nockin, Opera Today, June 10, 2010

Elizabeth Futral is in prime form as she sings with arduous pathos and soulful expressions. We enter the realm of the heroine’s emotions.

Christie Grimstad, Concertonet.com, June 12, 2010

Futral was lovely in a bright yellow dress and even more beautiful to listen to, understanding the emotional impact of her words.

John Farrell, The Long Beach Press-Telegram, June 15, 2010

Washington National Opera - Hamlet

Elizabeth Futral was a tender, sympathetic Ophelie and, sang with considerable beauty and nuance. Her colorful delivery of the mad scene set off a remarkable ovation.

Tim Smith, The Baltimore Sun, May 20, 2010

Happily, Elizabeth Futral was able to learn the role of Ophelia on short notice and pull off a fine mad scene, the highlight of the evening.

Anne Midgette, The Washington Post, May 21, 2010

Ophelie is, like Hamlet, a virtuous, pure soul, and Elizabeth Futral plays her to perfection. Her crystal clear soprano voice is impressive in the first few duets with Hamlet and his mother, but Futral's supreme achievement is Ophelie's mad scene just before she drowns. Wearing a long gray and white gown, moving near the river, Futral exhibits grief, petulance and childishness, then launches into a stunning coloratura performance of musical fireworks.

Barbara MacKay, The Washington Examiner, May 23, 2010

The Mad Scene alone—and Elizabeth Futral’s amazing performance of it—makes WNO’s Hamlet worth the price of admission. The composer achieved a creative peak when he wrote this scene. Ophélie is all over the vocal map here, singing lyrically one moment, biting off notes in the next, stumbling for notes and words and then finding another tune or a stunning coloratura run. It’s psychologically quite effective. But even better, Ms. Futral, in spite of having scarcely enough time to master the part, really dug into it, giving by far her finest, most mature performance for this company.

Terry Ponick, The Washington Times, May 22, 2010

San Diego Opera – La traviata

What a voice! And what a beautiful, believable Violetta! Listening to Futral is like watching a golden liquid poured in sunlight. Her voice is not just rich but shining, endlessly supple and apparently effortless. She can sing the highest notes softly, make herself heard over the chorus, comfortably toss off Violetta’s coloratura runs and leaps, and, unlike many sopranos, do it all without distorting her face or showing all her teeth on every high note. She’s like a flame onstage.

Candace Carroll, San Diego Network News, April 18, 2010

Performing her signature role as the consumptive courtesan Violetta (which she has sung around the world since 2005), American soprano Elizabeth Futral is thrilling in all ways - she glides gloriously through the role's vocal acrobatics, sings with emotion, power and beauty, and throws her whole body into acting the challenging role. . . . In "La traviata" they get to see a real showcase for her formidable singing and acting skills.

Pam Kragen, The North County Times, April 21, 2010

But the American soprano Elizabeth Futral was clearly taking no prisoners, out-singing everyone else and capturing the dramatic heart of this beloved four-hankie melodrama . . . Futral looked stunning in the gala party scenes, and her stark pallor in her death scene was almost too frightening to watch. Otherwise, her magnetic presence was mesmerizing. The opening night audience adored her, and with good reason.

Kenneth Herman, San Diego Arts, April 18, 2010

Returning Elizabeth Futral sings the role of Violetta in exceptional fashion by capitalizing on this slower tempo in order to securely hit her notes deliberately and distinctly, especially during the Act I coloratura sections. One of her repertoire favorites, Ms. Futral is comfortable singing Violetta, and she translates the internal and psychological turmoil of the femme fatale judiciously. “Sempre libera” is five star.

Christie Grimstad, Concertonet, April 2010

Soprano Elizabeth Futral – singing throughout with unwavering freshness, alternating thrust and power with creamy richness – gave Violetta’s death scene something it rarely achieves: theatrical believability.

Marcus Overton, The San Diego Union Tribune, April 19, 2010

Collegiate Chorale – The Grapes of Wrath

The role of pregnant teenager was sung impressively here by the appealing soprano Elizabeth Futral.

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, March 23, 2010

Elizabeth Futral melted the heart when she delivered the evening's final aria, a sweet cry of hope amid the wreckage.

David Sheward, Backsatge.com, March 23, 2010

Florida Grand Opera: Tribute to Robert Heuer

Elizabeth Futral’s stylish Baroque filigree, glamorous timbre and dazzling vocal range lit up the stage in an aria from Handel’s Giulio Cesare, a vivid demonstration of world class singing . . . A big boned, fiery version of the sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor found Futral soaring above the stratosphere, her colleagues working hard to match her brilliance.

Lawrence Budman, South Florida Classical Review, February 26, 2010

Lyric Opera of Chicago - The Merry Widow

Elizabeth Futral, as the delectable Widow herself, sparkled effervescently . . . [Her] account of the thrice-familiar ‘Vilja’ was absolutely ravishing, particularly in the exquisite pianissimo that graced the second verse, and her ‘In the Parisian Style’ was appropriately raucous. The final waltz dripped with sentiment, and it was a treat to experience the piece with vital, sexy leads, rather than as the comfy late-career vehicle it has too often become.

Mark Thomas Ketterson, Opera News, March 2010

I especially was impressed with the personae and vocals by Elizabeth Futral.

Tom Williams, Talk Theater in Chicago, December 5, 2009

Futral makes a merry, playful, nicely vulnerable widow. The soprano melts all hearts with her soft, slow, wistful rendition of Lehar's greatest hit, ‘Vilja.’

John von Rhein, The Chicago Tribune, December 7, 2009

Elizabeth Futral has the vibrant presence to carry the main title The Merry Widow. She captivates the audience with her soprano precision.

Katy Walsh, Chicago Theater Blog, December 8, 2009

Elizabeth Futral was mesmerizing, beautiful to look at with a voice that is a joy to hear. Watching her move fluidly through space is a delight. She held the audience in the palm of her hand from her entrance atop a winding staircase to the final scene.

Barbara Keer, LA Splash Magazine, January 8, 2010

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.

The 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.

Anne Midgette, The Washington Post

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.

Scott Cantrell, Opera and The Dallas Morning News

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.

Chris Shull, Opera Now

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.

Chris Shull, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Collegiate Chorale – Giove in Argo

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

Allan Kozinn, The 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, The 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.

The 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, The 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, The 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, The 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, The 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, The 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, The 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, The New York Times, October 29, 2005

Lincoln Center – Orpheus And Erudice

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, The 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, The 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, The 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.

The 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.

The 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.

The 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.

The Chicago Tribune, February 2003