“There was dynamic, characterful energy from the opening moments… Rae’s madness soliloquy is powerful she shapes the phrases and dynamics so one feels the brittleness in her psyche.” With her mesmerizing stage presence and crystal-clear voice, Rae, covered in dirt, dressed in tatters and clutching a clump of willow branches, galvanized the audience’s attention in Ophelia’s extended mad scene.” “Rae’s Ophelia, a vision of loveliness and innocence in pale peach flounces, was unhinged from the beginning and it was but a slight descent into total madness and suicide. Ophelia’s mad scene, with Rae in mud-soiled underwear, matted hair and a men’s tailcoat, pounding on her chest as she sings to make the notes tremble, is eerie without overstatement.” When she testifies in front of Claudius and Gertrude about Hamlet’s odd behavior, we don’t just hear the bronzed resonance of a temple bowl we somehow feel ourselves inside its claustrophobic metallic emptiness, too. “Dean and Jocelyn give us an Ophelia more forthright and forceful than fragile flower, but that unseen choral haze from the pit hovers around the poised, subtle soprano Brenda Rae from the beginning, a premonition of insanity. “The singers were more than up to their task. Brenda Rae as Maïma exuded charm and wit with her coloratura and scored particularly well with the sensitive, melancholic melismas.” On the evening of the premiere, she moved with agile lightness and dance-like verve, despite the most difficult coloratura.” “Brenda Rae embodies this witty, playful Maïma in Zurich. “Brenda Rae shines as Maïma with coloratura and trills and, above all, knows where to scale her voice back.” “Brenda Rae in particular brilliantly uses the lead role of the dog-interpreter Maïma, peppered with coloratura, and makes her a forerunner of the singing doll Olimpia in Hoffmann.” “The two lovers are luxuriously cast: Brenda Rae as Maïma sings with razor-sharp coloratura, making her a bit the forerunner of the singing doll Olympia…” A seasoned Queen of the Night and Zerbinetta, Rae is a powerful, agile and charming coloratura soprano who visibly enjoyed the acting.” “The three female roles made for absolute highlights.
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