Minnesota Opera, Georges Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers |
September 2009 |
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Sept 28, 2009
“As Leïla, the virginal chanteuse-for-hire whose entanglements with tenor and baritone propel the plot, soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian walked away with the evening's vocal honors. As agile as she is lyrical, Bayrakdarian can be expressive even when veiled and silent, and manages to seem vulnerable despite the utter security of her singing.”
Pioneer Press - September 27, 2009
“Among the leads, Isabel Bayrakdarian is the standout, lending Leila a vulnerability that invites the audience's sympathy, always wearing her conflicted emotions as prominently as her saffron sari. Each of her arias is captivating, especially a second-act seaside reverie enhanced by Kendall Smith's creative lighting.”
Post Bulletin - October 4, 2009
“Isabel Bayrakdarian, the Canadian soprano, makes a spectacular Leila, the priestess who comes to ancient Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to protect the native pearl divers in their annual rituals. She's at the apex of an entirely predictable love triangle, and the libretto is pretty light fare, but Bayrakdarian, born in Lebanon of Armenian parents, has a stunning presence and the part is tailor-made for her vocal range and luxurious coloratura. She's at her most riveting in the dreamy incantation that ends Act One, when she reveals herself to Nadir, her preferred lover, and in the Act Two scene when he slips into the temple.” |
Concert Review of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt |
March 13, 2008 |
San Francisco Chronicle
by JOSHUA KOSMAN, Chronicle Music Critic
She was some kind of woman, that Cleopatra - bold, emotionally volatile and ultimately tragic (the asp thing). As embodied by the dynamic Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian on Thursday night, she ruled the stage of the Herbst Theatre as decisively as she once ruled ancient Egypt.
Bayrakdarian was the star of an imaginative program by Nicholas McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra that featured excerpts from four 18th century operas based on this most irresistible of monarchs...
> Full review |
Reviews of Carnegie Hall Recital |
March 8, 2008 |
ISABEL BAYRAKDARIAN |
SEROUJ KRADJIAN
Zankel Hall, New York
March 8, 2008
NY Times
Soprano Returns, Bellini and Komitas in Tow
by ALLAN KOZINN
NY Sun
A Tour of Talent
By JAY NORDLINGER
> Full reviews |
Reviews of Don Pasquale |
Feb. 8, 2008 |
Boulder Daily Camera
"Glory of the cast, of course, is the Norina of Canadian-Armenian Isabel Bayrakdarian, who makes easy kid stuff of the coloratura demands of the role. And bug’s-ear cute Bayrakdarian enters into the high-jinks spirit of the staging with obvious elan."
Denver Post
"Don Pasquale" is a hoot of a spaghetti Western opera
By KYLE MACMILLAN
Rocky Mountain News
'Don Pasquale' blazes trail through Monument Valley
By MARC SHULGOLD
> Full reviews |
Review of Kansas City Recital |
Jan. 26, 2008 |
Kansas City Star
An Armenian at the Folly: Soprano sings the long line
By PAUL HORSLEY
> Full review |
Le Nozze di Figaro at San Diego Opera |
May 5, 2007 |
Sandiego.com
"The Marriage of Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
by DAVID GREGSON
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San Diego Union Tribune
'Marriage of Figaro' a night of surprises
by VALERIE SCHER
> Full reviews |
Dialogues of the Carmelites at Lyric OPera of chicago |
Feb. 17, 2007 |
Chicago Sun Times
Fear, religious fervor work in 'Dialogues'
by ANDREW PATNER
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Chicago Tribune
Ravishing 'Carmelites' pierces the heart
by JOHN VON RHEIN
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Daily Herald
Lyric Opera hits right note with 'Carmelites'
by BILL GOWEN
> Full reviews |
Recital at the Morgan Library |
Jan. 14, 2007 |
NY Times
A Visa Problem in Canada, and an Excursion to Spain
By ALLAN KOZINN
> Full review |
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