Category: Reviews

"Excerpts from 10 diverse works were performed by the City Opera orchestra and chorus and an impressive roster of solo singers. In a particularly effective scene, the dying Juana sang an imagined duet with her younger self (Michelle Areyzaga)." —Anthony Tommasini - The New York Times, May 7, 2010 (soloist at New York City Opera [...]

"Soloists Michelle Areyzaga, soprano, and Thomas Hall, baritone, possess fine technique and performed with ease, power and finesse." —David Baxter - The Wichita Eagle, April 13, 2010 (Soloist with The Wichita Symphony)

"Stellar cast propels 'The Marriage of Figaro' in Opera Birmingham show . . . Michelle Areyzaga's portrayal of Susanna began coyly, then took on attitude as she sought to expose the skirt-chasing Count. Her rich-hued soprano, sstrong all evening, was particularly enchanting in the Act 4 "Deh vieni, non tardar." —Michael Huebner - The Birmingham [...]

"Areyzaga’s upbeat and sterling soprano in Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgaten from BWV 100 set up a delightfully florid flute obligato. . . Areyzaga’s shining moment came with Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (D. 965), which had her poignantly setting up a call and response antiphon with Garcia-Montoya’s clarinet mournfully echoing her melancholy." [...]

"Soprano Michelle Areyzaga quickly substantiates her fine reputation as a song recitalist and chamber musician through a translucent tone that shimmers across the wide range of these songs. She communicates text particularly well in a high tessitura, whether singing over spare accompaniment or at the dramatic climax of the cycle. The tone color is well [...]

"When the program is delicious and the soloists are superior, there's nothing for an audience to do but sit back and enjoy." "Lovely soprano Michelle Areyzaga was soloist in the "Pie Jesu" portion and durable baritone Robert Orth sang the "Libera Me," which referenced the terrors of the day of wrath ("dies irae.") Both "Requiem" [...]

"For Michelle Areyzaga, a soprano fluent in Spanish, Mr. Blier programmed Jesús Guridi’s tender “Mañanita de San Juan” (“Very Early on the Morning of St. John’s Day”) and Joaquín Turina’s stormy, melodramatic “Olas Gigantes” (“Giant Waves”)." "Ms. Areyzaga gave her most alluring performance in “La Barcheta” (“The Little Boat”), a rapturously amorous confection by Reynaldo [...]

"The blending of Areyzaga and Cooke's voices was literally thrilling, causing a flutter in that place near the top of where I imagine my heart to be. Certain singers, male or female, can cause that flutter with particularly well-executed harmonies. While the composer plays a part, songs are meant to be sung, and when they [...]

"Michelle Areyzaga brought the many colors of her beautiful soprano to bear on Schubert’s “Auf dem See.” Areyzaga also made a persuasive case for the riches of a song by the long underrated Reynaldo Hahn." —Howard Kissell - New York Daily News, May 20, 2009 (Recital with the New York Festival of Song)

"Solo soprano Michelle Areyzaga also excelled, especially in the slow “Domine Deus” movement, where her rich, high tones produced some of the evening’s loveliest moments." —Laurence MacDonald - The Flint Journal, April 28, 2009 (Soloist in Poulenc's "Gloria")