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Ángeles Blancas achieves great success with audience and critics with Jenůfa at Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville
February 27th, 2023 |
The critics have been unanimous in highlighting the great work of this production of Janáček's work, a scenic proposal by Robert Carsen, and especially the work of soprano Ángeles Blancas playing Kostelnička. The audience's applause endorsed this at every performance.
The critics said:
"The great triumph was the veteran Ángeles Blancas, with absolute commitment in her role as the adoptive mother, obsessed by what people will say about her daughter Jenufa, to the point of committing the madness of murdering in the second act the newborn by drowning him in ice. Authoritarian and tormented, her singing was heartbreakingly expressive." / Jacobo Cortines (Scherzo)
"Blancas got absolutely into her role, as we have rarely seen in other productions and titles seen at the Maestranza, displaying absolute commitment. A rich register, an overwhelming torrent of voice and an extraordinary sense of drama made for an exemplary and overwhelming performance that ended with the audience's standing ovation." / Juan José Roldán (El correo de Andalucía)
"The audience gave thunderous applause to the response of Kostelnicka, mother of the protagonist, performed by Ángeles Blancas, who offered the greatest singing lesson ever heard in the Maestranza: not only did she give her all to the difficult role, but she also took great pains to fill her voice with colours according to the different stages she goes through throughout the opera; with appreciable regulators she phrased with intelligence and achieved moving passages." / Ignacio G. Cabral (Ópera Actual)
" ... Ángeles Blancas' work as Kostelnička must be highlighted for the way she shone on stage and for her enormous expressive capacity. With a powerful voice and rich in harmonics, the singer adapted masterfully to the difficult role of the stepmother, who ranges from harshness of character to madness, passing through despair and guilt, throughout the three acts." / Gonzalo Roldán Herencia (Opera World)
"What Ángeles Blancas did on February 16th in the premiere cannot be described without it all seeming like hyperbole from a critic without measure. The Spanish soprano was superb, with a vocal quality that I have never really seen in this role, often played by singers in the twilight of their careers. This was not the case. Blancas was superb, completely committed in her acting without falling into histrionics and with a voice of overwhelming beauty and power. The pianissimo start of some of her high notes to then reach full voice I have never heard in this role before. The second act was simply a demonstration of how to sing this role, so cruel and hard. It really is a performance never to be forgotten. Impressive. And if I may, no longer speaking as a critic but as a music lover, thank you, Ms. Blancas." / Javier del Olivo (Platea Magazine)
"Particularly outstanding was Ángeles Blancas, who gave a superb creation of Kostelnička. The soprano from Madrid brought her immense talent as an actress, her expressive charisma and vocal freshness to the service of an unforgettable characterisation." / José Amador Morales (Codalario)
"Ángeles Blancas ... was a perfect choice for Kostelnicka, whose voice sounded both tough and moving, in an impeccable definition of the key character in this opera" / Andrés Moreno Mengíbar (Diario de Sevilla)
The critics said:
"The great triumph was the veteran Ángeles Blancas, with absolute commitment in her role as the adoptive mother, obsessed by what people will say about her daughter Jenufa, to the point of committing the madness of murdering in the second act the newborn by drowning him in ice. Authoritarian and tormented, her singing was heartbreakingly expressive." / Jacobo Cortines (Scherzo)
"Blancas got absolutely into her role, as we have rarely seen in other productions and titles seen at the Maestranza, displaying absolute commitment. A rich register, an overwhelming torrent of voice and an extraordinary sense of drama made for an exemplary and overwhelming performance that ended with the audience's standing ovation." / Juan José Roldán (El correo de Andalucía)
"The audience gave thunderous applause to the response of Kostelnicka, mother of the protagonist, performed by Ángeles Blancas, who offered the greatest singing lesson ever heard in the Maestranza: not only did she give her all to the difficult role, but she also took great pains to fill her voice with colours according to the different stages she goes through throughout the opera; with appreciable regulators she phrased with intelligence and achieved moving passages." / Ignacio G. Cabral (Ópera Actual)
" ... Ángeles Blancas' work as Kostelnička must be highlighted for the way she shone on stage and for her enormous expressive capacity. With a powerful voice and rich in harmonics, the singer adapted masterfully to the difficult role of the stepmother, who ranges from harshness of character to madness, passing through despair and guilt, throughout the three acts." / Gonzalo Roldán Herencia (Opera World)
"What Ángeles Blancas did on February 16th in the premiere cannot be described without it all seeming like hyperbole from a critic without measure. The Spanish soprano was superb, with a vocal quality that I have never really seen in this role, often played by singers in the twilight of their careers. This was not the case. Blancas was superb, completely committed in her acting without falling into histrionics and with a voice of overwhelming beauty and power. The pianissimo start of some of her high notes to then reach full voice I have never heard in this role before. The second act was simply a demonstration of how to sing this role, so cruel and hard. It really is a performance never to be forgotten. Impressive. And if I may, no longer speaking as a critic but as a music lover, thank you, Ms. Blancas." / Javier del Olivo (Platea Magazine)
"Particularly outstanding was Ángeles Blancas, who gave a superb creation of Kostelnička. The soprano from Madrid brought her immense talent as an actress, her expressive charisma and vocal freshness to the service of an unforgettable characterisation." / José Amador Morales (Codalario)
"Ángeles Blancas ... was a perfect choice for Kostelnicka, whose voice sounded both tough and moving, in an impeccable definition of the key character in this opera" / Andrés Moreno Mengíbar (Diario de Sevilla)
