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Leonor Bonilla dazzles at the Mozart recital
10 of December of 2025 |
The Sevillian soprano Leonor Bonilla starred with great success in the Symphonic concert 06: Tutto Mozart conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend with the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville.
Diario de Sevilla higlights that: “The warmest ovation came at the end of the first part, after the brilliant performance of the Seville soprano Leonor Bonilla, whose stage presence and technical proficiency were celebrated without reservation.” (...) The program was entirely dedicated to Mozart and included three unusual but extremely difficult bel canto concert arias, which Bonilla resolved with a combination of homogeneity across her entire range, plasticity in her phrasing, which she always articulated with admirable clarity, and a crisp and precise coloratura. Her instrument, well-projected and balanced, allowed her to offer firm and in-tune high notes, sustained with naturalness and (apparent) simplicity, without any tension extraneous to the very substance of the music. Thanks to this, the soprano delivered a performance of gentle warmth, attentive to the dramatic sense of the text. Bonilla confidently embraced the great challenges posed by the recitative Popoli di Tessaglia, a piece that demands absolute mastery of the highest register and impeccable handling of sudden ascents. In Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!, she resolved the suspended passages and long ascending lines with expressive intent, maintaining intonation and brilliance of sound even in the most exposed ornamental passages. Finally, she tackled the unbridled virtuosity of Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle with clarity and remarkable agility, a piece that features wide intervallic leaps and a speed that requires extremely careful articulation."
El correo adds that: "...Leonor Bonilla perhaps at her best, very mature and capable of facing the most difficult challenges and emerging triumphant. We are incredibly fortunate to have witnessed the extraordinary evolution of this young Sevillian soprano, from her triumph at the Nuevas Voces de Sevilla Competition to her delightful participation in Manuel García's El califa de Bagdad just two months ago, passing through that Lucia di Lammermoor in 2018 and the recitals and galas with which she has graced us on several joyful evenings. Last night's performance, which is being repeated tonight, adds to all of them with a concert of enormous quality and profound impact on the audience, who did not hesitate to give endless applause for the talent of her voice and charm. Popoli di Tessaglia! is an aria conceived for inclusion in Gluck's opera Alceste, but of such complexity that it is rarely included, and has therefore been reserved for concerts and very daring voices, such as Bonilla's, who managed to pull it off gracefully completing such a difficult mission. The piece, a combination of recitatives and arias of considerable length, offers ample opportunities for showcasing her talent, but also notes of great difficulty, which Bonilla tackled with lucidity and brilliance. To this technical challenge she overcame must be added the immense beauty of her voice and the exquisite taste with which she sings it. With extreme delicacy and extraordinary care with accents, she sang the highly melodic "Vorrei spiegarvi," another concert aria originally intended for another opera, in which the despair of love takes on a special meaning through the beauty of the melodic line, marvelously carried by the soprano's dazzling and superbly ornamented voice, and always with the conductor's accompaniment. In "Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle," it is the demanding coloratura that could challenge the singer, as she grapples with love and death. Bonilla employed every possible resource to achieve a dizzying and exuberant interpretation of the piece, always under the attentive gaze and absolute respect displayed by the conductor and the orchestra, with special mention of the beautiful clarinet solos accompanying the thrilling melody.”
ABC concludes that: “Nor were the three arias that Leonor Bonilla brought us commonplace, as they are known as 'concert' arias. The one that began her performance was 'Popoli di Tessaglia', intended for inclusion in Gluck's opera 'Alceste'. We don't know why she chose this one first, given the enormous difficulty it presents. It was composed for his future sister-in-law, Aloysia Weber, with whom he was in love and who must have possessed extraordinary vocal abilities, since in addition to the virtuosity typical of a concert aria, the soprano had to reach a G twice, a whole tone above the high note of the Queen of the Night (F). To justify this extreme high note, he uses a cry from the queen at the death of King Admantus. Well, she sang it without flinching, without waiting to warm up, unlike the other two that followed, which don't have such a challenge; in fact, for many years it was considered the most impossible aria in the history of singing.
The next piece was 'Vorrei Spiegarvi, Oh Dio!' K. 418, which should be sung in the middle of Anfossi's 'Il curioso indiscreto'. Bonilla's excellent technique allowed her to reach the high notes, making good use of the 'steps' Mozart had prepared for her (somewhat similar to the Queen of the Night's aria). She delivered delicate and sustained high notes, and above all, a careful and dramatic expression."
Diario de Sevilla higlights that: “The warmest ovation came at the end of the first part, after the brilliant performance of the Seville soprano Leonor Bonilla, whose stage presence and technical proficiency were celebrated without reservation.” (...) The program was entirely dedicated to Mozart and included three unusual but extremely difficult bel canto concert arias, which Bonilla resolved with a combination of homogeneity across her entire range, plasticity in her phrasing, which she always articulated with admirable clarity, and a crisp and precise coloratura. Her instrument, well-projected and balanced, allowed her to offer firm and in-tune high notes, sustained with naturalness and (apparent) simplicity, without any tension extraneous to the very substance of the music. Thanks to this, the soprano delivered a performance of gentle warmth, attentive to the dramatic sense of the text. Bonilla confidently embraced the great challenges posed by the recitative Popoli di Tessaglia, a piece that demands absolute mastery of the highest register and impeccable handling of sudden ascents. In Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!, she resolved the suspended passages and long ascending lines with expressive intent, maintaining intonation and brilliance of sound even in the most exposed ornamental passages. Finally, she tackled the unbridled virtuosity of Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle with clarity and remarkable agility, a piece that features wide intervallic leaps and a speed that requires extremely careful articulation."
El correo adds that: "...Leonor Bonilla perhaps at her best, very mature and capable of facing the most difficult challenges and emerging triumphant. We are incredibly fortunate to have witnessed the extraordinary evolution of this young Sevillian soprano, from her triumph at the Nuevas Voces de Sevilla Competition to her delightful participation in Manuel García's El califa de Bagdad just two months ago, passing through that Lucia di Lammermoor in 2018 and the recitals and galas with which she has graced us on several joyful evenings. Last night's performance, which is being repeated tonight, adds to all of them with a concert of enormous quality and profound impact on the audience, who did not hesitate to give endless applause for the talent of her voice and charm. Popoli di Tessaglia! is an aria conceived for inclusion in Gluck's opera Alceste, but of such complexity that it is rarely included, and has therefore been reserved for concerts and very daring voices, such as Bonilla's, who managed to pull it off gracefully completing such a difficult mission. The piece, a combination of recitatives and arias of considerable length, offers ample opportunities for showcasing her talent, but also notes of great difficulty, which Bonilla tackled with lucidity and brilliance. To this technical challenge she overcame must be added the immense beauty of her voice and the exquisite taste with which she sings it. With extreme delicacy and extraordinary care with accents, she sang the highly melodic "Vorrei spiegarvi," another concert aria originally intended for another opera, in which the despair of love takes on a special meaning through the beauty of the melodic line, marvelously carried by the soprano's dazzling and superbly ornamented voice, and always with the conductor's accompaniment. In "Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle," it is the demanding coloratura that could challenge the singer, as she grapples with love and death. Bonilla employed every possible resource to achieve a dizzying and exuberant interpretation of the piece, always under the attentive gaze and absolute respect displayed by the conductor and the orchestra, with special mention of the beautiful clarinet solos accompanying the thrilling melody.”
ABC concludes that: “Nor were the three arias that Leonor Bonilla brought us commonplace, as they are known as 'concert' arias. The one that began her performance was 'Popoli di Tessaglia', intended for inclusion in Gluck's opera 'Alceste'. We don't know why she chose this one first, given the enormous difficulty it presents. It was composed for his future sister-in-law, Aloysia Weber, with whom he was in love and who must have possessed extraordinary vocal abilities, since in addition to the virtuosity typical of a concert aria, the soprano had to reach a G twice, a whole tone above the high note of the Queen of the Night (F). To justify this extreme high note, he uses a cry from the queen at the death of King Admantus. Well, she sang it without flinching, without waiting to warm up, unlike the other two that followed, which don't have such a challenge; in fact, for many years it was considered the most impossible aria in the history of singing.
The next piece was 'Vorrei Spiegarvi, Oh Dio!' K. 418, which should be sung in the middle of Anfossi's 'Il curioso indiscreto'. Bonilla's excellent technique allowed her to reach the high notes, making good use of the 'steps' Mozart had prepared for her (somewhat similar to the Queen of the Night's aria). She delivered delicate and sustained high notes, and above all, a careful and dramatic expression."
© Marina Casanova