Amelia, Simon Boccanegra
Grange Park Opera | 2025
Reviews
But while the aesthetic held its ground, it was the voice of Elin Pritchard, singing Amelia Grimaldi, that lifted this performance into something altogether more luminous. The Welsh soprano who has sometimes been overlooked despite her considerable vocal and dramatic gifts, emerged here as the revelation of the evening. In a score teeming with Verdi’s complex male relationships and heavy lower voices, she became the heart of the piece. Her soprano is warm, pliant, and unforced, with soaring top notes and a middle register rich with lyrical nuance. She brought Amelia vividly to life: not merely a plot device in the opera’s notoriously labyrinthine story, but a real, emotionally charged figure, torn between loyalty, love and fear. She was at her best in the recognition duet with Keenlyside, shaping each phrase with care and conviction, her voice blooming into the theatre’s acoustic with thrilling clarity. In Act II, opposite Otar Jorjikia’s impassioned Adorno, her singing glowed with pathos and intensity. At the curtain call, the ovation she received was long, loud, and richly deserved—the audience knew they had witnessed something special.
Art Scene in Wales Mike Smith
Glorious Lyrical Verdi Singing. And above all the glorious Amelia of Elin Pritchard, who crowned her dreamy seaside reverie with a soaring soprano melisma on the word 'Pace' in the council ensemble : I hope Desdemona - for which her voice is ideal - is prominent among her future plans.
Hugh Canning
Elin Pritchard sang splendidly as Amelia, her creamy soprano sounding rich, spanning the long lines of “Come in quest'ora Bruno ” luxuriantly, touching in duets.
Bachtrack
As Amelia, Elin Pritchard is no shrinking violet, and perfectly conveys vulnerability and strength of character, bringing passion and tenderness to the role with poised upper notes combining bone china delicacy and a spun legato.
Opera Today
Elin Pritchard combines vulnerability and inner strength, making her Amelia Grimaldi more than the passive character she often is, and the shining soprano tone fits well.
Financial Times
The only counterweight to this male dominance is the ethereal voice of Amelia Grimaldi, an outstanding debut here by Elin Pritchard.
Telegraph
Elin Pritchard's soaring Amelia... the Welsh Soprano seized her moment and delivered a gleaming reading of Come in quest'ora bruna.
Opera Magazine
Portfolio
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