Amelia, Un Ballo in Maschera
Opera Holland Park | 2026
Reviews
On the evening, one would be compelled to award first prize in the vocal stakes to soprano Elin Pritchard in the role of Amelia. She performed with astonishing poise, resonant and voluminous at the top, resplendent through the lower and middle registers. Her Act two aria, “Ma dall’arido stelo divulsa” was simply divine, where she glided, seemingly effortlessly, through the registers; beautifully rich in colour at the bottom and clarion and penetrative at the top.Her highlight came in the third Act, where she begged for mercy, asking to procrastinate the death that her husband had sworn to wreak upon her, after discovering what he considered her infidelity. Her aria, “Morrò, ma prima in grazia” is truly heart-rending, sung with tangible grief and beautiful floating notes to illustrate her vulnerability. She also displayed great breath control here.
OperaWire
Elin Pritchard took (Amelia) up a notch – quite an achievement. Against a superb cello solo (Rachel van der Tang), Pritchard gave one of the finest accounts of her dark, shadowy aria ‘Morrò, ma prima in grazia’ I have heard, impeccably concentrated, Pritchard indwelling Amelia. Elin Pritchard is a major singer.
Seen and Heard international
Best of all is Pritchard’s sensational singing: she makes Verdi’s long lines and floated high notes look easy. It’s the second of two great Verdi shows that she’s done this autumn, after Don Carlo at Grange Park. Bigger houses surely beckon.
The Times
After her incredible Elisabetta in Grange Park Opera’s Don Carlo last month, I was not going to pass up the opportunity of hearing Elin Pritchard sing Amelia in this revival of Un ballo in maschera at Opera Holland Park. The Welsh soprano has hit a rich seam of Verdian form – she was terrific in GPO’s Simon Boccanegra last summer – and fully lived up to that promise here. Pritchard’s lirico-spinto soprano is supple and has poise, power and finesse, the perfect cocktail of ingredients required for mature Verdi. ‘Ma dall'arido stelo divulsa’, Amelia’s anxious aria in the midnight scene by the gallows, was thrillingly sung, full of drama, while her plea to her husband to see their infant son one final time before he kills her, ‘Morrò, ma prima in grazia’, plumbed the emotional depths – kudos to Rachel van der Tang’s eloquent cello obbligato – concluding with beautifully hewn final phrases. Pritchard could – should – be singing Verdi on the world’s great international stages.
Opera Now
Elin Pritchard stands out in Opera Holland Park’s Un ballo in Maschera. Elin Pritchard was sensational – as she was for the whole evening – her soprano creamy in timbre while filled with drama, the high notes solid, the lilt persuasive. In the end, the evening belonged to Pritchard with an Amelia that overcame any lacunae in the libretto to involve us properly in the drama
Backtrack
Portfolio
Amelia
Un Ballo in Maschera
Opera Holland Park
2026
Elisabetta
Don Carlo
Grange Park Opera
2026
Amelia
Simon Boccanegra
Grange Park Opera
2025