|
|
"...things don't really catch fire until OPERA NEWS |
Performances of Distinction:
New York City Opera * Florentine Opera * Cincinnati Opera * Sarasota Opera * New York Debut: Weill Hall in Premiere * Brazil Concert for New York City Opera
Scroll or PUSH BUTTON To Move Directly To The Spot On The Page
| TOP | BIO | OPERA REP | ORCHESTRA REP | COMPANIES | REVIEWS | PHOTOS | HOME |
Dianna Heldman performed Suzuki in Madama Butterfly in New York City Opera's 1999 U.S. Spring tour. A favorite with the company, Ms. Heldman drew enthusiastic praise across the country for her singing of Musetta in La Boheme in the National Tour in 1997. Opera News said of her performance that " the applause for Heldman is tremendous." She has appeared in many productions of New York City Opera since 1995 including Der Rosenkavalier, Carmen, La Traviata, Die Zauberflöte, Mikado, Kinkakuji, and Rigoletto. Earlier appearances for the company include Rigoletto at Saratoga and Wolf Trap, a concert in Brazil, and the title role of Cenerentola for their education program. Ms. Heldman is praised for her delightful characterizations, especially for her performances of Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), which include a reprisal for Indianapolis Opera and earlier ones with Opera Festival of New Jersey, Birmingham Opera Theater, Lyric of Dallas, and City Opera National Company’s tour. Of the latter, critics said "Heldman gave fire and tempestuousness to her role as Rosina, easily articulating all the coloratura lines." Ms. Heldman is expanding her repertoire with roles such as Dalila.
Ms. Heldman made her New York debut at Weill Hall premiering Summer’s End, songs by Carlton Clay. The project, underwritten by four major grants, is for mezzo, tenor, and four cellos. Ms. Heldman, noted as a singer of "divine vocal quality and multidimensional character", has performed the roles of Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte and Siebel in Faust with Indianapolis Opera and the latter also with Opera Memphis. She sang Despina in Cosi fan tutte for Birmingham Opera Theatre, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel for Opera North (VT), the Madrigal Singer in Manon Lescaut with Cincinnati Opera, Ludmila in The Bartered Bride with Sarasota Opera, Suzuki, followed by Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Lyric Opera of San Antonio, and Mrs. McLean in Floyd's Susannah with Kentucky Opera. She received critical acclaim for her "comic genius and beautiful singing" as Tisbe in La Cenerentola with Florentine Opera. Ms. Heldman has been recognized as an outstanding performer by The Pavarotti International Voice Competition , Opera Columbus Competition, and The Birmingham Opera Competition receiving many top awards.
Ms. Heldman appears frequently on the concert stage, most recently performing the Verdi Requiem and Dvorák’s Stabat Mater , preceded by an excerpt from Handel's Solomon at Alice Tully Hall and Mozart's C Minor Mass in New York. She has sung with the Symphonies of Indianapolis, Utica, Schenectady , and Catskill, and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Other works performed range from cabaret concerts and recitals to the Requiem Masses of Mozart, Verdi and Duruflé, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 , Magnificats of Bach and Rutter, the St. John Passion, the Christmas Oratorios of Bach and Saint Saëns and the Mass in C minor by Mozart.
The versatility of her performing extend from the florid and stylistic demands of the Baroque through the twentieth century. Ms. Heldman is engaged as a consultant for American Composer David B. Smith in the composition of a new opera. Recently she worked with American Opera Projects on the presentation of Patience and Sarah with the Lincoln Center Festival.. Recently Ms. Heldman sang Beethoven Symphony No.9 with Catskill and Utica Symphonies and concerts in Manhattan. This spring she returns to Indianapolis Opera as Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible.
| TOP | BIO | OPERA REP | ORCHESTRA REP | COMPANIES | REVIEWS | PHOTOS | HOME |
Amahl and the Night Visitors - - Mother
Ariadne auf Naxos - - The Composer
Il barbiere di Siviglia - - Rosina, Berta
La Bohème - - Musetta
Carmen - - Mercedes
La Cenerentola - - Cenerentola, Tisbe
La clemenza di Tito - - Sextus, Annio
The Coronation of Poppea - - Ottavia
Cosí fan tutte - - Dorabella, Despina
The Crucible - - Rebecca Nurse
Dido and Aeneas - - Dido
Don Giovanni - - Zerlina
L'Enfant et les Sortilèges - - L'Enfant
Faust - - Siebel
Die Fledermaus - - Prince Orlofsky
Hansel and Gretel - - Hansel
The Hero (Menotti) - - Mildred
Kinkakuji (Mayuzumi) - - Prostitute
Madama Butterfly - - Suzuki
Manon Lescaut - - Madrigal Singer
The Mikado - - Peep-Bo, Pitti-Sing
Le nozze di Figaro - - Cherubino
Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck) - - Orfeo
Prodaná Nevesta (Bartered Bride) - - Ludmila
Rigoletto - - Maddalena
Roméo et Juliette - - Stephano
Der Rosenkavalier - - Annina
Susannah - - Mrs. McLean
La Traviata - - Flora
Trouble in Tahiti - - Dinah
Les vêpres siciliennes - - Ninetta
Yeoman of the Guard - - Phoebe
Die Zauberflöte - - Second Lady
| TOP | BIO | OPERA REP | ORCHESTRA REP | COMPANIES | REVIEWS | PHOTOS | HOME |
Bach - - Christmas Oratorio
Bach - - Saint John Passion
Bach - - Magnificat
Beethoven - - Ninth Symphony
Berlioz - - Nuits d'Èté
Bizet - - Carmen Arias
Carlton Clay - - Summer's End (premiere)
Duruflé - - Requiem
Dvorák - - Stabet Mater
Handel - - Messiah
Mahler - - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Mozart - - Mass in C minor
Mozart - - Requiem
Purcell - - Dido and Aeneas
Rutter - - Magnificat
Saint Saëns - - Christmas Oratorio
Verdi - - Requiem
| TOP | BIO | OPERA REP | ORCHESTRA REP | COMPANIES | REVIEWS | PHOTOS | HOME |
New York City Opera
NYCO at Saratoga/Wolf Trap
New York City Opera Nat'l Tour, 1995, 1997, 1999
Florentine Opera
Cincinnati Opera
Indianapolis Opera
Kentucky Opera
Lyric Opera of San Antonio
San Antonio Opera
American Opera Projects with Lincoln Center Festival
Kentucky Opera
Opera Festival of New Jersey
Birmingham Opera Theater
Opera North (VT)
Sarasota Opera
Opera Memphis
Lyric Opera of Dallas
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra
Catskill Symphony Orchestra
Utica Symphony Orchestra
Oneonta Choral Society
Cincinnati Choral Society under Sir David Willcocks
University of Cincinnati Concert Orchestra
Schenectady Symphony Orchestra
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
| TOP | BIO | OPERA REP | ORCHESTRA REP | COMPANIES | REVIEWS | PHOTOS | HOME |
Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Lyric Opera of San Antonio, January, 2001
"Dianna Heldman was ideal both vocally and theatrically as the jaded Prince Orlofsky." Mike Greensburg, EXPRESS-NEWS, 1/2001
Suzuki in Madame Butterfly; New York City Opera National Tour, Spring, 1999
"Mezzo soprano Dianne Heldman's Suzuki was well-acted, and her flower duet with Butterfly was beautiful." Julie Jensen, THE DISPATCH AND THE ROCK ISLAND ARGUS, 3/10/99
"Heldman was a fine Suzuki, both as singer and as actress. She had a clear, bright sound that served the music well." Dan Wolfe, SHELBURNE NEWS, 4/1/99
"The supporting roles of Goro, the marriage broker, and Suzuki, the loving maid-servant, were played by Darren Keith Woods and Dianna Heldman. Both singers did a fine job with these roles and had nice stage presence and dramatic flair." www.columbiasc.miningco.com, 2/8/99
Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rosina, Indianapolis Opera, October, 1998
"Then, with the second scene, the opera not only got started, it got way up off the ground beginning with Dianna Heldman's singing of Una voce poco fa, complete with embellishments I'd not heard before. Here, obviously, was a Rosina that would be a cunning vixen." Charles Staff, THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/4/98
La Boheme, Musetta, New York City Opera National Tour, 1997
"...things don't really catch fire until the second act when Dianna Heldman makes her entrance as Musetta. Her interpretation is fresh, spontaneous, attentively sung, and the audience is with her every step of the way. At the end, the applause for Heldman is tremendous." Brian Kellow, OPERA NEWS, November 1997
"(The) principals are stupendously talented singers. Heldman's mezzo-soprano is skillfully and sassily expressed in the beautiful aria, "Quando me'n vo". Jan Biles, LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD WRITER, 3/8/97
"From the first bars of the famous Musetta's Waltz, Dianna Heldman established herself as a force to be reckoned with." Elaine Guregian, AHM BEACON JOURNAL, 2/20/97
"Éanother brilliant actor/singer, mezzo-soprano Dianna Heldman with a lyric soprano range, as the defiant seductress MusettaÉ" Florence Fisher, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE, 3/23/97
"Heldman gave a charming performance of Musetta's famous waltz, lending her character a superb blend of sweetness and slyness." Bill F. Faucett, PALM BEACH POST, 3/28/97
"Heldman beautifully delivers the essence of her vain, live-for-today character in "Musetta's Waltz"...Her comic timing was superb as well." Ellis Widner, ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE, 3/12/97
"Dianna Heldman avoids the temptation to transform Musetta into an obnoxious strumpet. She is flighty, yet compassionate, full of spirit and comfortable with the vocal challenges of her waltz." Donald Rosenber, PLAIN DEALER, 2/20/97
La Traviata, Flora, New York City Opera, 1995
"The cast also included Dianna Heldman as a lively Flora." Allan Kozinn, NEW YORK TIMES, Sept. 12, 1995
Il barbiere di Siviglia, Berta and cover Rosina, New York City Opera National Tour, 1995
"A pleasant surprise in Act III came from Dianna Heldman in the minor role of the maid, Berta, with the most vocally focused, evenly produced singing of the evening." Florence Fisher, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE, Mar. 23, 1995
"And soprano Dianna Heldman, singing the role of Berta, a servant, sang with perfect high notes and strong low notes when she sang "Il vecchiotto cerca moglie" ("the old man wants a wife")." Robert Miner, WILKES-BARRE, PA, Feb. 19, 1995
"One of the best-performed arias of the evening was the maidservant Berta's last-act aria "Il vecchiotto cerca moglie (The old man wants a wife)," sung by Dianna Heldman." Nick Humez, PORTLAND PRESS HERALD, Feb. 10, 1995
"Even the small role of Berta, the maid, was in superb hands as Dianna Heldman made a full portrait of the poor woman." Larry McGinn, SYRACUSE HERALD-JOURNAL, Jan. 23, 1995
"Three singers that added strength to the cast were...Dianna Heldman, the maid, whose single 'Il vecchiotto cerca moglie' aria was captivating." Jonas Kover, MOHAWK VALLEY
Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rosina, Opera Festival of New Jersey
"Dianna Heldman gave fire and tempestuousness to her role as Rosina, easily articulating all the coloratura lines of her show stopping cavatina "Una voce poco fa," as well as the lesser known aria in Act II." TOWN TOPICS, Princeton, NJ June 20, 1994
"Dianna Heldman's stylish Rosina entered into the comic fun with infectious enthusiasm." Robert Baxter, OPERA NEWS, October, 1994
"Mezzo soprano Dianna Heldman was a warmed voiced and appealing as the spunky Rosina, She was at her best in the Act II lesson scene, a lovely interlude." Donald P. Delany, THE PRINCETON TIMES, June 29 1994
La Cenerentola, Tisbe, Florentine Opera
"...Connie Dykstra and Dianna Heldman, comic geniuese at portraying the vanity and vacuity of the stepsisters...sang beautifully in solo and ensemble..." Tom Strini, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL 10/10/92
Manon Lescaut, Madrigal Singer, Cincinnati Opera
"Mezzo Soprano, Dianna Heldman, was a standout in her small role as the Madrigal singer in Act II." Mary Ellyn Hutton, THE CINCINNATI POST, June 20 1991
Faust, Siebel, Indianapolis Opera
"...and mezzo Dianna Heldman was a better than decent Siebel." Charles Staff, INDIANAPOLIS NEWS MAY 18, 1991
"Dianna Heldman charmed with portrayal of the love-struck youth Siebel and sang with well-directed ardor..." Jay Harvey THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR
"Special mention of Dianna Heldman's portrayal of the love struck Siebel is in order. Her characterization is multidimensional and her voice divine." Emily Thomas, THE INDIANAPOLIS UPDATE
"Dianna Heldman played the youth Siebel adoringly." Charles Epstein, JEWISH POST AND OPINION
| TOP | BIO | OPERA REP | ORCHESTRA REP | COMPANIES | REVIEWS | PHOTOS | HOME |
Mary Ella Collins &
Associates
(972) 661-9074
