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Stephano with Minnesota Opera
Of the supporting singers, Adriana Zabala was the standout, singing the trouser role of Stephano with true Gallic grace.
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William Randall Beard
for
mspmag.com,
2008/01/27
Elijah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Supporting Terfel were... mezzo Adriana Zabala, who brought menace to her Queen Jezebel and sweet reassurance to her Angel.
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Catherine Reese Newton
for
The Salt Lake Tribune,
2007/05/14
Waiting for the Barbarians/Barbarian Girl
The principals were ideally cast. Mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala was lustrous as the Barbarian Girl. Too bad Glass didn't give her more to do.
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Mike Greenberg
for
San Antonio Express News,
2007/01/24
Waiting for the Barbarians/Barbarian Girl
As the barbarian girl, the mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala sang with a bright, penetrating voice. She was a vivid, fearless presence in the physically demanding role, which required her to perform one scene completely unclothed and covered with bruises.
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Steve Smith
for
The New York Times,
2007/01/22
Waiting for the Barbarians/Barbarian Girl
Adriana Zabala, the Barbarian Girl whom the Magistrate takes in after she is tortured, was extraordinary, a young, vibrant mezzo-soprano.
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Mark Swed
for
Los Angeles Times,
2007/01/22
Waiting for the Barbarians/Barbarian Girl
One wished for a larger role for the barbarian girl as mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala had an impressive clarity and emotion.
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Jeanne Claire van Ryzin
for
Austin American-Statesman,
2007/01/21
Les Contes d'Hoffmann: Muse/Niklausse
Mezzo-Soprano Adriana Zabala is fabulous as Hoffmann's muse and guardian angel, Niklausse. Zabala's polish and vocal agility make her an ideal Muse/Niklausse. She and Alison Bates take full advantage of the bacarolle, one of the loveliest moments in the show.
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Jay Furst
for
The Post-Bulletin,
2006/11/03
Les Contes d'Hoffmann: Muse/Niklausse
A night in Venice is evoked splendidly by a solo as blissful and soothing as a ride down the canal, courtesy of Adriana Zabala.
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Ron Hubbard
for
St. Paul Pioneer Press,
2006/10/30
Les Contes d'Hoffmann: Muse/Niklausse
The Nicklausse/Muse part is charmingly portrayed here by Adriana Zabala.
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Michael Anthony
for
Minneapolis Star Tribune,
2006/10/30
Carmen at the Wildwood Festival
Mezzo-Soprano Adriana Zabala was absolutely captivating in the title role.
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Eric Harrison
for
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette,
2006/06/19
Bernstein Memories- Madison Symphony
Zabala returned to give a highly entertaining rendition of "What a Movie!" from "Trouble in Tahiti," one of Bernstein's two operas. The mezzo-soprano has a wonderful range and a good sense of comic timing, both of which were put to excellent use.
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Michael Muckian
for
The Capital times,
2006/02/04
The New York Times- Teatros Espanoles
Adriana Zabala, who has a strong, clear mezzo-soprano that she uses adroitly…sang a number of the evening’s highlights…(including) a breathtakingly rapid tongue-twister of a patter song, which she coolly pulled off.
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Anne Midgette
for
The New York Times,
2005/11/18
Teatros Espanoles- New York Festival of Song
Tackling the title song from Ernesto Lecuona's María la O, Adriana Zabala brought sultry style to these Cuban blues.
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Bruce-Michael Gelbert
for
Theater Scene.Net (New York),
2005/11/15
The Barber of Seville
The mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala made a lithe, sexy Rosina, making the character charming and smart. Her voice had the luster of liquid silver in the middle range and beautiful fire at the top.
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David Williams
for
The Charleston Gazette,
2005/05/20
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Syracuse Opera): Soprano sparkles
The sooner Syracuse Opera can bring back Adriana Zabala, the better it is for the company.
Zabala's saucy Rosina, with a soprano that sometimes soared, sometimes floated and was consistently lyrical and effortless, proved to be the highlight of last weekend's lively production of "The Barber of Seville."
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JOAN E. VADEBONCOEUR
for
The Post-Standard,
2005/03/16
Zabala is the standout in Syracuse Opera's well-coifed Barber of Seville
The standout among McKee's agreeable cast of singers is Adriana Zabala, whose delightful Rosina captured all the coquettish charm of her character, whether she was singing or acting. Her engaging mezzo-soprano is brilliant in its high register and deep in the low register, dazzling the crowd in "Una vocepoco fa" with her poise and elan.
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By David Abrams
for
The Post-Standard,
2005/03/12
Adriana Zabala: artistry in every phrase (Interview)
Clich Here to go to the Interview
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by Brian Shepard
for
American Music Teacher, Feb-March, 2005,
2005/02/01
La Cenerentola
In the title role, mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala...opened up when it counted to reveal a sizable, bright, glossy-satin instrument.
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Mike Greenberg
for
San Antonio Express-News,
2005/01/16
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Syracuse Opera)
"Rosina was mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala, whose coloratura work is sumptuous."
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By WAYNE MYERS, Dispatch Drama Critic
for
Oneida Dispatch,
2005/ 03/ 07
La Cenerentola
Adriana Zabala sailed effortlessly through Angelina’s music in a dazzling singing portrait and she looked the part, perky and excited at her luck and being released from her indentured servitude.
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Chris Curcio
for
Curtain Up Phoenix,
2004/11/22
La Cenerentola
In the title role, mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala showed an extremely agile voice that grew bigger and stronger as the evening wore on. By the last scene - her character's big moment - Zabala was singing with easy power and songbird grace.
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Kenneth LeFave
for
The Arizona Republic,
2004/11/20
Scenes from Robert Aldridge's Elmer Gantry
In another made-for-opera setup, Gantry's love interest is introduced by a most flattering song. Sharon Falconer is first seen preaching to a revival meeting. Not spewing fire and brimstone this time, she starts slow and flowery. Mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala beautifully held the achingly long notes to give her character a beaming debut.
Her music sounds like the dawning of a new day. Her words, by librettist Herschel Garfein, are more poetic: "The sun embraces the stony earth. Sweet rain caresses the land. And pure is the joy that cradles the heart touched by Thee."
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Frederick Kaimann
for
Newark Star Ledger,
2004/04/04
Volpone
As classy Madame Erminella, mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala was authoritative, yet affecting. Her opening aria, which wound sinuously around a lullaby tune that proves crucial in the finale, probably was the best set piece in the opera, a jewellike musical moment defining her character as well as this opera's break with the gods of atonalism
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T. L. Ponick
for
The Washington Times,
2004/03/13 March 13, 2004
Volpone
Adriana Zabala, in a fab 1920's gown, put an elegant spin, vocally and personally, on the role of Erminella.
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Tim Smith
for
The Baltimore Sun,
2004/03/12 March 12, 2004
The Barber of Seville
... Rossini's original called for a mezzo, and Zabala is just the right one-stupendous in all her principal arias and pertly playing the role with just the right touch of mischief.
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Eric E. Harrison
for
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,
2003/06/22
Wolf Trap Discovery Series: Zabala, Taylor and Witman
Taking on all 46 songs of Hugo Wolf's "Italienisches Liederbuch" calls for the grit to tackle Mount Everest or swim the Bosporus. And more -- for the individual songs are only seconds-long encounters with every conceivable mode of the human condition. Mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala, baritone Ryan Taylor and pianist Kim Pensinger Witman handled the lofty assignment with sensitivity and imagination at the Barns of Wolf Trap Friday.
Alternating with Taylor, Zabala lent fine-tuned dramatic conviction with a voice of keen agility and richly hued timbres, capturing every ounce of Wolf's witty twists. After warming up, Taylor gave lustrous intensity to the cycles' more gripping moments. Both singers showed impeccable skill in an enlightening approach to each tiny self-contained drama in the swirl of conflicting emotions exuded by romantic love. Witman's supreme keyboard artistry deserves a large share of the credit for the evening's beauties.
The Wolf songs made up the evening except for a final selection, Stefania de Kenessey's brief song "Sudden Light," a first performance. Singers and pianist seemed to revel in its lyrical washes anchored to rock-solid tonality. It's a nice sample of a self-styled "traditionalist contemporary" composer but well short of the Sondheim and Bernstein it suggests. Perhaps de Kenessey is refuting the rigorous methodologies she studied under Milton Babbitt and his Ivy League compatriots. But the audience loved it.
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Cecelia Porter
for
The Washington Post,
2003/05/05
Street Scene (Wolf Trap Opera)
"Adriana Zabala couldn't have been more convincing as the neighborhood snoop and cynic."
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Tim Smith
for
The Baltimore Sun,
2002/08/20
Street Scene (Wolf Trap Opera)
"Some standout performances, from a very strong supporting cast, included Adriana Zabala's scarily spot-on turn as noxious busybody Emma Jones..."
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Joe Banno
for
The Washington Post,
2002/08/19
Street Scene (Wolf Trap Opera)
"Chief among these [many standouts] were soprano Adriana Zabala's obnoxious neighbor Emma Jones..."
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T.L. Ponnick
for
The Washington Times,
2002/08
Xerxes (Wolf Trap Opera)
"With a tangier, more compact mezzo, Adriana Zabala makes a gutsy Amastre."
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Joe Banno
for
The Washington Post,
2002/07/22
Wolf Trap Opera's "South of the Border" w/ Steven Blier
"Wolf Trap Opera Company members sang their way beautifully through an outpouring of canciones, lifting the revue considerably above the routine... Soprano Angela Fout, mezzo Adriana Zabala, tenor Patrick Marques and baritone Carleton Chambers alternated in solos and various ensemble combinations in a remarkable show of youthful zest balanced with veteran finesse... All four singers have glorious voices that sounded equally at home in both song-recital and operatic modes."
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Cecelia Porter
for
The Washington Post,
2002/06/24
Little Women (Minnesota Opera)
"Adriana Zabala was a strong, vocally adroit Meg."
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Michael Anthony
for
Minneapolis Startribune,
2002/04/15
La Cenerentola (Seattle Opera YAP)
"Adriana Zabala was sweet and endearing as Cinderella. She was believable, both in the lightness of her movement and gravity of her demeanor. Rossini gave the character a lot to sing, in lyrical and coloratura veins. Zabala proved to be equal to these multiple tasks. She possesses a smooth, handsome voice with sure musical phrases. Her technique is astonishingly fluent and seemed wholly at ease with every flourish Rossini threw her way."
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R.M. Campbell
for
Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
2002/02
Madama Butterfly (Seattle Opera)
"Adriana Zabala makes an exquisitely pretty Kate Pinkerton."
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Melinda Bargreen
for
The Seattle Times,
2002/01
Midsummer night's dream (Wolf Trap Opera)
"The four lovers were vibrantly sung and acted by Eric Cutler (Lysander), Adriana Zabala (Hermia), Keith Phares (Demetrius), and Lauren Skuce (Helena); the tender Act III reconciliation scene was phrased with particular beauty and eloquence."
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Tim Smith
for
Opera News,
2001/11
Le nozze di Figaro (Wolf Trap Opera)
"Cherubino was sung with flouncy charm by mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala."
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Philip Kennicot
for
The Washington Post,
2001/08
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Minnesota Opera)
"Resident Arstist Adriana Zabala's... astonishing flexibility... and her characterization (of Rosina)...was broad and brazen, but never became caricature."
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William Randall Beard
for
St. Paul Pioneer Press,
2001/04
Annina in Der Rosenkavalier (Minnesota Opera)
"...Mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala was notable as Annina with a fresh, distinctive tone and good acting-skills. ..."
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John Koopman
for
Opera-Opera (Sydney, Australia),
2000/03
NY Concert Review of Weill Hall Concert
Mr. Kallor's own "Exhilaration", in its world premiere, made a lovely first impression... This song cycle on Poems by Emily Dickinson was magnificently sung by a Mezzo-soprano, Adriana Zabala.
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Harris Goldsmith
for
New York Concert Review,
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