Elizabeth Connell
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In December 2008 Elizabeth Connell had a triumphant success at the opening night of Turandot at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, her most recent role added to her repertoire, which for the past two seasons she has also sung in Hamburg and before that for Opera Australia.
In May and June 2010 she sang in a new production of Tristan und Isolde at the State Opera Prague, conducted by Jan Latham-König.
Her 2010 performances also include Elektra in Auckland as well as a solo recital in London St John's Smith Square. In January 2011 she will be returning to Prague for Tristan und Isolde and in April 2011 to Opera Australia in Melbourne for Verdi's Macbeth.
In January 2012 she will be making her debut with the Opéra de Toulon as Ortrud in a new production of Lohengrin.
Elizabeth Connell is acclaimed for her performances of the great Strauss, Verdi and Wagner heroines. Most recently she sand Elektra in Las Palmas, Gertrude (Hänsel und Gretel) for the Royal Opera (with worldwide Telecast and DVD release) and concerts of Jenufa with the London Symphony and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestras and Daniel Harding and of Fidelio with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Other recent engagements include Brünnhilde, the Kostelnicka, Ortrud and Ariadne in Australia; Ortrud, Fidelio and Isolde in Berlin / Staatsoper, Senta in Hamburg and Berlin and Elektra in Berlin, Madrid, Bordeaux and Montreal and the Färberin in a new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten in Frankfurt and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. During the recent seasons she sang Norma, Abigaille and for Opera Australia, and Abigaille and Isolde in Hamburg.
In 2008 two important CD releases have been added to her discography: Her first operatic recital, singing great scenes by Wagner and Strauss for ABC classics, conducted by Muhai Tang, as well as Britten’s Owen Wingrave, conducted by the late Richard Hickox.
Following her debut at Wexford Opera Festival in 1972 she sang at the opening of the Sydney Opera House in War and Peace in 1973, and has continued to have a special relationship with Opera Australia ever since. Following a five-year association with English National Opera she has been a freelance artist with the major opera houses.
She has appeared at the opera houses of London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, New York (Metropolitan Opera), San Francisco, Milan (La Scala), Naples and Geneva in a wide repertoire including Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Der Fliegende Holländer, Tristan und Isolde, the Ring, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, Nabucco, Macbeth, Attila, Don Carlos, Fidelio, Jenufa and Peter Grimes. She has had a successful collaboration with conductors such as Abbado, Muti, Sinopoli, Giulini, Sawallisch, Mackerras, Downes, Sir Colin Davis, Maazel, Levine, Ozawa and Elder. She has sung at the Bayreuth (Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde and Der Fliegende Holländer), Salzburg (Idomeneo and Elektra), Orange (Elektra and Nabucco), Verona (Norma and Nabucco) and Glyndebourne (Idomeneo) Festivals.
In concert her performances have included Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in London with Claudio Abbado, Missa Solemnis in Florence with Carlo Maria Giulini and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with Maazel, Sinopoli and Boulez. She has also sung in Euryanthe in London and Oberon in London, Tanglewood and Rome. In recital she has appeared with Geoffrey Parsons, Graham Johnson, Eugene Asti and Lamar Crowsen in Milan, Geneva, Sydney, Johannesburg and at the Wigmore Hall. She has recently sung the Strauss Vier Letzte Lieder with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Jonathan Nott and with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra under Matthias Bamert.
Her many recordings include Rossini's Guillaume Tell (Decca / Chailly), Mahler's Eighth Symphony (EMI / Tennstedt), Mendelssohn's Second Symphony (DG / Abbado), Franz Schreker's Die Gezeichneten (Decca / Zagrosek), Donizetti's Poliuto, Verdi's I Due Foscari (Philips / Gardelli), Schönberg's Gurrelieder (Denon/Inbal), Wagner's Lohengrin (Philips/Friedrich) and Schubert Lieder with Graham Johnson, as part of Hyperion’s Complete Schubert Edition.
August2010
Further reviews for her 2008/2009 Covent Garden Turandot:
And so Elizabeth Connell, who is currently playing the Mother in the Royal Opera’s Hänsel and Gretel, got the emergency call to upgrade to the title role of Puccini’s last opera, after Iréne Theorin succumbed to a bug.
From Mother to Princess: few make the journey that way around, but kudos to Connell for pulling off something of a triumph in a part too often consigned to a singer who can scream the music but not actually sing it. Connell gave us the real thing: the malevolence of Puccini’s bloodthirstiest heroine not just underscored in rasping wordplay, but glinting through a voice that seemed to grow in ease and comfort the higher it went. And I loved how quickly Connell switched from being Calaf’s spidery interrogator to a distraught daddy’s girl when her would-be victim turned the tables, batted off her notorious riddles and claimed her as his rightful prize.
Neil Fisher - The Times
Turandot’s mother? Well, let’s just say that Connell has been around the block a few times. But here she was, stepping up to the plate like a true star, and, I have to say, sounding better than she has in years. In a role which so often falls prey to big-voiced screamers on their way down the slippery slope to oblivion, Connell’s way into her taxing entrance aria “In questa reggia” was notable for what one might call “sleight of voice”. She used chest and glottal stop colours to explosive effect, the words – and in particular the consonants – lending a steely serrated edge to her imperiousness. It was quite a showing and culminated, in the line “His name is Love”, with a truly shining placement of the crucial top note. How rarely one hears it ping like that.
Edward Seckerson - The Independent
Turandot herself was to be played by the Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin. Laid low with a cold, however, she was replaced at the last minute Elizabeth Connell. Connell, although she got off to a slightly shaky start at 'In questa reggia', gave an extremely impressive performance. Despite some uncomfortable shifts between the registers and an occasional breathiness to the sound in the middle, her voice is a rare instrument that can master the higher tessitura, delivered here with both piercing accuracy and musicality. Although the way she acted the role opened up the psychological can of worms – gleefully stirred up in Anna Papaeti's programme essay – regarding Turandot's character and its implications in terms of sexual politics, it was refreshing to see a princess both convincingly formidable and touchingly human; the tantrums as Calaf easily solved each riddle were almost endearing.
Hugo Shirley www.musicalcriticism.com
For a singer whose career is not far short of the 40 year mark, the move is usually from singing the leading roles to performing Mothers, ageing companions or servants yet Ms Connell has only just added Turandot to her repertoire. She does not move around the stage with great ease anymore but with this production and possibly with this role, she doesn’t need to. What she does instead, is to show us her character’s cruelty, petulance, fear and ultimately her melting love and burgeoning humanity very well indeed using the thing that matters most – her singing. Yes, she did take a little time to find her best voice in ‘In questa reggia’ and her chest voice does not have the support that it once did, but her top voice was warm, musically accurate and wobble-free. Every nuance of her words mattered and all her pronouncements were offered with imperious effect.
Phil Pritchard - musicweb-international
At this performance the title role was to have been sung by Iréne Theorin, but she had developed a severe cold and was replaced by Elizabeth Connell who is currently appearing as the Mother in ROH’s “Hänsel und Gretel”. She has recently sung the role in Hamburg, but even with the short (if any?) rehearsal time she must have been allotted she gave a considered and highly individual account of the role. She has the range and vocal guns for the part, but not for her a ‘stand and sock it to ‘em’ sort of interpretation. This Turandot was all too aware of her own vulnerability and the potential for disaster when she first spots Calaf. “In questa reggia” was almost introspective and the subsequent riddles were delivered powerfully, but tinged with a sense of anxiety and then desperation. The text was, for once, delivered as if every word mattered. She should get a revival of her own
Alexander Campbell - www.classicalsource.com
Turandot is daunting at the best of times, a short but vocally demanding role that only a handful of full-blown dramatic sopranos are bold enough to attempt. Hurling herself fearlessly at the awkward angularity of Puccini's line, and cutting through the dense orchestral textures like a scythe through porridge, 62-year-old Connell met every challenge head on. In the circumstances, and especially given the character's obsession with sexual revenge, the odd note that had more of the clang of cast iron than the ring of bronze could be overlooked. Physically, she maintained a troubled dignity in an unfamiliar staging that has some complex footwork to negotiate.
George Hall - The Guardian
In December 2008 Elizabeth Connell had a triumphant success at the opening night of Turandot at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, her most recent role added to her repertoire, which for the past two seasons she has also sung in Hamburg and before that for Opera Australia.
In May and June 2010 she sang in a new production of Tristan und Isolde at the State Opera Prague, conducted by Jan Latham-König.
Her 2010 performances also include Elektra in Auckland as well as a solo recital in London St John's Smith Square. In January 2011 she will be returning to Prague for Tristan und Isolde and in April 2011 to Opera Australia in Melbourne for Verdi's Macbeth.
In January 2012 she will be making her debut with the Opéra de Toulon as Ortrud in a new production of Lohengrin.
Elizabeth Connell is acclaimed for her performances of the great Strauss, Verdi and Wagner heroines. Most recently she sand Elektra in Las Palmas, Gertrude (Hänsel und Gretel) for the Royal Opera (with worldwide Telecast and DVD release) and concerts of Jenufa with the London Symphony and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestras and Daniel Harding and of Fidelio with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Other recent engagements include Brünnhilde, the Kostelnicka, Ortrud and Ariadne in Australia; Ortrud, Fidelio and Isolde in Berlin / Staatsoper, Senta in Hamburg and Berlin and Elektra in Berlin, Madrid, Bordeaux and Montreal and the Färberin in a new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten in Frankfurt and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. During the recent seasons she sang Norma, Abigaille and for Opera Australia, and Abigaille and Isolde in Hamburg.
In 2008 two important CD releases have been added to her discography: Her first operatic recital, singing great scenes by Wagner and Strauss for ABC classics, conducted by Muhai Tang, as well as Britten’s Owen Wingrave, conducted by the late Richard Hickox.
Following her debut at Wexford Opera Festival in 1972 she sang at the opening of the Sydney Opera House in War and Peace in 1973, and has continued to have a special relationship with Opera Australia ever since. Following a five-year association with English National Opera she has been a freelance artist with the major opera houses.
She has appeared at the opera houses of London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, New York (Metropolitan Opera), San Francisco, Milan (La Scala), Naples and Geneva in a wide repertoire including Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Der Fliegende Holländer, Tristan und Isolde, the Ring, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, Nabucco, Macbeth, Attila, Don Carlos, Fidelio, Jenufa and Peter Grimes. She has had a successful collaboration with conductors such as Abbado, Muti, Sinopoli, Giulini, Sawallisch, Mackerras, Downes, Sir Colin Davis, Maazel, Levine, Ozawa and Elder. She has sung at the Bayreuth (Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde and Der Fliegende Holländer), Salzburg (Idomeneo and Elektra), Orange (Elektra and Nabucco), Verona (Norma and Nabucco) and Glyndebourne (Idomeneo) Festivals.
In concert her performances have included Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in London with Claudio Abbado, Missa Solemnis in Florence with Carlo Maria Giulini and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with Maazel, Sinopoli and Boulez. She has also sung in Euryanthe in London and Oberon in London, Tanglewood and Rome. In recital she has appeared with Geoffrey Parsons, Graham Johnson, Eugene Asti and Lamar Crowsen in Milan, Geneva, Sydney, Johannesburg and at the Wigmore Hall. She has recently sung the Strauss Vier Letzte Lieder with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Jonathan Nott and with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra under Matthias Bamert.
Her many recordings include Rossini's Guillaume Tell (Decca / Chailly), Mahler's Eighth Symphony (EMI / Tennstedt), Mendelssohn's Second Symphony (DG / Abbado), Franz Schreker's Die Gezeichneten (Decca / Zagrosek), Donizetti's Poliuto, Verdi's I Due Foscari (Philips / Gardelli), Schönberg's Gurrelieder (Denon/Inbal), Wagner's Lohengrin (Philips/Friedrich) and Schubert Lieder with Graham Johnson, as part of Hyperion’s Complete Schubert Edition.
August2010
Further reviews for her 2008/2009 Covent Garden Turandot:
And so Elizabeth Connell, who is currently playing the Mother in the Royal Opera’s Hänsel and Gretel, got the emergency call to upgrade to the title role of Puccini’s last opera, after Iréne Theorin succumbed to a bug.
From Mother to Princess: few make the journey that way around, but kudos to Connell for pulling off something of a triumph in a part too often consigned to a singer who can scream the music but not actually sing it. Connell gave us the real thing: the malevolence of Puccini’s bloodthirstiest heroine not just underscored in rasping wordplay, but glinting through a voice that seemed to grow in ease and comfort the higher it went. And I loved how quickly Connell switched from being Calaf’s spidery interrogator to a distraught daddy’s girl when her would-be victim turned the tables, batted off her notorious riddles and claimed her as his rightful prize.
Neil Fisher - The Times
Turandot’s mother? Well, let’s just say that Connell has been around the block a few times. But here she was, stepping up to the plate like a true star, and, I have to say, sounding better than she has in years. In a role which so often falls prey to big-voiced screamers on their way down the slippery slope to oblivion, Connell’s way into her taxing entrance aria “In questa reggia” was notable for what one might call “sleight of voice”. She used chest and glottal stop colours to explosive effect, the words – and in particular the consonants – lending a steely serrated edge to her imperiousness. It was quite a showing and culminated, in the line “His name is Love”, with a truly shining placement of the crucial top note. How rarely one hears it ping like that.
Edward Seckerson - The Independent
Turandot herself was to be played by the Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin. Laid low with a cold, however, she was replaced at the last minute Elizabeth Connell. Connell, although she got off to a slightly shaky start at 'In questa reggia', gave an extremely impressive performance. Despite some uncomfortable shifts between the registers and an occasional breathiness to the sound in the middle, her voice is a rare instrument that can master the higher tessitura, delivered here with both piercing accuracy and musicality. Although the way she acted the role opened up the psychological can of worms – gleefully stirred up in Anna Papaeti's programme essay – regarding Turandot's character and its implications in terms of sexual politics, it was refreshing to see a princess both convincingly formidable and touchingly human; the tantrums as Calaf easily solved each riddle were almost endearing.
Hugo Shirley www.musicalcriticism.com
For a singer whose career is not far short of the 40 year mark, the move is usually from singing the leading roles to performing Mothers, ageing companions or servants yet Ms Connell has only just added Turandot to her repertoire. She does not move around the stage with great ease anymore but with this production and possibly with this role, she doesn’t need to. What she does instead, is to show us her character’s cruelty, petulance, fear and ultimately her melting love and burgeoning humanity very well indeed using the thing that matters most – her singing. Yes, she did take a little time to find her best voice in ‘In questa reggia’ and her chest voice does not have the support that it once did, but her top voice was warm, musically accurate and wobble-free. Every nuance of her words mattered and all her pronouncements were offered with imperious effect.
Phil Pritchard - musicweb-international
At this performance the title role was to have been sung by Iréne Theorin, but she had developed a severe cold and was replaced by Elizabeth Connell who is currently appearing as the Mother in ROH’s “Hänsel und Gretel”. She has recently sung the role in Hamburg, but even with the short (if any?) rehearsal time she must have been allotted she gave a considered and highly individual account of the role. She has the range and vocal guns for the part, but not for her a ‘stand and sock it to ‘em’ sort of interpretation. This Turandot was all too aware of her own vulnerability and the potential for disaster when she first spots Calaf. “In questa reggia” was almost introspective and the subsequent riddles were delivered powerfully, but tinged with a sense of anxiety and then desperation. The text was, for once, delivered as if every word mattered. She should get a revival of her own
Alexander Campbell - www.classicalsource.com
Turandot is daunting at the best of times, a short but vocally demanding role that only a handful of full-blown dramatic sopranos are bold enough to attempt. Hurling herself fearlessly at the awkward angularity of Puccini's line, and cutting through the dense orchestral textures like a scythe through porridge, 62-year-old Connell met every challenge head on. In the circumstances, and especially given the character's obsession with sexual revenge, the odd note that had more of the clang of cast iron than the ring of bronze could be overlooked. Physically, she maintained a troubled dignity in an unfamiliar staging that has some complex footwork to negotiate.
George Hall - The Guardian