Credit much of the vocal magic to two singers, soprano Gwendolyn Bradley and baritone Wolfgang Holzmair. Bradley sang the role of Pamina and Holzmair that of Papageno. From the moment she began singing, it was clear Bradley, who last appeared with the company as Blondchen in "Abduction from the Seraglio" in 1995, had matured into a simply wonderful singer. She had all the power and precision, and the elegant pianissimo and fioritura the role calls for, plus a sheer, shimmering physical beauty that does not hamper her stage presence. Most of all, though, her voice was just delicious to hear: a pure, golden pleasure just for its own sake.
(PASADENA STAR-NEWS, SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE, WHITTIER DAILY NEWS)
By far the most satisfying singer of the evening was soprano Gwendolyn Bradley's Pamina, who displayed an exquisitely crafted sense of phrasing, luxuriant pearly tones, effortlessly controlled and polished like a jewel. The American soprano is a leading artist at the Deutsche Opera in Berlin (where she currently lives), and it is surprising that companies in the U.S. havn't made a greater effort to keep her at home.
Gwendolyn Bradley's singing alone makes a trip to La-La Land worthwhile, ...
(SAN FRANCISCO BAY TIMES)
And since Holzmair boasts too smooth a baritone to ever sound the traditional buffoon, he was instead an affably understated but not under-interpreted bird catcher with an untapped potential for nobility. In this he was matched, especially vocally, by Gwendolyn Bradley, a very pretty-sounding Pamina.
(LOS ANGELES TIMES)
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