Reviews

The Marriage of Figaro, ENO 2011

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By turns imperious mistress and victim, her “Dove sono”… ran a velvet-gloved finger through an open wound – its masochistic beauty unmatched for thrills during the evening

Alexandra Coghlan, New Statesman

Eugene Onegin

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“Valentine identifies the steel in Tchaikovsky’s heroine, with a thrilling, healthful tone and absolute emotional engagement”

The Independent

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Kate Valentine & Tamara Gura (photo: Alastair Muir)

“Kate Valentine and Allan Clayton (as Helena and Lysander respectively) are the pick of the lovers”…”impressively sung “

Classical Source

The Marriage of Figaro, Scottish Opera 2010

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…the superb cast is wonderful. There are a million things to catch but, above all, do not miss the heady eroticism that flows between Kate Valentine’s gleaming Countess and the fantastically authoritative Cherubino of Ulrike Meyer: it will stop your heart.

Michael Tumelty, Herald Scotland

Elegy For Young Lovers

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ENO assembled a terrific cast…Kate Valentine’s ripening soprano sounded glorious as Elisabeth

Hugh Canning, Opera, Elegy for Young Lovers, English National Opera @ the Young Vic 2010

A Little Night Music

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The singers in the Liebeslieder quintet are outstanding…

Financial Times, A Little Night Music, Théâtre du Châtelet

Die Rheinnixen

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Kate Valentine brought a vibrant soprano crowned with a smooth coloratura technique to Armgard and gave the ‘Vaterlandslied’ due solemnity

Opera, Die Rheinnixen, New Sussex Opera, 2009

The Abduction from the Seraglio

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Hopkins had plenty of musical strengths to play to, notably in the considerable muscle, not to say agility, that Kate Valentine brought to Constanze’s terrifying coloratura. Her emotional tug-of-love between the pressing Pasha and handsome young Spaniard was all too real

Opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, Opera North 2009

The Magic Flute

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Although all three of the Ladies were good, there was no doubting that Kate Valentine was the most outstanding of the three: her beauty of tone, witty acting and clear diction suggest that she might be an excellent Pamina in the future

MusicalCriticism.com, The Magic Flute, English National Opera 2009

Riders to the Sea

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The sisters, Nora and Kathleen, are vividly characterised by Claire Booth and Kate Valentine

The Guardian, Riders to the Sea, English National Opera 2008

The Two Widows

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Kate Valentine’s sprightly Karolina suggested a star in the making, beautifully poised, witty and commanding the stage with her striking presence

The Sunday Times, The Two Widows, Scottish Opera 2008

5: 15

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…the finest performance came from Kate Valentine, whose vibrant soprano, crisp diction and ardent presence lent […] a degree of glamour

The Independent, Five:15, Scottish Opera 2008

Don Giovanni

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…outstanding debuts by Marc Labonette as Leporello and Kate Valentine as Donna Anna may turn out to be the evening’s real discoveries

The Guardian, Don Giovanni, Samling 2007

Die Fledermaus

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With her pleasing soprano and classy stage presence I would have gladly seen her in a full-scale production – not least for her Czardas, directed at Eisenstein, which she turned into a heartfelt lament for the love they once shared

Opera, Die Fledermaus, Scottish Opera 2006/7

Le nozze di Figaro

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One of those occasions when the understudy goes on and becomes a star

BBC Stoke & Staffordshire, Le nozze di Figaro 2005