The Marriage of Figaro, Scottish Opera 2010
Countess Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro, Scottish Opera 2010
“…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 – Full Review
“The Count and Countess are a tour de force – the endearing chauvinism of Roderick Williams’s Almaviva ultimately brought down to earth by the wistful melancholy of Kate Valentine’s portrayal as his wife.”
Kenneth Walton, Scotsman – Full Review
“Genuine comic timing earned genuine laughs on Friday’s opening night, with artful performances from Thomas Oliemans as Figaro, Roderick Williams as the Count and Kate Valentine as a particularly noble Countess“
Kate Molleson, Guardian – Full Review
“Kate Valentine is a poised and dignified Countess, opening up vocally as the evening progresses”
Rupert Christiansen, Telegraph – Full Review
“The shade comes with Act II and Kate Valentine’s exquisitely melancholy opening aria of regret”
Thom Dibdin, The Stage – Full Review
“The strength of this production…allows Kate Valentine as Rosina to bring out the big, heartbreaking depths of her character. Valentine’s Rosina provides a powerful sense of continuity. She is a part of the cut and thrust of the comedy, of course, but her tragedy and the count’s lack of morals provides a start contrast to the surrounding jollity.”
Thom Dibdin, The Edinburgh Evening News
“Kate Valentine offers a radiant timbre”
Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times
“Kate Valentine was a wonderfully forlorn Countess. Her Porgi, amor had an aching sadness…..finely matched by her Dove sono, in which pathos was given even greater emphasis……..It is clear that Miss Valentine has a voice immensely suited for Mozart and her rise over the last few years from less significant parts to centre stage in this production is very much justified.”
Kevin Holdsworth, Opera Britannia
“As the Countess, Kate Valentine does look and sound like she might be in her late teens. When she is joined in her chamber with Cherubino (Ulrika Mayer), and Susanna, the raging teenage hormones are palpable”
The Opera Critic – Full Review
“But one of the most challenging moments in all opera is carried off exquisitely by Inverness-born Kate Valentine as Countess Almaviva. She has to sit out the whole of the first act and then come on cold at the opening of Act Two, set in her rooms, with the haunting and moving aria “Porgi amor”. She gets precisely the right balance of sadness and pathos as she yearns to recapture the love of Almaviva which has turned cold in his arrogance and unfaithfulness.”
Northings – Full Review
