"Boston soprano Lisa Saffer graces the cover of the July issue of Britain's Opera magazine, testimony to the triumph of her portrayal of the title role in Berg's Lulu with the English National Opera in May.
".... The magazine called her "an ideal Lulu, complete and multifaceted.
"Her feats of singing deserve special praise. Everything was phrased in a manner that showed complete command of the music, no matter how difficult the sometimes angular lines and tessitura. Yet this was matched by an athletic virtuosity in the way she prowled the stage, changing from one spectacular costume to another ...."
Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, July 12, 2002
On January 12, 2002, Lisa Saffer replaced the soloist in James Primosch's
set of four orchestral songs to early poems from Rainer Maria Rilke's "Stundenbuch" ("Book of Hours"). Ms. Saffer sang with
the Chicago Symphony Orchestra–the piece was commissioned by the
CSO with guest conductor, Antonio Pappano, the new musical director of
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
"Of course, much of the credit ... must go to Lisa Saffer, who delivered the songs with a bright, pliant soprano, clear German diction and an affecting expressivity. She was replacing the originally scheduled soloist, Susan Chilcott (who canceled because of illness), but she sounded completely secure in the music's introspective spirituality, as did Pappano and the orchestra. Primosch was present to share in the audience's noticeably warm response."
Chicago Tribune, January 2002
In a recent Opera News review of a recording of of Oliver Knussen's Higglety Pigglety Pop! and Where the Wild Things Are:
"The Wild Things themselves speak a stuttering, comically threatening sort of pidgin Yiddish (except for the moment when they break into barbershop-quintet harmony). Max, the boy terror, is played by soprano Lisa Saffer, who is perfectly cast in this part. Exuberantly maniacal, with a touch of the child sadist, her anarchic bent is evident in every clear-voiced swoop, lunge and battle cry."
Opera News, Joshua Rosenblum, January 2002
Return to List of Reviews
