Barbara Hannigan .:. soprano





	"Late in the opera, Barbara Hannigan (Despina) is dazzling in one of the most virtuoso coloratura arias this reviewer has ever heard." Opera News, September 2009, review of DVD of Signor Goldoni by Luca Mosca

	"Barbara Hannigan, the faultless soprano in (Luigi Nono's) A Floresta, had prefaced it with one of the unaccompanied songs from Nono's 1962 Canti di Vita e d'Amore, perfectly poised and authentically Italianate in its lyricism." Guardian, London, Nov 7, 2007

	"Als vokalen Nachklapp gab es auch noch sechs dodekaphonische Georg Trakl-Lieder des Meisters, abwechselnd aufs sparsamste umspielt und umwispert von vier Instrumentalisten, die alles Erdenkliche versuchten, sich kein nachhaltiges Gehör zu verschaffen. Was ihnen auch sehr erfolgreich gelang. Miss Hannigan nahm reichen Beifall mit großen Gesten sublimster Grazie entgegen. Berliner Morgenpost, April 2008 Webern Op 14 with Simon Rattle and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

	"Nimmt man die Aufführungen der Lieder op. 8 und op. 14 und der Orchesterstücke op. 10 für sich, dann scheint Rattle als Webern-Interpret in der Boulez-Nachfolge zu stehen: Vieles klingt sinnlich-delikat ausgehört, wenig entfaltet gestisches Espressivo. Die kanadische Sopranistin Barbara Hannigan sang mit warmem, lyrischem Ton." Berliner Zeitung, April 2008 Webern Op 8 and 14, with Sir Simon Rattle and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

	"Sie bekrönte als Schlussstück den ungewöhnlichen Konzertabend, in dessen Mitte, schier unübertrefflich, die kanadische Sopranistin Barbara Hannigan die anrührenden "Sieben frühen Lieder" von Alban Berg (in der glücklichen Bearbeitung für Kammerensemble von Reinbert de Leeuw) vortrug: eine Artistin auf dem Hochseil der Singkunst." Berliner Morgenpost, April 2008 Berg Sieben Fruhe Lieder and Webern Op 18, with Berlin Philharmonic's Scharoun Ensemble, conducted by Pierre Boulez

	"Der Sängerin Barbara Hannigan verlangen die Lieder Unglaubliches ab. Die Stimme wird in riesigen Sprüngen geführt, vermeidet jegliche kantable Linie. Dagegen wirken Alban Bergs sieben frühe Lieder noch wie melancholische Abschiedsgesänge auf die Spätromantik, es sind die Wohlfühlstücke des Abends. Schönbergs Kammersinfonie schließt die Lücke zwischen Romantik und Abstraktion – schöner Abschluss eines Jubiläumskonzerts." Berlin Tagesspiegel, April 2008 Berg Sieben Fruhe Lieder and Webern Op 18, with Berlin Philharmonic's Scharoun Ensemble, conducted by Pierre Boulez

	"In the middle part of the piece, as if in a vacuum, time stood still as soprano Barbara Hannigan crept through Mallarme's text with a few percussionists and harp. The virtuoso Hannigan sang with beautiful colours that ranged from cool French to warm Viennese tones. She held her own courageously in those parts where Boulez deliberately allows the voice to be submerged by the instruments, hit the highest notes with an ease as only Hannigan can, and finally breathed Mallarme's last word, whispering "mort"...the jam-packed (Concertgebouw) went into raptures of long and loud applause." Trouw (June, 2007) Boulez Pli selon pli with the ASKO and Schoenberg Ensembles conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

	"(Boulez) would have been more than pleasantly surprised by the contribution of soloist Barbara Hannigan, who sang the absurdly whimsical soprano part, in which the voice is treated as an autonomous instrument, with an ease, flexibility, and musicality that dulled all existing recordings of the piece." Het Parool (June, 2007) Boulez Pli selon pli with the ASKO and Schoenberg Ensembles conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

	Alone onstage, Barbara Hannigan poured forth her remarkably clear, direct soprano, leaving no emotion unturned in the words and cries of a freedom fighter brutally raped during Algeria's war of independence. Direct human contact was instantly achieved. The Times, London, (November 2007) Luigi Nono Djamila Boupacha for solo voice, at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London United Kingdom

	"There was no better soprano than Barbara Hannigan to interpret the part of the capricious and carefree Allegro. Brilliant coloratura, enormous ease of tone in the high register, and articulate presence made this performance a captivating event." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 22-5-2002 Händel L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderator with the Frankfurt Baroque Orchestra Germany

	"Hannigan conjured the full power - and humanity - of the enchantress. Aided by her wonderful connection to the musicality of the words - not to mention her dazzling virtuosity - Hannigan drew out the nuances of Händel's oft-praised characterization: the fiery, sexy temperament and touching vulnerability in her illicit and unrequited love for the enemy Rinaldo." The National Post 29-04-04 As Armida in Händel's Rinaldo with Opera in Concert Toronto, Canada

	"...it was above all Barbara Hannigan in the part of first soprano, with all its ornamentation, so much allure had that the other parts paled by comparison. With her porcelein sound she took hairpin turns as if they were nothing, and defied the highest heights: a vocal alpiniste who climbs without the necessity of life insurance!" Leeuwarder Courant 22-02-03 Mozart C minor Mass with the Noord Nederlands Orkest The Netherlands

	“Barbara Hannigan as Petra’s daughter Gabriele vaults impressively through vocal acrobatics that put Strauss’s Zerbinetta in the shade.” Irish Times 19-09-05 Gerald Barry The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, at English National Opera United Kingdom

	“The Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan was imported to sing Petra’s daughter, and let fly a voice that hit high notes with a Queen of the Night’s brilliance and power.” Times Literary Supplement 23-09-05 Gerald Barry The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, at English National Opera United Kingdom

	“Barbara Hannigan was convincing in her school uniform as Petra’s daughter, on the threshold between child and woman.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 26-09-05 Gerald Barry The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, at English National Opera United Kingdom

	"Soprano Barbara Hannigan enticed the audience to laughter as Lieschen, and transported with flawless, slender perfection in the aria "Ei! Wie schmeckt der Coffee susse", where vocal ornaments unrolled like sensual sighs." NRC Handelsblad 13-05-03 Bach Secular Cantatas with Combattimento Consort Amsterdam The Netherlands

	"...but the most exciting moment came in the Friday night Sinfonietta concert when that startlingly blonde, butter-wouldn’t-melt soprano Barbara Hannigan flung herself with indecent gusto into the sexy vocal games of Gyorgy Ligeti’s Aventures and Nouvelles Aventures. It was like seeing the Catherine Deneuve of Belle de Jour suddenly turn savage and foul-mouthed. The Proms don’t come much more “impure” than that." Daily Telegraph London 11-08-03 Ligeti , BBC Proms United Kingdom

	"Then came the formidable soprano Barbara Hannigan onstage. The first minutes she sang only one tone. Later she had rhythmic and melodic lines to sing at breakneck speed, tasks she completed with unimaginable technical ease and enormous musicality. You had to be there to believe it." Het Parool 13-01-03 Frascati, Amsterdam, The Netherlands


	“Whoever has seen this performance can only confirm that it is Hannigan’s unparalleled virtuosity and overwhelming concentration, both “live” and on film, that carries the performance. She has completely internalized the piece; she is One. It is questionable as to whether anyone else could ever sing these notes, written for her unique vocal capacities.” NRC Handelsblad June 2006 Holland Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands



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