Cio-Cio-San in MADAMA BUTTERFLY - Opera de Monte Carlo, November 2021
AN OUTSTANDING BUTTERFLY, embodied by Aleksandra Kurzak who explodes in the role of Cio-Cio San. She is an admirable soprano and a moving tragic actress. She takes her character from the lightness of the first act to the naivety of the second, to the despair of the third. Her aria "Un bel di vedremo" sparked a thunder of applause. #coupdecoeur ❞ by André Peyregne for Forumopera.com
[At first Act] the relative serenity was restored with the presence on stage of the bride, Aleksandra Kurzak. [...] In the final dialogue of the first act, Kurzak was able and knew how to adopt the right tone - round vowels, soft and expressive timbre, perfect legato - typical of her character's state of mind […] The evening definitely moved in a high-quality direction and was sublimated in the great lyrical moment of the night, the suicide of the heroine, a vocal prowess offered by Aleksandra Kurzak in a top-flight artistic demonstration. - Jaume Estapà for ÓPERA ACTUAL
Let’s congratulate Aleksandra Kurzak for her performance. […] At the end of the I, during the magnificent romantic duet “Viene la sera …”, all the qualities of her talent are revealed so fully, with an incarnate singing of a ravishing lyricism. After the intermission, she makes the audience explode with applause and bravos at the end of the famous "Un bel di vedremo". […] A stunning performance in all its aspects, and of the highest level. - Sabine Pera Arcia for Classiquenews Classiquenews
A total commitment from soprano Aleksandra Kurzak who embodies Butterfly as a tragic everyday heroine. […] Aleksandra Kurzak’s Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio San) deploys the intensity and the near omnipresence of the role. Her various expressions are graded and engraved with an deep sense of naturalness following the drama’s progress, leveraging on a long, ductile and homogeneous voice in all its stretches. She vocally embodies this elasticity, demanded with infinite intensity, both in voice and drama, the heroine facing the hardship of reality to welcome them with the open arms of sincerity. […] Her way to lead her vocal line, with the same lunar and stellar mother-of-pearl, in the sword-like top notes, the silk-lined medium and the sighed low notes goes hand in hand with short descending glissandi. This unctuousness, sparkling like pinheads, shows the way which Cio-Cio San’s future death will follow. Everything is accomplished with a reserve of power, which is delivered on the pontoon placed in the foreground, at the moments of superlative expression of love, confidence and sacrifice, from the sigh to the cry. […] The long acclamations of the audience resonate with the fervor and contemplation which greeted “Un bel di vedremo" - Florence Lethurgez for Ôlyrix
Aleksandra Kurzak, one of the best Butterfly performers of our time … a pure lyric soprano voice that rises to the top with ease … she dominates the emotional parable of such a complex character … gives a fresh lightness, right contemplative dimension to the singing … smooth and luminous in lyricism … her “Un bel dì vedremo”, very well phrased and sung, much applauded … very accurate expressive depth of the part, great care for colors, theatricality … a complete and deeply felt character … magnificent in the duo of the letter. - Alessandro Mormile for Connessi all'Opera