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Missa Solemnis Beethoven Winnipeg Symphony Oshawa-born mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy was spellbinding with her gorgeous, heavy tone and effortless quality making each note float out into the hall. Light and lovely flute passages accompanied the soloists and time stood still as McHardy sang with haunting beauty. The soloists shone in the Agnus Dei; McHardy's almost otherworldly sound, buoyant and glowing ... - Gwenda Nemerofsky, Winnipeg Free Press, April 4, 2010 Little Women Jo Calgary Opera Chief among the mezzos is Allyson McHardy, who sings the lead role of Jo. McHardy is well suited to the part, her voice rich and strong, comfortable both in the higher register and in the conversational lower notes. Dramatically, she is convincing as the difficult, but very human, Jo around which the story moves. - Kenneth Delong, Calgary Herald, Jan 2010 Calgary Opera Podcast: Allyson McHardy speaks about "Little Women" Dream of Gerontius Angel Grant Park Music Festival McHardy was the evening's vocal standout. As the Angel accompanying Gerontius to God's throne, her dusky mezzo-soprano sounded rich and mellow, and she unfurled Elgar's slow, lyrical melodies in long, satiny lines that seemed to float far above the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and Millennium Park. - Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun Times, August 3, 2009 ... the velvety and radiant mezzo Allyson McHardy, projected the Angel's tender concern as successfully as the serene consolation she brought to the farewell. - John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, August 3 , 2009 Allyson McHardy effaces all memories of other distinguished exponents of the Angel. She has developed into something very special and moving. - Brian Dickie, Chicago Opera Theater, August 3 , 2009 Symphony No. 2 Mahler ScotiaFest McHardy's radiant singing of the short, fourth movement, Urlicht (Primeval Light), invoked the mysticism of understanding breaking through the torment of personal anguish that animated the first three movements of this monumental work. - Stephen Pedersen, Chronicle Herald, June 16, 2009 Listen to this perfomance on CBC Radio 2: Concerts on Demand. Hippolyte et Aricie Phèdre Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse The other great performance was Allyson McHardy, as Phedre, the mother who wants to sleep with her stepson: McHardy has sumptuous mezzo tone, perfect French and noble bearing. - Stephen J. Mudge, Opera News, June 2009 Allyson McHardy's fiery Phaedra, trim mezzo muscle, steady line and mastery of French declamation is a revelation that rivals Jessye Norman and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in the same role . - Francis Carlin, London Financial Times, March 3, 2009 la Phèdre incandescente d'Allyson McHardy - Christian Merlin, Le Figaro, March 9, 2009 La Phèdre d'Allyson Mc Hardy partage avec ses partenaires francophones la clarté d'èlocution indispensable mais sa virulence, son ironie et ses douleurs sont bien celles du personnage. - Maurice Salles, www.forumopera.com, March 6, 2009 la Phèdre incandescente de la mezzo amèricaine Allyson McHardy (une rèvèlation) - Marie-Aude Roux, Le Monde, March 9, 2009 Allyson McHardy, mezzo soprano nèe aux Etats-Unis est cette Phèdre de fureur et de douleur, magnifique découverte, actrice accomplie, diction impeccable et superbe phrasé. - Caroline Alexander, www.webthea.com, March 2009 L'Italiana in Algeri Isabella l'Opéra de Lille À commencer par le couple impossible : Isabella, belle et authentique voix de contralto de l'Américaine Allyson McHardy, enjôleuse, vamp et séductrice , Mustafa, impérial et hilarant Jonathan Veira qui occupe le plateau comme s'il était chez lui. - Jean-Marie Duhamel, La Voix du Nord, Nov 10, 2007 au beau et très prometteur mezzo d'agilité d'Allyson McHardy - Marie-Aude Roux, Le Monde, Nov 14, 2007 Samson et Dalila Dalila Opera Ontario The standout performance was Dalila, with the lovely Allyson McHardy delivering an extraordinary rendition of the scheming seductress. With her superlative depth of tone, rich vibrato, and technical versatility, McHardy was ideal for the complexity required for the role... ...One of the most notable tunes in all of opera, the seduction scene in Act II, showcased the very best of this fetching mezzo. - Steven Preece, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Jan 27, 2007 With her buttery tone and clear diction, Canadian mezzo Allyson McHardy fit the bill of the temptress from Sorek... ... Allyson McHardy: This opera belongs to her Dalila. - Leornard Turnevicius, The Hamilton Spectator, Jan 26, 2007 Il Barbiere di Siviglia Rosina San Francisco Opera Mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, a former star of the Merola Opera Program and a singer of enormous imagination and versatility, sang a lustrous and energetic Rosina; the inventive twists and turns in her highly ornamented account of the opening "Una voce poco fa" were superb. - Joshua Kosma, San Francisco Chronicle, Nov 2, 2006 Allyson McHardy [is] an accomplished comedienne. Her singing is relaxed with pin-point rhythmic accuracy. The coloratura sparkled. - Tiger Hashimoto, The Examiner, Nov 2, 2006 Mezzo Allyson McHardy dashed about with charming aplomb as Rosina, while pouring out gracefully shaped phrases punctuated by her fluent ornamentationn. Her evenly scaled tones, her onstage charm, and her disciplined vocalism all point to a major career. - John Bender, Opera Canada, Jan/Feb 2007 Popera Opera Ontario What a warm, beautiful and agile voice McHardy possesses, and what a range, so beautifylly displayed in Una voce poco fa and Ombra mai fu from Handel's Xerxes-better known as Largo-and the exquisite My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice from Samson and Delilah. - Harry Curry, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Nov 28, 2005 A Midsummer Night's Dream Hermia Chicago Opera Theater Allyson McHardy's dusky, velvety mezzo gave Hermia depth and character... - Heidi Waleson, Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2005 An Evening in Paris Manitoba Opera Everybody's favourite femme fatale, Carmen, also made an appearance a la mezzo soprano Allyson McHardy, in Bizet's Cuban-inspired Habanera. Appropriately coquettish, McHardy's sense of drama and temperamental flair was exactly right. - Holly Harris, Winnipeg Free Press, February 27, 2005 Off Centre Recital McHardy has a particularly large and rich instrument, with gorgeous low notes and much expressivity. - John Terauds, Toronto Star, February 14, 2005 Eugene Onegin Olga San Francisco Opera Mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, a rich-toned and thoughtful graduate of the Merola Opera Program, made an impressive debut as Tatyana's sister, Olga. - Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, November 26, 2004 Schwabacher Debut Recital San Francisco Opera Sunday's wondrous recital by mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy... was just the sort of event that shows the San Francisco Opera Center's series at its best: an exciting introduction to a hugely gifted young singer, with the promise of future boasting rights for anyone able to say we heard her when... ...[she] is a mezzo of the old school who combines vocal endowments, artistic cunning and theatrical panache in roughly equal measures. If her future holds anything but stardom, I'll be very much surprised... McHardy proved herself a dazzling artist and entertainer... She has an opulent, throaty tone whose darkly hooded quality seems to imply as much as it reveals, yet she had no trouble at all conjuring up reserves of power in her upper register. The high climatic phrase of 'Zueignung' was as thrilling as the vertiginous drop to her chest register that immediately followed it. And in the Schumann cycle she proved a master at gauging the emotional tenor of each song and translating it into vocal terms... She invested 'Die Stille' ('Silence') with plenty of light-footed charm - in another life McHardy could be a killer leading lady in operetta... she came out victorious... - Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, January 27, 2004 |