Amigos del Municipal

London
24 / 06 / 2022

“… and eclipsing all else, the young Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz. Her haunted and terrified Mimi is the sort of megawatt performance, vocally and visually, that proclaims a star in the making.”

Richard Morrison, The Times

 

“Yaritza Véliz sings Mimì, a former Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera House and here making her debut at Glyndebourne. And what a debut it is – she is an artist with remarkable control and dexterity across the voice, and using soft-grained pianissimi and delicately-sculpted gestures to channel huge amounts of pathos. “Mi chiamano Mimì” was wonderfully velvety and even – consistency in color and tone was one of her many strengths that evening. In livelier moments – the Act two sequence – Véliz pops and pings through the texture. The very final scene with Rodolofo – when she sang the line “bella come un tramonto” (“as beautiful as a sunset”) was heartbreaking, followed by a feather soft reprise of “Mi chiamano Mimì.”

Benjamin Poore, Operawire

 

“In the midst emerges the brilliance of Puccini’s score, admirably served by Mimi by Yaritza Véliz. The Chilean soprano dominates the cast, dazzling from one end of her range to the other, a fleshy, well-timbred voice, gaining in emotion as the show unfolds, with a “Donde lieta uscì” in III and a “Fingevo di dormere” in the heartbreaking Act 4.”

André Pevrègne, Forum Opera

 

“Yaritza Véliz sings Mimi with a white gold, charged soprano!”

Erica Jeal, The Guardian

 

“It was Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz in the role of Mimi who was the standout voice of the show though. Her rich soprano conveyed Mimi’s raw emotions, and gave an intellectual weight to a character who can often be portrayed as a slightly and weak femme fragile.”

Miranda Heggie, Arts Desk

 

“Yaritza Vèliz: her voice expands magnificently as first passion and then fatal illness intervene: the music takes flight!”

Nicholas Kenyon, The Daily Telegraph

 

“But there’s some persuasive acting too, not least from Yaritza Véliz’s Mimì, who touches the heart with her passionate protestations to Rodolfo.”

Barry Millington, The Evening Standard

 

“…sickly seamstress Mimi sung brilliantly by Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz, a former Royal Opera House Jette Parker Young Artist making her Glyndebourne Festival debut.”

Adrian York, London Unattached

 

“Sparks flew with Yaritza Véliz’s passionate Mimì, here singing her first major role since her time as a Jette Parker Young Artist. I can’t imagine a more perfect Mimì, her vulnerability conveyed through judicious use of portamenti that recalled the great Mimìs of the past. Her voice is now a full lyric, blazing with passion but retaining a youthful freshness, and her two arias were beautifully sculpted, radiant and tinged with melancholy. Usually it’s the final act that elicits a tear – here, Mimì was doomed from the start which made it all the more poignant.”

Kevin W NG, Bachtrack