Press
The highlight of the performance was the voice of Melba Ramos. The singer created a touching image of a young Japanese girl. Her voluminous soprano, rounded in all registers, reveals itself in parlando as well as in full-sounding cantilenas. Dramatism, vocal expression, flexible coordination of solo and ensemble scenes, spectacular stage presence of the singer - all this allows us to feel great joy. Her reincarnation in the image of butterfly left no one indifferent.
With a sonorous and dynamically changing voice, Melba Ramos' presentation of Bess was also a real pleasure, with richly colored expression and brilliant high notes.
Melba Ramos achieved a great personal success as Amelia. Faithful to the Wuppertalers over the years, she has now matured from the coloratura roles of Mozart operas to Verdi heroine, singing the phrasings with strong emotional involvement, having the tone for the ardent passion of the middle register almost without effort, right up to the poiré top notes.
The evening clearly belonged to Volksoper favorite Melba Ramos, who once again identified herself with the title role. Here again the true heroine could impress. With full power, clean intonation and the highest expression in her voice, she ran full of illusions straight to her doom. Still waiting for her rescuing American, she put tender hope in "Un bel di vedremo", a short time later she let the reality be known with the "Con onor" farewell. Cio-Cio-San was just a wriggling butterfly that was looked at in a glass box until the bitter end. Ramos' Butterfly left nothing to be desired.
...Den except Melba Ramos with her great voice, which in lyrical and dramatic colors was the absolute highlight of the evening...
Melba Ramos sings Nedda überdis full-blooded and in the bird song also with silvery heights.
Vocally, of course, she is the undisputed star: Lady Macbeth, embodied by Melba Ramos, who rightly receives the longest applause with her world-class voice. With her powerful soprano voice she is an impressive lady from the first to the last second, powerful and persistent in the high notes, expressive and dazzling at the same time.
Pure drama was also delivered by soprano Melba Ramos as Leonora and tenor Stuart Neill as Manrico. Both could exist with their voices also in the Arena di Verona; cultivated intermediate tones were nevertheless allowed.
Now appears Lady Macbeth (Melba Ramos).... and this voice!! Power and passion, metallic glowing top notes, an intense piano, an occasional throaty coo. Her drinking song, her final scene thus become highlights.
Melba Ramos grew into her role after initial small insecurities, her warmly timbrated voice gaining astonishing treble security.
Melba Ramos' Rosalinde must also be praised without reservation. Only those who master Tosca or Traviata can also cope with the pitfalls of the Strauss operetta, which for me is a real opera anyway. In any case, Ms. Ramos brings exotic flair, eroticism, and those top notes like the sung-out final note in Csardas that one rarely hears.
In any case, this "Tosca" performance is beautiful - and soprano Melba Ramos of the Vienna Volksoper makes sure of that. "Vissi d'Arte" is the name of Tosca's Great Aria. The audience in Heidenheim immediately believes that this woman lives for art and for love. Touching, this intimate soft, colorful voice of Melba Ramos.
Pure drama was also delivered by soprano Melba Ramos as Leonora and tenor Stuart Neill as Manrico. Both could exist with their voices also in the Arena di Verona;cultivated intermediate tones were nevertheless allowed.
In any case, this "Tosca" performance is beautiful - and soprano Melba Ramos of the Vienna Volksoper makes sure of that. "Vissi d'Arte" is the name of Tosca's Great Aria. The audience in Heidenheim immediately believes that this woman lives for art and for love. Touching, this intimate soft, colorful voice of Melba Ramos.
...Among the singers, Melba Ramos was convincing as a flexible Leonora, both dramatically gripping and lyrically indulgent.
Her Amelia sings with girlish innocence and intimate dramatic glow in equal measure.
Soprano Melba Ramos gives a vocally solid Giorgetta.
Melba Ramos never has to force her more dramatic soprano.
Melba Ramos handled the Giorgetta sufficiently vocally- as a performer si was excellent and looked very good too.
Great also the voices, above all the Tosca of Melba Ramos. Elegance and power, perfect passagio, the "Vissi d'arte" a poem, but one that tells not of pathos, but of the hellish chambers that this woman suffers. ...
Melba Ramos has a leading role as "Tosca". A beautiful, spirited and expressive woman, who captivates with her acting and her radiant soprano. At first a jealous, vain artist, Floria Tosca turns into a woman of resistance and courageous liberator of her lover Cavaradossi. Ramo's soprano features an impressive timbre. Be it in the phrasing in the confrontation with Scarpia in "Equal via scegliete", or in the legato of the wistful, soulful moments like the spontaneously applauded aria "Vissi d'Arte"