Corinne Winters Stuns in Return to Konwitschny Traviata

January 16, 2017

Corinne Winters returns to Peter Konwitschny's intermission-less La traviata in her Seattle Opera debut, alongside Joshua Dennis as Alfredo and Weston Hurt as Germont.

Winters triumphed in her European debut as Violetta in the same production at English National Opera, earning her both critical acclaim and a coveted Opera Magazine cover in the UK.

Performances run through January 28; tickets can be purchased from the Seattle Opera website.

Photo by Jacob Lucas

Read reviews:

"Konwitschny’s pared-down production places the focus firmly on Violetta, and Corinne Winters is theatrically and vocally the ideal fit for Konwitschny’s vision. An intensely compelling presence, Winters’ Violetta is by turns angry, vulnerable, and gritty. Fascinatingly, she was at her most desperately moving in the first act, showing compassion for Alfredo’s humiliation and physically shielding him from the taunting chorus. Vocally, her rich soprano best suits the spinto outbursts of Act II, though she ably navigated the Act I coloratura with fearless brilliance and a ringing E flat. Best of all, her nuanced shading and projection of the text eliminated the need for the projected supertitles."
Bachtrack

"Corinne Winters, as Violetta, brought her character to life with a rich, commanding soprano that gripped the audience from the first moment to the last. Her 'Sempre libera' shone through the starkness of the production to conjure up the demi-monde with her youth, beauty, lush voice, and passionate performance."
Seattle Gay News

"Soprano Corinne Winters, also in her Seattle Opera debut, as Violetta, ranges convincingly from sharp and fiery to meek and broken as bodily illness and social rejection catch up with her."
The Stranger

"On opening night the singers were in excellent voice, with Corinne Winters an especially compelling Violetta. She is a talented actor as well as singer, alternating power with subtlety; her performance of Violetta’s final aria was especially touching, as heartbreaking as any I have ever seen."
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Corinne Winters' Violetta is a sublime blend of fiery and fragile. Plus she has a gorgeously clear soprano voice, progressing with eloquent ease from fierce to desperate to seriously ill, on even the highest notes."
Queen Anne News

"Winters was the opening evening’s star as she performed a flawless Violetta. Winters achieved a convincing portrayal due to her terrific technique and her tasteful approach to the character... Hurt’s bronze-like voice combined magnificently with Corinne Winters’ fine vocal nuances in their duet of the Second Act, in the best moment of Saturday’s performance."
Opera World

"The young and slender Winters looked and acted the role superbly. She has the voice too, beautiful, expressive, and able to sing softly and expressively including on the highest notes, as she gradually fades to death in the last act."
The SunBreak

"From beginning to end, the opera is all Violetta’s. Winters sang Violetta in the original Konwitschny production at the English National Opera in 2013, and her familiarity with the role allowed her to perform it with full-blown confidence. With so many arias and duets – many when Violetta is taken down by her worsening consumption and sings on the floor or in other compromised positions – her secure strong soprano resonates. She does everything right in the role. Winters embraced Violetta so thoroughly that we don’t pity her. We are sad that she has to die, that she loses her true love, but she goes out with dignity, backing away triumphantly into those red curtains."
Oregon ArtsWatch

"What’s more vital is the singing, and here the show satisfies. To her sure-footed performance of her showpiece 'Sempre libera,' Corinne Winters brings a hint of a hard edge, making audible the desperation in her assertion to remain unencumbered following Alfredo’s declaration of love. That this was a choice and not a vocal given she demonstrated later in her satiny, quiet opening phrases in 'Dite alla giovine' and in the headlong passion of her farewell declaration, 'Amami, Alfredo.'"
Seattle Weekly

"On the plus side, there’s the singing, chiefly that of Corinne Winters in the title role. She is a beautiful and fearless Violetta, capable of both power and subtlety, and able to leap onto the lone chair during one of the most feared of all soprano arias, “Sempre libera.” An affecting actress, she made Violetta’s exuberance, despair, and inexorable decline in health all very clear."
Seattle Times

Corinne Winters to Debut at Seattle Opera in 2016/17

January 4, 2016

Corinne Winters will make her Seattle Opera debut in the 2016/17 season as Violetta in the Peter Konwitschny La traviata – the same production that launched her international career and landed her on the cover of Opera magazine in the UK.

Of that performance, The Spectator wrote, "Corinne Winters gives a performance of genius, with a wonderfully supple voice...Her ‘Amami Alfredo’ was the most heart-rending since Renata Scotto. This Violetta is perfectly poised between Lulu and Mimì." The London Times raved, "Winters is the best ENO Violetta in decades" and BBC Music Magazine wrote, "Corinne Winters delivered a performance of white­-hot intensity and consummate control."

Winters will sing opposite Stefano Secco's Alfredo under the baton of Stefano Ranzani, a regular at La Scala, the Vienna Staatsoper, and the Metropolitan Opera.

Also next season at Seattle Opera, Winters will sing her first performances of the title role in Katya Kabanova. Oliver von Dahnányi will conduct a new production by Australian director Patrick Nolan.

Jamie Barton Debuts at Seattle Opera

September 8, 2015

Jamie Barton has made her Seattle Opera debut, singing her first Fenena in Nabucco, a role that will also serve as her Royal Opera House Covent Garden debut this season.

Barton is "dazzling, with a showstopper aria that displayed the lyricism and agility of this remarkable voice" (Seattle Times), delivering "arguably the most touching piece of singing all evening." (Opera Magazine)

Performances run through August 22, with alternating casts of Gordon Hawkins and Weston Hurt as the title character, Mary Elizabeth Williams and Raffaella Angeletti as Abigaille, and Russell Thomas as Ismaele. Tickets can be purchased via the Seattle Opera site.

Photo by Elise Bakketun

Read reviews >

"Jamie Barton, an international prizewinner of considerable renown, is dazzling as Fenena, with a showstopper Act IV aria that displayed the lyricism and agility of this remarkable voice."
Seattle Times

"Likewise impressive was Jamie Barton's passionate portrayal of Fenena, the half-sister of Abigaille who wins the man loved by both, the Israelite Ismaele. Her prayer in Part Four, just before the freshly converted Nabucco arrives to stay her execution, was a highlight. So was the trio between her, Abigaille, and Ismaele in Part One."
Bachtrack

"Young mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Fenena, new here, has a truly beautiful voice with depth and nuance. She will surely be back."
SunBreak

"Thomas blended well with Jamie Barton’s mellifluous Fenena. Barton’s Act 4 preghiera was arguably the most touching piece of singing all evening."
Opera Magazine

"Fenena is luxuriously cast with mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, creamy and beautiful in the Part I trio and the Part IV cavatina."
Opera News

Jamie Barton Featured in Seattle Times

August 2, 2015

Photo by Elise Bakketun

Ahead of her Seattle Opera debut, Jamie Barton talks to the Seattle Times about Fenena, Wagner, and her roll-out-of-bed-and-sing music.

“My first instinct is to go for a very sympathetic Fenena,” Barton says of a role she will sing for the first time in Seattle. “I think there is a core of strength within, but I do think it’s nice to create a contrast to Abigaille (Fenena’s sister and romantic rival). I’m a big believer in bringing beauty into the story when I can..."
 

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