"Marriage of Figaro" dazzles in Cincinnati Opera season opener

Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati Business Courier:

“In Act III of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” Susanna Phillips as the Countess poured out her soul about her philandering husband, the Count. Her aria, “Dove sono” – “Where are they, the beautiful moments” – was phrased with heart-stopping beauty as Phillips conveyed emotions ranging from despair to resolve.

Displaying a full-bodied, luscious soprano, she communicated the hopelessness of her situation while sinking to the floor in her lament about her husband’s infidelity, “Porgi amor” (“Grant, love”). In the end, her interpretation made the element of forgiveness all the more powerful.”

 Rafael De Acha, Seen and Heard International:

“In her entrance aria, ‘Porgi amor’, soprano Susanna Phillips uttered glorious sounds, and later in her poignant Act III aria ‘Dove sono’. All the while she quietly endured the Count’s abuse, until the moment when push came to shove, at which point she pushed back with strength but no loss of dignity.”