The Governess in The Turn of the Screw, Opera 5
Photos: Emily Ding
Ryan McDonald as Miles
“ As the Governess sent by the children’s guardian to take charge of a clearly chaotic home situation, soprano Elizabeth Polese used her gleaming tone and absolutely clear-cut diction to establish a forceful presence. All of the young woman’s conflicted emotions, doubts (are the ghosts just a figment of an overactive imagination?) and immense love for her charges are communicated by this gifted singer.”
— La Scena Musicale
” Appearing as the Governess, soprano Elizabeth Polese quite simply soars in a hugely demanding performance balanced on the cutting edge of harmony.”
— Opera Going Toronto
”I’m really glad I got to hear soprano Elizabeth Polese in the role of The Governess. I’ve been a fan of Polese’s for quite a few years now and it’s wonderful to see the growth in this beautiful instrument. It sounded as though the role was written specifically for her. Her smooth, warm legato lending itself particularly beautifully with Britten’s moody soundscape of a score. Dramatically speaking, her acting was refined and nuanced. The journey she took us on from eager, bright-eyed and optimistic to haunted, stressed, and devoted was a masterpiece.”
— Schmopera
“That leaves a thoroughly solid performance by Elizabeth Polese as the Governess…Polese captures the doubt and inexperience of the young governess very effectively. Fine, idiomatic singing. “
— Opera Ramblings
Norina in Don Pasquale, Vancouver Opera
Photo: Emily Cooper
Gregory Dahl as Don Pasquale; Collen Winton as Maid; Stefano Giulianetti as Cook; Thomas Jones as Porter.
"This is no naive ingenue, and Canadian soprano Elizabeth Polese revels in the role. Polese finds all the colours in Norina’s role—lovelorn girl, faux-demure fiancée, conniving vixen, and fearless dragon. You believe her when she sings “I know every trick in the book,” and her buoyant, seemingly effortless coloratura runs fit the production well."
— Stir Vancouver
"Montreal-based soprano Elizabeth Polese plays Norina, the only woman’s role in the piece and one with a plethora of glittering high notes and runs. Not that this was all Polese had to offer; she seemed happy to embrace the comic potential implicit in her role.
— Vancouver Sun
“ Norina, dressed in a brilliant green to match the ceramic cats, arrives to seduce Don Pasquale. Far from being an innocent ingenue, Polese plays her as canny and cunning. Not only playing the part of a girl straight from a convent, she hilariously takes on various cat mannerisms to grab Pasquale’s attention. Vocally, Polese was triumphant, breezing through incredibly difficult coloratura with such skill that it looked effortless.”
Isabel in Lessons in Love and Violence, Tanglewood Music Center
Photo: Hillary Scott
George Benjamin, conductor; Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
“Surely no soprano takes on a role written for Barbara Hannigan without fear, but the current Tanglewood fellow Elizabeth Polese made it seem as if she had as the haughty Isabel.”
— New York Times
”As the Queen (called Isabel in the libretto), soprano Elizabeth Polese balanced on the knife edge between sympathetic and sadistic until she plunged to the sadistic side with a smile.”
— The Boston Globe
Opera Canada on “Twenty-Seven”
News: L’Opéra de Montréal’s “Twenty-Seven” brings Gertrude Stein’s salon to life
