"Anna 1" in The Seven Deadly Sins at the Atlanta Opera, September, 2017

Eventually the star does arrive, and on some nights that star is none other than renowned mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore (She performs the role Oct. 3 and 5. Atlanta Opera Studio Artist mezzo-soprano Gina Perregrino performs the role Oct. 4 and 6). Larmore is best-known for her performances in coloratura and bel canto roles (she is making her role debut as Anna I with the Atlanta Opera) but one of her many strong qualities is the ability to truly act in a theatrical sense, an often all-too-rare quality in bel canto singers. It serves her especially well here. She’s intense as Anna I, the absolute center of the show, and her lush voice sounds splendid in the intimate setting. She brings out fascinating, sinister qualities of introspection and confession in the piece. Her arrival is certainly worth the wait.

Atlanta Journal Constitution - Andrew Alexander

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Ms. Larmore's expert mezzo-soprano was tinted with color and excitement, telling the story of her and her mischievous "sister".

Schmopera - Daniel Weisman, Oct.2, 2017

 

 

Eboli" in Don Carlos at the Caramoor Music Festival, New York, July 2013

The mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore was a memorable Éboli: She is a highly charismatic and communicative singer, and her pangs of jealousy and self-incrimination had an intelligent fury to them instead of the hormonal hissy fits of other Ébolis.

NY TIMES - CORINNA da FONSECA-WOLLHEIM

 

 

"Jocasta" in Oedipus Rex at the Bard Music Festival, New York,  August 2013

Grander still, “Oedipus Rex” benefited from lucid narration by the actress Kathleen Chalfant, stormy exhortations by Mr. Relyea and the larger-than-life presence of Jennifer Larmore as Jocasta.

The NY Times  --  The Critics Notebook  -- STEVE SMITH  -- Published: August 19, 2013

 

 

"Kostelnička" in Jenůfa at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, April 2012
 Jennifer Larmore sings Kostelnička not as an angular  matriarch, but with the heartfelt lyricism of a loving mother whose care is at the same time aggressive and inhibited, cruelly suppressing her own desperate need to be loved. A role-portrait of the highest complexity.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

 

The director sees Kostelnička as the center of the piece, with her repressed yearning for love that leads to murder. Jennifer Larmore is not the usual fury, but with exactly expressed body language and her dramatic blazing mezzo-soprano, she depicts the ardent struggle for liberation from mind-stifling dullness  from the prison of a rigid code of conduct.
Süddeutsche Zeitung

 

Jennifer Larmore, a superb star of "bel canto", now more and more oriented to decidedly more dramatic roles,  is an exceptionally generous and technically confident artist and she has touched, during the scene of the murder of the son of Jenufa, one of the highlights of the evening. 

Lorenzo Bassi, GB Opera Magazine Mar 11th 2012

 

"Larmore gave a lyrically wrenching account of a character often portrayed as a cold matriarch. In Larmore (and Loy's) eyes, the Kostelnička is no wicked stepmother. Larmore had the emotional courage and vocal strength to make the interpretation work."

OPERA NEWS- A.J. Goldman

 

 

"Lady Macbeth" in Verdi's Macbeth at the Grand Theatre de Geneve

"Jennifer Larmore drew Lady Macbeth back toward its bel canto origins; while much ink is spilled over Verdi’s words on the need for theatrical realism in the role, the composer was nonetheless a stickler for vocal accuracy and counted on coloring and precise dynamics to create his musical effects. Larmore brought welcome accuracy to moments such as the brindisi, in which the trills and coloratura were sparklingly precise — a flashback to an earlier musical time. However, the performance was not low on milk-curdling venom. The mezzo seized on the text of her opening aria with relish, obeying the composer’s dynamic markings to the letter, but her voice remains essentially soft-grained: this was a Rossini Rosina turned nasty. Her performance was crowned by a whispered, hauntingly beautiful sleepwalking scene that benefited from Natalia Gavrilan’s unusually positive lady-in-waiting. "

OPERA NEWS - Stephen J. Mudge, June 16, 2012

 

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"Outstanding soprano Jennifer Larmore in the demanding role as Lady Macbeth has a look and stage appearance that is perfect for the role, and she is singing wonderfully. I enjoyed that she didn´t  spoil the beautiful Verdi music by sad screaming,; she dramatised it all in a beautiful well formed way, so we did believe in her. Her sleep walk was in this case a masterpiece."

KULTURKOMPASSET - Henning Høholt on  June 16, 2012

 

 

 

"Alcina" in Orlando Furisoso at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées

"Jennifer Larmore, in the role of a cruel and hysterical queen, is the queen of the ball. She vocalizes, rolls and unrolls explosive singing, with strength as well as beauty. "

 Caroline Alexander, webthea.com , Mar 18th 2011

 

 

"Gertrude" in Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera, March, 2010

 Ms. Larmore made a strong return to the Met stage. The role of Gertrude is perfect for her mezzo-soprano instrument. And in this version, she survives!

SUPERCONDUCTOR--A Classical Music Blog by Paul Pelkonan, April 1, 2010

 

Jennifer Larmore’s three-dimensional portrayal of Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, was the singularly most outstanding acting effort in this production and she remained in-character at all times, whether singing or reacting to another’s singing. Larmore’s rich and colorful mezzo-soprano shimmered in perfect harmony with her commanding stage presence and created some memorable musical moments — such as the lengthy decrescendo in the second-act Recitative and Duet with Petersen (Dans sons regards plus somber), which melted from a full-throttle forte to a delicate pianissimo at the duet’s conclusion. Moreover, she was the only character whose French diction was consistently intelligible.

CNY Café Momus -  David Abrams, Fine music, theater, commentary, April 1, 2010

 

"Jennifer Larmore, vocally and visually ravishing as Gertrude, Hamlet's guilt-wracked mother, is simply magnificent. She exudes star quality every moment she is onstage. Every gesture, each facial expression, and every nuance of her burnished mezzo soprano, hits its target dead centre, constituting what is nothing short of a master class in great operatic performance.

SUPERCONDUCTOR--A Classical Music Blog by Paul Pelkonan "

 

The intense Jennifer Larmore's grave, dark tones suited the role of Gertrude well.
Blog Critics Magazine -  Jon Sobel , April 3, 2010,

 

 Jennifer Larmore as Gertrude was superb vocally and dramatically. She was the only singer on stage who could approach Keenlyside’s level of engagement and thrilling dramatic intensity.
ConcertoNet.com, Arlene Judith Klotzko, April 14, 2010

 

 

"Geschwitz" in Lulu at the Opera de Paris

"Jennifer Larmore seems to have made the role of Geschwitz her own for the moment: hers once again was a moving portrayal, melding words and music together with beauty and meaning."

Mark Berry, Seen and Heard Intl, Oct 31st 2011