Katya Kabanova
THE ROYAL OPERA
"With so much inhumanity on display, the very real human instincts and indulgences of Emily Edmonds Varvara and Andrew Tortise’s Kudrjas were a welcome relief. Edmonds was full of zest and freedom of spirit - leaping impetuously (and literally) into Kudrjas arms in the ‘garden’ scene."
"But it is quasi sister-in-law Varvara who is the really flighty bird, here Emily Edmonds, singing beautifully while negotiating the sort of amorous manoeuvres that only exist on the opera stage."
CULTURE WHISPER
OPERA TODAY
"… his lovemaking with Emily Edmonds’s delightful Varvara providing a much-needed dollop of joy in a dark story."
THE TIMES
"Also worthy of high praise is the Australian mezzo Emily Edmonds as Katya’s sister-in-law Varvara..."
THE DAILY MAIL
"Australian mezzo-soprano Emily Edmonds brought a much-appreciated touch of lightness to the opera in the role of the Kabanova's young ward Varvara."
"Emily Edmonds was making her role debut as Varvara, and despite what she had to deal with at times (lying on a brutalist bench instead of rolling about in a garden) she gave a convincing and stylishly sung performance of this pivotal role."
DAILY EXPRESS
MUSIC OMH
"Edmonds makes a spirited Varvara opposite Andrew Tortise’s nerdy Kudrjas, the pair of them very much the voices of reason in an otherwise disordered world."
THE GUARDIAN
