Of all Last Nights in recent memory, this was the most enjoyable, the least hysterical and the most warm-hearted.  DiDonato, the self-styled Yankee Diva, caused gasps when she walked on dressed in a shimmering Vivienne Westwood dress to match her dazzling trills and vocal cascades.

Fiona Maddocks – The Guardian

“The evening’s other big star – the irrepressible Joyce DiDonato – swept into her first aria from Massenet’s Chérubinwith the words, loosely translated, “I am besotted! I am drunk!” And she was. This is a lady who rises to an occasion and having lulled us into submission with the rolling mezzo tones of Handel’s “Ombra mai fù”, DiDonato pulled out all the stops and more with “Tanti affetti in tal momento” from Rossini’s La donna del lago. The words here read: “Let my silence be eloquent”. As if. Out came the frolicsome trills, the devilish roulades, the completely dazzling runs from top to bottom of the vocal compass – all despatched with a playfulness and knowingness that made it all look so easy.”

Edward Seckerson – The Arts Desk

“It fell to a bubbly blonde from Kansas, Joyce DiDonato, to raise the temperature. DiDonato is possibly the greatest coluratura soprano alive, a prodigy of nature. A DiDonato trill almost passes belief, and we had a quite a few in the aria from Rossini’s La Dona del Lago, the third and most spectacular of her arias.

Joyce came back, in a different and even more spangly frock, and made us feel a bit weepy with “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” (but she didn’t overplay it. This prodigy of nature is also a great artist).”

Ivan Hewett – The Telegraph

“To conclude the first half of the “serious” concert, we had the extraordinary American mezzo Joyce DiDonato. Ms DiDonato is a natural, one of those rare singers who can glide effortlessly through all manners of thrills, as she demonstrated in the fiendishly difficult aria Tanti affeti in tal momento from Rossini’s La donna del lago; who can deliver well-measured sentiment and delicacy, as she showed in her marvellous rendition of Handel’s beautiful Ombra mai fù and sing a magnificent crescendo or incredible high notes with warmth and style. But she is also a great artist and her performances are always well-judged. She does not allow her virtuosity to interfere with the music or the composers’ intentions and she possesses this amazing quality of making everything she sings sound as if it had been written specifically with her in mind. In a word, she dazzled and not only in her singing but also in the gorgeous and elegant deep claret gown, especially designed for her by Vivienne Westwood. With DiDonato, the atmosphere in the Royal Albert Hall was electrifying; one could almost feel the energy pulsing in the air.

Margarida Mota- Bull – Seen and Heard International

“The evening’s other big star – the irrepressible Joyce DiDonato – swept into her first aria from Massenet’s Chérubinwith the words, loosely translated, “I am besotted! I am drunk!” And she was. This is a lady who rises to an occasion and having lulled us into submission with the rolling mezzo tones of Handel’s “Ombra mai fù”, DiDonato pulled out all the stops and more with “Tanti affetti in tal momento” from Rossini’s La donna del lago. The words here read: “Let my silence be eloquent”. As if. Out came the frolicsome trills, the devilish roulades, the completely dazzling runs from top to bottom of the vocal compass – all despatched with a playfulness and knowingness that made it all look so easy.”

Edward Seckerson – The Review