EDEN tour
Bachtrack“We can only hope the hopeful seeds handed to the audience as they left the hall sprout into something half as beautiful as this concept.”
“Le timbre caractéristique, velouté et dans un même temps dense de la mezzo-soprano américaine, se reconnaît tout au long du concert, tout comme l’élégance et la maîtrise qui le couronne. La voix est mise en scène comme émergeant du silence et de la mer sonore, par les fragments vocaux dans The Unanswered Question de Charles Ives qu’elle chante depuis le fond de la salle. Elle n’entre pas sur scène comme une diva, mais comme partie intégrante de la musique même. Le registre médian, où repose principalement la mélodicité du chant, est tantôt caressant, tantôt mélodieux et rêveur. Le registre bas est bien campé pour capter la méditation et la transition vers le songe. Le registre haut et les montées sont virtuoses et imposants, mais également capables d’une évaporation tendre en filigrane.”
“Le spectacle, on s’en doute, repose sur l’extraordinaire présence scénique et vocale de Joyce DiDonato. Au sommet de son art, la cantatrice américaine déploie avec ferveur et volupté un instrument de plus en plus soyeux, qui sait se faire claironnant dans les pages qui nécessitent force et puissance.”
ResMusica
“This was an enthralling evening, beautifully performed and thrillingly sung. And given it came at a time when the world really does seem to be unravelling, gave hope that we have the power to fashion a better future.”
“Op het eerste gezicht leek ‘Eden’ een al net zo merkwaardige mengelmoes van composities en stijlen, maar door het overkoepelende thema was er wel degelijk sprake van een duidelijke samenhang. Voeg daarbij het onmiskenbare charisma van DiDonato en alle kansen voor een geslaagde avond zijn aanwezig. Zelfs als zij niets doet en op het podium zit, ligt of wacht op haar volgende aria of lied, weet ze nog de aandacht vast te houden.”
“DiDonato is never in less than total control of her voice, and there’s fizzing chemistry with Il Pomo d’Oro and conductor Maxim Emelyanychev.”
The Times
“It’s a riveting show, superbly executed, by turns movingly hymning the wonders of nature, saccharine-infused and blazing with conviction. For ninety minutes DiDonato and her colleagues heartwarmingly plant seeds of hope in a blighted world as only art can.”
“I was filled with sheer joy to hear Joyce sing, the world simply glows when she does. There is a grand, sumptuous quality in her execution, I now know what all the fuss is about.”
“It was the tenderest moments that will live longest in the memory: Cavalli’s ‘Piante ombrose’ (from La Calisto) is voice and the sparsest of continuo accompaniments (from Emelyanychev), but how powerful its effect, and how miraculously DiDonato sings this.”
“It was as profound and timely a concert as I have ever attended.”
KC Arts Beat
“While the biblical concept of Eden was a “garden paradise” or “state of innocence and bliss”, DiDonato’s EDEN is far more grounded in reality. As her epic voice soared, her underlying message was squarely modern day Mother Earth. She concluded her performance with a quote “never was the shade of a plant more dear and loveable”. In this time of global unrest, truer words were never spoken. Here is hoping DiDonato’s seed of an idea will continue to grow.”
“I could not take my heart to a higher level of being in that single moment, and I still feel this inspiration today. My inner transformation is an everyday choice, and at that instant, I could not refuse the call to love my city more and to be at peace with all that is.”
“Joyce DiDonato’s ‘Eden’ Is A Mesmerizing Musical Homage To The Power of Nature”
Ludwig van Toronto
“A final section grasped at eternity, first with “As with rosy steps the morn,” from Handel’s oratorio Theodora. DiDonato gave the piece a solemn sincerity, floating lovely embellishments on the da capo repeat.”
Washington Classical Review
“DiDonato’s strong physicality was as impressive as her vocal ability and she provided a completely immersive show.”
Opera Now