| Acclaim
Aida at Sydney Opera House
“Leah Crocetto as Aida has a voice of enveloping power and warmth, sustaining the soliloquy of act one with colour and expressively moulded line, soaring magisterially over the chorus and orchestra in the triumphal march in act two.”
“…the most affecting singing of the night was that in the third act where Leah Crocetto’s ‘O Patria Mia’ (‘Oh my homeland’) was stupendous and gave us a chance to applaud, not only that aria but her first (‘Ritorna Vincitor’ – ‘Return Victorious’ from Act I) where the staging robbed us of the chance to applaud. The duet with Amonasro (Warwick Fyfe), her father, followed and had real drama as did the following touching duet with Radames (Najmiddin Mavlyanov). This, for me, was the best singing of the night where true emotions and feeling got to shine through.”
“She is matched equally with the skill of Leah Crocetto whose voice is a total contrast to Gabouri’s and yet stands on its own, perfect in her own right. She is beautiful and effervescent in this role. The purity of her soprano is second to none and she embodies what a leading lady of opera should be in both voice and acting. Her rendition of O, Patria mia was soul-stirringly good. Her pianissimo’s pinged right to the very edges of the Joan Sutherland theatre and her tone embraced you like a warm hug. There’s not much to say about Crocetto’s performance other than that it was flawless and you should definitely buy a ticket just to see it. It’s a big sing for both females and they tackled their roles with grace – they night belonged to the two sopranos, both individually and complimentary of one another. The casting is perfect – Amneris and Aida in such vivid contrast of one another, they cannot be more different and yet there is a harmony that they find within each other – a commonality that eases the juxtaposition we as audience feel initially. It’s brilliant.”