“But
the on-stage star is, by definition, Salome. Russian
soprano Mlada
Khudoley’s voice is big and compelling, her
performance style
all-or-nothing intensity. Khudoley doesn’t
shy away from her
character’s brazen sexuality, nor her
petulant obsessivness,
but it’s by no means an unsubtle
characterization. Even during
the score’s riveting final
moments, Khudoley dares us to look
beyond Salome’s
actions, to see a desperate, unloved teenager
acting out on
an appalling scale. It’s quite a trick, and I wouldn’t
have missed it for the world.”
Vancouver Sun, May 4, 2009
LINK TO READ ARTICLE
“Russian soprano Mlada Khudoley delivers the supremely
demanding
role of Salome (two hours, no intermission)
with the stamina of an adolescent.
Her voice, though, is
no teenager's: ripe and dark in the low range,
rich
and glowing
as it climbs, never short of power, silky when needed.”
Globe and Mail, by Elisa Poole May 4, 2009
LINK TO READ ARTICLE
“The singers were top-flight. Mlada Khudoley negotiated
Salome's
fierce vocal demands while projecting girlish wiles.”
Chris Shull, February 3, 2008 Star- Telegram, Dallas
“Soprano Mlada Khudoley's elegant portrayal of the
duty-bound Lisa takes
a surprising turn as she abandons
her caution and propriety to pursue a forbidden
romance.
Initially icy and repressed, she emerges as a passionate
young woman
ignited by her first real love, making her
betrayal all the more tragic. Tempering
power with restraint,
Miss Khudoley's richly burnished instrument revealed
great
depth and range, particularly during Lisa's
heartbreaking Act III aria.”
Washington Times, December 8, 2007
“The Minnesota Opera's production rests firmly upon Khudoley's
shoulders. The soprano's singing is a breathtaking blend of soaring passion
and dark low notes that rumble with foreboding. And her formidable acting
skills make Salome's tempestuous mood swings believable, painting a sympathetic
portrait of a woman driven to madness by an obsession.”
Pioneer Press Dispatch Ron Hubbard, April 10, 2010
“Soprano Mlada Khudoley had fewer problems being heard
as
Lisa, with a voice that melded girlish sweetness and laserlike
projection,
and opened out well whenever the passion of
Tchaikovsky's writing welled
up at climactic moments.”
Washington Post, December 8, 2007
“And I hope the Met will hire some of the Kirov singers who
were
newcomers to New York. Of those I heard, the lovely,
intense and vocally
lustrous soprano Mlada Khudoley, who
sang Sieglinde in “Die Walküre,” was
the most exciting discovery.”
NY Times, Anthony Tommasini, July 21, 2007
“…the soprano Mlada Khudoley, the vocal standout of the
production
so far, who has a lush, sizable and luminous voice.”
New York Times, Anthony Tommasini, July 16, 2007
More reviews from past years...