Angela Meade   Soprano

Leonora in La forza del destino 

"Angela Meade's voice has the amplitude for Verdi, but also has shadings and the flexibility to uncover the emotional range of the writing. She transversed a range of emotion and vocal colors to shape a complex, tortured character."

• The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Soprano Angela Meade scored in the Monastery Scene from "La Forza del Destino." She found the heartfelt drama in Leonora's soaring aria, then caught the shifting emotions in the long duet with Padre Guardiano. Meade commands a big, vibrant soprano. Her voice opens with keen control in the climaxes and floats with serene beauty in the more lyrical portions of the scene."

• Courier Post

Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte 

“Angela Meade sang Fiordiligi’s “Per pieta” with a matchless beauty of tone and inimitable style. Mozart singing does not come much better than this.”

• Courier Post

“But the superior voice of Meade dominates in her ability to infuse an emotion-laden coloratura into the long passages of song that her role provides. Moreover, she shows how ready she is to play heftier roles in the future.”

• Edge Philadelphia Contributor

“Meade exhibits plenty of spunk. When she fires off the “tempesta” section of the difficult aria “come scoglio,” the sound she produces really is tempestuous. Especially exciting is the way she drops seamlessly into a lower register with deep, chesty, dramatic tones. Her secure high notes are connected to a rich low voice with no break between the two. Meade easily transverses the elaborate coloratura of her part. More than that, she molds those rapid flights of notes to make dramatic points. This is not just a display of versatility. Hers is a great interpretation of Mozart’s most challenging role.”

• Broad Street Review

“Fiordiligi’s ‘come scoglio’ with its death-defying leaps from top voice to bottom, gives Meade no problems.

• Main Line Times

Agathe in Der Freischutz

“[Angela Meade’s] lovely, lyric soprano spins out a smooth legato and flows gracefully through the florid sections of Agathe’s [in Der Freischütz] Scene and Aria. Meade held the audience breathless in Perelman Theater with the beauty of her singing in the third-act cavatina. Her limpid, pure voice seemed to float magically in the air…”

• Courier Post

“Angela Meade gave Agathe [in Der Freischütz] the requisite sincerity, singing her music in a clear, gorgeously controlled soprano reminiscent of the young Margaret Price (there are few greater compliments); wonderful promise here…”

• Philadelphia City Paper

Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions

“Angela Meade powered out a ‘Casta Diva’ from Bellini’s ‘Norma’ that left everyone

breathless.”

• The New York Times (on the Metropolitan Opera National Council national semi-finals)

“More energy from the pit, rather than the gentle but leisurely approach of the conductor might have helped. Even for Angela Meade, an impressive soprano, more spark would have benefited ‘Ach, ich liebte’ from Mozart’s Entführung aus dem Serail, a small-scale choice for a strong voice that proceeded to let loose with ease and authority in ‘Casta Diva’ from Bellini’s Norma. She was certainly a deserving winner.”

• The New York Times (on the Metropolitan Opera National Council National Finals Concert)

“One powerhouse soprano out-larynxed them all – the supremely angelic Angela Meade. This Washington-born lady’s got big pipes, real instincts, and a sincerity on stage that seems almost incongruent with her enormous potential for diva status.”

• Willamette Week

“ ‘I’d hate to be a judge’ is the cliché, but this time it applied only to second place on down, for Meade was a clear winner. Her instrument is big and beautiful; her technique is sound and dazzling. “Casta Diva” is a double aria with a slow cantabile and a faster cabaletta, and Meade’s cadenza capping the cantabile triggered such a roar from the audience that the piano intro to the cabaletta was buried. We saw the hands of the accompanist moving and didn’t hear a note.”

• The Oregonian

“As Angela Meade stepped onstage to sing the magnificent aria ‘Casta Diva’ from Bellini’s Norma, she must have realized that the audience would automatically compare her to Jane Eaglen, or to Christine Goerke, whose Norma electrified Seattle two seasons ago. A most favorable comparison it turned out to be. She was honored with bravas from the house.

• Cornichon.org

“All the turns, the glissandi, the re-iterations of the A’s on top, a true messa di voce tossed in where appropriate. The vocal line is spun seamlessly and effortlessly. The glorious high C at the end shook even the most uninitiated listener to the core; and the foyer and smoking alcove outside were abuzz. This is fine singing, at any level…The crowd thought they’d been wowed by ‘Casta Diva’ from Bellini’s Norma, but they went absolutely bananas after her ‘O zittre nicht’ from Die Zauberflöte. The judges must have recognized the exceptional performance because they called her back out from the wings to ask her to offer a section of the ‘Jewel Song’ from Faust.”

• trill.com

Hans Gabor Belvedere International Competition 

“Angela Meade sang ‘Casta Diva’, which gave everyone goose bumps. She also sang ‘Non mi dir’ from Don Giovanni with amazing breath control and impressive coloratura, as well as a technically perfect ‘Czárdás’ from Die Fledermaus.”

• Der neue merker

George London Competition

“Soprano, Angela Meade offered the Czárdás from Die Fledermaus in a commanding and nimble voice. Her tone was exceptionally rich and her vocal power extraordinary.”

• The New York Sun

Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia

“Angela Meade is a strong presence…her aria was a model of subtle modulation from a singer who is destined for leading dramatic soprano roles.” 

• The Broad Street Review

Palm Springs Vocal Competition 

“[Angela Meade’s] soaring delivery of ‘Casta Diva’ from Bellini’s Norma was marked by

gorgeous trills…she navigated all sorts of vocal pitfalls that demanded a vast range, and her glissando ornamentation demonstrated extraordinary breath control.”

• The Desert Sun

Symphony #9 of Beethoven

“the singing of the solo quartet for Beethoven’s Symphony #9 was highly expressive and satisfying.”

• The Classical Voice