Press Room 1999

“Il barbiere di Siviglia” – Rome

Teatro dell’Opera – 27 January 1999

“Orpheus in the net”

“The highlight of the evening was Daniela Barcellona’s charming interpretation of Rosina. Endowed with a striking stage presence and a beautiful legato, she made her appearances memorable without any recourse to exaggeration or affectation. Her voice displays volume and solid technique, qualities which stood her in good stead in the lesson scene where she offered a complete version of “Contro un cor”…”

“TANCREDI” – R.O.F. Pesaro

Teatro Rossini 8-11-14-18-22 August 1999

“Il resto del Carlino” Bologna -10 August 1999

Triumph at the Rossini Festival

Tancredi dies, but leaves the audience enchanted

“… Dramatic, virtuosa and with an absolutely convincing stage presence, she triumphed in the leading role…”

Adriano Cavicchi

“Il Gazzettino” Venice - 10 August 1999

Tancredi rejects the happy ending and rushes to meet his fate

Good performance by Daniela Barcellona

“… despite a performance marred by moments of immaturity, she revealed her great qualities as an interpreter, stressing her character’s key traits of idyllic romance and wrenching melancholy…”

Paolo Petazzi

“La voce di Rimini” - 10 August 1999

Tancredi’s triumph

“… The company of young singers was well received, especially the contralto Daniela Barcellona (her cavatina in Act I and her final departure elicited the most generous applause of the evening), who gave us a proud and mournful Tancredi endowed with a vivid stage presence…”                                                

“La gazzetta del mezzogiorno” - 10 August 1999

Neoclassicism and tragedy in Rossini’s Tancredi

“Not only do Daniela Barcellona and Darina Takova take on Rossini’s daunting vocal acrobatics with a dulcet lightness, impeccable pitch and scrupulous flexibility, achieving inimitable legatos, but they enunciate the lyrics with extreme clarity, so that the listener does not miss a single word. This is Rossinian canto at its best: clear and expressive, an expressiveness which is both pathetic and abstract, due to a strict control. This permits one to indulge in the pleasure of caressing the music, prolonging the pleasure…”

Osvaldo Scorrano

“La Stampa” 10 August 1999

The three lives of Tancredi

A triumph for the opera directed by Gelmetti

“… Tall and impetuous, the contralto Daniela Barcellona’s interpretation of Tancredi is excellent. From the very first note, a mere sigh as he bends to kiss his native soil, piano in the beginning, then in crescendo, then pianissimo once again, the audience was held spellbound until the very end. Splendid coloraturas and an elegiac tone far different from previous, more bellicose interpretations, until the tragic finale when Tancredi dies on stage, held by Amenaide, among barely audible whispers…”                                              

Paolo Gallarati

“La Repubblica” – 10 August 1999

“Daniela Barcellona stands out in a confident interpretation of the hero”.

“… Outstanding and self-assured in the numerous flourishes, Daniela Barcellona offered a dense yet delicate interpretation of Tancredi. Inevitable the comparison with two mythical mezzosopranos such as Marilyn Horne and Lucia Valentini Terrani, her predecessors in this same role. A success? A triumph. With which we fully concur…”  

Michelangelo Zurletti

“La Libre Belgique” 14-15 August 1999

Tancredi’s maidenly purity

Daniela Barcellona, with her moving interpretation of Tancredi, lights up the stage with her presence. The whole opera takes on a grave and solemn atmosphere thanks to Pizzi’s stage direction.

“… Daniela Barcellona can definitely take her place among our finest singers. Her height not only makes her physically believable in the brave knight’s role, but she also possesses an electrifying timbre and an admirable range of nuances…”

Nicolas Blanmont

“Le Soir” – 24 August 1999

The triumph of youth

“… however, the evening’s revelation was Daniela Barcellona’s Tancredi. She possesses an ample, robust timbre that combines the sober tones of the warrior’s heroism with the impulsive outbursts of a thwarted lover. Self-confident and proud with the pride of youth, this Tancredi is deserving of a place among the descendents of the much lamented Valentini-Terrani.”

Serge Martin

“L’Opera” n. 133 October 1999

New Rossinian horizons

“… However, this edition’s revelation (and that of the entire season) was Daniela Barcellona, who has an authentic mezzosoprano voice. On this occasion, she displayed a more mature technical development which enabled her to handle her part with uniformity and tonal flexibility, while also displaying an admirable command of the role with a passionately sincere portrayal of an impetuous and youthful Tancredi…”

Davide Annachini

“Lettere” n. 8 – November 1999

Pesaro’s Tancredi

“… a special thanks goes to Daniela Barcellona who treated us to a tragic Tancredi in all his splendour: dramatic, proud, virtuous and mournful. Thanks to her great vocal (and stage) expressiveness, she captured the audience from the very first note delivered piano, then in crescendo, then pianissimo again, with a rare intensity of wrenching melancholy, until the splendid whispered finale. There was not only voice and technique in this interpretation, but soul, and the audience sensed and loved it!

We can definitely repudiate those who are pessimistic about the future of opera (due to the lack of “good voices”), for we only need to listen to an artist like Barcellona one time in order to rediscover an emotion we thought forever lost.”

Anna Accursi

“Oltreconfine” June 2000

“We still recall last year’s festival, which was overwhelmingly acclaimed by a demanding international audience. In particular, Tancredi, with the beautiful staging by Pier Luigi Pizzi that emphasised pure classical lines and whose intelligent and imaginative artistic direction gave us a production which was absolutely convincing artistically, technically and scenographically. Essential to this success were Gianluigi Gelmetti’s intense and dramatic conducting and an astonishing Daniela Barcellona, a superb mezzosoprano who bewitched the audience with her vocal artistry and exceptional musical sensibility.”

“L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI” – Munich

STAATSOPER – 30 September 1999

From a local review, October 1999

“… Daniela Barcellona sings the role of Isabella, in her debut at the State Opera House, and succeeds in finding just the right tone in her singing…”

Rudiger Schwarz

“TANCREDI” -  SASSARI

TEATRO VERDI – 27-29-31 October - 2 November 1999

“L’Opera” n. 135 December 1999

Tancredi from dawn till dusk

 “… the singer Daniela Barcellona confirmed her superior vocal qualities: a lovely timbre rich in burnished color, a notable musical sensibility and excellent phrasing. In Sassari, she richly deserved the enthusiastic acclaim of the audience which had flocked to her performance in order to “get to know” this artist from Pesaro…”

Sabino Lenoci