el Periodico - EFE
Joan Castelló
Daniela Barcellona and Jessica Pratt, an almost perfect pair for "Tancredi"
The excellent performance of both the mezzo Barcellona and soprano Pratt add to the brave and passioned musical direction of Roberto Abbado...
No less the British soprano Jessica Pratt with a captivating voice and a prodigious agility, has played an Amenaide that fights against adversities...
Pratt clearly obtained the favor of the public with the virtuosity with which she sang arias and cavatinas such as "No, che il morir non è", in addition to beautiful duets with Daniela Barcellona. The two protagonists fought the brass with courage, since their respective scores are of a great vocal exigency. They offered evocative moments in which, above all, they emphasized the beauty of their voices.
Atticus's Blog
"TANCREDI" (Gioachino Rossini) - Palau de les Arts - 06/23/17
...yesterday even more so, the exhibition of Belcanto in it's purest form, offered by Jessica Pratt, was sublime. It was the first time that the soprano rose to the main stage of "Les Artes" to sing an opera, after the brief appearance in the infamous auditorium in 2015 in Mozart's Davidde Penitente, from which we had good impressions, but nothing compared to the master lesson of last night. Jessica Pratt dazzled us with a spectacular vocal brilliance, an uncontested dominance of the upper range and an exquisite and polished vocal line, producing delicate and ethereal sounds without loosing body or presence. A refined singing, adorned with elegant control (sensational, for example, the pianissimi in Giusto Dio che umile adoro); an uncontaminated coloratura in which every note is placed with perfect refinement; every mordente; every trill; every picchiettato; every detail of the score was perfectly heard, transformed in those celestial sounds that the Australian soprano offered us yesterday.
Backtrack
Laura Servidei
Rossini triumphant: Daniela Barcellona heads a stylish and emotional Tancredi in Valencia
Amenaide, sung by Jessica Pratt, is a more ethereal creature, overwhelmed by events. She is unable to navigate through them, to the point that, somehow, she fails to explain herself to Tancredi and convince him she didn't betray him. Pratt's voice was in excellent form, and it had exactly the right features for Amenaide: a somewhat cold brightness and purity, strong and powerful high notes, with precision and agility in the coloratura, which turned almost Queen of the Night-ish. All this contributed to a convincing, three-dimensional character, whose innocence shone like a diamond against everybody's accusations and doubts. Her high notes were truly spectacular, and her interpretation moving and emotional. Her Act 2 aria and cabaletta were a true journey into Amenaide's soul, where Pratt led us through pain and desperation to hope and joy.
IN FERNEM LAND
Joaquim
Les arts 2016/2017: Tancredi (Barcellona-Pratt-Shi-Spagnoli; Sagi_Abbado)
Jessica Pratt, the english soprano (Bristol 1979), living in Australia, who is becoming one of todays reference "belcantista", sang Amenaide, challenging such an inspired Barcelona, and offering us an extraordinary replica that has suspended the physical sensation of space and time, during the second act, with her aria "che Dio Giusto adorano umile". Pratt has a beautiful, clear and penetrating light soprano lyrical voice, both on the high and extremely high registry, of explosive precision. But what I liked most about her performance was in fact this dominion of the voice and of the audience. Only the greatest artists are able to impose the silence. That silence that is overwhelmingly noticeable when a singer distributes pauses to a theater absolutely at it's feet. She did it with great sensibility, with careful and clear musicality, with a dazzling technique, with ornaments, trills and scales at the service of emotions. Stratospheric in the duets with Tancredi, in a joyous alternation of beauty at the service of singing. Belcanto, the most pure, the most beautiful.
Diari La Veu
Sixto Ferrero
Les Arts' Tancredi overcomes accidents and scenes
Soprano Jessica Pratt had already given us a small taste of her capabilities, two years ago, in a brief appearance for Mozart's Davidde Penitente. Friday she assumed the role of Amenaide and did it with an homogeneous timbre over the whole vocal register and with a projected vocal position. The English soprano received one of the loudest ovations before the curtain call and maintained the quality throughout the opera, refining arias of extreme difficulty with emphasis and elegance. Should we make a ranking, now that the season is ending, Pratt is without any doubt, the great triumpher.
Codalario
Raúl Chamorro Mena
Review: 'Tancredi', Gioachino Rossini, at Palau de les Artes
... [Jessica Pratt] showed her "belcantista" qualities, that sense of embellishment of every sentence, of every resolution, that legato of the good old school, the control of the dynamics as well as the good exhibition of coloratura and easiness with the super high notes.
Well-coordinated with Barcelona in the two magnificent duets (one for each act), she reached the apex in the great scene of the second act “Gran Dio!...Giusto Dio che adoro umile” with a good display of coloratura that won a great ovation of the audience.
Il Giornale della Musica
Alberto Bosco
Tancredi dies within the applauses
Valencia: success for Barcellona and Pratt with Roberto Abbado on the podium
...
The first reason of this success is the pair of protagonists, Daniela Barcellona and Jessica Pratt: their duets (one per act) were the highlight of the evening, and those who were lucky enough to hear them brought home a lesson on what singing Rossini means, a means to sublimate action and drama in a greater dimension of ideal beauty.
...
Pratt showed off an astounding control of technical and vocal means (her cabaletta in the second act brought down the theatre ...
Revista Musical Catalana
Exceptional 'Tancredi' in Valencia
Pratt is one of the few performers who has managed to take over the almost legendary Amenaide of Mariella Devia. The wording, the voluptuousness of the high notes and the scenic control of the character added up to another success of the unstoppable career of Australian coloratura soprano. Memorable the naturalness with which she faced the great "Gran Dio!" scene, undoubtedly one of Rossini's most elaborate productions, as well as the beautiful "Com'è all'alma mia dolce" from the first act.
Valencia Plaza
Rosa Solà
The voice, what an unreplaceble value
...[Jessica Pratt] soon took the reins, and challenged with drama and credibility the dreadful demands that Rossini poses. Agilities overcome without problems, same for the legati. Together with Barcellona they navigated through the most agitated parts as the most poetic ones. In short: the public enjoyed two accomplished artists who unite an impeccable technique to the deep knowledge of the Rossinian language.
Agencia Nuevas Dimensiones
Analysis of the opera Tancredi
Jessica Pratt proved to be a really promising artist. Her voice has everything she needs to deal with "belcanto". Very flexible and with astonishing and strong high notes achieved with great simplicity. Nevertheless, she is still very young and is therefore destined to become a very interesting singer. Magnificent in "More sweet and placid" and "No, that the dying is not".
Audio Clásica
Daniel Martínez Babiloni
The tragic resonance of eternal silence
Both Daniela Barcelona and Jessica Pratt, who sang this version in Laussan, have deeply interiorised their roles. Together they formed a beautiful couple.
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Pratt expressed herself with great taste, building her character both from a recitative and a vocal point of view. She showed beautiful legati and picchiettati.
Platea Magazine
Alejandro Martínez
Rossini's "Tancredi" closes the 16/17 season of the Palau des Artes
...at her side shined, Jessica Pratt's Amenaide, a singer that convinces from every point of view with her technical competence with which she administers her instrument. On the line of Mariella Devia, the Australian soprano offers a pure emission and a clear and precise singing...
El cronista errant
Xavier Cester
Palau de les Arts in Valencia closes the season with the remarkable performances of 'Werther' and 'Tancredi'
Along with Barcelona, Jessica Pratt was a sensational Amenide: full voice, agile on both the high registry and the explosive super-high notes, and meticulous phrasing.
El Cultural
Arturo Reverter
Tancredi, a first-time Rossini at the Palau
Amenaide is the fresh and young Jessica Pratt, with silvery voice, and easy coloratura.
docenotas.com
Antonio Gómez Schneekloth
An exquisite season finale
It was a moment of great emotional depth by Daniela Barcellona (Tancredi) and a superb Jessica Pratt (Amenaide), emphasized by the orchestra and its director Roberto Abbado with an impressive piano that led to silence, namely death.