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Make our Garden Grow - Napa Valley Youth Symphony Fund Raiser - February 28, 2009 The principal rose of the evening, however, was Napa Valley’s own Marnie Breckenridge. Dressed in a chic black sheath, she looked as magnificent as she sang, easily tossing off incredible high notes for the comic aria “Glitter and Be Gay,” also from “Candide. In fact, she was so outstanding, the next soloist on the program, the once-formidable coloratura, Sylvia McNair, commented to the audience: “Make note: Never follow a soprano with such glorious high notes!” Napa Valley Register Festival Del Sole, Napa Valley - Concert with Russian National Orchestra conducted by Stéphane Denève and sung with Frederica Von Stade "Her voice of peaches and cream, produced brilliantly and without effort and with a preternaturally gorgeous appearance...the Bay Area's secret treasure." San Francisco Examiner
The Magic Flute - Indianapolis Opera "As Princess Pamina, Marnie Breckenridge offers a clear, resonant voice. Her melancholy second-act aria, in which she considers ending it all, was completely disarming." Indianapolis Star
"Although there was little magic to watch (sets and costumes), there was plenty to hear. Breckenridge and Holmes sang with admirable beauty and she with touching restraint, he with heroic intensity." Opera News
To Hell and Back (Heggie) - Ravinia Festival Debut - Philharmonia Baroque and Patti LuPone "Ms. Breckenridge looks like a youthful Meryl Streep, and sounded as gorgeous as she looked, achieving both lyrical poignancy and dramatic power." Chicago Tribune
"Substituting for soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, who canceled due to bronchitis, Breckenridge was an ethereal Stephanie. Her voice shone as she sang of the wildflowers she had gathered for her wedding bouquet, and then her mood darkened as she asked, "How does a girl of dreams become a queen of hell?" Chicago Sun Times
Candide - Festival Opera, English National Opera, Prague State Opera "Breckenridge triumphs... Marnie Breckenridge is the leading light on stage. As Cunegonde, the much-abused but far from blameless heroine, she deploys her sparkling soprano to create an evolving character. The callow chirpiness of a young woman whose dreams of marriage are all pearls, marble halls and costume balls gives way to the frantic bel canto feats of 'Glitter and Be Gay' and a growing depth of insight and darkening tone of the second act. Her voice matures, as Cunegonde does, along the way." San Francisco Chronicle
"Marnie Breckenridge...a natural for this sort of part, with a pinging high soprano Breckenridge entered into the spirit of the Hollywood spoof and delivered 'Glitter and Be Gay' with confident élan. Opera Magazine
"The test for any Cunegonde is 'Glitter and Be Gay,' as treacherous a piece as that reserved for the Queen of the Night...with it's rapid demands for high E-flats, high Cs and D-flats. Breckenridge was note perfect." The Prague Post
Lucia di Lammermoor — West Bay Opera, Indianapolis Opera & Mobile Opera "Ultimately, the pressure upon Lucia of all these competing loyalties and love for both Edgardo and her brother lays the groundwork for one of the most moving sequences in all of operatic literature: Lucia's mad scene in the third act. It is an exhibition of acting, vocals and obbligatos that challenge the best in any soprano.
"At Friday's opening-night show at Clowes Hall, she demonstrated so much facility with the lyricism of the 'bel canto' singing that Lucia's long-lined melodies were sweet indeed." Indianapolis Star
"...beautiful Breckenridge is on stage. Her voice can be described as haunting and exquisitely tailored for the rigors of "Lucia." Her aria, "Regnava ne silenzio" ("Enveloped in silence") sets the tone for an evening of highlights. Lucia's mad scene, "Alfin son tua" ("At last I am yours"), requires her to stumble downstairs drenched in Arturo's blood, brandishing a knife and spend the next few long moments displaying a startling range of emotion. She hits all the high notes with precision and panache. She delivers a magnificent performance, alternately shocking and heartbreaking. " Press Register
Our Town (West Coast Premier) - Festival Opera "The cast was first-rate from top to bottom. Soprano Marnie Breckenridge and tenor Thomas Glenn were heartbreakingly young and spry as Emily and George, their clear, pure singing expressive of everything hopeful and vital". San Francisco Chronicle
Marnie Breckenridge's performance of Emily in "Our Town" was elected as one of the TOP TEN BEST PERFORMANCES of the BAY AREA for 2008 by the CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Cantantrix Sopranica (Unsuk Chin) - Berkeley Symphony - Kent Nagano "Nagano conducted crisply, with a keen sense of the absurd, and the demanding vocal parts were superbly handled by sopranos Marnie Breckenridge, (name removed) and countertenor (name removed)..... Of the three, though, only Breckenridge went the extra mile by injecting a stream of theatrical smiles and gestures that made the performance come fully alive; her colleagues kept their heads buried in their scores." San Francisco Chronicle
The Tender Land - Trinity Lyric Opera "This production would not have been the compelling, touching and yes, TENDER piece that it was without Marnie Breckenridge as Laurie. Of course she is beautiful and her singing is fantastic, however, she was able to fill this role with youthful exuberance and naivete. When she realized the control exerted on her by the Moss "family values" her sense of betrayal was palpable to the audience. Her voice easily carried over Copland's score." San Francisco Classical Voice
Die Zauberflöte– San Francisco Opera "...and Marnie Breckenridge a picture of avian romance as Mrs. Bird-catcher, Papagena." San Francisco Chronicle
"The perky Papagena, Marnie Breckenridge, was a perfect consort for the bird catcher." Opera Japonica
Chrysalis (by Clark Suprynowicz -World Premiere) - Berkeley Opera "Her Nelle not only looks the part - and how many opera singers are plausible as a chemically invented paragon of beauty? -she also brings plenty of vocal fireworks and even a measure of eerie vulnerability to the role." San Francisco Chronicle
Viva La Mamma — West Bay Opera "In 'Viva la Mamma,' soprano Marnie Breckenridge is Corilla Sartinecchi… Not only does she have a richly controlled and lovely voice throughout her vocal registers, she has a knockout comedic sense. She parodies this operatic stereotype, especially in a drawn-out cadenza that drives the other waiting performers up the walls." San Mateo County Times
The Ballad of Baby Doe — North Bay Opera "North Bay Opera's staging of Douglas Moore's 'The Ballad of Baby Doe' not only predated the San Francisco Opera Company's version but it also outclassed it. Soprano Marnie Breckenridge of Napa sang luminously in the title character role." Vacaville Reporter
La Bohème — Nevada Opera "With a consummate singing and acting technique firmly in tow, Marnie Breckenridge's Musetta is a sensuously sexy seductress, a kind of operatic Marilyn Monroe. Her soaring soprano rings true for a vivacious 'Waltz Song' that's as suggestive and fun as it's beautifully sung." Nevada Events — Jack Neal's Theatre Reviews |