“ … Anita Rachvelishvili's powerful Marfa. The mezzo-soprano puts exceptional vocal skills at the service of a character that is both mystical and carnal. Her generous singing fills the whole space of the Bastille and propagates waves of vibrations, caressing or resolute in turn, on a consistently sustained vertiginous vocal range.”

Source: Crescendo Magazine

“All of these musical forces and the conductor will be loudly applauded at the curtain calla – more than virtually all the soloists, and as much as the Prince and the leader of the Old Believers, but less than Anita Rachvelishvili. The Georgian mezzo-soprano playing Marfa immediately imposes her vocal presence, with a deep chest voice that resonates throughout the Bastille even when she is in the darkness at the back of the stage dressed as a nun. This black dress will be swapped for a blue dress, then finally white on the path towards her sacrifice. Similarly, her voice moves towards the light of the stage and medium-high notes. Nevertheless, she upholds all evening her low alto and mezzo vibrating in deep resonances. She even multiplies, again, her sound volume in the midrange, when facing the massacres (as always, Ôlyrix presents you all the complete plot of this opera so as not to lose anything of the story, here clearly represented by the contrasts of this staging).”

Source: Olyrix

Thus, his scenes with Anita Rachvelishvili’s superb Marfa have a beautiful vocal and dramatic balance. It must be said that the Georgian mezzo-soprano is of a bewildering vocal magnificence. Despite some slightly muffled notes in the lower-midrange, she flies over the whole tessitura of this role, often drawing towards the alto with astonishing ease. The projection of the voice is majestic, the low notes skillfully sung, the vocal line subdued and the character moving for her sincerity and temperament. Great art!

Source: Premiereloge Opera

The most beautiful character, the intense and pure Marfa, is portrayed by the marvelous Anita Rachvelishvili, whom we always see with pleasure at the Bastille, and who plays a very bewitching role in the composition here. From her heroic defense of the poor Emma threatened by Andrei in Act 1, to the setting on fire of the pyre of the collective suicide in the tragic finale, she portrays an intelligent, complex character, whose impeccable and expressive singing fascinates with its purity, power, and beauty. Her timbre has gained in maturity without the voice losing any suppleness, and one admires her great art, which is deeply moving on several occasions and in more than one way. And her chest voice remains masterful and controlled in the low register just like in the high notes which can immediately follow, without breaking the musical line.

Source: Passion Opera - Hélène Adam

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Vincenzo Scalera / Sony Classical / Lenø Records