Don Carlo in Honolulu

Jim Becker, Opera Magazine

"...Soaring above everyone else was the Elisabeth of Fabiana Bravo, a true Verdi soprano with technique and taste. Her last-act aria was splendid."

Maria Stuarda in Baltimore Opera

Mark J. Estren ,The Washington Post

"...Fabiana Bravo was equally impressive as a fiery, determined Elisabetta whose looks really could kill. She sang with pure, clear tones ..."

TOLEDO — Tosca, Toledo Opera, 4/28/07

ALAN MONTGOMERY

Fabiana Bravo's Tosca was a perfect foil for Chioldi's Scarpia. Her voice possesses all of the requisite size and color, with that thrilling tinge of morbidezza grabbing at phrases with telling results. "Vissi d'arte" was expertly molded as the sincere prayer of a bewildered innocent.

The Opera 'L'Amore de i tre Re' Is Performed at Carnegie Hall

Anne Midgette, The New York Times

"Fabiana Bravo achieved... passionate singing as Fiora"

'Norma' without nuance

T. L. Ponick, The Washington Times

"As "Norma," soprano Fabiana Bravo certainly seemed to have the pipes to support one of opera's most strenuous lead roles. Indeed, she never failed to soar over the large orchestral forces."

'Norma': Bravura Coloratura

Grace Jean, The Washington Post

"... a haunting and moving performance as the mother who nearly murders her own children and later sacrifices herself to atone for her treachery."

Norma at Virginia Opera

Brian Kellow, Opera News

In my experience, Norma is an opera whose greatness lives on in its recorded legacy — not in any of the live performances I’ve experienced. But there was good news in Virginia Opera’s recent production (April 2), namely the bold, expressive singing of Argentine soprano Fabiana Bravo in the title role.

Bravo is the fourth Norma I have heard onstage, and in the end, she bested all of them. For command of phrasing and pitch, she easily surpassed Christine Goerke (Seattle Opera, February 2003); she offered more sheer vocal excitement than Hasmik Papian (Washington National Opera, October 2003); and for dramatic involvement, she proved much more satisfying than Jane Eaglen (Opera Orchestra of New York, December 1995 and the Met, October 2001). Bravo’s top never failed in its power, and dropped easily into chest. Her only real difficulty was her avoidance of singing in the mix, with the result that some of the notes in the lower-middle range got lost. But it was still a solid achievement. If the role fatigued Bravo, she didn’t show it; one had the feeling, that by the end of Act IV she could have started again from the beginning with no difficulty.

Conductor Peter Mark led the Richmond Symphony in a beautifully judged account of Norma’s overture, and showed masterful musical imagination for much of the performance. He slipped only in the famous duet, "Mira, o Norma," in which the music’s elasticity of tempo got away from him. He didn’t quite catch the center of the passages in which the rubato changes: there were times when he, Bravo, and Stacey Rishoi (Adalgisa) gave the aural equivalent of almost falling off the horse.

The performers needed more help than they got from director John Pascoe. In particular, the device of having Norma fling her dagger across the stage, meant to indicate her pent-up fury, made her seem merely petulant. Pascoe also allowed Rishoi to get away with an overwrought, often hammy, performance. The mezzo seems more appropriate for Eboli or Preziosilla, but her voice is rich and full, and she sang with impressive commitment. (At times her sound bore an uncanny resemblance to that of Tatiana Troyanos.) As Pollione, German Villar, was strangely absent. "Meco all'altar di Venere" sounded somewhat effortful, and he displayed an unexceptional tone quality. More troubling was his lack of dramatic conviction. (When he was singing about the threat of his children being murdered, it would been nice if he had conveyed some degree of emotional connection.) Todd Robinson was an effective Oroveso, and Zachary Stains a good Flavio, but Shoshanah Marote’s Clotilde sounded both shrill and blowsy.

Il Tabarro at New York City Opera

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI, The New York Times

"In her company debut, the soprano Fabiana Bravo gives a compelling portrayal of the pent-up, sensual Giorgetta..."

Virginia Opera's Towering "Tosca"

Joseph Mclellan, The Washington Post

She had the audience laughing when she told her lover, the artist Cavaradossi, to change the color of a saint's eyes. She melted hearts with "Vissi d'arte" but stirred a muted horror only moments later with her muttered "Die! Damn you, die! Die!" She earned a long standing ovation at the final curtain call. Sometimes you leave a "Tosca" performance feeling it should have been named "Cavaradossi" or "Scarpia." Those roles were well filled in this production, but it was unquestionably a "Tosca."