Her Mimì had every bit of the sweet quality of the soprano invoked by Thomas Mann in “The Magic Mountain”, enhanced by a mysterious, ravishing dark quality which makes her voice quite unique, the variety of shades seeming to become increasingly varied as the story unfolded and the heroine’s death drew closer. Her phrasing is flawless and she moves with the poise of one who has sung a role countless times (her appearance in Bregenz with Villazon is available on DVD, incidentally) but wh0 never fails to give a fresh performance, making the lost-key-scene a reflection of Henry Murger’s musings on how love springs from spontaneous inspiration, as if it were a form of improvisation.

Bettina Mara, www.musicweb-international.com, March 2008