A polished performance Così fan tutte brings to a close the da Ponte cycle at the Theater an der Wien – conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, originally planned to be fully staged, and subsequently presented in semi-concert form with the same set throughout and minimal props to augment scores and music stands, in a rather irresolute mix.

The most satisfying all-round interpretation on this evening came from Elisabeth Kulman. Her Cherubino – boyish in her white trouser-suit, and pubescent in her “voice-cracking” register-jumping recitatives – achieved a skillful balance in tempering her rich mezzo to suit the role. Kulman’s “Non so piu” and “Voi che sapete” were the undoubted highlights of the

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Wiener Staatsoper, 21.12.2013 Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is an opera often described as metaphysical, profound, transcendental and musicians and members of the audience often approach it with extreme reverence, often trying to frame their experience of the opera itself by a priori concepts rather than by the experience itself. Not today –

Elisabeth Kulman played two parts in the same representation, i.e. the second Destiny, noble and interiorised and a superb Waltraude. Impressive and solemn during the narrative episode, with a voice juggling with great ease through different registers, Kulman glides, unaffectedly, from inner explorations in dignity to gentleness and desperation, scenic, but firstly, melodically, with technically

The subdued tragism of the first section was sustained in the second scene by the intense interpretation of Elisabeth Kulman, as Fricka. One of the two sole interpreters who did not feel the need for a score support, Elisabeth Kulman ‘acted’ in all her scenes, whether sung or not, her empathic gesticulation in full harmony

  Di Verdi, il festival ha presentato accanto a opere giovanili come  “Nabucco” e “Giovanna D’Arco”, un capolavoro della maturità qual è Don Carlo e la summa dell’arte verdiana, vale a dire “Falstaff”. Un omaggio a Verdi e a Milano, è l’allestimento firmato da Damiano Michieletto, per le scene di Paolo Fantin  e i costumi

… Also notable were the rich-voiced Fricka of Elisabeth Kulman and the articulate Wotan of AIbert Dohmen. … Barnaby Krauss, The Wallstreet Journal, 5.9.2013 https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323324904579045030454483244

Classical review: British conductors bring the sounds of revolution to the Lucerne Festival … Amid a fine cast, the Alberich of Johannes Martin Kränzle and the seductive Fricka of Elisabeth Kulman particularly stood out. … Jessica Duchen, The Independant, 2.9.2013 https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/classical-review-british-conductors-bring-the-sounds-of-revolution-to-the-lucerne-festival-8794619.html

In a Vivid Dream, the Old Folks Home Bristles With Life … The soprano Fiorenza Cedolins as Alice Ford, the mezzo-soprano Stephanie Houtzeel as Meg Page and, especially, the rich-voiced mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Kulman as Mrs. Quickly were wonderful individually and in the intricate ensemble scenes. … Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 6.8.2013 https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/arts/music/verdis-falstaff-at-the-salzburg-festival.html https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/arts/music/verdis-falstaff-at-the-salzburg-festival.html