“Aida and Radames were sung by the Uruguayan pair Maria José Siri and Carlo Ventre, both long-time residents of Verona. Siri is a beautiful woman with many interesting strings to her bow. Equally beautiful is her voice, which is solid and nicely timbred…. She sings with the line of one who truly knows how to sing, well-supported, controlled at every moment, compact and without fissures when passing between registers (as in ‘Cieli azzurri’ with its challenging high C). She is likewise particularly attentive to her phrasing, which she uses to define a character who is delicate but not wan.”
Gianni Villani, L’Arena
“Maria José Siri, a refined artist with intelligible diction, was convincing as the enslaved princess both vocally and dramatically. The soprano did not hold herself back, giving a noteworthy performance characterized by intelligent use of dynamics and an iron-clad technique in the middle register with excellent forays into the high register. Among the best-realized moments of the evening we cannot help but note the duet Aida – Amneris of Act II, a genuine battle of bravura between the two protagonists.”
Raffaella Petrosino, GB Opera
“Maria José Siri seems to possess all the characteristics of the title role, combined with the ability to display them through intelligent engagement. Her Aida throbs with passion and doubt, wavering between love and duty. Her technical solidity, her phrasing, and the beautiful color of her voice render her performance one that stands out in capital letters.”
Alessandro Cammarano, OperaClick
“Excellent too the Aida of Maria José Siri with her suave singing and fine acting. The adoptive resident of Verona has already performed the role numerous times in the Arena but showed herself yet again to be a refined professional, elegant and never excessive.”
Andrea R.G. Pedrotti, L'ape musicale
“Maria José Siri returned to interpret the Ethiopian princess with even greater engagement with respect to what we had previously heard from her on this same stage. The soprano offered a truly marvelous voice, enchanting us with her musicality and with the delicacy with which she approaches a character who loves and suffers for herself and her land. Perfect in every register, her rendition, complete with a high C full of squillo, of the fearsome ‘O cieli azzurri’ was truly moving, to say nothing of the last scene in the tomb, which nearly brought us to tears. A standout performance.
Maria Teresa Giovagnoli, MTG Lirica
“The protagonists, Aida and Radames, were very good, performed by the Uruguayan couple Maria José Siri and Carlo Ventre, long-time residents of the city of Verona, which they love profoundly.”
Cis24ore
“Maria José Siri as Aida offered sensitive piani and ample power.”
Kleine Zeitung Steuermark
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