Norma, Macerata Opera Festival, July 2016

 

“...Uruguayan soprano Maria José Siri, at her role debut and fearless in the second performance
...She possesses Norma's dramatic accent, virtuosistic edge and facility in florid singing”
Angelo Foletto, La Repubblica


“(Norma) is Maria José Siri, who has charisma, talent, energy.”
Alberto Mattioli, La Stampa


“In common with her paramount role predecessor  Maria Callas, Siri has first of all experience in verismo. You can feel every nuance of words with a strong awareness of gradations and colors, her concept of the beautiful song adopts the same desideratum of truth of expression. Her Primadonna quality is expansive, majestic and rich with vibrato, it is accompanied by  highly concentrated facial expressions, and an also decidedly physical penetration of the figure. The Norma of Siri irradiates the Sferisterio with truly filling dignity and authority. Her Druid priestess conveyed female wisdom and magic. With this approach, Maria José Siri therefore establishes a perfect connection to the great old days of real singing  personalities who have become so rare.”
Peter Krause, Concerti


“Superb was the performance of the Uruguyan soprano Maria José Siri as the priestess.”
“The Uruguayan soprano Maria José Siri (Norma), mezzo-soprano Sonia Ganassi (Adalgisa) and the lirico-spinto tenor Rubens Pelizzari delivered a superb performance for  its quality, generosity and intensity”
“The role of Norma, a battle horse role of star of the past such as Maria Callas, Monteserrat Caballé and Joan Sutherland, is known for its difficulty and variety, and today there are not too many adequate interpreters, because Norma is always on stage and passes from pure lyric accents to highly dramatic accents. Siri was able to dominate with dexterity and personality all these passages, from the cavatina 'Casta diva' (…) to the heroic final notes when she proudly meets her death (...)”
Maria Stefania Gelsomini, Cronache maceratesi


“Siri in particular entrusts her role to a sturdy and well sustained ligne du chant ...”
Fabio Brisighelli, Corriere adriatico


“Maria José Siri brings to Norma a pure, yet extremely expressive and rich soprano, which also has a captivating power in its middle register.”
Friedeon Rosén, Der neue Merker


“... the debut as Norma of Maria José Siri, who displayed a remarkable identification with her character. (…). The Uruguayan soprano gives emphasis to the phrasing, put to good use in the service of a highly respectable technique: the entrance recitative thus sounds rightly hieratic and sculpted, and attenuates itself in a Casta Diva performed with a meaty mezzavoce which, with Gamba's orchestra, truly gives the impression of religious ecstasy. Likewise, 'Vanne, li cela entambi' reveals the sense of maternal love, with her voice bending to further nuances, and more nuances will be those enriching “Teneri figli”, where the power of her vocal instrument manages to remain in that compass of classic tragedy so close to Medea's. And the line of gelid wrath she maintains during the whole 'In mia man', without smudges or abrupt chest notes, should be the rule for such music.”
Domenico Ciccone, Operaclick


“There were lovely elements to 'Casta diva'...” 
"Dormono entrambi!" especially fine as a liquid but brittle picture of sorrow.”
James Imam, Bachtrack


“Maria José Siri in her role debut has a powerful voice and a remarkably meaty and intense middle register, and her Norma in deeply torn between duty and love...” 
“ the intensity of her performance and her detailed and nuanced fraseggio due to an excellent diction.”
Francesco Rapacciotti, Teatro.it 


“To begin with the formidable performance of Maria José Siri, the attractive soprano who, as Norma, the woman in love, enchanted the audience thanks to her stage charisma, and decidedly graceful gestures able to match each note. The Uruguayan singer, these days one of the most requested sopranos, will open the seasonTeatro alla Scala of Milan on the 7th of December as Madama Butterfly by Puccini”.
Manuel Pierattelli, Emmaus Online


“A great Norma”
“Another superb performance”
“…The Uruguayan soprano, who, once on stage, offered to the arena filled to capacity an exceptional and cathartic Norma, in a second performance that repeats the triumph of opening night (…) Siri, with a superb performance, was once again able to master a complex role such as Norma, rich with musical and interpretative nuances, in an opera where drama and music seamlessly erupt on stage”.
Alessandra Pierini, Cronache maceratesi


“Maria José Siri is a plausible and effective Norma (…) She cannot be said not to possess a healthy and sturdy voice supported by a reliable and secure technique. Her use of the mezzevoci is safe and sound (…) thanks to a sufficiently multifaceted fraseggio, good intentions and a certain interpretative participation”.
Davide Oliviero, GBOpera


“Norma was Maria José Siri, a young Uruguayan soprano of Italian descent who, in addition to singing, has studied piano, guitar and tenor saxophone. In 2003 she was chosen as artistic revelation of the year by the Association of Argentinian Music Critics, subsequently winning numerous competitions in South America and Europe. Since then she has been singing in the most important opera houses of Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, the Scandinavian countries, Egypt (where she sang Aida), Tokyo, Tel Aviv and Istanbul. She has risen to prominence as one of the most interesting singers of this time, having reached a full technical maturity thanks principally – in her opinion – to the study of the tenor saxophone, which has allowed her to reach the low notes and take deep and long breaths: the study of such a challenging instrument made her aware of the wide range of her voice long before starting to study singing. Such technical expertise enables her to tackle with nonchalance both the lyric and the spinto repertoire, Mozart and Puccini, Leoncavallo, Giordano (Andrea Chénier), and Verdi (Un ballo in maschera, I due Foscari, Don Carlo, La forza del destino and Otello). Maestro Bartoletti described Siri as “a lyric soprano with dramatic accents, and this will allow her to sing Verdi and Puccini”, and this is precisely the reason she was able to take on and win the challenge of an opera so demanding as Bellini's Norma staged at the Sferisterio. Siri gave the character of Norma a very particular color, based not on potency but on great interpretative finesse without however betraying the role's dramatic nature, succeeding in enchanting the Macerata audience also with her elegant stage demeanor.” 
Alberto Pellegrino, Musicultura Online
 






“The Uruguayan soprano of Italian descent, Maria José Siri, at her role debut, in this third and last performance is passionate, dazzling, with an impressive vocal and scenic art. Her timbre, smooth and poignant at the same time, is pliable and manages to make the outraged and desperate character of Norma affecting and touching. She will be Madama Butterfly on December 7, under Riccardo Chailly's conducting, for the inauguration of the 2016/2017 season of the Teatro alla Scala, the greatest Italian operatic event.”
Élisabeth Schneiter, ResMusica


“The role of Norma was interpreted by Maria José Siri who approaches the Druidic priestess with the utmost intelligence and musicianship. Full of temperament and dramatic instinct when needed with her beautiful texture of lirico spinto soprano she offers us a thrilling final scene. She is careful not to force her instrument in the most elegiac scene and to stay “light” and flexible in the most virtuosistic moments, solving them with her technique rather than with her natural means.”
Rosy Simeone, MTG Lirica


“In Macerata Norma was interpreted by Maria José Siri who (…) penetrated with passion and profound vocality and interpretation the second act, becoming the true protagonist of the drama in a public ritual which reveals the dramatic finale of the opera and especially the fulfillment of a sacrificed love.”
Paolo Montanaro e Marta Fossa, Vivere Pesaro


Siri (…) interpreted the complex role with self-assurance and great variety of lyric and dramatic accents.”
Lucia Fava, Il giornale della musica


“Norma raises her prayer 'Casta Diva' to the moon, asking it to spread on earth the peace that it irradiates in the sky. The planet, as she herself has declared, inspires and reassures Uruguayan soprano Maria José Siri, sensational interpreter of the Druidic priestes at MOF 2016, indicating her as tutelary and benign entity of her life.
The Norma of Maria José Siri, who has been chosen by Riccardo Chailly as Madama Butterfly for the inauguration of the 2016/17 season of the Teatro alla Scala, simply enthralled the audience: authoritative stage presence (she is the Great Vestal whose prophetic judgments everyone trusts), pathetic (in its original meaning of pathos) in her adherence to her character: a proud, elegiac, haughty, passionate, mercurial woman in love! Her voice modulates with dexterity and masterly alternates powerful high notes with softer sounds. Siri reconfirms her artistic stature with a memorable performance, divine in 'Casta diva' and in the last act.”
Michele Biancucci e Chiara Virgili, Marcheguida.it


“Norma is a strong and powerful woman, efficaciously interpreted by the secure voice of Uruguyan soprano Maria José Siri …”
“Siri gave it her all, offering us intense moments and a touching, thrilling Casta diva”
Elena Sagrati, Vivere Macerata 


“Maria José Siri, at her debut in the title role, outlines with strong empathy an energetic, dichotonomically lacerated Norma, who is at the same time decidedly fearless, deeply honest, and who tackles head-on the destiny she herself chose. Excellent was the vocal performance of a soprano who cannot be said to be born as a pure bel canto specialist: her middle register is round and meaty, her sound always well projected does not fear the vastness of the Sferisterio, her mezzevoci, rich with pathos, had no problems being heard and were performed with expertise and lyricism.”
Simone Manfredini, Operaworld.es