Cavalleria rusticana, Arena di Verona, 7/2021

 

“Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana went on stage on Thursday evening at the Arena with Maria José Siri in the leading role of Santuzza. A formidable challenge, which comes after taking on the dramatic coloratura roles of Lucrezia Contarini in I due Foscari (2011 Trieste), Odabella in Attila (Teatro Comunale Bologna 2016) and her triumph at the inauguration of the 2016/17 season of the Teatro alla Scala making her debut as Madama Butterfly. 
In Cavalleria rusticana Siri demonstrated the appropriateness of the definition that The Financial Times assigned to her “ a steely vocalism with lyricism and pathos”, a powerful voice, with a dense timbre, secure high notes, but also showing us on this occasion to be able to modify her inflection as to represent a scream, which is the mark of Verismo vocality. Impulsive and warm in her duet with Turiddu…” 
L’Arena 

"Maria José Siri proved once again to be a certainty of the Arena season, giving life to a devastating Santuzza, torn between her love for Turiddu and her jealousy."
The.blogartpost 

“In Cavalleria Maria José Siri was an intense and vibrant Santuzza, gifted with a full and luxuriant voice, persuasive from an interpretative point of view” 
Teatro.it 

“Maria José Siri set her Santuzza on a measured balance between gesture and voice, without exceeding in Verismo-like gesturality, but expressing through her intense interpretation a powerful rage explosion, which, more than a visceral revenge, appears to be the result of a liberating and violent right. Therefore, her voice sounds carefully fine-tuned and restrained as to highlight the contrasts of this character, whose apparent submission cannot but explode in her truly terse and terrible cursing, which seems to strike Turiddu even before Alfio’s knife.” 
OperaClick 

"Maria José Siri is an introverted Santuzza, who chooses the path of a contemplative singing, made of an intense lyricism. Her Santuzza is a heroine imbued with solitude, who doesn’t shout but would rather whisper, and thanks to this she obtains the right effect in the famous curse at the end of the duet with Turiddu."
Ieri Oggi Domani,Opera 

"At his side, Maria José Siri’s Santuzza deploys a magnificent singing, constantly showing nuances, crescendos, diminuendos, pianissimos (...)
Maria José Siri has the advantage of having one of these ample and large voices, which do not suffer at all from the acoustics of the Arena, on the contrary, they seem to find a perfect fullness there."
Passion Opera

"As Santuzza, Maria José Siri was supposed to accomplish the historical feat to interpret both Mascagni’s heroine and Nedda in Pagliacci for the first time in the history of the Arena. The Uruguayan soprano creates a less extrovert protagonist compared to tradition, and more intimately introverted. Her singing expands with warmth and intensity in the most lyrical passionate moments, catching fire in the famous invective at the end of the duet with Turiddu, “delivered to perfection” 
Ieri, oggi, domani, opera