“The standout performance of the night belonged to Elizabeth Novella as Donna Anna. From her opening lines, her voice penetrated the hall with tremendous intensity. Her Anna was a force to be reckoned with. You could feel the struggle in the duet with Clark’s Ottavio as she demanded he swear to vengeance. Her crescendoing lines were brilliant due to her ability to manage her voice at dynamic extremes, shifting from gorgeously hushed to voluminous.  The recitative before “Or sai” was devastating in how she used this contrast, the voice melting into glorious piano sounds before exploding into vicious fortissimo sounds, each one more charged than the next. The aria itself was everything you would wish for – articulate, pointed, and technically secure. The interpolated high note near the end was the chef’s kiss on a dramatically potent moment. She shone in ensembles as well, the voice floating gloriously in the quartet and then Act one final trio. Her final scena “Crudele? Ah! non mio bene… Non mi dir bell’idol mio” saw the soprano at her most delicate and refined with select moments of forceful accents to show her anger toward the thankless Ottavio. The

coloratura was spellbinding and the ornaments added felt perfectly in line with the overall style and structure of the aria.”