R E V I E W S
in the press
D E L L ' A R T E O P E R A
La liberazione di Ruggiero
M E L I S S A
"Feigenbaum’s Melissa was a thrill to watch as she strode confidently about the stage, resolute in her mission, stealthy in her plans and brave in action against Alcina. Feigenbaum’s performance was strong, reflecting the heroic nature of her character.
In the climactic scene... Melissa releases the imprisoned knights from their curse. The sentiments were touching with Feigenbaum’s slow magician’s movements producing some the more poignant moments in the opera."
- Chris Ruel, OperaWire (August 2019)
"Stephanie Feigenbaum... displays a flavorsome mezzo-soprano timbre, the voice even and finely-controlled, and she has the gift of making every word count.
Ms. Feigenbaum's recitar cantando here is excellent, as she bids the young man return to reality, to his duties, and to his beloved Bradamante."
- Oberon's Grove (August 2019)
U T O P I A O P E R A
Albert Herring
N A N C Y
"We were tickled pink by the exceptional performances... There is the butcher's assistant Sid (Luke MacMillan) coming on like a louche James Dean and his girlfriend Nancy (Stephanie Feigenbaum) a real "bobbysoxer" with an appealing sympathetic side."
- Meche Kroop, Voce di Meche (April 2019)
O P E R A D E L A W A R E
Suor Angelica
Z E L A T R I C E
"Both Manich and costumer Howard Tsvi Kaplan did notably well in defining the nuns as individuals in appearance and demeanor. Stephanie Feigenbaum, for example, brought considerable character delineation to the Suora Zelatrice, making her policing role in the community credible and nuanced."
- David Shengold, Opera News (July 2018)
I N D I A N A P O L I S O P E R A
Happy Birthday, Wanda June
W A N D A J U N E
"...we also meet on heavenly terrain the title character, a 10-year-old girl who was run down by an ice-cream truck on her birthday (lent a lively juvenile cuteness, complete with lisp and squinchy, pop-eyed expressions, by Stephanie Feigenbaum)."
- Jay Harvey, Jay Harvey Upstage (September 2016)
"Wanda June's title character is a 10-year-old girl who has little connection to Harold and Penelope but addresses the audience from heaven. Portrayed by Stephanie Feigenbaum, Wanda June sparked big laughs during an aria about her recent death and what she sees as her current good fortune."
- David Lindquist, Indy Star (September 2016)
I N D I A N A P O L I S O P E R A
Mansfield Park
J U L I A B E R T R A M
"The self-centered Bertram sisters were
portrayed vividly by Stephanie Feigenbaum (Julia) and Samantha Lax (Maria). These were not cookie-cutter villainesses like Cinderella's ugly stepsisters..."
- Jay Harvey, Jay Harvey Upstage (March 2016)
N O R T H W E S T E R N
O P E R A T H E A T E R
Dead Man Walking
M R S . D E R O C H E R
"Mezzo Stephanie Feigenbaum gives a stand out performance as Mrs. De Rocher, Joseph’s mother. In her act one aria, she pleads for her son’s life to the parole board, pouring a mother’s grief onto the stage
with such gut-wrenching conviction that it leaves the audience sobbing.
Her final farewell to her ill-fated son similarly rips your heart out: after taking a final family portrait, she insists on no goodbyes and only smiles, recalling her boy as the innocent child he once was. Only when her poor Joe gets dragged out does she lose herself, gutturally screaming after him “JOEY!” then exasperatedly whispering, “I just wanted to see his face one more time.” Even recalling it brings chills to the spine."
- Michael J. Davis, Writing About Hearts (March 2015)