“Elza van den Heever exhibited daring risks and impressive range as Leonora. Her first scene alongside Opera Studio member Alison King as Ines was a bit overly twee, but she went on to have fun with her fast “Di tale amor che dirsi” in Act I, and her character’s maturity developed dramatically by the time she hit the prison arias in Act III where she took moving chances, both vocally and in her acting. This made for an interesting character as well as one of the most convincing slow deaths by poisoning I’ve seen on a stage, her head lolling around as she sang her last breaths. The Luna-Leonora duet between van den Heever and Mulligan in Act IV was quite glorious.”
“Wenn Elza van den Heever in der Partie dieser großen Liebenden vom Himmel singt, katapultiert sie das Premierenpublikum in den siebten Opernhimmel. Die Sopranistin sorgt mit dem prachtvollen Bariton Brian Mulligans als Graf Luna für die musikalisch stärksten Momente in dieser Koproduktion mit dem Royal Opera House Covent Garden.”
Volker Milch, Allgemeine Zeitung