“A magisterial fury in fuchsia, she delivered a visceral account of the final scene from Salome, running the gamut from implacable vengeance to unhinged lust. The voice was refulgent, her diction impressive …”
The Guardian
“Van den Heever’s shimmering high notes were ravishing — a sweetness that the murderous princess she was playing almost didn’t deserve — and, to the audience’s surprise, the singer returned for a surprise encore at the end of the night, a glamorous rendition of Strauss’s Zueignung.”
The Times
“Elza van den Heever’s Salome soars and The Met Orchestra glows in BBC Proms debuts … Van den Heever, another Proms debutant, sank her teeth into the text in a tremendous portrayal, quivering with anticipation, vehement, ecstatic. Her soprano cleaved through the heavy orchestration … There was plenty of acting – teasing one moment, animalistic the next – with a hollow growl on the word “Todes” (Death) … Van den Heever is a major artist, a regular at the Met. Lucky New York.”
Bachtrack
“A Strauss goddess descends … Stupendous Salome flames to the back of the hall … Accolades first for the deep sound in Strauss of The Met Orchestra, newcomers to the Proms, under its Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has been in the Albert Hall ring many times, and for the flamethrowing Salome of Elza van den Heever … sitting closer to the back of the hall, it was amazing to hear the phenomenon of a rich, full voice serving a detailed dramatic characterisation, something we never give up hope for in a capricious colosseum …
Van den Heever has been acclaimed for her Met portrayal of the teenage princess who, desire thwarted, asks for John the Baptist’s head on a silver platter. Here she was in the zone from the start of the final scene, which YNS made sure started with the tension of awaiting the execution, those pinched high double-bass notes over low drum-roll which Strauss took from Berlioz’s Treatise on Instrumentation shocking a not-quite settled audience into stunned silence.
Severed head once produced, van den Heever traced it somewhere among the mushrooms hanging from the Albert Hall roof – definitely of the magic variety in vision accompanied by sound – before bringing it close to snarl and snap at its silenced tongue. Her gestures ran the gamut the music does, from imperious triumph to self-doubt and aching nostalgia. No top note failed to soar above the magnificent orchestra, however loud; we also heard the woodwind detail in the welter. The final act of consummation before Salome is crushed beneath the shields of Herod’s soldiers – the Tetrarch and his hideous consort, Salome’s mother Herodias, being necessarily absent here – had maximum impact.”
The Arts Desk
“This was a torrential, visceral performance with van den Heever in impassioned voice – indeed, she was often bloodcurdling as she sang of kissing Jokanaan’s severed head. Her voice – singing in impeccable German – was rich, mahogany coloured, sweeping over the orchestra with majestic power. “Ah! Du wolltest mich…” had tremendous force”
Opera Today
“Elza van den Heever seemed to own the title-role, emerging from the musical dissonance, eerie atmosphere, and heightened emotions as Salome the princess becomes more depraved as she savours the decapitated head of John the Baptist, enough to revolt Herod who orders the palace guards to crush her with their shields, orchestra supplying knockout punches.”
Colin’s Column
Comments Off on Final scene from Salome at the BBC Proms
“Elza van den Heever’s Sieglinde captivated with her emotional maturity and radiant timbre. She possesses a highly developed technique, ensuring that every note is delivered with precision and full of intention. Her soprano voice not only radiated brilliance but also boasted a warm middle register, which created particularly intense moments, especially in the first act.”
“Elza van den Heever was… at her usual best, vocally luminous and dramatically dignified.”
Concertonet
“Ses scènes avec l’Elsa audacieuse et émotionnellement complexe d’Elza van den Heever comptèrent parmi les plus captivantes de la soirée. Van den Heever, au timbre lumineux, au geste soyeux et expressif, porte le cœur émotionnel du drame.”
“The defining voice of the production was that of South African born Elza van den Heever’s Chrysothemis. Mme. van den Heever, a San Francisco Opera finished artist, possesses a voice of great beauty, shining with a purity that befit Elektra’s sister who wants for nothing more than a real life outside the horrors of her household. Of towering vocal and physical stature her Chrysothemis became the standard against which Elektra and Klytemnestra’s phobias played.”
“Van den Heever’s roles at San Francisco Opera have ranged from Donna Anna in Don Giovanni to Leonore in Fidelio, but elsewhere she has been leaning toward more heroic fare, including Sieglinde and, yes, Turandot. Her voice matched Pankratova’s richness and steely focus, and the combination was musically hair-raising in scene after scene. Their harmonization in the finale’s glorious duet was nothing short of magnificent. From a drama standpoint, they created characters that displayed the sisters’ love for each other and impatience with their differences – Elektra intent on vengeance, Chrysothemis yearning for marriage and children.”
“Her performance as Chrystothemis was extraordinary, showing the vocal power capable of scaling the heights of Strauss’ extraodinary operatic composition. The final duet between Van den Heever’s Chrystothemis and Pankratova’s Elektra was one of the most memorable experiences I have experienced in my seven decades of attending San Francisco Opera performances.”
“The singer who stood out most was as the mesmerizing soprano Elza van den Heever as Chrysothemis, Elektra’s sister, whose emotionally harrowing singing was captivating throughout. From the moment she sang, she cut through the immense orchestra and grabbed the audience with her lyrical voice that had the agility to rapidly scale any vocal mountain… Aside from her singing, there’s a very believable and special vulnerability that van den Heever brings to their sister relationship which reveals the depth of their bond.”
“La Sieglinde d’Elza van den Heever est une femme meurtrie et sauvage, prête à tout. Sensuelle et vibrante, la soprano prête son timbre d’airain et ses aigus irradiants à la sauvageonne en mal d’amour. Son duo avec Siegmund est superbe d’émotion tandis que sa détermination finale à sauver l’enfant qu’elle porte (Siegfried) met la chair de poule.”
[Elza van den Heever’s Sieglinde is a wounded and wild woman, ready for anything. Sensual and vibrant, the soprano lends her powerful voice and radiant high notes to the wild woman in love. Her duet with Siegmund is superbly emotional, while her final determination to save the child she is carrying (Siegfried) gives you goosebumps.]
“Elle, c’est Elza Van den Heever, Sieglinde radieuse et éperdue, comme submergée par sa passion, avec un éclat métallique nullement rédhibitoire, lançant au III le thème de la rédemption par l’amour en un mélange de puissance et de larmes qui ébranle tout le théâtre.”
[She is Elza Van den Heever, a radiant and distraught Sieglinde, seemingly overwhelmed by her passion, with a metallic brilliance that is by no means off-putting, launching the theme of redemption through love in Act III with a mixture of power and tears that shakes the entire theatre.]
“…sind es vor allem Elza van den Heevers hinreißend leidende und liebende Sieglinde und Stanislas de Barbeyracs betörend kantabler und wohldosiert kraftvoller Siegmund, die am Ende Schlussjubel provozieren.”
[…it is above all Elza van den Heever’s ravishingly suffering and loving Sieglinde and Stanislas de Barbeyrac’s beguilingly melodious and well-measured powerful Siegmund who provoke the final cheers at the end.]
“Elza van den Heever interprète une Sieglinde maltraitée et prostrée d’une voix rougeoyante et vive… les aigus s’épanouissent, notamment portés par la charmante rondeur du vibrato.”
[Elza van den Heever portrays a mistreated and prostrate Sieglinde with a glowing, lively voice… the high notes blossom, carried in particular by the charming roundness of the vibrato.]
Ôlyrix
“Très applaudie au moment des saluts, Elza van den Heever apporte une fois encore toute sa classe interprétative à ce plateau vocal rayonnant”
[To great applause during the curtain call, Elza van den Heever once again brings all her interpretative class to this radiant vocal ensemble.]
“…la Sieglinde de Elza van den Heever est assez remarquable. Avec une émission parfaite, une souplesse et une vraie douceur, la soprano sud-africaine est bouleversante, trouvant l’équilibre entre le jeu et le chant, la fraicheur blessée et la rage vengeresse. Sans doute domine-t-elle la distribution”
[…Elza van den Heever’s Sieglinde is quite remarkable. With perfect projection, flexibility and genuine gentleness, the South African soprano is deeply moving, striking a balance between acting and singing, wounded innocence and vengeful rage. She undoubtedly dominates the cast.]
“Elza van den Heever sang die Partie der Sieglinde, als wäre diese für sie und keine Sopranistin sonst komponiert worden. Souverän dosierend, mit betörender Lockerheit im Stimmeinsatz, selbstverständlich und wortdeutlich in den quasi sprechenden oder leisen Passagen; mit immer noch weiter auschöpfbaren Reserven in Lautstärke und Ausdruckkraft im emotionalen Aufruhr.”
[Elza van den Heever sang the role of Sieglinde as if it had been composed for her and no other soprano. She sang it with sovereignty, with beguiling ease in the use of her voice, naturally and eloquently in the quasi-speaking or quiet passages, and with reserves of volume and expressiveness that she used in the emotional turmoil.]
“…the evening’s singing laurels went to Ying Fang as Ilia and Elza van den Heever as Elettra… In a much broader role, van den Heever commanded the stage in her three highly contrasting arias. Hers is a huge voice, but she brought delicacy and warmth to her seductive Act 2 “Idol mio” (My dearest). Then she showed off her Straussian power by exploding from silence into her rafter-shaking final aria, rushing out to stunned applause from the audience.”
San Francisco Chronicle
“Elettra, who always knows that her love for Idamante is hopeless, was sung by Elza van den Heever, certainly still basking in her recent triumph as Salome at the Met. She raged in her first act aria, purred in the second act as she is sent off into exile with Idamante,. But she lost all control in the third act when, in the opera’s final moments, she understands at last that she simply cannot have Idamante. It was a truly magnificent rage before she stormed off to kill herself.”
Opera Today
“Images of splashing storm waves tinted red reflect her fury in the dramatic Act III aria ‘D’Oreste, d’Ajace ho in seno i tormenti’ (‘I feel Orestes’s and Ajax’s torments in my heart’), which van den Heever delivered with savory explosiveness.”
Seen and Heard International
“Elza van den Heever… is Elettra, and she tears through the role with the power of a lioness with strong and accurate vocalizations. Near the climax, she finds her aspirations crumbling, and her mad scene is an emotive tour-de-force of sound and sight.”
Berkshire Fine Arts
“As Elettra, the Greek princess who loves Idamante, soprano Elza van den Heever provided a dramatically focused, thrilling intensity to the character’s unhinged music.”
Bay City News Service
“After gloriously portraying Richard Strauss’s Salome at the Met just last month (a performance so magnificent that I caught both the broadcast and the encore at the movie theater), I was very curious how Elza van den Heever would approach Elettra here… van der Heever approached the role with restraint and elegance, fully embodying the character as a member of the royalty without turning it into a caricature.
In her hands, the three arias turned into a demonstration of three different states of Elettra’s unstable, manipulative, yet somewhat hopeful mind, from jealousy to (temporary) bliss to finally rage and desperation of losing it all. van den Heever used her large and commanding instrument intelligently, full of nuances and gorgeous phrases. It wasn’t till “D’Oreste, d’Ajace” that the audience began to see splashes of Strauss (her self-professed favorite), and even then, she didn’t completely lose it and performed the rage aria with complete control.”
“Ms. Van den Heever could sing with the most intensity in “All Soul’s Day” to a restrained “Dedication.” Hers is definitely a Strauss soprano. Her middle ranges were beautiful in themselves, yet she expressed the German words with true clarity. And when she reached the highest notes–and each of the five song had its apexes–one didn’t feel that this was a singer’s feat. The voice was part of the complete structure.”
ConcertoNet
“Richard Strauss’ works as performed by van den Heever on this particular night included: “Zueignung,” Op. 10, No. 1, “Wiegenlied,” Op. 41, No. 1, “Allerseelen,” Op. 10, No. 8, “Cäcilie,” Op. 27, No. 2, and “Befreit,” Op. 39, No. 4. Her voice’s earthy richness came to life during the opening phrase of “Zueignung” as she sang ‘Ja, du weisst es, teure Seele,’ (Yes, you know it, dearest soul) with sumptuous ease and delight. Her silvery upper register spun into the hall during the phrase ‘Und du segnetest den Trank,’ (And you blessed the drink). She showed extra care in between phrases ‘Und beschwörst darin die Bösen, Bis ich, was ich nie gewesen,’ (And you exorcised the evils in it, Until I, as I had never been before), as she drew a short breath between ‘Bis ich’ and ‘was ich nie gewesen.’ Subtle details such as this meant the world for listeners who were on the edge of their seats, taking breaths at the same time as she did, feeling everything she felt along the way. The concluding words of this piece, ‘Habe Dank’ (Have thanks), resonated beyond the walls of Carnegie Hall and into the ethereal. The audience applauded immediately”