Ani Maldjian, Soprano

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Reviews

Title role in the West Coast Premiere of "The Diary of Anne Frank" with Long Beach Opera

Los Angeles Times

OPERA REVIEW

April 19, 2007

Soprano shines in 'Anne Frank'

Ani Maldjian comes into her own in the solo work -- staged in a garage, no less.

By Mark Swed

...The vocal writing fits the words closely and offers a technical and emotional tour de force for a game soprano. Mitisek found just that soprano in Ani Maldjian.

Tuesday at 8 p.m., one might have said she [Maldjian] was an emerging artist in the earliest stages of a career. By 9:30, she had emerged. And she is surely the first in opera history to have done so from a car park.

... Maldjian dominated it [the stage]. ... the soprano proved a lively, engagingly girlish actor. Her singing was commanding and brilliant, fresh and strong from beginning to end.

Frid's music may not fully convey the profound changes that took place in Anne as she grew from a childish 13-year-old to a wise 15-year-old, but it provided enough basic material for Maldjian to fill in.

I don't know how many times a soprano has held a light to her face and sung of deep pain (Heather Carson designed the appropriately harsh lighting). But when Maldjian did so during the Nazi roundup sequence, her voice shining brighter than the light while the strings created an eerie backdrop, the collective blood pressure in the garage must have risen dangerously.

The Holocaust is, perhaps, too easy a card to play, given the emotions it evokes whether an artwork is good or not. But discovering talent like Maldjian's is no easy feat.

#2, Los Angeles Daily News Review:

The most startling, and most powerful, part of the evening is the remarkably tender and delicate performance of young soprano Ani Maldjian as Frank, the only character in Frid's opera. Maldjian looks very much like the photographs of Frank that have survived: Very dark short hair parted on one side, her eyes flashing black and deeply passionate, dressed in a knee-length wool skirt, dowdy blouse and sweater. She also has the physical part down pat - the awkwardness of a girl on the edge of womanhood, the quick shifts in mood every teenager experiences. She sings Frid's simple, emotional score with elegance and intelligibility. Maldjian brings Frank to life in a performance at once understated and fully realized. It is a star turn. --By John Farrell

#3, LA Weekly Review:

The songs and bits of dialogue were delivered with charm, grace and the stuff of heartbreak by a remarkable Armenian-American soprano, Ani Maldjian. --By Alan Rich

#4, Orange County Register Review:

It was largely the performance of soprano Ani Maldjian as Anne, that justified all these potentially intrusive creative risks. Frid's dissonant score and unvarying voice-writing put the burden squarely on her to bring Anne alive, and she did so with a charismatic blend of vocal power and acting skill. At 24, she resembles a gawky 13-year-old not at all, but through an arsenal of subtle and not-so-subtle gestures and expressions, she fully inhabited and animated her character, projecting the sentimentality, humor, hopefulness, naiveté and startling wisdom of Anne Frank, almost despite Frid's music. --By Paul Bodine

#5, Los Angeles City Beat Review:

...[Mitisek] accompanied a marvelous singing actor, Ani Maldjian, the heroic victim whose ruminations and perceptions came to life here – without any romanticizing (à la Hollywood) or hype or melodrama. --By Donna Perlmutter

Anne Frank in Austin, TX (July 17, 2007)

Austin American-Statesman Review (Austin360.com):

...24-year-old soprano Ani Maldjian, the opera’s only singer, made a believable teenager, effecting the willful moods and quick-witted temperament of the spirited Anne Frank. Yet Maldjian’s voice was richly mature and full of lyric nuance. --By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin

Gianni Schicchi/L'enfant et les sortileges

"[Maldjian] skillfully drew from the audience the requisite collective sigh without pulling us out of the story."
--Seattle Weekly, by Gavin Gorchert, April 2008

"The show was stolen by soprano Ani Maldijan, who did triple duty as Feu (Fire), Princesse, and Rossignol. In her first appearance, as the Fire, Maldijan burst onstage in a magnificent punk ensemble, complete with studded leather jacket and an enormous, fire-engine-red Mohawk. As she berated the terrified Child following his tantrum, explaining her duty to punish and consume those who are wicked or selfish, Maldijan sang an intricate, difficult coloratura aria with precision. Later on she reappeared as the Princess from the Child’s dream of the previous evening, giving a curiously sensuous performance that was subtle and captivating."

"Maldijan rendered the iconic aria O, mio babbino caro with as much breathless, swooning intensity as one could hope for, and yet at the same time took pains to make sure that it sounded light and in keeping with the overall timbre of the presentation.

--Northwest Reverb by Lorin Wilkerson, April 2008

"...so that when Ani Maldjian, as Lauretta, launched her seductive performance of O mio babbino caro, the lyrical beauty of the moment did not seem in any way incongruous."
--Seen and Heard International Review by Bernard Jacobson, April 2008

LA CENERENTOLA with Merola at San Francisco Opera Center

"Soprano Ani Maldjian and mezzo soprano Daveda Karanas lent sweet tone and lively characterizations to the roles of Cenerentola's venomous stepsisters, Clorinda and Tisbe."

--Contra Costa Times, Georgia Rowe, July 2007

“Two vicious-ridiculous stepsisters, sung by soprano Ani Maldjian (Clorinda) and mezzo Daveda Karanas (Tisbe), both outstanding singer-actors, making their caricature characters both funny and believable.”

--The Examiner, Janos Gereben, July 2007

"The sisters, Ani Maldjian and Daveda Karanas, enjoyed their stage antics and tossed off fine vocalism at every turn."

--San Francisco Classical Voice (SFCV), John Bender, July 2007

"A tiny perky soprano, she knows what she is doing."

--SFist, Cedric Westphal, July 2007

Rita by Donizetti

"Ani Maldjian's Rita was perky, wrapped in an iron glove -- not a bitter shrew, just a warm-hearted young entrepreneur who tries to motivate her husband the old-fashioned way. "

--Seattlest, by MvB, November 2007

Merola Grand Finale 2007 at War Memorial Opera House with San Francisco Opera

"Soprano Ani Maldjian, who during the first half graced an ensemble from Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera," came back for a shapely, affecting rendition of "Geme la Tortorella" from "La Finta Giardiniera."

--Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, August 2007

“And so did [rattled the rafters and riveted the mind] pert Ani Maldjian with her glittering phrasing as Oscar in an ensemble from Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera and her charming lyricism for “Geme la tortorella” from Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. What these singers shared was the ability to bring their audience to them, to demand to be listened to, to share the musical moment, to lift the music from the page and make it real.”

“A saucy soubrette.”

--James Keolker, San Francisco Classical Voice, August 2007

"She is a tiny, very pretty high coloratura soprano who made a sparkling Oscar.

In Il Viaggio a Reims, soprano Ani Maldjian again stood out even with an entire stage full of Merolini. "

--Ruth C. Jacobs, Opera-L, August 2007

WET

World Premiere of opera WET at RedCat Theatre of Walt Disney Center, Los Angeles, CA

“Soprano Ani Maldjian sang with sure, soaring high notes and sure, soaring high emotion.”

--Los Angeles Times, by Mark Swed, December 2005

“A charming soprano.”

--Los Angeles Weekly, by Alan Rich, December 2005

Iphigenie en Tauride at Seattle Opera

"Ani Maldjian, Leena Chopra and David Adam Moore do remarkable work in supporting roles."

-- The Seattle Times, by Melinda Bargreen, October 2007

"The supporting performers Ani Maldjian, Leena Chopra and David Adam Moore are excellent."

- The Herald, by Mike Murray, October 2007

"Ani Maldjian and Leena Chopra were fine priestesses."
--San Francisco Classical Voice, by Robert Commanday, Oct 2007

Giulio Cesare

Giulio Cesare at Cal State University, Northridge, CA

“Ani Maldjian was awesome…her voice resonated through the theater and was very powerful. She was very passionate about her role as the clever Cleopatra.”

--Daily Sundial, Michael Sullivan, October 2005

Photo: David Bazemore

Cosi fan tutte at Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, CA

“Ani Maldjian brought the appropriate spunk to the role of Despina…Happily, in “in uomini, in soldati”, Ms. Maldjian demonstrated a lovely soprano with a quick, natural vibrato. High notes were especially rich and impressive.”

--Santa Barbara Press, by Peter Frisch, August 2005

“Soprano Ani Maldjian was a saucy Despina.”

--The Goleta Valley Voice, August 2005

Mozart's L'amero saro costante with Amadeus Players conducted by Brent McMunn at LA County Museum of Art, broadcasted live on K-Mozart

"McMunn created a textured reading of the following piece, 'L’Amero, saro costante' from the same composer’s opera, "Il Re Pastore," taking a back seat to soprano Ani Maldjian in the process. The aria was a wise choice for Ms. Maldjian as it highlighted her strengths. She has a solid mid range, and executed nice trilling, navigating the lower range with a notable musicality."

--Beverly Hills Outlook, by Charles Lonberger, January 2006

Photo: Terrence McCarthy

"The Merola Finale is all about pleasure and captivation, the feat of winning over an audience with a few minutes of music. Soprano Ani Maldjian did it early on, with her brightly fluting tone and whirling ornaments in a duet from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore."

--San Francisco Chronicle, Steven Winn, August 2006

Rossini's Stabat Mater with Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra

"Young voice lifts Lenten choral work" (title)

"Rossini's more varied and musically sophisticated "Stabat Mater" followed, with newcomer soprano Ani Maldjian distinguishing herself with her clear and powerful tone. Maldjian is definitely a name to watch as she rises through the ranks of young sopranos."

"The other guest vocalists...were clearly outmatched by Maldjian."

--SacBee News, by Edward Ortiz, March 2006

Photo: Kristen Loken

Transformations by Conrad Susa at Merola Opera Program, San Francisco, CA

"First among musical equals, Maldjian impressed with her energy and Sinatra-class diction."

--San Francisco Classical Voice, by Janos Gereben, July 2006

"Standouts included... soprano Ani Maldjian as a poignant Briar Rose."

--Contra Costa Times, by Georgia Rowe, July 2006

"There were vigorous and imaginative performances by soprano Ani Maldjian..."

--San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman, July 2006

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