Nixon in China March 2010
"Ani Maldjian brought demonic power to the role of Mao’s wife, Chiang Ch’ing, seizing control of the stage with her virtuosic, self-identifying, vaunting aria."
-Los Angeles Times by Chris Pasles
"The foreboding and sinister Madame Mao, Chiang Ch’ing, is sung by returning Ani Maldjian. This petite young singer packs a lot of punch that she wields into an ecstatic frenzy during The Chairman Dances. There are several moments within Nixon in China that are spellbinding, but in particular, the repartee she exclaims during the “ballet within the opera”which finds us entranced and fixated with her character." -Concerto Net by Christie Grimstad
"Fierce, fiery performance."
-LA Daily News by John Farrell
"Ani Maldjian shrieked impressively and dangerously as Madame Mao." -Orange County Register
"Ani Maldjian stunned the entire audience with her supernaturally powerful coloratura leaps in Act Two’s 'I am the wife of Mao Tse-Tung'."
-Opera West by David Gregson
"She portrayed this role menacingly, ultimately brandishing an AK-47 at everyone, including Nixon."
-Opera Warhorses by Tom Ruppert
"Commanding Chiang Ch'ing." -Out West Arts
"Ani Maldian brought the house down with her rendition of “I Am the Wife of Mao-Tse-Tung! Her light coloratura voice maneuvered the challenging aria beautifully." -Culture Spot LA by Wendy Kikkert
"Madame Mao is disturbingly compelling, thanks to Ani Maldjian’s strong voice and presence. Though starting from opposed places, one [Pat Nixon] warm and inviting, the other [Madame Mao] strident and nearly horrifying, both women touch the audience thanks to the tender treatment rendered by Hanson and Maldjian. -The New Gay
"Ani Maldjian, last seen happily slaughtering chickens as The Cunning Little Vixen, gives a wickedly galvanizing performance of Madam Mao's aria, "I am the wife of Mao Tse-Tung." She is an exceptional young singing actress and a true rarity, a "character soprano" with seemingly boundless high-register power. I for one hope that Long Beach keeps finding roles for her for years to come."
-A Fool in the Forest, by George Wallace
"Ani Maldjian fearlessly attacks and conquers the punishing tessitura of Madame Mao."
-ShowMag by Michael Van Duzer
The Cunning Little Vixen with Long Beach Opera January 2009
"Big things are predicted for her. Her Vixen was radiant. Her little things, and especially her fleeting Chaplinesque gestures, were pitch perfect. So was her equally superb soprano."
-Los Angeles Times by Mark Swed
"Maldjian has a very expressive face, big eyes and a voice of power. Her personality infuses the fox with strength, cunning and a human touch."
-Press Telegram by John Farrell
"Maldjian provided a suitably sassy and cute Vixen, limpidly voiced."
-Orange County Register by Timothy Mangan
"Maldjian proved an entrancing Vixen. She is an eager and resourceful actress who found both the Vixen's energetic charm and her wily resolve. Fresh-toned and vocally secure she brought the right silvery sheen to this music and her diction was admirable."
-Stage Happenings by Michael Van Duzer
"Maldjian, was a delight as Vixen. Her voice is clear and pretty, and her acting compelling and natural. Being cute as a bug's ear doesn't hurt, either." -Gazettes by Jim Ruggirello
The Diary of Anne Frank with Long Beach Opera April 2007
#1, Los Angeles Times
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
The Diary of Anne Frank with Austin Music Festival
July 2007
"...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 with Seattle Opera April 2008
"[Maldjian] skillfully drew from the audience the requisite collective sigh without pulling us out of the story."
--Seattle Weekly, by Gavin Gorchert
"The show was stolen by soprano Ani Maldijan. She sang an intricate, difficult coloratura aria with precision. Later on she reappeared as the Princess, 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
"...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
MORE REVIEWS CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE
