Lori Decter, soprano ~ Reviews

Donna Anna - April 2006

Mimi - February 2006

Amelia - November 2005

Tosca - November 2004

Countess Almaviva - September 2004
Rosalinde

Rosalinde - May 2004
Santuzza

Santuzza - November 2003
Leonora

Leonora - February 2003
Fiordiligi

Fiordiligi - November 2001

—Janos Gereben, San Francisco Classical Voice 05-02-2006

—Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News 04-24-06

—Mort Levine, Milpitas Post 02-17-06

—Scott MacClelland, Silicon Valley Metro 02-15-06

—Jason Victor Serinus, OperaNews.com 02-06

—The Standing Critic, Piedmont Post 11-23-05

—D. Rane Danubian, Arts SF 11-20-05

—Keith Kreitman, Bay Area Insider 04-14-05

—Janos Gereben, The Oakland Post 04-13-05

—Heather Hadlock, San Francisco Classical Voice 04-12-05

“Lori Decter, who sang Senta, has a strong voice that seems to be made for Wagner's music. She appeared to be totally at ease with her music and turned her legendary character into a real, but none the less obsessed, young woman.”

—Maria Nockin, Opera japonica April 2005

—Perrisimo Abbas, The Standing Critic 12-01-04

—Scott MacClelland, Silicon Valley Metro 09-22-04

—Keith Kreitman, San Mateo County Times 04-20-04

—Scott MacClelland, Silicon Valley Metro 11-13-03

“In a way, every opera singer is a shepherd of notes, assigned a certain number of the little creatures and expected to deliver them with due care. There are almost always casualties. Not so with soprano Lori Decter, playing Leonora in Opera San Jose's production of Il Trovatore. From the beginning, Decter's phrasing was luxuriant and well tended, and she succeeded in giving each note (to steal a line from opera great Licia Albanese) "a little life of its own." A fine example came at the end of Leonora's showpiece aria, "D'amor sull'ali rosee." The aria fades with the orchestration on a long sostenuto, and Decter could probably have let her line disappear without much notice. Instead, she works the final two measures into a louder/softer swell, giving even this throwaway tone its own small shape.”

—Michael J. Vaughn, Silicon Valley Metro 02-06-03

—Out and About Magazine 12-15-01

—Susan L. Brown, San Mateo Daily Journal 11-27-01

—Iride Aparicio, La Oferta 09-14-01


Donna Anna - April 2006 Mimi - February 2006 Amelia - November 2005 Senta - April 2005 Tosca - November 2004 Countess Almaviva - September 2004 Rosalinde - May 2004 Santuzza - November 2003 Leonora - February 2003 Fiordiligi - November 2001	REVIEWS “The Bangkok Opera assembled a very fine cast for the event. As heard on the first night of the performance, June 22, Lori Decter, who was making her Bangkok Opera debut as Fiordiligi, has a sizeable voice that is well suited to the taxing role. She has very nice, strong low chest note and her voice was very even throughout her register. Above the stave, her voice was solid and well controlled. Her coloratura technique was surefooted in her big aria Como scoglio and her Per pieta was very touching.” — Bangkok Post 06-27-2006 In the same category: Janelle Laurenti’s Donna Elvira and Lori Decter’s Donna Anna, two young but accomplished major singers with powerful performances, free-flowing legato, great projection, notes on the money, and voices consistently charged with vivid details.” —Janos Gereben, San Francisco Classical Voice 05-02-2006 “Soprano Lori Decter was riveting as Donna Anna. Decter and [Christopher] Bengochea are all chemistry as Anna and Ottavio; there's some fiery singing between them, the heart of the performance. Highlights [include] Decter's agonized ``Or sai chi l'onore,'' [delivered as] an aria of vengeance…” —Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News 04-24-06 “…presented by attractive, youthful singers who exemplified the roles they were portraying…[they] brought a confident stage presence and some magnificent singing. Soprano Lori Decter is a wonderful, rich Mimi…” —Mort Levine, Milpitas Post 02-17-06 “Born to act, Opera San José's stars filled the stage with high drama and emotion for 'La bohème'. Lori Decter’s Mimi was especially effecting in her first-act 'Mi chiamano Mimi' and second-act farewell to her quarrelsome lover Rodolfo.” —Scott MacClelland, Silicon Valley Metro 02-15-06 “…this Ballo was distinguished by…the Amelia of Lori Decter. From her first entrance, Decter commanded the stage. Decter’s performance ripened as the opera progressed, her nuanced expression growing increasingly tragic and riveting.” —Jason Victor Serinus, OperaNews.com 02-06 “Soprano [Lori] Decter presented an intensely dramatic portrayal of the woman attracted by the king [Amelia] but determined to resist temptation. In the magnificent second scene of Act 2, she pulled out all the stops.” —The Standing Critic, Piedmont Post 11-23-05 “I see very promising careers ahead for spinto soprano Lori Decter, coloratura Sandra Rubalcava and baritone Joseph Wright. I see only one impediment in their paths---they know how to act. How is that ever going to go down with the big international companies? Decter has a beautiful, wide-ranging voice, playing the lead of Amelia, a noble woman torn between love and fidelity.” —D. Rane Danubian, Arts SF 11-20-05 “The beauty of Lori Decter's voice as Senta was almost overwhelming at times. She emerged with a soaring power that marks her as a true Wagnerian soprano.” —Keith Kreitman, Bay Area Insider 04-14-05 “A well-rounded, excellently-performed "Flying Dutchman," which would have well deserved the riotous ovation it received in the California Theater, even if it were not for Lori Decter. She was the bonus, a revelation as Senta. With a gorgeous, full-bodied voice, tremendous projection, good diction, and a musically letter-perfect performance, Decter once again proved what Bay Area audiences well know - and the rest of the world should - that she is one of the most promising and potent young sopranos around. This was her first Senta, her first Wagner - and it was a triumph. —Janos Gereben, The Oakland Post 04-13-05 “As Senta, soprano Lori Decter commanded our attention during her "Ballad" …In all her scenes Decter created a powerful character the old-fashioned operatic way: through her ringing voice, passionate gestures, and total commitment to Senta's self-appointed redemptive mission. —Heather Hadlock, San Francisco Classical Voice 04-12-05 “Lori Decter, who sang Senta, has a strong voice that seems to be made for Wagner's music. She appeared to be totally at ease with her music and turned her legendary character into a real, but none the less obsessed, young woman.” —Maria Nockin, Opera japonica April 2005 Soprano Lori Decter sang well in the title role, and acted the part of Tosca brilliantly, with appropriate moods of jealousy, tenderness, suspicion, frustration, compassion and finally total desperation.” —Perrisimo Abbas, The Standing Critic 12-01-04 “The title role in the opening night cast was sung with vigor and power by Lori Decter. Decter plays Tosca as willfull, self-centered and given to wide swings of sublime passion and hot-eyed jealous explosions…she even found a way to make the great showpiece aria for Tosca “Vissi d’arte”, which proved the hit of the evening, believable as part of the drama.” —Mort Levine, Milpitas Post 11-25-04 “Best was soprano Lori Decter's portrayal of Floria Tosca, the doomed diva: Step by step, her Tosca is seared by jealousy, by tormenting worry that becomes physical, by murderous anger, by false hope, and by the reality of her lover's death. Decter's singing of the famous aria ``Vissi d'arte'' -- ``I lived for art; I lived for love'' . . . and why is all this happening to me? -- was pleading, touching in its humanity. …Later came more death: In the second act, after Cavaradossi is tortured and jailed, Tosca plunges a knife into Scarpia's heart. The diva knows, deep down, that her own false suspicions about Cavaradossi's fidelity helped lead Scarpia to her man. She regrets her role in the tragedy; she is disgusted by Scarpia's crudity and wickedness; she still hopes that her lover will be saved. Decter seemed to embody all these motivations as she drove the knife a second time into Scarpia's back, screaming that the dying villain should choke on his blood. Melodramatic, yes, but it worked. ...Decter stepped to the plate to grab our attention. She never left, the star of the show.” —Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News 11-22-04 “The hapless Countess, Lori Decter, would give the afternoon its finest moment in the Act III aria Dove sono. Not only was the voice a thing of polished beauty, but the delivery saw the fulfillment, even apotheosis, of the troubled and sympathetic character. The scene won bravos from the house, just as her Porgi, amor in Act II created strong expectations of this moment.” —Scott MacClelland, Silicon Valley Metro 09-22-04 “Lori Decter as the jilted Donna Elvira does an excellent job portraying her conflicted character, purring her way through [Mi tradi] a lovely aria about her ambivalent feelings.” —Jeanie Forte, Palo Alto Weekly 05-28-04 “...the bouquets go to the exquisitely full-voiced phrasing of Decter as Rosalinde…” —Keith Kreitman, San Mateo County Times 04-20-04 “The standout performance was the vividly drawn Santuzza of Lori Decter, whose soprano is a thing of great beauty, maturity and range.” —Scott MacClelland, Silicon Valley Metro 11-13-03 “In a way, every opera singer is a shepherd of notes, assigned a certain number of the little creatures and expected to deliver them with due care. There are almost always casualties. Not so with soprano Lori Decter, playing Leonora in Opera San Jose's production of Il Trovatore. From the beginning, Decter's phrasing was luxuriant and well tended, and she succeeded in giving each note (to steal a line from opera great Licia Albanese) "a little life of its own." A fine example came at the end of Leonora's showpiece aria, "D'amor sull'ali rosee." The aria fades with the orchestration on a long sostenuto, and Decter could probably have let her line disappear without much notice. Instead, she works the final two measures into a louder/softer swell, giving even this throwaway tone its own small shape.” —Michael J. Vaughn, Silicon Valley Metro 02-06-03 “ The most thrilling thing about the four leads is their rich and fluid musicality. They are more than just vocalists. Each has an amazing feel for the dynamics and is capable of succinctly turning and molding a phrase. "Il Trovatore" has one of the most tightly written librettos in operatic literature and the arias are things of soaring beauty. This is a cakewalk for soprano Lori Decter as Leonora. She has one of the most powerful upper registers I have ever heard and has perfect pitch without an ounce of strain.” —Keith Kreitman, San Mateo County Times 02-14-03 “Leonora is the archetypical soprano. “Tacea la notte,” the glorious aria which she produces almost as soon as she opens her mouth, is ecstatically lyrical, gliding inexorably from a serene bel canto phrase to a soaring climax. Lori Decter met the vocal requirements with apparent effortlessness, and she gave her character a plausible nobility of spirit and vulnerability. It was apropos both musically and theatrically that her motion suggested a tiny dance towards the end of her 6/8 cavatina.” —Norman Rabkin, San Francisco Classical Voice 02-10-03 “The singing on opening night was uniformly exquisite. Soprano Lori Decter sang the role Fiordiligi with consummate grace and power.” —Out and About Magazine 12-15-01 “The young couples, especially Lori Decter as Fiordiligi and baritone Joseph Wright as Guglielmo, are relative newcomers with fresh voices and expressive acting. The lovely aria by Decter in Act I was sung with clear, bell like notes giving the audience opportunity to appreciate her beautiful voice. She and Wright played well off each other, taking advantage of all the comic nuances.” —Susan L. Brown, San Mateo Daily Journal 11-27-01 “… in the sparkling interpretation that Opera San Jose opened on Saturday, it is the singing, especially by the three female characters, that carries the day. And oh, what singing! I can hardly imagine any production with more beautiful voices. The vocal richness of soprano Lori Decter as Fiordiligi was a feast for the ears in her duets as well as solo arias.” —Keith Kreitman, San Mateo County Times 11-19-01 “Lori Decter played a lively Alice Ford. In her acting, she allowed us to see all the mischief of her character. When singing, her voice sounded exquisite.” —Iride Aparicio, La Oferta 09-14-01 FEATURED ARTICLES Silicon Valley Newspaper Article: Opera prepares singers for solo career Published on April 19, 2006, Steppin' Out Silicon Valley Community Newspapers (CA) Source: Heather Zimmerman San Jose Mercury News Article: Endings...and beginnings Published on April 19, 2006, Page 1F San Jose Mercury News (CA) Source: Mike Guersch	BIOGRAPHY RESUMÉ REVIEWS REPERTOIRE ENGAGEMENTS GALLERY CONTACT LINKS VOICE STUDIO
	Lori Decter, soprano