Reviews
Featured soloist, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Glasgow City Halls
(This production was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in their “Sound of Cinema” series.)
“As for the songs, the highlights were Jamie MacDougall’s charismatic ‘On the Street Where You Live’ and his jovial duet with soprano Pamela Hay (a late replacement) on ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.'”
The Herald Scotland (Alison Kerr, December 24, 2012)
Featured soloist, Hallé Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall
“Rousing, inspiring, jaw-dropping in its excellence… the adjectives were as high as the crowd when the majestic Hallé Orchestra delivered a simply stunning Last Night of The Proms concert at the Bridgewater Hall last night…
I was particularly enamored by soprano Pamela Hay’s idiosyncratic rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s “Glitter and Be Gay” from Candide. For me, this stole the show, it was simply exceptional.”
Oldham Evening Chronicle (Martyn Torr, August 1, 2011)
Mimì, La Bohème, Soho Theatre, London
(This production won the 2011 Olivier Award for “Best New Opera Production” and a 2011 WhatsOnStage Award for “Best Off-West End Production”)
“Sung with spirit and ardour by Pamela Hay. [Mimì and Rodolfo’s] affair was charted with an immediacy that one does not always get in a larger house… the infatuations, jealous spats and reconciliations are all intensely affecting.”
Evening Standard, (Barry Millington, August 3, 2010)
“the brilliant Pamela Hay”
International Herald Tribune, (Uri Dromi, April 8, 2010)
Ellen, Lakmé, Opera Holland Park, London
“the supporting cast, most especially Pamela Hay’s touchingly earnest Ellen, outshine [the two leads]…”
The Independent on Sunday (Anna Picard, July 8, 2007)
“Pamela Hay was touching as Ellen.”
Opera magazine (Peter Reed, September 2007)
“Pamela Hay showed much promise in her sweet-voiced Ellen.”
www.musicalcriticism.com (Dominic McHugh, July 7, 2007)
Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, British Youth Opera, Peacock Theatre, London
“Hay’s confident soprano revealed plenty of colour.”
The Sunday Telegraph (John Allison, September 17 2006)
“The three women were all very well sung……[Pamela Hay’s] sound is lovely and light…… the complexities of the poor nutty girl were closely observed. Most important, all the singers had natural stagecraft and their performances were completely involving.”
Opera magazine (Peter Reed, November 2006)
Hanna Glawari, The Merry Widow, Opera UK, Bloomsbury Theatre, London
“There was excellent acting: Pamela Hay as Hanna Glawari, toying with her fellow Pontevedrians and her French suitors… this cast sang very well too, as did the chorus.”
Opera magazine (Stephen Pettit, December 2006)
“Pamela Hay as Hanna Glawari is visually and vocally pretty, possibly the youngest Merry Widow ever. She shows a definite chemistry with John Lofthouse’s Count Danilo as they fight like cat and dog. 5 stars, Opera Choice of the Week.”
What’s On In London magazine (Michael Darvell, October 19-26, 2006)
“Acting and dialogue were first class… Pamela Hay was the most glamorous of Widows”
Musical Pointers (Serena Fenwick)
“The stage dynamic between Pamela Hay’s knowing Hanna and John Lofthouse’s bluff Danilo was strong… She has a strong elegant stage presence and knows how to deliver a comic line… what she manages well is speech through music – part of a true operetta singer’s art. It always seemed to flow naturally and turned in to singing with ease… ”
www.classicalsource.com (Alexander Campbell, October 11, 2006)
Mna Siubhail, King Lear, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London
“The costumes are Jacobean and the music, played on ancient instruments, consists of setting of the Old English poems The Seafarer and The Wanderer sung in the original Anglo-Saxon by a woman ballad singer. It all feels like a production Shakespeare might have recognised and applauded.”
The Telegraph (Charles Spencer)
“Pamela Hay’s haunting vocals set the scene’s moods until the tragic close”
The Stage (Lisa Childs, 7 May, 2008)
“A special feature of productions at the Globe is the excellent music. In King Lear, it’s as good as ever and has the added benefit of some hauntingly melancholic singing by Pamela Hay.”
www.LondonTheatre.co.uk (Peter Brown)
“Singing throughout was provided by the excellent Pamela Hay”
The Bardathon Blog (Peter Kirwan)
Euridice, Orfeo ed Euridice, English Pocket Opera Company, Central Saint Martins London
“Pamela Hay – lovely work.”
The Stage (Susan Elkin, January 23, 2014)
“Pamela Hay’s Euridice was often touching, with a good sense of style.
The Boulezian (Mark Berry, January 24, 2014)
“As Eurydice, soprano Pamela Hay revealed a glittering upper register and strong, varied characterisation, capable of capturing both the intensity and insouciance that the different settings require. The sweetness of her tone and elegance of phrase garnered much pity for Eurydice.”
Opera Today (Claire Seymour, January 22, 2014)
“Everyone was very committed to making Orpheus and Eurydice really come alive for its audience and Joanna Foote’s Amor and Pamela Hay’s Eurydice were promising singers with the proper style for Gluck, as Mark Berry comments… I would have liked to have heard some younger talent given his chance to shine in the part [of Orpheus] as Ms Foote and Ms Hay had done in theirs.”
Seen and Heard International (Jim Pritchard, January 2014)
Rosmene, Imeneo, Cambridge Handel Opera Group, Cambridge
“Both Pamela Hay and Katherine Bond…navigated nimbly around the challenges posed by their arias.”
Opera magazine (Benjamin Walton, July 2007)
Yum-Yum, The Mikado, Opera Della Luna, UK tour (including Buxton Opera House, The Lowry Centre)
“Pamela Hay as Yum-Yum and Simon Butteriss’s ineffable Ko-Ko turning an evening that could have been stultifying into something quite enchanting.”
Opera Now magazine, article on 20 years of Opera Della Luna (Robert Thicknesse, May 2014)“Pamela Hay’s Yum-Yum is fresh-voiced and winsome.”
Robert Thicknesse, January 28, 2008
“the seven-strong company more than did justice to the piece, with some outstanding individual performances, none more so than American-born soprano Pamela Hay. Miss Hay must surely be one of the most ‘yummiest’ of Yum-Yums ever to grace the role and she shone throughout, never more so than in ‘The Sun, Whose Rays are all Ablaze.’ … If one was being churlish, then some of the company lacked a little vocal power which made the story-telling in the songs sometimes hard to catch, although that was never a problem for Miss Hay who was simply stunning!”
Huddersfield Daily Examiner, (David Lockwood, January 30, 2008)
“Yum-Yum, in shorter skirt than we usually see at the Savoy, is pertly sung by American soprano Pamela Hay”
The British Theatre Guide, (Kevin Catchpole, February 2008)
Créuse, Médée (British Premiere), Opera Up Close, London
“Critic’s Choice”
The Times (Robert Thicknesse, 2005)“A performance notable for its fluency and directness… the cast worked hard and to some purpose. Russell Plows’ direction was clear and focused, and all in all this proved a worthwhile enterprise.”
Opera Now (George Hall, November/December 2005)
“Creuse’s aria ‘Chers Corinthiens, apres tant de menaces’, establishes the false sense of joy…performed with obvious affection and dedication”
Opera magazine (Patrick O’Connor, August 2005)
Norina, Don Pasquale, Bel Canto Opera
“…disclosed a fine lyric voice; her phrasing was beautifully coloured, her coloratura secure.”
Opera magazine (John Allison, May 2005)