Press

“Vocal brilliance, passion, operatic magic: Sonya Yoncheva infused Bellini’s Norma with emotional depth at the season opening of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. The concert performance became a true highlight for opera lovers.”

“As Bellini’s Norma, Sonya Yoncheva brought great vocal intensity to the prima donna role, which demands extreme expressive power of the voice.

“A prima donna opera. Few works deserve this honorific title more than Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma. This Romantic bel canto piece quickly became the very epitome of an entire genre, with the aria Casta diva long since turned into a hit – better known than the opera itself, which, due to its daunting demands, is performed only at major international houses. In Karlsruhe, Norma was last staged in 1999.
It comes as no surprise that it was a primadonna assoluta who, in the mid-1950s, helped the work to renewed and lasting popularity: Maria Callas. We owe to her no fewer than seven complete recordings of Norma, and she sang the opera in 89 (partly legendary) performances. Since then, nearly all major divas have taken on the work.

Now it was the turn of the celebrated Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, who opened the new season in Baden-Baden in a (regrettably only) concert performance of the work – a collaboration with the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, under the baton of her husband Domingo Hindoyan leading the Gstaad Festival Orchestra.

At the Oos, the singer is a welcome guest, having already appeared here in 2023 as Tosca and last year presenting herself as a “singing actress” with a colorful program.

The soprano Renata Scotto, once a celebrated Norma herself, described this complex role as the “Mount Everest of opera” that must be conquered. The figure of the Druid priestess, who breaks her vow and secretly has two children with the Roman proconsul Pollione, is torn between scruples, pain, and rage when she learns of her lover’s betrayal, as he faithlessly turns to the novice Adalgisa.

At first she seeks revenge, wanting to kill her children and condemn Pollione to death, but ultimately resolves in a heroic act to join him in death on the pyre.

Bellini inscribed these emotional upheavals of the protagonist into the score, demanding an unusually broad expressive range of the voice. The vocal category of Norma is that of soprano sfogato – stretching beyond the usual soprano range, spanning from brilliant top notes with dramatic attack to a full, resonant lower register, all tied together by flawless legato, elegiac coloring, and the soprano’s agility.

The interpreter must master all this in order to conjure the magic of those “melodie lunghe, lunghe, lunghe” praised by Giuseppe Verdi in Bellini, which even inspired Richard Wagner – an ardent admirer of Norma – to develop his principle of the “endless melody.”

Yoncheva reveals Norma’s transformation into a vengeful rival

Sonya Yoncheva initially portrays the role as a portrait of a tragic female figure. Her interpretation of Casta diva reveals, in the elegiac lines of the famous aria, the priestess’s pain and her secret. This suits the warm timbre of her voice… .

By the time of the great scene with Adalgisa, another side of the character emerges. What begins like a sympathetic dialogue between guilty sinners suddenly turns into a confrontation between two rivals for the same man. Here, Norma becomes the avenger, and finally in the closing scene Yoncheva, as a gripping singing actress, expands the role to impressive dramatic stature.

The Chorus of Bühnen Bern provided forceful tableaux in the scenes of priestesses and warriors, while conductor Domingo Hindoyan ensured a carefully structured, colorful orchestral sound – an interpretation that sought to compensate for the absence of staging with musical intensity.”
Rüdiger Krohn, Badische Neueste Nachrichten

“A Celebration of Bel Canto”
Sonya Yoncheva was the acclaimed star of a concert performance of Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma with the Gstaad Festival Orchestra under the baton of Domingo Hindoyan – the vocal highlight at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

At such opera performances, “in concert” no longer means that the singers, perhaps standing behind music stands, deliver their arias in front of the orchestra. With such a gifted singing actress as Sonya Yoncheva, that would hardly be possible; moreover, the other protagonists of this Norma from the Gstaad Festival calendar also moved impressively and convincingly in their roles on stage.
(…)
After Norma’s public ceremony, the scene shifts to the private sphere, and here Yoncheva is even more fascinating than in her “Casta Diva” aria: furious in her lament over the cooled love of Pollione, the Roman proconsul, and in her defiant hope that he might return to her, she unleashes every degree of passion in her cabaletta “Ah! Bello me ritorna” with her flashing soprano.
(…)
In the second act, the tragedia lirica, the lyrical tragedy, unfolds in cinematic contrasts: in a scene of immense dramatic tension, Norma, in revenge against the unfaithful Pollione, intends – like Medea in the ancient myth – to kill their children, and Yoncheva’s dramatic soprano renders this inner torment breathtakingly vivid.
Dietholf Zerweck, Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung

“Sonya Yoncheva as Norma possesses something that cannot be “manufactured”: authority in her tone. Her soprano has a dark core, its color veiled with a fine gauze that opens in the upper register to let in light. In the Cavatina – yes, Casta diva here is more than just a calling card – she sustains the line with a control of messa di voce that I find immensely admirable: the piano truly piano, the swell into mezzo forte seamless, portamenti sparing but, where the text pleads for peace, shaped with the pliancy that allows bel canto to become genuine speech.

Her added ornaments always grow naturally “out of the word”; Yoncheva never reduces coloratura to decoration, but uses it as a semantic intensifier. Over the course of the evening one feels how she lets the character grow into her voice: the tessitura remains securely centered, the passaggio zones are well covered, and when emotion boils over, the legato line remains unbreakable. In the duets with Adalgisa she achieves that delicate balance between fusing together and maintaining necessary profile – no gestures of dominance, but dialogical presence.
Marko Cirkovic, Wochenblatt

Sonya Yoncheva absolutely owned the night. Her presence, her voice — goosebumps. The climax came with “Guerra, guerra!”, where the whole atmosphere just turned electric. Her duet with Karine Deshayes? Honestly one of the best I’ve ever heard live. The French mezzo was simply on fire — powerful, precise, and magnetic. The chemistry between the two of them was undeniable, and in a semi-staged concert format, that kind of connection makes all the difference.
Opera Diary

“In the title role, Sonya Yoncheva impressed with a focused, technically assured soprano. Her interpretation was marked by a refined sense for legato lines and dramatic intensity. Especially in “Casta diva,” she displayed remarkable breath control and a poised, serene artistry.”
Marcel Emil Burkhardt, Der Neue Merker

“In the most coveted soprano showcase role of the Italian repertoire, Sonya Yoncheva now appeared in Baden-Baden, and one might put it this way: she came, she sang, she conquered! (…) In an excellent interpretation, Yoncheva created a moving portrait of the role, impressing also with her individual ornamentations, and demonstrated with emphasis how expressively this role can be explored through nuanced contrasts… . The singer thus achieved a profoundly moving interpretation, thanks to her breath control also delivering exquisite pianissimi in “Casta diva” as well as in the final plea “Deh! Non volerli vittime.” Yoncheva deepened her mastery in weaving lyrical legato arches and flexible chains of coloratura, alongside relentless dramatic attacks in duets and the breathtaking finale.”
Gerhard Hoffmann, Online Merker

[Photo: Michael Gregonowits]

“You always have to wait for divas, and the musicians of the Royal Opera of Versailles Orchestra stretched the wait a bit longer by opening the evening with Lully’s Turkish March. Without announcing it, like an early gift, it immersed us in the wonder and solemnity of the French Baroque, though they soon shifted to the frenzy of London’s theaters with a sparkling overture from Serse. From there to the entrance of Sonya Yoncheva (her first time at the Santander Festival) came a few moments of light suspense, as befits singers who fill the stage with their mere presence.
From her entrance, she revealed overwhelming self-confidence, an effusiveness that invited closeness, and that sumptuous, seamless voice that spans many lines of repertoire, from early music to grand Italian opera. Roles such as Norma, Butterfly, Maddalena, or Tosca fill her calendar, but Handel remains indispensable. To abandon him would be like forgetting her roots. Her Ombra mai fu contained everything that aria represents at its best (elegance, delicacy, smoothness), without stage display; then came sensuality in Non disperar, chi sa? (Giulio Cesare), and a rise in intensity and depth in a truly frame-worthy Ah, mio cor! (Alcina). Broadly phrased, yet rooted in intimacy and emotion.
By then, her rapport with Stefan Plewniak was evident, a conductor in constant motion, unrestrained and extravagant, who drew on that peculiarity to push to the extreme the quintessentially Baroque idea of contrast. At one moment he would compress the sound into the thinnest of threads, the next his arms were darting with lightning speed, as in the devilishly fast Corelli (the fourth of the Concerti Grossi) that the Versailles ensemble offered as a dazzling interlude. Clear and transparent, yet so radical and excessive that, watching the Pole in action, one recalled the words of a contemporary spectator describing how Corelli gave himself to the violin so completely that his face contorted and his eyes reddened “like fire.”
Yoncheva seemed radiant in that setting, and she also surprised the audience by slowly walking through the first rows of the auditorium while delivering a rich and moving Se pietà di me non senti (Giulio Cesare). Next came the more restrained expression of With darkness deep (Theodora), and another nod to the popular with an unfailing icon, Lascia ch’io pianga (Rinaldo), always under the spell of a voice unusually expansive in this repertoire. Hence the astonishment at the clean, flawless agility of Tornami a vagheggiar (Alcina), chosen to close the official program. And since more was expected of her, she returned to the stage with the lament from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and a jubilant Danse des sauvages by Rameau which, harking back to the ensemble’s origins, rekindled the French atmosphere of the opening.”
Asier Vallejo Ugarte, Scherzo

“Last Monday, the Sala Argenta of the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria was the scene of an unforgettable evening with soprano Sonya Yoncheva and the Orchestra of the Opéra Royal de Versailles under Stefan Plewniak. What unfolded there will remain etched in the memory of those present, and in the history of the Santander International Festival.
From her very first, theatrically charged entrance, it was clear that both orchestra and soloist were determined to captivate. The musicians, perfectly blended, produced a sound that was full and rounded from start to finish, offering a Handel of striking brightness and expansiveness, almost Mediterranean in spirit, and far less angular than the English ensembles that so often dominate this repertoire.
At the vocal level, Yoncheva, in dazzling command of her resources, proved from the opening notes of Ombra mai fu why she is one of today’s indispensable operatic voices. Her instrument combines warmth, richness of color, and sheer volume rarely encountered among singers in Baroque music. Her singing, noble in expression and grounded in breath, radiated such plenitude in the upper register that it seemed to press against the stylistic boundaries of the Baroque, without ever crossing them.
From a program that felt like a collection of Baroque “greatest hits,” two moments stood out. In Ah, mio cor! Schernito sei! from Alcina, Yoncheva conveyed the fury and anguish of the betrayed sorceress with a smooth, flexible legato that deepened the character’s despair. In Lascia ch’io pianga from Rinaldo, the evening reached its peak: she delivered the text with gravity, suspended each note with naked musicality, and shaped the ornamentation in profoundly moving dialogue with the orchestra. Between these two arias, in Se pietà di me non senti, Yoncheva left the stage and moved through the hall, a touch of refined theatricality that heightened the sense of communion with an audience already in the palm of her hand.
The concert closed in celebration. Three encores, Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, the orchestral section of Venti, turbini from Rinaldo, and the Air des sauvages from Rameau’s Les Indes galantes, ended with Yoncheva barefoot, radiant, and swept up in a trance of Dionysian ecstasy, drawing the audience into rhythmic clapping until they surrendered completely, quite literally, at her feet.
Seldom in Santander has a Baroque concert generated such excitement and such a unanimous ovation. With much of the audience on its feet, the thunderous applause sealed a night to be remembered as one of the brightest chapters in the history of the Santander International Festival.”
Darío Fernández Ruiz, Ritmo

“The Exquisiteness of Sonya Yoncheva and the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal de Versailles”
It is unusual in an operatic recital to see such an open display of complicity between performers as was witnessed at this concert of the 64th International Festival of Pollença, a festival that today stands as a benchmark for quality, excellence, and artistic solidity. Sonya Yoncheva not only showed complete connection with conductor Stefan Plewniak, but also with the members of the orchestra, who at times became silent yet active characters in her stage evolutions. She unfolded her personal vision of some of Handel’s best-known arias, while immersing herself masterfully in each of the dramatic characters (Xerxes, Alcina, Cleopatra, Theodora…).
After the instrumental Overture to Xerxes, Yoncheva opened the program with “Ombra mai fu”, which, together with the aria “Non disperar, chi sa?” from Giulio Cesare, already revealed the power of her singing, so marked by individuality. The soprano commands a very precise, clean attack, yet one capable of extreme softness; and it is in this absolute control of silken dynamics that her expressiveness is forged, never forced, never dependent on showy effects, but rather on a surprising suppleness. This unique refinement of vocal interpretation was interwoven with purely instrumental pieces that created a special atmosphere: Corelli’s Concerto grosso Op. 6 No. 4 was played with such overflowing energy that it laid bare the performers’ total commitment, immersed to the core in this exhilarating vision of the Italian master. For admirers of more moderate, serene, and nuanced approaches to Corelli, this orchestral turbulence might have seemed unusual or provocative, but it undeniably brought remarkable agility and lightness to the instrumental accompaniment of Handel’s operas.

“The soprano commands a very precise, clean attack, yet one capable of extreme softness; and it is in this absolute control of silken dynamics that her expressiveness is forged.”

There is no doubt that the program performed in Pollença reflects an approach to Handel that combines, on the one hand, Yoncheva’s fluid and flexible personal vision with the extreme vivacity of the orchestra, an approach close to historicist ideals, yet unmistakably marked by the stamp of Stefan Plewniak. He acted as a precise catalyst of all vocal and instrumental elements, particularly noteworthy for his tight control of tempi and his emphasis on rhythmic treatment.
Yoncheva was superb in the two arias from Alcina, “Ah, mio cor, schernito sei!” and, above all, “Tornami a vagheggiar”, where she displayed her mastery of coloratura alongside her magnetic stage presence. The audience demanded its reward: an extraordinary Dido appeared as an encore, followed by a sparkling Corelli and a Rameau that had the audience clapping along, giving the diva the perfect excuse to slip off her shoes and dance, joined by a playful Plewniak.
Bàrbara Duran, Ópera Actual

“Baroque con fuoco”
“Once again, the names headlining the fourth concert of the Pollença Festival guaranteed a delightful sight: a complete sell-out. And there was good reason for it: soprano Sonya Yoncheva, together with the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal de Versailles conducted by Stefan Plewniak, are names of the same stature as the rest of the distinguished artists featured in this richly packed edition. The recital also had an added value: it was entirely devoted to Baroque music—above all opera. This is not the most common programming choice, nor are most of the arias particularly well-known. Probably the only one that could be described as world-famous was Lascia ch’io pianga, from Handel’s Rinaldo, the great protagonist of a concert that, more than anything else, deserves to be called unusual. Let us explain.
Handel was indeed the great protagonist, since of the twelve pieces listed in the program, eleven bore the signature of the German who crossed over to England and conquered it. (…)
The second half lowered the decibels, moving toward a more classical, restrained reading, as required by Theodora’s aria With darkness deep, an exquisite and challenging piece for showcasing the great star, beyond any dispute. Immediately afterwards, following the solemn Overture to Rinaldo, she sang the already mentioned, delicate Lascia ch’io pianga. The concert had reached its climax. Only Tornami a vagheggiar from Alcina remained. Then came the encores, culminating in a festive, playful, and participatory rendition of the Danse du grand calumet de la paix from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Les Indes galantes. Baroque con fuoco indeed—with the audience enchanted, clapping along with the performers.
J.A. Mendiola, AraBalears

[Photo: Pedro Puente FIS]