Press

Sonya Yoncheva’s acclaimed new album George, a heartfelt tribute to the iconic French writer George Sand, continues to captivate critics, earning glowing praise from leading media outlets in Germany and Italy for its artistic depth, emotional intensity, and refined musical storytelling.

“A Delicate Gleam On Everything
Sonya Yoncheva’s Poetic Homage to the Writer George Sand
“Let’s imagine the scene:
A soirée at the home of Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin de Francueil, with illustrious guests, all refined artistic spirits like the hostess herself, who, under her pseudonym George Sand, earned a place in literary and music history. Foremost among them, of course, Frédéric Chopin, the sensitive pianist and (for a time) her life partner, with Franz Liszt at his side, lion of the salons, destined to transcend intimacy even in his piano works. Across from him sits Alfred de Musset, eloquent poet, connoisseur, and likewise, for several years, the writer’s lover. And then there is the dazzling singer and composer whose aura, according to contemporary reports, must have been immense: Pauline Viardot. Now they are all seated in the salon, by candlelight and champagne, engaged in elegant conversation, reflecting on life, art, and humanity, interspersed with moments when the Erard grand piano is dusted with sound as Chopin or Liszt grace the keys with their touch.
Sonya Yoncheva had this cinematic scene in mind when she conceived her new album, simply and beautifully titled ‘George’. At least at first glance, it has become a very personal album: In the booklet, the soprano explains that she has always felt an enormous connection to George Sand, her spirit, her self-assurance in carving out a space in a male-dominated society, and her artistic credo that one must win people over to art with the same care one shows for a small child.
Yoncheva knows what George Sand was talking about. She is both artist and mother and feels completely at home in both roles. Her album George is thus a homage to the departed writer, but also a form of self-reflection, and beyond that, a resounding calling card of her vocal abilities. But before presenting this card, the singer begins as a reciter, breathing into the microphone a letter from poet Musset to George Sand from 1833 in the finest French, while Olga Zado plays Chopin’s adaptation of Bellini’s aria “Casta diva” in the background. The atmosphere is rich, possessing an air of authenticity that allows the listener to mentally immerse themselves in that distant world, even become, in a small way, part of it.
You rarely hear loud tones here. Almost everything is enveloped in a delicate shimmer. Like Leoncavallo’s “Nuit de décembre,” set to Musset’s painful verses from his ‘Poésies nouvelles’. Sonya Yoncheva sings the song, tenderly accompanied by her pianist, with a velvety, earthy soprano in the middle range. In the upper register, her voice initially seems almost fragile, but by the outburst “Je me perdais dans tant d’oubli,” she rises to a surge of unrestrained passion.
Some of that same intensity can be felt in Delibes’ “Les Filles de Cadix,” though here the soprano sounds more colorful, richer, more vocally grounded; her high notes shine far more brightly, as if the spirit of Carmen were closer to her than the gentle poetry of the Leoncavallo piece. This Spanish chanson feels like a dance on a volcano, and what impresses most is the agogic finesse with which the singer paces its climaxes.
Her rendition of the ballad “Voyez dans la nuit brune” from Offenbach’s Fantasio is marked by the same intensity and a candid, fervent gesture. Her voice blossoms like an entire magnolia tree. And if one thing Yoncheva achieves should be pointed out, thanks to her technical and rhetorical skill and her melancholic, brooding temperament, it is to draw the listener in, almost magnetically, through a delicate and precisely placed espressivo. The fire continues to glow, undiminished, as the logs smolder in Sand’s salon.
This becomes especially clear in a piece likely known only to connoisseurs, Tosti’s song “Ninon,” set to verses by Musset. Not only is the phrasing nearly perfect; what truly stands out is the trembling desperation of the protagonist, her profound despair, her immense sorrow. Few can convey this as convincingly as Yoncheva, and she knows it. At the words “Qu’importe que le jour finisse et recommence,” she even allows herself a daringly “smoky” moment. And rightly so. Just as she, and mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti, are fully entitled to celebrate the bohemian life in Viardot’s homage to female artists of Paris, “Les Bohèmiennes,” based on a Hungarian Dance by Johannes Brahms.
Let’s imagine the scene again: A group of people dancing exuberantly, champagne glass in the right hand, a cigarette in the left. Savoir vivre, the way we wish it were more often. The album George gives us at least a glimpse of it.”
Virginie Germstein, Opernwelt

“To some, she is a talented and versatile writer, others value her for her socio-political engagement, and nowadays, many regard her as a feminist icon. She knew and socialized with Alexis de Tocqueville, was honored, and perhaps even loved, by musicians like Chopin and Liszt, as well as by the painter Delacroix. Her circle of acquaintances and friends included not only writers such as Balzac, Musset, Flaubert, or Heine, but also revolutionaries like Bakunin, Herzen, or Mazzini. The subject here is George Sand, born in Paris in 1804 as Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin de Francueil. Baudelaire, however, called her a “latrine,” and Nietzsche said she was “a fertile scribbling cow with something German in the worst sense about her.”
Now the soprano Sonya Yoncheva is passionately championing George Sand and wants to make her saying, “Awaken people to art, and do so as lovingly as if you were caring for a small child,” her modus operandi. Together with mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti, violinist Adam Taubitz, and pianist Olga Zado, she has created an album titled George, which immerses listeners in the richly colored world of this extraordinary woman. She begins her homage with Chopin’s version of “Casta diva” from Bellini’s Norma, moves on to Leoncavallo and Delibes, returns again to Chopin, and continues with Offenbach, Pauline Viardot, Tosti, and Liszt. Sonya Yoncheva’s full, finely focused, and expressive soprano is the ideal voice to bring us closer to George’s emotional world. The fact that she also reads, in beautifully sonorous French, from Alfred de Musset’s letters and from correspondence with Chopin and Marie Dorval makes this album all the more precious.”
J. Gahre, Das Opernglas

“The passionate heart of George Sand is now a triumph of mazurkas.”
“George Sand poured passionate feelings onto those dear to her. Soprano Yoncheva, who also produced the album, explores her inner world through music connected to the writer, both vocal and instrumental. Works by Chopin are included, even a unique piano transcription of Bellini’s Casta Diva. Also featured are pieces by friends Franz Liszt and Pauline Viardot, a singer-composer who reimagines Chopin’s mazurkas as songs. There are also various art songs, by composers such as Offenbach, Tosti, and Leoncavallo, set to verses by Alfred de Musset, whom Sand loved madly. Yoncheva also reads excerpts from Sand’s letters and novels.”
Gregorio Moppi, La Repubblica

“… grandiose voices… .”
“… the consistently good to phenomenal singing.
Above all, Sonya Yoncheva not only succeeds vocally in credibly portraying Iolanta’s emotional transformation with all the ingredients of lyricism and drama. She also combines vocal splendor with show-stopping acting to create a profound character portrait.”
Ljubiša Tošić, Der Standard

“Sokhiev also inspired the singers to deliver impressive performances, especially Sonya Yoncheva as an extraordinary Iolanta. She portrays the blind princess convincingly and shapes the demanding role simply stunningly.”
Michael Wruss, Oberösterreichische Nachrichten

“Sonya Yoncheva is fantastic in the title role, using her round, dark soprano to perfection: delicate creaminess, full tone, and a radiant forte.”
Martin Gasser, Kleine Zeitung

“With Sonya Yoncheva and her large soprano voice, the blind princess is brilliantly and attractively cast. No wonder Vaudémont, bursting in with his friend Robert, falls head over heels at the sight of the sleeping maiden.”
Ernst P. Strobl, Salzburger Nachrichten

“Sonya Yoncheva acts Iolanta with deep commitment and delights vocally as well – with a beautifully colored soprano, good top notes, delicate lyrical passages, and power in the dramatic passages of the role…”
Gert Korentschnig, Kurier

“Sonya Yoncheva fills the stage and the entire role with her mature, flexible, expressive soprano, still lyrically rooted, in which the slightest edge and rare instable notes dissolve into the finely shaped whole: a diva in the role of the overprotected princess. She sees her father René, solidly sung by Ivo Stanchev, more gentle than forceful, and all her friends and confidantes. But most of all, she sees Prince Vaudémont, who first made her aware of her blindness, and with whom she is now united in love and sight.”
Walter Weidringer, Die Presse

“Iolanta, powerfully voiced and radiantly cast with Sonya Yoncheva, is not very girlish and lives with her companions on a green hill that evokes less of Wagner and more of Madonna in a rose garden. Like a tableau vivant, Yoncheva is flanked by a group of Yonchevas, as her handmaidens appear to be clones of their mistress, setting the tone for the evening right from the start.”
APA (Austrian Press Agency)

Sonya Yoncheva reveals radiant top notes…”
Dr. Karl-Heinz Roschitz, Kronen-Zeitung

“In star soprano Sonya Yoncheva and conductor Tugan Sokhiev, Titov has key collaborators who clearly believe passionately in Tchaikovsky’s opera and he presents a beautiful production that plays it more or less by the book…
(…)
On opening night, Titov’s staging received heroic performances from all concerned, led by Yoncheva who absolutely sang her heart out as Iolanta. Her soprano now has gloriously rich depths – think Anna Netrebko about ten years ago (a compliment) – and she spun the lines of her opening arioso like silk. Her top was thrilling, matched in duet by tenor Dmytro Popov, and her acting was utterly believable.”
Mark Pullinger, Opera Now

“Sonya Yoncheva was an excellent Iolanta. Her warmly colored soprano with secure top notes suited the role perfectly.”
Johannes Marksteiner, Online Merker

“A fairytale princess couldn’t be more beautiful than Sonya Yoncheva with her long black hair (by the way, her ladies look like her for most of the time), at first in a nude bodysuit in the water, then wrapped in a beautiful dress. She sings wonderful cantilenas, effortlessly soars to high notes (…) and joins her tenor in a truly passionate, rapturously acclaimed love duet.”
Renate Wagner, Online Merker

[Photo: Michael Pöhn / Wiener Staatsoper]