REVIEWS
Gala concert celebrating the life of the late Julius Rudel
New York, NY -2015
"Late in the program came the world premiere of "The Waking", a concert aria on the poem of Theodore Roethke sung brilliantly by Kristin Sampson. "
— David Drake, Huffington Post
Violetta, La traviata
New York, NY - 2012
“Violetta, along with Mimì in La bohème, is the consummate operatic consumptive. In Dicapo Opera’s new production of Verdi’s La traviata, Kristin Sampson – substituting for an ailing Anna Noggle – lived up to that characterization. Sampson’s seemingly effortless singing was top-notch throughout this most demanding of roles, her top notes crystal-clear and her florid coloratura runs quite compelling. From the swinging ‘Brindisi’ to Violetta’s lyrical declaration of love for Alfredo and her heart-rending aria in the throes of emotional and physical collapse, Sampson demonstrated limpidity of sound, heftiness of voice, and an assured, emotional delivery. Her ‘Sempre libera’ was a credible demonstration of Violetta’s longing to avoid love’s trammels, even when she knows that cannot be. Sampson’s fine acting brought aplomb and a sense of purpose to Violetta’s duets with Alfredo and Germont.”
— Victor Wheeler, Classicalsource.com
New York, NY - 2012
“The soprano cast as Violetta, Anna Noggle, was unfortunately taken ill but DiCapo was fortunate in her replacement, Kristin Sampson. Ms. Sampson has a rich and ample dramatic soprano which she wisely toned down for the demands of the role and the size of the house. She negotiated the coloratura passages in Act I with accuracy. Her acting skills were admirable...All three principals conveyed the emotional growth of their respective characters, an aspect that makes this opera so beloved.”
— Meche Kroop, The Opera Insider
New York, NY - 2012
“Spinto Kristin Sampson confidently replaced the indisposed Anna Noggle, singing with a dark commandingly rich soprano...her gutsy detailed interpretation gained in authority in the later two acts.”
— Eli Jacobson, Gay City News
Masha, The Seagull
Szeged National Theatre - 2010
“Kristin Sampson in the role of Masha was the most outstanding artist of the production. She returned to Szeged after having been the winner of last year’s competition. She was fantastic once again, her voice filled the theatre, in spite of the fact that the role is a very difficult one.”
— Balázs Csák, Opera Portál
Szeged National Theatre - 2010
“...Even in the smaller roles we could see real talents. Kristin Sampson (who sang Adriana and Emmeline in the previous years) could make a leading role from that of Masha.”
— László Ferenc, REVIZOR
New York, NY - 2010
“After an agitated orchestral prelude, Act I begins with an involving love spat between Medvedenko (the appealing tenor David Gagnon), an earnest teacher, and Masha (the plush-voiced soprano Kristin Sampson)…”
— Anthony Tommasini, New York Times
New York, NY - 2010
“Kristin Sampson (Masha, the daughter of Shamrayeff, the estate manager – the opera takes place at the estate – and his wife Pauline) sang with such authority, vigor and
pliancy that I wondered how she would sound at the Met."
— Victor Wheeler, Classicalsource.com
New York, NY - 2010
“Kristin Sampson managed to take the rather one-dimensional character of Masha and present her as a woman of complexity and depth.”
— Arlo McKinnon, Opera News
New York, NY - 2010
“A mostly intelligent production by Maria Harangi utilized talented young singers who brought fresh voices and eager dramatic identification to their parts. Beverly O’Regan Thiele’s commanding Mme. Arkadina, a radiant Molly Mustonen as Nina, and the darkly brilliant Kristin Sampson as the unhappy Masha brought Chekhov’s women to life.”
— Eli Jacobson, Gay City News
Cio Cio San, Madama Butterly
New York, NY - 2010
"The title role was impeccably executed
by the magnanimously gifted Sampson, whose brilliant vocals were at times mighty as a raging torrent; and at others, soft and tender like the gentle Butterfly she played. A soprano of high quality, she was more than deserving of her overwhelming applause."
—Olga Privman - Reviewfix.com
New York, NY - 2010
"Sampson emitted such kindness as the
tragic heroine that one could not help but feel emphatic sadness for her child (Isabelle Gendron) at the loss of such a pure soul for a mother."
—Olga Privman - Reviewfix.com
Emmeline, Emmeline
New York, NY - 2009
"The title role in this opera can be viewed as a long crescendo from the meekness of an innocent fourteen-year-old girl to a woman crushed by the dreadful circumstances of her life. Kristin Sampson caught this thread perfectly. Beginning from the hopeful letter home, through the sorrow of knowing she would never see the baby she was carrying, to the burgeoning and consummated love for Matthew, through the revelation that Matthew is Emmeline's son, Sampson delivered a performance that built steadily in intensity. Her rendition of Emmeline's concluding aria, "Everything I want is gone," was a genuinely devastating statement of resigned despair. "
—Arlo McKinnon, Opera News
New York, NY - 2009
“In the title role Kristin Sampson ably enacted a progression from innocent girl to outcast woman and sang with a light, appealing tone…”
—Steven Smith, New York Times
New York, NY - 2009
“With her big, gleaming dramatic soprano, Kristin Sampson brought authority to the tour-de-force role of Emmeline”
—Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal
Tosca, Tosca
Hyannis, MA - 2011
“Casting often makes it difficult to imagine Tosca as a diva who would drive men to murder. Kristin Sampson, however, played the role beautifully. She was a diva of the best sort — gracious, beautiful and tender. It was easy to understand how Cavaradossi could be in love with her and only her. It was equally easy to see how Scarpia could become obsessed with her.”
— Susan Blood, Cape Cod Times
Worcester, MA - 2011
“Yes, once again Opera Worcester brought in the National Lyric Opera Company for a mesmerizing
production... Soprano Kristin Sampson ably dispatched her aria through a vast open window to the audience. The artistic climax of the opera occurs in Act II in the ferocious combat between Scarpia and Tosca over her virtue. Their struggle crackled with torrid vocal barrages. A fatal knifing seemed the only righteous resolution to the chemistry between Sampson and LeBron.”
— John Zeugner, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
New York, NY - 2011
“Kristin Sampson is an experienced singer in this house. She struck the right balance between fiery passion and loopy rage as Floria Tosca. She was tender in the first
act, growling and determined in the second (with a pause for a lyric "Vissi d'arte") and positively loopy in the third.”
— Paul Pelkonen, Superconductor
New York, NY - 2011
“I was already a fan of Kristin Sampson, and quite liked her Floria Tosca. Her sound is rich and full, and Tosca fits her voice perfectly. In a house whose acoustics are known to tempt singers to push, Miss Sampson’s large voice sounded free and comfortable. She is a beautiful young woman and looks every bit the proud and jealous diva, aided by rich costumes and grand coiffures. I have no complaints about Miss Sampson’s performance, and she was by far the star of the show, the best reason to be there...”
— David Browning, Opera Pulse
New York, NY - 2011
“The opera’s best-known aria(s)...Tosca’ s ‘Vissi d’arte’ – was augustly sung... demonstrating superb timbre, vibrant clarity of sound, and steady voice control. Kristin Sampson’s Tosca was an imposing figure, full of plausible pathos, explosive anger, and unbridled joy. Her commanding stage presence was never more apparent than when Tosca, in a pious moment after murdering Scarpia, places candles around his body and then drops a crucifix onto it. Tosca and Cavaradossi’s love duets were all beautifully sung, the attraction between the lovers palpable.”
— Victor Wheeler, Classicalsource.com
New York, NY - 2011
“As the title role, Kristin Sampson brings a good deal of petulance to her characterization, which imbues the first act with a wonderful comedy and playfulness that are often missing…She’s a soprano of excellent phrasing…she has sufficient breadth to satisfy in the role.”
— Parker Woolf, CITYARTS
Soprano Soloist, A Modern Tryst
Brooklyn, NY - 2011
“A Modern Tryst,” as Wednesday’s concert was called, began with a substitution: the mezzo-soprano scheduled to sing Benjamin Britten’s great late cantata “Phaedra” had strep throat, so the soprano Kristin Sampson filled in with three passionately delivered arias from Tobias Picker’s 1996 opera, “Emmeline.”
— Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times
Emmeline, Emmeline
Szeged National Theatre - 2009
“The one we should mention at first place is Kristin Sampson among the singers who added a lot to the success of the opera. We saw her last year in the final (she sang Adriana Lecouvreur) and she had a very good impression on me. Emmeline’s part is extremely difficult: it calls for a big voice with
heights and expressive power. (I have to mention that the director did not make it easier at all for Ms Sampson: she had to sing lying on her back with her head dropped down…) Ms. Sampson not only managed to carry out the instructions she did a lot more: she formed her character with a perfect vocal performance and a strong, expressive presence on stage. (She was crying at the end of the show. After such a performance I must say her tears were
more than honest.)”
— Balázs Csák, Opera Portál
Szeged National Theatre - 2009
“We know Kristin Sampson, who is singing the title-role, from last year’s Adriana Lecouvreur. The fact is that Emmeline’s role is a killer of the vocal chords so there are not too many sopranos who would willingly sing it. Ms Sampson, however, sang it brilliantly: the young American soprano has a great voice and a personality: we should pay attention to her. And we will definitely have the chance to see her again since the jury – quite rightly – made her the winner!”
— Tamás Jászay, REVIZOR
Szeged National Theatre - 2009
“Kristin Sampson, who according to
the Hungarian members of the jury should have been the winner last year, sang brillianly in 2009, too. She played the character of the 14 year old Emmeline very impressively: she was naive and vulnerable in her shabby clothes. Then in act two she has become a beautiful young woman. Moreover, she is a fantastic singer.”
— Csilla Gyémánt, Szegedi Opera Klub Fötéma
Annina, The Saint of Bleecker St.
New York, NY- 2011
“Kristin Sampson…managed to enact
girlish faith, with as reasonable conviction as the material permitted. With her imposing, red-blooded spinto, at times sounded
ready to launch into Manon Lescaut…”
— David Shengold, Opera News
New York, NY- 2011
“In Kristin Sampson, Dicapo had an
Annina who delivered potently at climactic moments…”
— Steve Smith, New York Times
New York, NY- 2011
“Cast as the frail, otherworldly, oh-so-saintly Annina, Kristin Sampson exuded robust earthiness and sounded like a misplaced Tosca.”
— Martin Bernheimer, Financial Times
New York, NY- 2011
“The cast has the requisite big voices.
Kristin Sampson’s dramatic soprano…sang with fervor. She was especially telling in the scenes with Michele when Annina rhapsodizes about taking the veil, her gleaming proving a fine match for the
soaring melodies that characterize the girl’s religious ardor.”
— George Loomis, Musical America
New York, NY- 2011
“Kristin Sampson was astounding, her
singing effectively booming and subdued, and her crystal-clear top notes so wonderfully conveyed Annina’s religious rapture. Her middle-and low-range were handled with great command and exultation. She was definitely a woman in the throes of religious fervour.”
— Victor Wheeler, Classicalsource.com
New York, NY- 2011
“Heading a topnotch cast, soprano
Kristin Sampson, as Annina, the eponymous saint, is riveting as she recounts her vision of the Crucifixion in “Oh sweet Jesus, spare me
this agony,” a monologue as monumental as “To this we’ve come,” from the composer’s “The Consul” (1950). Sampson touches us with her sweet “Be good to her, be kind,” advice for Salvatore (baritone Stephen Lavonier), who is marrying her dearest friend Carmela (soprano Molly Mustonen), and is hypnotic in the final scene in which,
on the brink of death, Annina takes the veil.”
— Bruce-Michael Gelbert, [Q]OnStage
Nedda, I Pagliacci
Santiago, Chile - 2010
“Kristin Samson was specially ingratiating as
Nedda: she possesses a high register that she calibrates from a sensual morbidezza to a more brutal sound. Her Nedda is
voluptuous and aggressive, which can be considered as resulting very true to the style“
—TIEMPO DE MUSICA
– Cristobal Astorga Sepulveda
Santiago, Chile - 2010
“The American Kristin Sampson displayed a
timbre of pleasant color and body as she delineated her role with special and mature tints of passion”
—TIEMPO LIBRE – Mario Cordova
Santiago, Chile - 2010
“The Mexican-American Kristin Sampson was very good in her role of Nedda”
—MUNDOCLASICO – Johnny Teperman
Santiago, Chile - 2010
“The American Kristin Sampson sang with a
beautiful voice and stupendous acting in I Pagliacci portraying a very credible Nedda”
—EMOL – Gilberto Ponce
Santiago, Chile - 2010
“The sought after Mexican-American
soprano, Kristin Sampson, stood out as Nedda”
—UPI.com
Emmeline, Emmeline
New York, NY - 2009
“As Emmeline, Kristin Sampson, seen last season as Šárka, was stunning dramatically as well as vocally. She was utterly convincing all the way through her journey from a
naïve thirteen-year-old child to a scorned outcast, weighed down by a life of sorrow. She has a beautiful resonant voice with great intonation and enunciation. She had the power when she needed it and the delicacy for the beautiful lyrical melodies that Picker gave the character. Her facial expressions (visible in a small house) and every gesture gave depth and pathos to the character. For me the musical highpoint of the opera came in the second act when Emmeline fantasized about her baby who must now be twenty years old – she had named her Maryanne. “All I have left is the pain,” she sang, and sang beautifully.”
—Arlene Judith Klotzko, ConcertoNet.com
New York, NY - 2009
“Kristin Sampson shone as Emmeline, handling not only the transition from 13 to 34 with convincing physical aplomb, but traversing an incredibly challenging vocal part with evenness and beauty. The rangy, powerful singing required of her lyric voice seemed natural and never forced, and her dramatic focus drew the audience in throughout the story.”
—Whitney Scott, Operaticus.
New York, NY - 2009
“…American soprano Kristin Sampson had a dark, full lyric soprano…sturdy and unfazed by the role’s length and high tessitura.”
—Eli Jacobson, Chelsea Now
