Attila

The Washington Post, September 2011

She also gets Verdi's style: Not only did she nail tricky coloratura passages, she shaped her lines so that she delivered the most at climactic moments. Some might focus on her flaws, and there were a few, but in this repertory, she's ahead of the pack, including singers much better known than she is.

Fidelio

Opera News, January 2012

Brenda Harris's radiant Leonore rose to the apex of Einhorn's dramatic concept — a larger than life heroine, working under cover as the errand boy Fidelio, who overcomes fear and self-doubt to defeat Pizarro and rescue her husband Florestan. Harris's vocal capacity and well-paced dramatic arc were impressive...

Most memorable performances of last 12 months

By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer

Tulsa Opera's productions of "Don Giovanni" in February and the company premiere of "Norma" in May featured some excellent performances - Christopher Feigum in the title role, Wayne Tigges as Leporello and Pamela Armstrong as Donna Anna in the former, Brenda Harris in the title role, Edyta Kulczak as Adalgisa and Harold Wilson as Oroveso in the latter.
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Classical music 2011: Vocal performances were something to sing about

By Rob Hubbard, Special to the Pioneer Press

The Minnesota Opera's "Mary Stuart." The stormy soprano smackdown between Brenda Harris and Judith Howarth was the climax of this soaring centerpiece to Gaetano Donizetti's Tudor Trilogy. Those two powerhouse performances stood out, but the singing and stagecraft were spectacular throughout this thrilling production.
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Norma

Tulsa World - May 20011

The title role is one of the most demanding in the soprano repertoire, in that the character's tumultuous emotional state is expressed by so many different vocal techniques that a singer has to shift swiftly and smoothly.

Brenda Harris does all this in frankly stupendous fashion. Her performance was filled with moments that just about took the breath away.

Here was a soprano of impressive vocal power, regardless of register, and a suppleness of expression that made every note come alive.

Lady Macbeth

Opera News, October 2010

Brenda Harris was fabulous as Lady Macbeth. Her soprano seemed voluminous, and her characterization virtually dripped with bile -- all the while employing a formidable chest register that gave way to a perfectly calibrated trill in the brindisi and a rock-solid high D-flat in the sleepwalking scene.

Brenda Harris Disects Norma

By CREWMANTLE | Published: SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

Acclaimed American Soprano Brenda Harris agreed to sit down with COMMANDOpera for a wide ranging discussion devoted to Norma which the artist will be performing at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City on the evening of November 6. The role of Norma is considered the supreme role of the soprano range within the dominion of the Bel Canto repertoire. Norma is only taken on by the most confident of artists who not only own sufficient vocal resources, but the presence of star quality which is found rarely. Miss Harris first undertook the role some years ago, performing the work throughout America and abroad. The breathtaking and singular perfection of the Norma of Miss Harris may be known through audio excerpts found here. COMMANDOpera had for some time wished to illuminate this work in a most specific and personal manner. This could only be done through a Norma of great stature and depth. Since one would not disturb Miss Sutherland, the proverbial Rolodex listed only one other artist of sufficient gravitas: Miss Harris. Not everyone who writes on Opera enjoys such access, and COMMANDOpera is most thankful to Miss Harris for her kindness to this venue for making this important interview possible. COMMANDOpera advises readers to listen and hang on to every word of this discussion, as no analysis of this thorough weight exists anywhere in any other forum on the topic of Norma...

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As Agathe 'Der Freischutz'

Opera News, October 2009

Brenda Harris's pure, somewhat cool timbre made for a luminous Agathe. "Leise, leise," a lyric-soprano litmus test for the likes of Jenny Lind and others, was very intelligently sculpted, particularly in a skilled transition from the aria's predominantly inward lyricism to the triumphant exultation of its final measures.

As Mrs. Julian 'Owen Wingrave'

Opera News, August 2009

As Mrs. Julian, Brenda Harris' floated pianissimo in the dinner interlude brought a musical pleasure of its own.

The Turn of the Screw

Opera (England), August 2009

Brenda Harris as the Governess, captured the emotional turmoil with incisive singing and acting. When showing resolve and courage, Harris sang with flinty determination and a clarion projection. When collapsing in anguish and frustration, her voice had a soft, melting quality that was ideal.

Governess 'Turn of the Screw' at Portland Opera

The Oregonian February 9, 2009

...her emotionally intense and unsparing performance carries the show more than anything else, and her rich soprano and sensitive phrasing make poignant work of Britten's vocal lines.

Alice Ford in Falstaff

Dallas Morning News, May 2007

Vocally, the star of the show was Brenda Harris as Alice Ford, dispensing a gorgeous soprano with the greatest of ease and elegance.

Austin 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'

Opera News

Harris found the most exquisite legato I have heard from any singer of the role. This was a performance for the ages.

'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk' with Austin Lyric

Dallas Morning News, January 2006

...this is drop-dead gorgeous singing, soaring on high, glowing with mezzo-ish warmth in lower registers, nearly every phrase elegantly turned.

'Orazi e Curiazi' with MN Opera

Donizetti Society, April 2006

That Harris was able to maintain her exacting vocal standards and still deliver some of the finest acting I've witnessed on the operatic stage is nothing short of miraculous.

Elizabeth (Roberto Devereux)

The Washington Times - March 2004

Soprano Brenda Harris was a brilliant Elizabeth whose stunning bel canto instrument effortlessly negotiated Act One’s tricky vocal acrobatics. From tender interludes to thundering royal ragings, she was every inch a queen in command of her kingdom and this performance.

Norma (Minnesota Opera)

Opera News - April 2003

Minnesota Opera’s Norma was like a great force of nature, a tidal wave of grand singing and high drama, which swept off its steeply raked stage and into the Ordway Center auditorium (Jan 25). Triumphantly riding its crest was soprano Brenda Harris as Norma. She had it all: unstinting intensity, brilliant high Cs, breathtaking high-note tapers, trills, elegant tone and total dramatic commitment.

Vanessa

Mittelbadische Presse - May 2003

Brilliantly displayed was the leading actress. She personified Vanessa in an ideal manner and with a superior soprano voice. One understands why she unquestionably belongs on world class stages (i.e. The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera).

Agrippina (New York City Opera)

Peter G. Davis - New York Magazine - April 2002

The show has been tightened and streamlined considerably since I saw it in August, and at least one bit of casting is wonderfully improved. Brenda Harris in the title role is a marvel of comic irony and glamorous deviousness, a perfect combination to put over director Lillian Groag’s notion that the composer’s youthful jeu d’esprit is actually a Hollywood screwball comedy in disguise. Harris looks great in Jess Goldstein’s Joan Collins gowns, she packs a mean pistol, and she even sings the florid music with considerable grace and élan.

Agrippina

The Wall Street Journal - April 2002

The show was substantially recast for New York. One improvement was Brenda Harris, whose rich dramatic soprano gave weight to the nasty, conniving Agrippina.

Ariadne auf Naxos

Opera News - October 2001

As Ariadne, Brenda Harris sang surpassingly well, her clear, well-supported soprano soaring above the orchestra with power to spare; during the opera seria, her Prima Donna vein resurfaced whenever she brushed against the comedians, adding a humorous dimension to her characterization.

Desdemona

Opera News - August 2001

Soprano Brenda Harris scored a stunning personal success in the first Desdemona of her career. Her voice sounded strong, yet supple throughout. Minutes after effortlessly riding the crest of the big ensemble that closes Act III, she returned (without benefit of an intermission in this production) to deliver a willow song and “Ave Maria” of crystalline delicacy, capping the latter with a shimmering pianissimo. With a regal yet graceful stage presence, her Desdemona was no drooping victim but an authentically tragic heroine whose very innocence made it impossible for her to comprehend her husband’s jealousy. Harris may add felicitous details in future performances of the role, but she scarcely can improve on the overall mastery she displayed here.

Semiramide

Classical Singer Magazine - June 2000

The musical end of Semiramide was upheld gloriously. Brenda Harris, as the eponymous Babylonian queen, is a soprano of immense accomplishment and stunning technical control.
Her powerful voice, remarkably even in every respect throughout its phenomenal range, seems capable of all and everything that this style of vocalism could demand. Her flawless trills, including a most remarkable one sustained for seemingly ever between high B and C#, were a wonder, as were several marvelous pianissimi in alt. This was golden age singing. A stunningly beautiful woman, she was every inch the Queen of Assyria and a magnetic stage presence as well.

Semiramide

Opera (England) - June 2000

Brenda Harris was superb as Semiramide. She is an attractive woman with bright, well projected and sizeable tone. She also has all the attributes needed to deliver the demanding role: radiant high notes, blazing coloratura facility, subtle dynamic shadings, and grand musical style. Her delivery of the ‘Bel raggio’ cavatina was a brilliant display, and her Act 2 prayer, ‘Al mio pregar’, an exquisitely sung delicacy.