Reviews & Press
“These concert takes might lack the theatricality or pageantry of a staged performance, but by putting the soloists and orchestra front and center onstage, they allow audiences to zero in on the music and singing in a way that is often not possible in an opera house.
And, oh, what singers and musicians. In this context, the CSO was instantly transformed into one of the world's top opera orchestras, and Muti's reputation allowed him to assemble nothing short of a dream cast. /…/
The revelation of the evening was mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina who was was nothing short of electrifying as Ulrica, the fortune-teller who foretells Ricardo's demise. With earthy low notes and vocal punch, she deliciously conjured all the menace and malevolence of this mysterious character”.
And, oh, what singers and musicians. In this context, the CSO was instantly transformed into one of the world's top opera orchestras, and Muti's reputation allowed him to assemble nothing short of a dream cast. /…/
The revelation of the evening was mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina who was was nothing short of electrifying as Ulrica, the fortune-teller who foretells Ricardo's demise. With earthy low notes and vocal punch, she deliciously conjured all the menace and malevolence of this mysterious character”.
24 June 2022
"Best among the featured singers were the mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina, commanding as the soothsayer Ulrica, and the soprano Damiana Mizzi, sprightly but silky as the page Oscar, a rare Verdian trouser role."
24 June 2022
“Russian mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina put her heart and soul into the role of Princess Eboli and in her famous aria O don fatale she revealed her rich mezzo-soprano creating considerable drama.”
- Michael Cookson
“Julia Matochkina's Princess Eboli to many opera enthusiasts may well be the winner of the unintentional vocal competition in this Don Carlo on German soil. Her mezzo-soprano voice is truly a natural gift: the splendid timbre, rich in nuances, the homogeneous registers, the impeccable technique. ”
- Irina Sorokina , L'Ape Musicale
“Magnifica nel velluto dell’emissione e per la padronanza dei suoni agli estremi del suo registro, poi, il mezzosoprano Yulia Matochkina che, da verdiana doc, scontorna un Liber scriptus da manuale per la quota espressiva con cui governa accenti, pause e dinamiche, le sfumature in pianissimo nei salti o l’incedere in crescendo nel doppio puntato, accompagnando ad arte le esplosioni di voce. ”
- Paola De Simone , Paola De Simone
“Yulia Matochkina inspire en Azucena un personnage d’un grand raffinement, capable autant de puiser dans une noirceur nobiliaire que d’extérioriser des aigus brillants.”
- Fomalhaut
“Der Azucena lieh Yulia Matochkina ihren vollmundigen Mezzo, der frei von Brüchen durch alle Register strömt und dessen Tiefe ebenso samtig ist wie die Höhe strahlend. Noch mehr als die pure Technik faszinierte aber die Gestaltung, denn sie interpretierte die Rolle nicht bloß als rachegetriebene Hexe, sondern als traumatisierte Frau, die mit ihren inneren Dämonen kämpft; für jede widerstreitende Gefühlsregung fand sie in ihrer Stimme die richtige Farbe und auch darstellerisch brachte sie diese Gefühle packend über die Rampe.”
- Isabella Steppan , Bachtrack
“...la solidité d’une voix sans limite apparente, la chaleur d’un « Condotta ell’era in ceppi » halluciné, la pugnacité véhémente de « Ralento, o barbari » et surprenant après de telles démonstrations de force, la douceur mezza voce au dernier acte d’une berceuse apaisée, exhalée du bout des lèvres.”
- Christophe Rizoud , Forum Opera
"De hermosos ribetes sonoros la concisa y exhuberante voz de la mezzo rusa Yulia Matochkina, quien supo plegarse a la generosa particella de Venus, en esta versión “final” de la ópera Wagneriana. De canto pleno, color pulposo y escénicamente con la carnalidad propia de la diosa del amor, Matochkina brilló con luz propia."
- Jordi Maddaleno , Platea
“Yulia Matochkina, en cambio, es una Venus mucho más conforme a la ortodoxia wagneriana. Posee une voz grande, de bello timbre, con un buen centro, pero que sobre todo resplandece en el segmento superior de su tesitura. Su interpretación refleja todas las facetas que exige este papel con sus fuertes cambios de afectos, pero acentuando más el temperamento apasionado y dominante del personaje que su faceta sensual y seductora.”
- J. G. MESSERSCHMIDT , Pro Opera
"..Yulia Matochkina was an Ortrud of white-hot intensity – her invocation of the gods in the second act pinned you to the back of your seat. "
- Keith McDonnell , Opera + Classical Music Reviews