I CAPULETI ED I MONTECCHI - Glimmerglass
“Sandra Piques Eddy was a finely ferocious Romeo”

“…the music is vintage Bellini—long, sinuous melodies that wind around the heart—and what is most important in any performance is having the singers who can do bel canto any sort of justice. This was the case here as Sandra Piques Eddy (Romeo) and Sarah Coburn (Giulietta) amply demonstrated, weaving their spells through the opera to the inevitable tomb scene, where they obliterated sets, costumes (modern again) and cast to illumine the stage with voice, voice, voice.”

"In the traditional trousers role of Romeo, mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy swaggered her way through the assembled Capulets to produce a clear-voiced conciliatory cavatina to Cappellio ("Se Romeo t'uccise un figlio"). By contrast her angry cabaletta reply ("La tremenda ultrice spada") to the hositle Capulets was beautifully sung with a well-ornamented repeat and a seamless drop into chest voice. Eddy's second scene plea ("Si, fuggire; A noi non resta") to the superb Giulietta of Sarah Coburn was marked by a striking control of dynamics in the cabaletta, and the andante aria in the tomb scene exhibited a flawlessly effective diminuendo."

"Glimmerglass Opera's production of Bellini's "I Capuleti e i Montecchi " on Saturday night had some of the best singing of the season. Based generally on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" the two act opera was a showpiece for mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy in the pants role of Romeo and Soprano Sarah Coburn as Giulietta. Both are powerhouse singers with big voices who navigated the long, arduous but lyrical beautiful lines of the several arias with strength, conviction, strong phrasing and passion. In Eddy's solo arias, her lower range, with its strongly edged chest tones, was particularly impressive. Together their chemistry was one of tenderness and charm, which underpinned their supple techniques most notably in "Si, fuggire."

LA CENERENTOLA - Spoleto Festival USA
"Sandra Piques Eddy, a mezzo with a lustrous voice, proved a defiant Angelina from her first notes, not so much lamenting her stepsisters' bossiness as rebuking them for it."

"The brightest sparkle belonged to Ms. Piques Eddy, a swan-necked mezzo with fine technique, a range of colors from honeyed to bright and charm to burn."

"Sandra Piques Eddy is a Cinderella whose goodness comes through from the very start, simply in the grace she bestows on the little song that introduces her. As Cinderella blossoms in the face of good fortune, Eddy's rich voice and ready smile radiate far into the Gailliard Auditorium."

"Another onstage performer earned well-deserved praise- Sandra Piques Eddy in the title role. Wanting to hear and see more of the mezzo-soprano after her performance as the maid in Lakme, I felt lucky to listen to her sing in one of the few leading roles on Friday night. Eddy has done wonderful things with the character, who is strong and feisty, never a victim. She stands out in an almost uniformly superior group of actor-singers who are capable of bringing great emotion as well as humor to the opera."

"As the title character, mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy looked great and sounded even better. She proved to be a brilliant vocal acrobat, with strength and even tone in all parts of her broad range."

"Mezzo Soprano Sandra Piques Eddy took the title role and brought down the house with her final aria "Non Piu Mesta" full of vocal acrobatics when she forgives all and marries her prince."

"The title role of La Cenerentola is written for that rare bird, a coloratura contralto. Possessing a deep, strong and flexible lower range, mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy was an ideal Angelina. She tossed off Rossini's florid fioriture fearlessly, brilliantly decorating her vocal line."

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO - Atlanta Opera
"The productions' most dashing voice belonged to mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy. As the gender-reversed, sex-crazed pageboy, she sang Cherubino on overdrive, sparkling in voice, floating glorious tones."

"Mezzo-Soprano Sandra Piques Eddy earned lots of laughs as Cherubino, winning over the audience with her distinctive physical comedy."

ROMEO ET JULIETTE- Hawaii Opera Theater
"Mezzo Soprano Sandra Piques Eddy, as courageous but over confident page Stephano, also gives a terrific performance in the third act, with her (his) provoking "turtle-dove" song.

"Of the visiting artists, Sandra Piques Eddy was outstanding in her trouser role as Stephano the page, her aria is not to be missed."

L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI - Vancouver Opera
"Sandra Piques Eddy showed plenty of spunk as Isabella and had a good comic touch. She is a great Rossini singer who exudes style."

"Blessed with physical beauty and a luxurious voice that nailed the many low notes of Isabella's role, Eddy, cracking a whip at times was completely believable as a woman who could tame a mob of testosterone-rich men with a single glance."

"American mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy stepped into the title role of Isabella at short notice. She's a find: Piques Eddy has a voice remarkably like Cecilia Bartoli's in her sultry lower register and warm, creamy upper notes. Piques Eddy tosses off Isabella's opening salvo "Cruda sorte" with panache, easily rising above the orchestra. Yet her coloratura can send shivers up your spine in the delicate long lines of "Per lui, che adoro." Like the rest of the cast, she suits her role physically, and she's a deft comedian."

Sandra Piques Eddy as Isabella is ideal with her rich, florid mezzo (She hit the low notes thrillingly)"

"As Isabella, Sandra Piques Eddy strides about the stage, whip in hand, charm to spare, her dark, honey-glutted mezzo-soprano agile and enticing."

"Sandra Piques Eddy is perfect as a Katharine Hepburn, pants wearing, independent woman named Isabella looking for her lost love Lindoro...Eddy clearly shines brightest, as she loves her role as an Isabella who can tame men with a look or a wave."

"Sandra Piques Eddy's Isabella was a toothsome confection...a radiant stage presence, she has a plush mezzo voice and used it to great effect particularly in her arias "Per lui, che adoro" and "Pensa alla patria."

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO - Canadian Opera Company
"Top of the line is American mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy as Cherubino, the only singer who consistently cuts through the orchestra."

"Sandra Piques Eddy gives a vibrant performance of Cherubino that is equally strong vocally and visually."

"Here's that most auspicious of pairings in the operatic world: a good singer and actor. Typing of which, Sandra Piques Eddy, as the youthful lustmuffin Cherubino, is equally magnificent. Her mezzo is a resonant, rich sound that is capable of both power and delicacy, just at the right moments. Her tone, as well as good body language, lend believability to her male part, even as she manages a bit of menace in her harassment of the Countess."

"Another standout is Sandra Piques Eddy as Cherubino, who manages to convince as a woman playing a man sometimes playing a woman."

"Eddy is made for the role of Cherubino and splendidly captures the character's mischievousness and boyish ardor."

"A young page named Cherubino is not only Susanna's lover but he is also the back-door man to almost every woman in the court. Mezzo-Soprano Sandra Piques Eddy's portrayal of this adolescent male is hilariously convincing as she lopes around like a horny boy with her classically beautiful face. Imagine Uma Thurman playing Tom Sawyer."

BEATRICE ET BENEDICT - Chicago Opera Theater
"The young lovers are exquisitely sung by mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy, who sang Cherubino in "Marriage of Figaro" at COT two seasons ago and has since gone on to do so at the Met, and tenor Joseph Kaiser, fresh off of Lyric's "Dialogues of the Carmelites" and the Tamino in the upcoming Kenneth Branagh film adaptation of Mozart's "The Magic Flute". Not only do the lovers sound great, but they have charismatic chemistry portraying a couple passionate about one another even when they are sparring."

"As the squabbling lovers, the young attractive singing actors Joseph Kaiser and Sandra Piques Eddy are ideally cast. When we saw the headstrong Beatrice and the smug Benedict frozen in spotlit longing, we knew they would wind up in each other's arms eventually. Eddy (well-remembered for Cherubino in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro at COT in 2005) and Kaiser (one of the star alums of the Lyric's Ryan Opera Center) generated the chemistry needed to make their romantic jousting fully believable. Eddy's rich, pliant voice had the supple mezzo colorations needed to convey the heroine's proud coltish spirit, yet also commanded the lyrical warmth to show us the vulnerability Beatrice kept hidden beneath her bemused exterior. Kaiser and Eddy were marvelous together."

"The warm rosy mezzo of Sandra Piques Eddy seems ideal to the role, to my thinking, making Beatrice a thoughtful cynic instead of an unstable neurotic. She brought great ardor to her ACT II "Dieu, Que viens-je d'entendre?" and rode the following scales of "Il m'en souvient" with sparkling aplomb."

"As the lovers, tenor Joseph Kaiser and mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy seem born to their lyrical parts and to their stage feuding-loving as well."

"The two leads Sandra Piques Eddy (Beatrice) and Joseph Kaiser (Benedict) were absolutely phenomenal. Typically for performers, acting is either -or not both. The two leads were so good at both, that I could not tell whether they started as actors or singers. They always left me wanting more be it dialogue or singing"

"Dark timbred Sandra Piques Eddy....her progression from Beatrice's caustic posturing to flooding tenderness was three-hanky touching. Eddy's Act II aria, "Il men souvient" delivered with genuine warmth(and an excellent pianissimo) earned her the biggest applause of the evening."

IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA - Austin Lyric Opera
"Likewise, the nimble singing of mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy sparkled."

IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA - Jacksonville Symphony
"Sandra Piques Eddy flourished as Rosina, the object of Dr. Bartolo's and Count Almaviva's affection, and flaunted her expansive vocal range in the aria Una voce poco fa at the opening of the second act."

COSI FAN TUTTE – New York City Opera
"A strong degree of characterization emerges, abetted by the casting- a svelte hottie (the glamorous Sandra Piques Eddy) as Dorabella, as foil to a more retiring Fiordiligi (Julianna DiGiacomo). This Dorabella and her sporty Guglielmo (Kyle Pfortmiller) strike erotic sparks in their Act II duet, which proves the dramatic tipping point. At the final curtain, the director's frozen tableau, showing these two still fascinated with one another despite the apparent reconciliation of the original pairings, seemed to arise naturally from the spontaneous force of the couple's earlier fling. The performers have attractive voices to match their energetic acting, especially the assured Eddy and Pfortmiller, who dominated their scenes with aplomb."

"It was a delicacy that Rudel made into magic, vastly helped by one of those special casts of brilliant young American singers that characterize City Opera at its best."

"Sandra Piques Eddy was a nicely impetuous Dorabella with a creamy mezzo-soprano that impressed all evening. "

"The fine cast features standout performances, among others, Sandra Piques Eddy (Dorabella), the baritone Kyle Pfortmiller(Guglielmo) and the dependable James Maddalena (Don Alfonso)."

"Excellent in their own right, soprano Julianna di Giacomo (Fiorgiligi) and mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy (Dorabella) weave enchantment in their duets. Di Giacomo's moonbeam sound and Eddy's flame-flecked timbre blend into something like mother-of-pearl-voluptuous, glimmering with shadow and light. Eddy, a ravishing slip of a girl, sings with vibrant, pointed tone and acts with verve, always remaining credible as a well-bred young lady."

"Eddy stood out, however, in her debut here. With a euphonious voice combining Mozartian clarity with potency, evenness and shaping, the mezzo-soprano presented the vicissitudes of the impressionable Dorabella.  And that was just her singing.  She captured the role physically, too.  Could it be that we were actually watching a hot, steamy scene in an opera, when she slowly gives in to illicit passions for Guglielmo in disguise?  I’d say yes."

"Sandra Piques Eddy was the adorable Dorabella. The casting of these two singers (Carolyn Betty) was inspired, because their timbral qualitites were so matched they were sisters in sound."

"Each of the singers is a capable actor….Sandra Piques Eddy oozes self-confidence as Isabella the Italian girl."

COSI FAN TUTTE - Glimmerglass Opera
"Eddy, the standout in this production, possesses a silky mezzo-soprano, rich and velvety in its low register and resplendent throughout the high registers.  The depth of her acting is impressive as well, crafting a three-dimensional Dorabella, who almost immediately becomes the center of attention."

"Mezzo Piques interest of the ‘World’.   She used to belong to Boston. But opera star Sandra Piques Eddy, who cut her vocal teeth at Boston Conservatory and Boston University, now belongs to the World-literally.  A regular with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the golden-voiced mezzo will be featured in a Jan. 21 broadcast of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte on National Public Radio ‘World of Opera’. " 

"…Ms. Eddy’s marvelous mezzo has more heat to it."

"Eddy, showed rich tones that were strongly edged and beautifully projected."

"Sandra Piques Eddy…brandishing a lustrous, big mezzo soprano"

"In ‘Il core vi dono’, beautifully sung by Eddy, it’s clear that Dorabella is falling in love for the first time."

"Director Tim Albery had his leads well matched.  The pairing of baritone Palle Knudsen and mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy is expressive and potent as the more ready lovers.

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