IDAMANTE in IDOMENEO at Boston Lyric Opera

"Last night, Sandra Piques Eddy as Idamante gave the clear standout performance, delivered with a warm tone, secure technique and well-grounded stage presence."

"All the principals (and chorus) were excellent Mozart interpreters, with mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy, singing the trouser role of Idamante, the greater among equals."

"BLO had a superb Idamante in Sandra Piques Eddy, a Met Cherubino and Mercedes. She brought flowing, chocolaty tone, moral seriousness and princely ardour to her deceptively difficult role." The

"Fortunately there's sterling work in the cast. As Idamante (A breeches role), the lovely Sandra Piques Eddy struck just the right heroic profile, and what's more, her pure-tone mezzo proved luminously flexible, thanks to her utterly secure technique."

"The exception is mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy as Idamante, the prince whose father, Idomeneo, has involuntarily vowed to sacrifice him to Neptune in order to survive a shipwreck on his way home from the Trojan War. Eddy now sings at the Met, but she was already wonderful a decade ago, when as a BU student she stole Mozart's other opera seria, La clemenza di Tito....She 's the one person on stage with true dignity and an inner life. She also has by far, the richest voice. The opening night audience loved her."

"Sandra Piques Eddy combines a richly colored mezzo soprano and solid acting as the title king's vulnerable son. Eddy commands the Shubert Theater as the plucky Idamante and sings with exciting dynamics."

MERCÉDÈS in CARMEN at the Metropolitan Opera

"As Carmen’s friends Frasquita and Mercédès, Elizabeth Caballero and Sandra Piques Eddy make the most of their minor parts. Eddy with her good looks and firm mezzo, even seems to be ready to take on the role of Carmen herself."

"There were some large efforts among the smaller roles in this production. Sandra Piques Eddy and Elizabeth Caballero, as Carmen’s gypsy cohorts Mercédès and Frasquita, respectively, provided an impressive pair of vocal efforts (as well as a captivating visual presence) during their charming duet in the third act Card Scene, as they beseech the cards to reveal their future lovers and destinies. Eddy and Caballero also forged a powerful vocal presence in the stunning quintet (Nous avons en téte une affaire) during the second act tavern scene, which for me was the singularly most memorable number in this performance."

"Carmen’s buddies Frasquita and Mercédès are delightfully sung by Elizabeth Caballero and Sandra Piques Eddy. I sat back and enjoyed their bright, clear voices in every ensemble."

"Vocally deluxe cameos by Sandra Piques-Eddy, Elizabeth Caballero, Keith Jameson and Earle Patriarco rounded out a strong cast."

"Giving this massive wattage of star power a run for its money were the performers in three secondary roles: former fullback Keith Miller as Zuniga, Elizabeth Caballero as Frasquita and Sandra Piques-Eddy as Mercédès."

"…Elizabeth Caballero and Sandra Piques Eddy as Carmen’s friends, Frasquita and Mercedes, assist Garanca in making the Chanson boheme, at the start of Act Two, into a show-stopping production number."

"Supporting actors, smugglers Elizabeth Caballero, Sandra Piques Eddy, Earle Patriarco and Keith Jameson do not fade into stock figures, but are individuals with beautiful voices and particular personalities which add color and energy to the action."

LA TRAGEDIE DE CARMEN - Chicago Opera Theater

"Sandra Piques Eddy sang an excellent Carmen, her lyric mezzo assuming a smokily erotic timbral overlay in the lower register that was quite telling, and she shaded the repeated 'L'amour; of the habanera intelligently."

"As Carmen, Sandra Piques Eddy was the best of the singers, with a deep, earthy sound."

"The shining exception was mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy, a wonderful singing actress whose Carmen used her burgundy-rich low register as a powerful tool of seduction."

"There have been many great Carmens through the years-Marilyn Horne, Agnes Baltsa, Tatiana Troyanos, to name a few. The performances of Sandra Piques Eddy in this production deserves to be placed alongside those legends. Ms. Eddy gave a star-making performance with her rich, velvety mezzo and superb acting. She did not perform Carmen, she became Carmen, and it seemed that the entire audience was excited about her peformance after the opera."

"It is all too rare that performers in operas actually fit their descriptions. How many Mimi's from La Boheme have actually been thin and consumptive? How likely is it to find an authentically Japanese Madame Butterfly? Chicago Opera Theater's production of La Tragedie de Carmen adapted by Peter Brook and Marius Constant from Bizet's legendary opera has an exceptionally sexy Carmen in Sandra Piques Eddy. With a dark and enticing voice and fearless physicality, she makes you believe that a man would destroy his life for her."

"Sandra Piques Eddy is a sexy, smoky-voiced Carmen, fully believable as the gypsy temptress, delivering an alluring Habanera and singing with ample tone."

"Sandra Piques Eddy makes a seductive Carmen and gives her vocal highlights reel a dark and rich tone."

"More important, Chicago Opera Theater's production, directed by Andrew Eggert and conducted by Alexander Platt, offered three glorious voices: Sandra Piques Eddy as the malevolent Carmen...."

SEMELE - Florentine Opera

“Sandra Piques Eddy, strikingly beautiful in Ino’s formal gown and hilarious as Juno, was arguably the most distinguished of all. Her dark-laced mezzo is graced with an erotically purring vibrato and formidable technique; “Above measure is the pleasure my revenge supplies," taken at a very rapid clip, was dazzling."

"Mezzo Soprano Sandra Piques Eddy, in the double role of Juno and Ino, is an example of the terrific, vivid American Handel singer on the scene today, fluent in the style."

"Both Aylmer and mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy, in the dual roles of Ino and the jealous goddess Juno, were spectacular. Piques Eddy has a rich, dark, and weighty voice that makes her vocal agility all the more astonishing. She showed a special gift for working comedy into her singing, with little tricks of emphasis and timing that drive home punch lines. She also is a sly physical comedienne; she never overdid anything but got all the biggest laughs of the night."

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA - New York City Opera

"Cleopatra's ladies Charmian and Iris were strongly cast; Laura Vlasak Nolen and Sandra Piques Eddy both projected glamour, frivolity and pathos."

"Her ladies were sung superbly by mezzos on the verge of major careers: Laura Vlasek Nolan, forthrightly dramatic, and Sandra Piques Eddy, luscious and dark-hued."

"Mezzo-sopranos Sandra Piques Eddy and Laura Vlasak Nolen, as Cleopatra's faithful attendants Charmian and Iras, enlivened their playful scenes and sympathically seconded their mistress in her grief in the serious ones."

"Sandra Piques Eddy and Laura Vlasak Nolen were tart and lively as Cleopatra's serving women Charmian and Iras."

"The superb mezzo sopranos Sandra Piques Eddy and Laura Vlasak Nolen were underused but mightily welcome as Charmian and Iras"

"Also worth noting were sweet-voiced performances by mezzo Sandra Piques Eddy (Charmian) and soprano Laura Vlasak Nolan (Iras), Cleopatra's attendants."

"Mezzos Laura Vlasak Nolen and Sandra Piques Eddy handled their small roles as Cleopatra's handmaidens with real flair. Both sounded plummy and sexy, and both looked stunning onstage."

LA CENERENTOLA - Austin Lyric Opera
"The cast is consistently excellent with voices suited to the style. Sandra Piques Eddy as Cenerentola is a mezzo-soprano with an apparently endless range, warm in the middle and lower registers, yet well-focused at the top."

"Sandra Piques Eddy...was superb. Her voice is rich and full from top to bottom and she knocked off the technical stuff with almost effortless mastery."

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."

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