Ribas, Cláudia - Mezzo Soprano

Claudia Ribas, a pearl from the opera studio, is the velvety dark-timbered Cornelia.

 

The heart-rending duet Son nata a lagrimar with the mother Cornelia (Cláudia Ribas) is impressive, in which both are able to pour their frustration and despair into a resonant form. 

 

But the most profound impressions were made by two members of the ensemble. The Portuguese Cláudia Ribas has been a member of the house's opera studio since 2022 and, with her attractive stage appearance, has also matured vocally to such an extent that her beautiful mezzo sombrio now becomes the fate of Cornelia, recently widowed but coveted by all men, in the drama of all women exposed to violence, made a moving sound in centres of power and in times of war.

 

Her marvellously beautiful duet with Cláudia Ribas as Cornelia at the end of the first act sends the audibly enthusiastic audience into the interval. Ribas, a member of the opera studio, had already attracted attention earlier with her velvety, dark-toned alto.

 

Cláudia Ribas explored this tragic female character with incredibly touching vocal warmth. What a magnificent performance from the young mezzo-soprano, who only completed her Master's degree at the Dansh Royal Academy of Music last year and is now a member of the Frankfurt Opera Studio! We can look forward with confidence to the future of her career. 

 

Cláudia Ribas takes on the role of his mother Cornelia with a dark mezzo-soprano that emphasises the character's great sadness. When mother and son take their leave in the moving duet Son nata a lagrimar at the end of the first act, there is no stopping the audience, so much so that they urgently need an interval.

 

The final applause shows how well the Frankfurt audience is now trained to judge voices. It is not the stars who receive the most cheers, but - quite rightly - Cláudia Ribas as Cornelia, Bianca Andrew as Sesto and Iurii Iushkevich as Nireno. All three sing with a seductive timbre, are technically impressive and at the same time highly infectious in terms of the power of their emotions.

 

Cláudia Ribas does not have the sepulchral voice of some of the great incumbents of the role, and her Cornelia is all the more human for it, without seeking the great style of tragedy, with a timbre capable of variety in favour of a true interpretation of each phrase of her role.

 

The real protagonist, however, is Cornelia. The audience feels her pain at the beheading of Pompey, because Händel expressed it in her arias. In Priva son d'ogni conforto, Cláudia Ribas floods this pain with a dark, full-sounding and yet delicate song. The singer, who is still a member of the Frankfurt Opera Studio, is the discovery in this production. When Tolomeo is killed by her boyish son Sesto at the end, she is not avenged but traumatised. She - and not the new couple Cleopatra and Cesare - dominates the final scene in the famous duet Caro! - Bella!

 

Mezzo-soprano Cláudia Ribas is at least her [Nombulelo Yende] equal as a fellow singer. The two sing the Barcarole from The Tales of Hoffmann together beautifully and without any kitsch. As the femme fatale of opera literature par excellence, Bizet's Carmen, Ribas fascinates in Habanera and Seguidilla with a beguilingly warm mezzo and sensual depth. Ribas is a true "stage animal". She has an enormous dramatic presence and portrays each of her roles with great passion and intensity. Even as Dorabella she convinces with great expressiveness. Her agile mezzo shines here with a high and clear timbre. She succeeds in Smanie implacabili with an outburst of despair including a rollercoaster ride of emotions, both scenically and vocally with extremely intense creative power. In Amour! Viens aider ma Faiblesse from Samson et Dalilah (Saint-Saëns), she enchants vocally with a lower register 

 

Claudia Ribas from the opera studio recently surprised Loebe with the aria “Acerba voluttà” from Adriana Lecouvreur, which he promptly included in the gala program. But she must have really amazed him in the encore with Nicholas Brownlee. It would be a shame if they didn't make even more use of the comic talent they displayed so ravishingly in Anything You Can Do by Irving Berlin.

Likewise, the Portuguese mezzo-soprano Cláudia Ribas from the opera studio, who revealed her talent in the aria of the Princess of Bouillon from the opera Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea, not only vocally, but she also managed to blend into the role expressive facial expressions and gestures.

 

I dare and praise the mezzo Cláudia Ribas for her vulnerable, strong little sister-princess performance at the center of a cast.

 

 

 

Cláudia Ribas gave Iseut’s mother a vivid profile.

 

The mezzo-soprano Cláudia Ribas, who comes from Portugal, offers an extremely convincing overall package of singing skills and dramatic presence. Her arias are not just a performance. As an audience member, you are immediately in the scene and share in the fate of her character. She performed the Sequidilla of Carmen “Près des remparts de Séville” and the duet with Don José together with Abraham Bretón. Their performance sparkled with energy. It became highly dramatic with the aria “Acerba voluttà, dolce tortura” by the Principessa di Bouillon from Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur.

 

 

As a pure feast for the eyes and ears and worth the evening’s visit alone, her three ladies-in-waiting Monika Buczkowska, Kelsey Lauritano and Cláudia Ribas take part in the ravishing champagne trio.

Cláudia Ribas impressed from the first moment with her strong presence and expressiveness. Ottorino Respighi's melancholic, almost dark song Nebbie and the equally melancholy Aquela moca by the Portuguese composer Luís de Freitas Branco became intense little dramas. She showed great drama with Lucretia's aria Give him this orchide from Benjamin Britten's opera The rape of Lucretia.