"An announcement was made that superstar guest Ermonela Jaho was ill and that her place would be taken by one of the company’s principal singers, Natalie Aroyan (Jaho is expected to return to the stage on 22 February).

Aroyan was well rehearsed but this was a role debut under pressured circumstances. She had never seen the opera let alone sung it, and on paper you couldn’t find two more different artists.

From Aroyan’s first notes – spoken ones as she declaimed from Racine’s Bajazet – it was clear her richly textured, powerful instrument with its dark colours and wide reach suited this passionate character well. Even more impressive was the degree of emotional involvement Aroyan was able to summon, particularly in the third and fourth acts. This is something we haven’t seen before."

"Imagine the collective intake of breath when Tahu Matheson took the stage on opening night to announce that sadly, because she had developed a nasty cough, Ermonela Jaho, was unable to perform.

But before anyone could react, he quickly added that Natalie Aroyan had been persuaded to step in and perform the demanding title role, adding the assurance that she was across the role and the audience was in for an exciting performance. He was not wrong.

Sufficient to know that Natalie Aroyan was simply magnificent as the diva Lecouvreur. Surprisingly confident given the circumstances, she acted with attack and confidence, delivering her declamatory opening lines with flair then captivated with her lustrous soprano in the opera’s best-known aria, Lo son I’umile ancollar (I am the humble servant of the creative spirit)."

"On opening night, our expected Adriana Lecouvreur – star Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho – was sick and local singer Natalie Aroyan stepped in at short notice. She did not disappoint: strong and assured across her tessitura, sustaining excellent dynamic control, crystalline articulation and an alluring array of tone colours. She convincingly conveyed her character’s moral dilemmas and ever-changing emotional state with passion and immediacy."

"The opening night audience held its collective breath as he intoned “Unfortunately…” to be followed by the news that superstar soprano Ermonela Jaho was ill and would not be singing the title role. Then he announced that our very much up-and-come Natalie Aroyan would be performing and the mood instantly lightened.

Aroyan has been steadily and without hiccups establishing herself as one of a new generation of Australian stars and her performance on February 20 can only have further cemented her position at the forefront of this rare gang. In a three-hour opera in which she is rarely off-stage, Aroyan sang and acted her way to inevitable death by jealousy and poison with conviction and a voice that becomes more mellow and more powerful with every production – most recently as Odabella in OA’s Attila.

The performance began promisingly – no sign of nerves from the newest diva when she – the revolutionary actress – recited with thrilling command from Racine’s Bajazet. There was no faltering from that moment on."

"The first hitch was the discovery that the much-anticipated appearance of Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho in the title role would not go ahead on opening night because she had a cough. Fortunately, Armenian-Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan stepped in at extremely short notice and what a stunning performance she gave.

She was highly focused, with a firm soprano rich in warmth and expression. She displayed excellent control, with a thrilling top register and a weight of sound capable of soaring above chorus and orchestra, seemingly without stress.

Her rendering in Act I of the opera’s signature aria, l’umile ancella, in which Adriana ascribes her acting talent to God, was a delight."

"It was a triumphant night for Armenian-Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan on the opening night of Francesco Ciléa’s Adriana Lecouvreur in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House. With the starring soprano Ermonela Jaho indisposed, Aroyan was called upon to perform this role, not only on opening night, but one that was new to her list of performance credits, alongside superstar tenor Michael Fabiano.  

Already well-respected as a principal artist with Opera Australia, Aroyan has sung roles from Mimì to Desdemona, Micaëla to Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and most recently as Odabella in the recent production of Attila.

Aroyan spun her richly coloured lyric soprano tones through the wide registers of the role, delivering spoken monologue and the two show-stopper arias Io son l’umile ancilla and Poveri fiori, with aplomb, the latter at the climax of the drama after being on stage through most of the action of this 4-act tale. Whilst Aroyan’s on-stage composure can sometimes seem dispassionate, her performances in the second and final acts were intensely dramatic."

"Natalie Aroyan saves the opening night of Adriana Lecouvreur in Sydney"

"An indisposed Ermonela Jaho was unavailable to open a rare Opera Australia production of Cilea’s verismo masterpiece Adriana Lecouvreur, but her late arrival did mean that her cover, the Armenian-Australian Natalie Aroyan had the time to rehearse both the role and director Rosetta Cucchi’s interesting interpretation of it. No one could deny her passion. And no one could fail to believe that her 18th-century thespian character – based on a real star actress – was just the humble handmaiden (“l’umile ancella”) of scripts by such masters as Racine and Corneille. Indeed Aroyan’s signature opening of spoken lines from Racine’s Bazajet showed her to be a true, naturalistic Lecouvreur."

"Berenzhansky’s onstage chemistry with Armenian-Australian Natalie Aroyan’s fiesty vengeful character is a joy to witness. Aroyan’s Odabella in super strong and silvery voice is a pleasing match for this bass. Their emotional tussle and physicality is matched by some fine vocal sparring. The pair’s fleshy, well-voiced personalities are presented with attractive realness.

Whether in civilian mode wearing cardigan and skirt, with hair defiantly rolled plus active face, or swathed in the decadent fur of the invader as Attila’s chosen, Aroyan takes control of her scenes and darts about the stage with alacrity. There is stillness from this diva also, as in the aria ‘Oh, Nel fuggente nuvolo’ sung with nice organic growth as it trembles with strength before the D-WOK screen panels, which often billow with black clouds."

"In the role of Odabella, daughter of the slain Lord of Aquileia and Foresto’s fiancé, Aroyan has mastered the passagio in a role that requires her to repeatedly shift between upper and lower registers. In Attila, Verdi is unforgiving on the soprano, even requiring her to scale two octaves in the first few seconds on stage...At Saturday night’s opening, Natalie Aroyan, Diego Torre and Michael Honeyman gave a rendition that could only be described as sublime, and Lyndon Terracini, attending his final premiere as Opera Australia’s Artistic Director, must have been proud. Here, for all to see, was the company’s apotheosis as an exponent of Italian opera."

"Against Berezhansky’s implacably focused firmness, Natalie Aroyan sang the demanding, role of his nemesis Odabella with a passionate sound of high drama. She spanned an impressively wide range in pitch, in colour and in dramatic expression, giving sharp-elbowed edge to fierce lower notes, soaring over the quintet and chorus in Act II, navigating the vocal span with flexible agility yet still finding new sounds for moments of quietness and tenderness."

"How pleased was I that local soprano Natalie Aroyan was cast once again for this 2022 season. Playing the role of Odabella, engaged to Foresto (Diego Torre) but playing around with Attila in order to get near him to kill him as revenge for the murder of her father.

As with so many OA recent successes, the role calls for great singing and excellent dramatic work, and Aroyan excels in both."

"So memorable for her coloratura fireworks in Opera Australia’s 2021 Melbourne season of Ernani, Armenian-Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan returns with an all-too-short appearance as Elena. Loaded with drama and lush of tone, her singing makes one hang on every note. There’s a wonderful nobility about her performance as the Spartan queen, both in her voice and, to the extent a concert performance allows, her manner too."

"Focussing on Jewess, Rachel, portrayed in a striking, gloriously sung performance by Natalie Aroyan, who with this role, together with her recent remarkable performance in “Attila”, is rapidly becoming recognised as one of the country’s most accomplished and thrilling dramatic sopranos."

"Natalie Aroyan’s Rachel reclaimed the opera for its eponymous heroine. Hers was a performance which plumbed the depths of the character’s dramatic journey from dutiful Jewish daughter (although one with a secret) to vengeful slighted lover. Vocally thrilling and dramatically deeply satisfying, it was her night in every number (and only she really got a scene with every other principal)."

"As Rachel, the Jewess of the title, Natalie Aroyan rises to the strength, power and emotional range of a true dramatic soprano, cutting through the large ensembles with chorus while creating persuasive on-stage chemistry in ensembles."

"Natalie Aroyan brings warmth to the role of Rachel, not just in her presence but also in her vocal tone. She demonstrates a remarkable ability to alternate between a heavy chest sound in her lower register and a rich, open sound in her soprano work. Here, we have an opera singer who will unashamedly use all of the different facets of her voice to bring colour to the role. She is unafraid to create harsh, harrowing sounds just as much as she uses the beauty of her classical technique. She does not let the pursuit for vocal perfection cloud her acting ability. She lets the score and her incredible musicality drive her intentions as Rachel to create a believable and moving portrayal. It is wonderful to see Australian talent shining so brilliantly on the Opera House stage. Rachel is the heart of the show, the opera rides on her shoulder and Aroyan does not falter. She is exquisite."

"There was much to enjoy in the work of the principals. Natalie Aroyan as Rachel was the heart of the production. In her Act two Romance “Il va venir…” she conveyed a wide-ranging abundance of expectant emotion as she waited for her lover… Aroyan could cut through the ensemble with a rich accusatory tone when she suspected Samuel to be a traitor."

"The title role was sung with passion by Natalie Aroyan, who captured with aplomb the hugely varied moods of besotted paramour, betrayed avenger, self-sacrificing lover and finally defiant martyr."

"Although the opera is called Ernani there is equal attention paid to each protagonist and equally difficult demands made of them. Natalie Aroyan’s Elvira was keenly anticipated after her formidable Odabella last year in Attila, which Verdi wrote just two years after Ernani (also for La Fenice). It cemented her growing reputation as a turbo-charged lyric soprano but Attila, also a co-production with La Scala, unfortunately had to close after two performances due to COVID so she could not be seen as widely as she deserved. Elvira’s first aria, Ernani! Ernani, involami, tested Aroyan at the bottom of her range in music that asks for adamantine strength in that part of the voice along with agility, force and glow at the top and a middle that seamlessly joins the two extremes. Aroyan was exciting when she soared above orchestra and full ensemble with apparent ease and eloquent colour, as she was so often asked to do. Those money moments were terrific but the quieter interactions were the ones to really cherish. Her second act love duet with Diego Torre’s Ernani was an affecting oasis of beauty in a chaotic landscape."

"Although the opera is called Ernani there is equal attention paid to each protagonist and equally difficult demands made of them. Natalie Aroyan’s Elvira was keenly anticipated after her formidable Odabella last year in Attila, which Verdi wrote just two years after Ernani (also for La Fenice). It cemented her growing reputation as a turbo-charged lyric soprano but Attila, also a co-production with La Scala, unfortunately had to close after two performances due to COVID so she could not be seen as widely as she deserved. Elvira’s first aria, Ernani! Ernani, involami, tested Aroyan at the bottom of her range in music that asks for adamantine strength in that part of the voice along with agility, force and glow at the top and a middle that seamlessly joins the two extremes. Aroyan was exciting when she soared above orchestra and full ensemble with apparent ease and eloquent colour, as she was so often asked to do. Those money moments were terrific but the quieter interactions were the ones to really cherish. Her second act love duet with Diego Torre’s Ernani was an affecting oasis of beauty in a chaotic landscape."

"Her star ever on the rise, soprano Natalie Aroyan is a delight in the lone lead female role of Elvira. Despite the poor young woman’s constricted social freedom, Aroyan provides a lively spark of passion to suggest a vibrant inner life for the character. Aroyan’s gorgeously voluptuous soprano is a marvellous asset to the production, heard at its best from her first scene, including “Tutto sprezzo che d’Ernani,” onwards."

"As part of the production’s early comic context, Armenian-Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan gently exaggerates her melodramatic gestures in Elvira’s opening aria. It’s delightful, but a mere footnote to this showcase of coloratura singing in which Aroyan leaps and dives through her considerable range, up to top notes of bell-like clarity. Her powerful, agile voice continues to astonish throughout the performance."

"The opportunity for exciting singing is grasped enthusiastically by the principal performers. Natalie Aroyan continues her run as Elvira, transferring with the production from Sydney earlier this year. Hers is a voice made for Verdi’s music. Ranging from fiercely dynamic to delicately subtle, she rises with apparent ease to crystalline upper registers and seamlessly plummets through to the chest voice, leaping between both and dazzling the audience with the suppleness of her vocal line. It is however, in the ensemble passages that we hear the invaluable contribution she makes anchoring the many duets, trios, and expanded episodes; her voice rises radiantly over the massive chorus and other principals in each of the many tableaux."

"Natalie Aroyan brings a passionately warm sound to the part of Elvira, negotiating the virtuosic Act 1 aria creditably, and rising to forceful moments while moving comfortably from one stylised pose to the next."

"The singing of the four principals matched the quality of Palumbo’s reading. Soprano Natalie Aroyan impressed with her voluptuous timbre, fluid phrasing and assured coloratura."

"From the moment she began her first aria, Ernani, Ernani, Save me, confidently negotiating the coloratura passages then plunging octaves to her warm mezzo, Natalie Aroyan had her audience on the edge of their seats, especially in the massive choruses when her voice soared thrillingly above the huge orchestra and chorus. Aroyan was giving a star performance and the audience knew it."

"Natalie Aroyan’s remarkable performance of Odabella in Attila remains in the memory, but Elvira takes her to a new level in this most demanding repertoire. The voice has gained in substance, and Aroyan rode the concerted choral numbers with consummate and thrilling ease; it’s a sound that fills the theatre but retains flexibility and beauty of tone, comfortably negotiating the florid music and wide vocal range. Aroyan has a commanding and engaging stage persona, and sounds vocally at ease in this repertoire – a wide variety of signature roles await her."

"His leading lady is Australian powerhouse soprano Natalie Aroyan who dominated the night with an extraordinary, faultless performance"

"Elvira is sung by soprano Natalie Aroyan, who in 2019 won a Helpmann Award. Her clear, powerful voice can be heard over the top of her three suitors and even the entire Opera Australia choir in unison!"

"OA artistic boss Lyndon Terracini has personally invested stock in the two local stars, Mexican-Australian tenor Diego Torre (Ernani) and Armenian-Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan (Elvira).  Aroyan’s is a sturdy instrument up and down the range, with warm colours and spine-stiffening affectation. After her run as Odabella in Attila was cruelly interrupted, like the rest of the company, by COVID lockdowns last March, redemption is sweet as another of Verdi’s unsung heroines."

"Soprano Natalie Aroyan conquers the acrobatic vocal demands Verdi wrote into Odabella’s score. She does not waver, even in her opening two-octave runs, which she has to dive into without any easing in or warming up."

"In her debut as Odabella, Natalie Aroyan demonstrated panache in her coloratura and versatility in emotions. Her impressive range, with plenty of spin and excellent control particularly into her chest, was a sensory delight to audiences ... if her vocal effortlessness in Oh! Nel fuggente nuvolo is anything to go by, Ms Aroyan will be gracing international stages with Odabella in no time."

"The heroine of the story is Italian Odabella played by local soprano Natalie Aroyan. As great as any international singer, Aroyan easily surpassed the full orchestra and chorus in volume, fierce in her interpretation and completely believable in her dramatic skills, willing to die for her country, enough to knock the socks of Attlia and stop him in his tracks. She was absolutely outstanding."

"He [Attila] meets his match, however, in the warrior woman Odabella who captures his heart with her display of courage and beauty – but who’s secretly plotting her revenge for his slaying of her father and, she believes, her lover Foresto.

She’s played by Armenian-Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan whose voice trickles, like golden honey, up and down the profoundly sticky register of difficult vocal tricks Verdi has given her character, until we all swoon before her."

"…AND THE SINGING

Both Aroyan and Torre made debuts in Attila, which was a big call to cast two of the four principals as “newbies”, but it didn’t raise a ruffle.

Aroyan was impressive as Odabella, confident on stage, dramatically rich in her delivery of the feisty role, and had a voice that continued to give. Her Oh! Nel fuggente nuvolo / O father, is your image not imprinted on the fleeting clouds? in Act 1, where she laments her father is superb.

Her rapport with both Taras Berezhansky as Attila and Torre as Foresto was believable."

"As his eventual nemesis, Obadella, Natalie Aroyan navigated the part’s wide vocal range with expressive colour, warmth and force...although their [Diego Torre] voice types are very different, the duets between these two were peak musical moments."

"As Odabella, soprano Natalie Aroyan’s rich array of tone colours and agile coloratura conveyed her character’s determination and resourcefulness."

"As in many early Verdi operas, the soprano role, Odabella, is a notorious voice breaker: the dangers of the role are immediately apparent in the first aria in the prologue, ‘Santi di patria’ (sensationally recorded by Joan Sutherland in 1963), where the voice leaps well over two octaves while having to sail triumphantly over a pulsating orchestra. Natalie Aroyan’s career has been carefully managed by Opera Australia. She has distinguished herself in important roles including Aida, Mimi in La Bohème, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Micaëla in Carmen, Desdemona in Otello, and Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Odabella takes her into new vocal territory, calling for dramatic vocal thrust coupled with flexibility. Yet her Act I aria could be by Bellini, requiring all the skills and finesse of true bel canto singing (accompanied by expressive solo instrumental playing). It is a voice of plangent beauty, with a darkish tone colour but enough bright ‘ping’ in the middle and upper range to sail across the orchestra and chorus in the big finales. She is also blessed with an attractive stage persona, creating an immediate sympathetic rapport with the audience."

"Oddly, the characters as they emerged in this production revealed Attila as a decent, if autocratic, chap whilst the Italian men continually break promises and are plagued by irrational jealousy.

​

Which leaves Odabella as the straightforward heroine of the shining hour. Made to hit her big Verdian straps from the moment she opens her mouth, Natalie Aroyan, in her role debut, embraced the part in its totality and aroused the normally polite Sydney audience to Italianate heights of whistling and cheering. Could this have been partly a coronavirus consequence? For there was undoubtedly an acknowledgement that attendance at such a large gathering in mid-March 2020 was a) daring and b) potentially the last for a while.

​

Certainly, though, the enthusiasm for this youthful product of Opera Australia's development system was justified. Could there have been a slight fading of her vocal power towards the end? Not en route, as Aroyan managed the difficult balance between the three men in her life – the peremptory Attila (Taras Berezhansky) who assumes the right to take her in marriage, the ever-jealous Foresto (Diego Torre) who assumes the worst of her, and her dead father, killed by Attila himself on his black horse in D-wok's filmed backdrop, whom she mourns in a glorious, cor anglais accompanied solo. In duet with the quietly passionate tenor, Torre, distant thoughts of Dame Joan and the Pav were conjured."

"Making her debut as Odabella, company favourite Natalie Aroyan had ample opportunity to demonstrate the many qualities of her impressive soprano. Round and richly coloured, with plenty of metal and an impressive chest register, it’s the kind of spinto voice that doesn’t come along all that often. ... she brought plenty of dramatic panache to the vengeful Odabella, and the Act 1 romanza, Oh! Nel fuggente nuvolo, was a model of Verdian sweep and line. This was a very promising debut indeed, and I can’t wait to see her take on the composer’s Leonoras or Elisabetta."

"The soprano Natalie Aroyan has a large instrument with an easy and very sonorous projection which works wonders in the title role, especially in the small setting of this theater whose acoustics multiplies the natural impact."

"Making her debut as Eva, Natalie Aroyan sang with great feeling, completely in step with Holten’s understanding of Eva. It’s a voice with a not inconsiderable amount of steel in it – one wonders if there’s an Elsa or Elisabeth in her future – which the soprano wielded like a rapier when defying the men in her life."

"Natalie Aroyan turned the often milk-and-water Eva into something much more characterful (her response to her father “An obedient child speaks only when asked” was deliciously marinaded in sarcasm) with some lovely unforced singing to boot – her solo at the start of the quintet was especially delightful."

"Natalie Aroyan also has the kind of voice that is a sheer pleasure to hear. There was nothing in the role of Eva that was not within the easy capacity of her full, creamy tone. She is dramatically accomplished even though she did have the dubious task of convincing us that a girl who agrees to being given away by her father to the winning Meistersinger, or remain unwed, would ultimately reject the man she loves because he succumbs to the vanities of being admitted to their ranks."

"Ms Aroyan’s vocal strength and acting abilities were evident throughout the opera. She has a powerful instrument which is capable of reaching bell-like highs and plunging seamlessly into a dark and velvety lower register. We can eagerly look forward to her future appearances with OA."

"Soprano Natalie Aroyan shines as dear Eva, despite the somewhat underwritten nature of the role. Maintaining a serene presence, Aroyan exhibits a voluptuous, well controlled soprano that leaves the audience wanting more."

"Natalie Aroyan’s Eva was gloriously sung and impetuously performed: this Eva is to be reckoned with, I thought. I wasn’t wrong. I hope to hear more of Aroyan. There is definitely an Elsa or Senta in the making there."

"The opera background of all the soloists was evident in voice colouration and dramatic expression...

Of all the soloists, it is the soprano who has the most taxing part. The voluptuous voice of Armenian Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan is almost enough to make you wonder whether it is necessary to pay a small fortune to hear Anna Netrebko when we have such talent in Australia. A creamy sound with, in general, a nicely rounded, floating top register, fullness throughout the range, and excellent breath control served Verdi’s intentions well. There was weight of sound that soared above choir and orchestra without the obtrusive vibrato that sometimes accompanies it. The earnest plea at the beginning of the Libera me was only one example of her ability to infuse the text with colour and drama."

"Whilst the souvenir program lists an imported artist in the role of Amelia, opening night saw a change to the wonderful Australian Soprano Natalie Aroyan. Aroyan is also listed on the Opera Australia website so it seems the swap is permanent and it is a treat to get to hear the local in the lead role. Aroyan gives Amelia a passionate sustained strength as she strives for peace between the Patricians and Plebeians, in particular saving Boccanegra from Adorno's blade twice. She has a beautiful ringing purity to match the innocence of the orphan girl who turns out to be Boccanegra's daughter, and therefore Fiesco's granddaughter. She exudes sensitivity and also a strength to show love, hope, sadness and compassion, and also stand up to the fighting men. For what can assumed to be a late change in casting, sometime after the programs were printed, Aroyan is stunning and the only give away to the change is the program and the announcement at the commencement of the performance."

"Soprano Natalie Aroyan gave one of her finest OA performances as Boccanegra’s long-lost daughter Amelia Grimaldi. Her voluptuous tone and fluid phrasing created a vivacious portrayal of the opera’s most appealing character."

"The true excellence of this production lay in the cast, who were vocally superb and generally convincing in their acting… Natalie Aroyan was drafted in late as Amelia Grimaldi, but one wouldn’t have known it from her assured stage presence and confident delivery."

"As Mimi, Armenian-Australian Natalie Aroyan sang with a voice rich in colour and complexity, creating lines that balanced naturalness with expressive shape.
She has thrilling sounds in the top register and dramatic firmness in the lower notes of the last act. Her characterisation was more of warmth than pallor and she maintained a centred stage presence moulded around the richness of her voice"