Press

“Her Tosca is wry and charming… Her third act aria, “Vissi d’arte,” is delivered by Campbell Wallace with impressive vocal clarity and depth of emotion.”

JOSHUA CHONG, TORONTO STAR
TOSCA – CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY

Tosca – Canadian Opera Company

“You wonder whether Puccini would still have so seriously considered cutting the iconic piece because it “held up the action” if he listened to Campbell Wallace’s devastating rendition.”

Joshua Chong, Toronto Star

 

“In the title role, Sinéad Campbell-Wallace looked the part and had the requisite vulnerability. She also sang beautifully.”

John Gilks, Bachtrack

“Tosca, Sinéad Campbell Wallace, was in fine form and supplied most of the evening’s vocal thrills.”

RICHARD MORRISON, THE TIMES
TOSCA – ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA

Tosca – English National Opera

“…the top soars, and she sings with a generosity of spirit that fills the theatre.”

Richard Fairman, Financial Times

 

“…her vocal command is absolute.”

George Hall, The Stage

 

“Campbell Wallace’s voice blazes comfortably in its upper registers, but there’s great lyrical warmth in her scenes with Smith, and Vissi d’Arte is beautifully done.”

Tim Ashley, The Guardian

 

“Campbell-Wallace’s impetuous Tosca is powerful as she persuades Scarpia that she will submit to him, and then kills him. She sings her aria Vissi d’arte strongly as Scarpia literally tightens his grip on her. In the last act she is almost manic in her naïve belief that she and her lover will be free, and her final distraught leap of death is for once a convincing outcome.”

Nicholas Kenyon, The Telegraph

 

​“Soprano Sinéad Campbell-Wallace is Tosca, bringing great rationality as well as passion to the role which she sings magnificently.”

Claudia Pritchard, CultureWhisper.com

 

“She owns the role of the singer Floria Tosca, consumed with love and with her art; and jealous and brave enough to take on the demonic Scarpia who takes a very hands-on approach to his pursuit of her.”

Adrian York, London Unattached

“…she masters the numerous hurdles within the score in a heightened and technically confident way, touched with girlish fragility.”

MANUEL BRUG, OPER! MAGAZIN
FIDELIO – GSTAAD MENUHIN FESTIVAL

Fidelio – Gstaad Menuhin Festival

“Having appeared in this same role last May in Brussels (our review), this soprano had already shown herself to be a great revelation. A voice of exquisite brightness, roundness of delivery, deep lows and radiant highs: everything contributes to adorn this Leonora with the finery of excellence. At times a woman inhabited by a passionate love wonderfully served by a voice of ardent resonance, at other times a warrior prepared to face death to save the love of her life, this Leonore has everything to draw one in, dramatic intensity and musicality in equal measure throughout her performance, of which her “Wo eilst du hin?” is brimming with gripping affliction and a delicious musicality.”

Pierre Géraudie, Olyrix.com

 

“At the curtain call, this Irish dramatic soprano received huge applause for both her vocal performance and her committed characterisation on stage, to which she was able to confer both courage and a sense of fragility. The beauty of timbre, homogeneity of the voice over the full range (and we know how steep it is), sustainment of the vocal line, alternation of heartfelt accents and more intimate nuances, the eloquent, deep golden colours of her lower register: this was the revelation of the evening.”

Julian Sykes, Le Temps

 

“A name to remember. The Salzburg Festival’s tried and tested performer makes a major contribution to the fact that Thursday’s concert version of “Fidelio” sets a strong benchmark with a vocal radiance of the highest order. In Sinead Campbell Wallace’s dramatic, incredibly luminous and creative soprano and her charisma at the head of the ensemble, this quality is a real find.”

Svend Peternell, Berner Oberländer

 

“With her youthful, dramatic soprano, Sinead Campbell Wallace portrayed a strong yet sensitive Leonore: She was the discovery of the evening! Her voice was jubilant with combativeness in the highs with the aria: “Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin? … Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten Stern der Müden nicht erbleichen!””

Marcel Burkhardt, OnlineMerker.co

 

“Sinead Campbell Wallace gave a more than convincing Leonore, not least in the interplay with Andreas Bauer Kanabas as Rocco.”

Gerald Heidegger, ORF.at

“…voice, emotion and humanity all come together with great power.”

MICHAEL DUNGAN, THE IRISH TIMES
TOSCA – IRISH NATIONAL OPERA

Tosca – Irish National Opera

“Central to this production is Sinéad Campbell Wallace’s sensational singing as the title character. Tosca is a demanding role for any artist, as the character’s journey across a wide emotional spectrum from jealous pride to desperate passion requires a richly-textured voice, expressing by turns vulnerability, wit, and strength. Campbell Wallace reflects all of this and more in her perceptive interpretation. Vissi d’arte comes across not as the usual showpiece solo, but begins in the moment, suggesting an inward turn, the sudden softness and gentle colouring of her sound simply heart-stopping.”

Michael Lee, Goldenplec.com

 

“entirely persuasive Tosca that Campbell Wallace establishes” … “in Tosca’s most famous aria, Vissi d’arte, … voice, emotion and humanity all come together with great power.”

Michael Dungan, The Irish Times

Fidelio – Insula Orchestra Tour

“If I’ve heard Leonore’s stupendous recitative-aria “Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?” sung with greater force and nuance than here, when Campbell Wallace settled into her flickering glimpse of hope, “Komm Hoffnung”, she moved and touched us as some heavier soprano guns do not. …Campbell Wallace bloomed gorgeously in the final duet with De Barbeyrac, “O namenlose Freude” – with a lovely catch in her breath as she pronounced “Florestan”.

Boyd Tonkin, The Arts Desk

 

“Campbell Wallace’s interpretation of Fidelio/Leonore had real freshness about it. She is a radiant soprano, yet her lower register is so strong. Her voice itself is remarkably free, and absolutely equal to Beethoven’s sometimes cruel demands, her stamina remarkable, the pivotal reveal stunning in its vocal heft. The Florestan/Leonore duet, ‘O namenlose Freude!’, found them both at their very best.”

Colin Clarke, Seen & Heard

 

“In the roles at the centre of the drama, soprano Sinéad Campbell-Wallace and tenor Stanislas de Barbeyrac gave truly engaging performances. … Campbell-Wallace has a fairly light soprano, but it is generous of colour and strong across the range – her chest voice, which the role challenges, was powerful and rich.  The Irish soprano affectingly communicated Léonore’s determination – the angular intervals of ‘Ich folge dem inner Triebe’ were flexibly shaped – and ‘Abscheulicher!’ conveyed a psychological depth that was absolutely persuasive.  The conjugal bliss of the reunited pair was fervently expressed in ‘O namenlose Freude!’, but even at this emotional peak there were expressive subtleties that made the intensity feel ‘real’ and human.”

Claire Seymour, Opera Today

 

“Sinéad Campbell-Wallace as Léonore stands out for her strength of character and her great versatility. The soprano who knows how to give the required vocal richness but also to lighten the range to convey her aspiration for freedom, offers warm yet limpid and swift highs, deep and ample lows. The flexibility of her German diction combines with the ease of her acting, in both the sung and spoken parts.”

Soline Heurtebise, Olyrix.com 

“Holden’s words were routinely muffled until Sinéad Campbell Wallace’s attentively sung Mimì finally arrived with her blown-out candle — she’s that rare thing, a soprano who makes every word clear.”

NEIL FISHER, THE TIMES
LA BOHEME – ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA

La Boheme – English National Opera

“And what a revelation this Mimì is – Sinéad Campbell-Wallace makes her ENO debut, and we are sure to see and hear more of her. Elsewhere, she already as Puccini’s Tosca under her belt, and Tchaikovsky’s Tatyana in Eugene Onegin lies ahead. It’s easy to see why, as she conveys in Mimì both fragility and the gleam in her radiant top notes of a glimpse at a brighter horizon. Remember her name.”

Claudia Pritchard, CultureWhisper.com

 

“First, there was a fine ENO debut from the Irish soprano Sinead Campbell-Wallace as Mimi, the consumptive neighbour who embroiders flowers. She, though, was no shrinking violet. Tuberculosis could kill anybody, sweet or otherwise, and this Mimi seemed independent, self-assured and somewhat ahead of Rodolfo’s seduction game.

Campbell-Wallace is blessed with a big, bright belter of a voice and one suspects Mimi won’t always be her signature role, given the large repertoire that awaits her.”

Jessica Duchen, inews.co.uk

 

“… the sickly seamstress Mimi, was beautifully performed last night by Irish soprano Sinead Campbell-Wallace. Her voice has a wonderful clarity of tone and sense of dynamic control”

Adrian York, London-unattached.com

The Puccini Collection – Scottish Opera Gala

“The soloists – sopranos Sinead Campbell Wallace and Catriona Hewison, bass Roland Wood and tenor David Junghoon Kim – really seized the opportunity to make this an evening to remember. … Kim set the bench-mark pretty high with his opening aria from Manon Lescaut, but the others simply carried on where he left off, Sinead especially. Have I heard a better delivery of Tosca’s Vissi D’arte? Probably not, but that was just one instance of a soprano in peak form.”

Garry Fraser, The Courier

“Sinéad Campbell Wallace and Wood use the theatricality of the music to their full advantage, turning in perhaps the most evident presence of ‘acting’ along with their singing. Campbell Wallace projects emotion effortlessly, capturing the ferocity and anguish of Floria Tosca as she desperately sources a way out of the situation whilst still protecting Mario.”

Corr Blimey

“Sinéad Campbell Wallace’s Leonore has a rich, powerful soprano and transforms spectacularly from watchful man into passionate woman.”

KATY HAYES, IRISH INDEPENDENT
FIDELIO – IRISH NATIONAL OPERA

Fidelio – Irish National Opera

“The story centres on Leonore, magnificently sung by Sinéad Campbell Wallace.”

Fiona Charleton, The Times

“Sinéad Campbell Wallace was superb in the role of Leonore. She struck just the right balance between concealing her true feelings from her fellow jailors while at the same time expressing her anxiety and desperation about the plight of her husband. In the famous ‘Abscheulicher’ aria she sustained the expressive lines beautifully while at the same time delivering the more dramatic material with gusto. I was particularly impressed with her singing in Act II’s great love duet with Florestan where the blazing joy of deliverance really shone through.”

Robert Beattie, Seen and Heard

“As the ‘male’ title character (before long revealed as the female Leonora, undercover freedom-fighter), soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace returns to this stage in brilliant form. Always an arresting figure in performance, and a marvellous singer, she inhabits this role with riveting intensity and focus, her voice vibrant and true. Is there no limit to what she can do?”

Michael Lee, GoldenPlec.com 

“Sinéad Campbell Wallace’s debut with the Irish National Opera is a triumph – both for her and the company. Her deeply internalised performance is spellbinding, colouring the emotional complexity of ‘Abscheulicher, wo eilst du hin?’ ending in her determination to free Florestan.”

Paddy McGovern, No More Workhorse 

“The soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace brilliantly walks the tightrope between selling her Fidelio persona to her fellow characters while providing the audience with a window into her emotional state as the heroic wife, Leonore.”

Michael Dungan, Irish Times

“Soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace was a thoroughly convincing Leonore/Fidelio. Her voice is on the light side, but that did not stop her pouring out her soul in her “Abscheulicher” set piece, imbuing it with great sensitivity. Dramatically too, Campbell Wallace conveyed the anguish, the desperation and finally the joy of her character marvellously.”

Andrew Larkin, Bachtrack

“Soprano Kelli-Ann Masterson’s (Marzelline) crystal timbre offset by Soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace’s (Leonore) robust and commanding power.”

Chris O’Rourke, The Arts Review 

Fidelio – National Concert Hall, Dublin

“Sinéad Campbell Wallace (Leonore) excelled in the demanding role, a real feather in this outstanding singer’s cap.”

Business Post 

“Sinead Campbell Wallace was a remarkable Leonore, vocally and dramatically…”

Opera Magazine 

The Veiled Prophet – Wexford Festival

“She was truly excellent in the role and delivered an emotionally expressive performance. Campbell Wallace possesses an attractive, agile voice, which blooms as it climbs in the upper register. The quality of her phrasing was formidable; clothing her words with well-placed accents, colourful and dynamic flashes enabled her to create a passionate and emotional portrait. So many examples could be cited to illustrate her talent, such as the Act one lament, in which she captured the anguish and fears of seeing Azim sent into battle.”

Alan Neilson, Operawire 

Zanetto – Scottish Opera

“But it’s easy to sit back and let the swooning melodies overwhelm, especially here given the richly sung performances, Campbell Wallace’s powerful but burnished soprano sinuously intertwining with Hipp’s seductive darker hues.”

Rowena Smith, The Guardian 

“The undisputed star of the evening, however, was quite rightly Sinéad Campbell-Wallace.”

NMZ ONLINE, JUAN MARTIN KOCH
TOSCA – THEATER REGENSBURG

Tosca – Theater Regensburg

“Her Tosca vibrated with sensuality, intensity and violence that almost seemed to frighten her. The vocal scale ranged from softly placed pianissimi through a well-articulated middle voice to an electrifying top that resonated powerfully in the space – outstanding.”

NMZ Online, Juan Martin Koch 

 

“Vocally, it was all you could wish for: she has a touching intensity that carried through into her emotional acting.”

BR Klassik, Peter Jungblut

 

“Sinéad Campbell Wallace was a vocally superior Tosca, totally convincing in all things musical, from the height of jealousy to murder, from the throws of love to suicide.”

Mittelbayerische, Claudia Böckel 

 

“And with a Tosca like Sinéad Campbell Wallace, anything is possible. The more dramatic, the better  –  that such a level of singer is engaged in Regensburg, speaks volumes for the house; she is indestructible, stunning, thrilling”

Süddeutsche Zeitung, Egbert Tholl 

 

“…the grandiose singing of Sinéad Campbell Wallace in the title role…”

Mittelbayerische, Peter Geiger 

 

“Sinéad Campbell Wallace was captivating as Tosca with initial ferocity above the stave and with delicate pianissimi in “Vissi d’arte”

NMZ Online, Juan Martin Koch 

Verdi Gala – Lyric Opera at National Concert Hall

“Soprano Sinead Campbell Wallace impressed with her technical skill, especially in “Pace, pace, mio Dio” (La forza del destino), as well as for her beauty.”

thesidebalcony.com

Radamisto – Northern Ireland Opera

“Sinéad Campbell Wallace, the evening’s most sumptuous and rounded voice…”

criticscircle.com

“It’s Zenobia who faces the greatest challenges in the drama and it’s important that the strength of her resolve remains consistent with her inner humanity in order for the conclusion to be credible, and that was all there in Campbell Wallace’s singing.” 

Keris Nine, OperaJournal.ie

“The biggest roles, both male and female, were taken by women, with Doreen Curran and Sinéad Campbell-Wallace both in impressive form as Radamisto and Zenobia.”

Michael Dervan, The Irish Times 

“Miraculously, Sinéad Campbell Wallace (Zenobia) manages to break free of these constraints to give a wonderful, impassioned performance. Her experience also shows through in her ability to project her text to the audience, a known challenge in this space which others in the cast find difficult, leaving much of Christopher Cowell’s translation inaudible.”

Michael Lee, Goldenplec.com 

“Soprano Aoife Miskelly’s hard done by Polissena is beautifully evoked, as is the Mary Pickford/Lillian Gish lookalike Zenobia, beautifully realised by Soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace, with both sopranos delivering some exquisite, vibrant solos throughout.” 

Chris O’Rourke, theartsreview.com