World Premiere: Péter Eötvös’ The Sirens Cycle, Wigmore Hall London
Piia Komsi performing with the the Calder Quartet, October 1st, 2016
“And the outstanding soprano Piia Komsi, taking over from Barbara Hannigan, was equal to its extreme demands, smoothly switching between English, ancient Greek and German.” – Hannah Nepil, Financial Times
“Most of all, though, the whole 40-minute work sets a fearsome test for any coloratura soprano, and Komsi passed it superbly, meeting every challenge with real operatic brilliance.” – Andrew Clements, The Guardian
“Although Barbara Hannigan was scheduled to sing, I was thrilled to hear that Piia Komsi was stepping in at very short notice indeed, for Komsi’s voice is phenomenal, capable of extremes of pitch and textures beyond the range of most, combined with extraordinarily crisp articulation. Her voice is almost superhumanly elastic, her diction precise even in phrases as convoluted as those thrown at her by Joyce and Eötvös. She embodied the Sirens, supernatural beings who defy the boundaries of Nature. Komsi’s death-defying flights up and down the scale could drive one mad with rapture. Komsi is a vocal gymnast, but so poised that she can make the ethereal sound perfectly natural. (..) Eötvös captures the metre of the poet’s individual language. The lines seem to curve upon themselves like sonorous echoes. The Sirens (or rather Komsi and the Calder Quartet) seduce in honeyed tones: Komsi’s voice warms sensuously, the violins, viola and cello singing along with her, in luscious chorus.” – Anne Ozorio, Opera Today
“The focus of the evening was the world premiere of Eötvös’s The Sirens Cycle, settings of James Joyce, Homer and Kafka for high soprano. The extraordinarily demanding vocals were taken on superbly by Piia Komsi (sister of Anu) at short notice, following the withdrawal of Barbara Hannigan. Komsi was amazing.” – Amanda-Jane Doran, Classical Source