“Elizabeth Llewellyn’s smile lights up a room the same way her singing lights up a stage. Given that radiance, it’s no surprise that the first two years of her professional musical career have seen her win both the hearts of audiences and raves in the press”.
Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph, November 2012
“A grown-up talent” – Feature article in Financial Times
“For a decade, her beautiful soprano lay dormant – unexercised, unnoticed, undeveloped. Then someone heard her sing…Within months she was starring in English National Opera’s La bohème.”
“Few singers make so much progress in so little time, and when they do, they tend to be young, ambitious and prone to early burnout. Llewellyn is no hothouse plant…Her voice [has] had time to settle, and she [has] had time to mature.”
“Llewellyn’s calmness and common-sense values are unusual in a profession renowned for temperamental excess.”
Andrew Clark, Financial Times, March 2013
Amelia in Verdi Simon Boccanegra / English Touring Opera
cond. Michael Rosewell / dir. James Conway
“The star of the evening was Elizabeth Llewellyn as his daughter Amelia… nicely varying her tone on her emotional roller-coaster.”
Martin Dreyer, York Press, April 2013
“Elizabeth Llewellyn, as the lost daughter Amelia/Maria, has a sensuous voice.”
Clare Colvin,
Express, March 2013
“Only one element of the performance truly comes alive. Elizabeth Llewellyn’s Amelia shines brightly: as well as negotiating one of Verdi’s trickiest arias with elegant aplomb and crowning the wonderful Council Chamber ensemble with glory, she also makes the girl’s hopes and fears vivid, suggesting that innocent womanhood can point the way out of the mess that men have made of the world.”
Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph, March 2013
“Elizabeth Llewellyn continues to fulfil her promise… [with] her powerful and lyrical soprano.”
Peter Reed, Daily Telegraph, March 2013
“Rising star Elizabeth Llewellyn confirms her excellence as an Amelia of gleaming lyricism, musically distinguished and dramatically sympathetic.”
George Hall, The Stage, March 2013
“The opening night of ETO's Boccanegra was no doubt enlivened by the performances of Charne Rochford and Elizabeth Llewellyn…. a sensational Amelia, who dispatched her passages with sentiment and confidence throughout.”
Francesca Vella, One Stop Arts, March 2013
“Elizabeth Llewellyn uncorks passages of glorious timbre as Amelia…”
Richard Morrison,
The Times, three stars, March 2013
“[ETO] fielded a far superior Amelia, the rising lyric soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn.”
Hugh Canning, Sunday Times, March 2013
“The opening night of ETO's Boccanegra was no doubt enlivened by the performances of Charne Rochford and Elizabeth Llewellyn…. a sensational Amelia, who dispatched her passages with sentiment and confidence throughout.”
Francesca Vella, One Stop Arts, March 2013
"Only one element of the performance truly comes alive. Elizabeth Llewellyn's Amelia shines brightly: as well as negotiating one of Verdi's trickiest arias with elegant aplomb and crowning the wonderful Council Chamber ensemble with glory, she also makes the girl's hopes and fears vivid, suggesting that innocent womanhood can point the way out of the mess that men have made of the world."
“As Amelia, Elizabeth Llewellyn continues to fulfil her promise … matched by her powerful and lyrical soprano.”
Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph, March 2013
“The exception of Elizabeth Llewellyn’s gleaming Amelia…”
Andrew Clements, Guardian, March 2013
“There is, however, one very good reason to catch this Boccanegra and that is an Amelia of distinction from Elizabeth Llewellyn, marking her Verdi debut. She has a lovely, rich lyric soprano and a formidable technique. The little dynamic swells within Amelia’s opening aria ‘Come in quest’ora bruna’…were beautifully controlled and she phrases in long legato lines.”
Mark Pullinger, Opera Britannia, March 2013
“…a sensational Amelia, who dispatched her passages with sentiment and confidence throughout.”
Francesca Vella, Bach Track, March 2013
“Elizabeth Llewellyn…gives a performance of great lyrical beauty and is clearly a talent which has huge potential.”
John Bird, What's on Stage, March 2013
Micaëla in Bizet Carmen / London Coliseum
English National Opera / cond. Ryan Wigglesworth / dir. Calixto Bieito
“Llewellyn deservedly won the warmest ovation of the evening; her Act 3 aria was potent with passion and commitment. [T]here is not a phrase that is not perfectly shaped, a sound that is not infinitely agreeable ...”
Claire Seymour, Opera Today, December 2012
“Special notice must of course go to Elizabeth Llewellyn who sang a heartfelt Micaëla”.
Michael Migliore, Musical Criticism, December 2012
“The familiar music is reassuring and beautifully performed... Elizabeth Llewellyn is a gorgeous Micaela”.
Sarah Dawes,
Camden New Journal, November 2012
“Elizabeth Llewellyn's spunky, borderline-tarty Micaela easily steals the vocal honours with her juicy singing of her big aria and the duets with Jose”.
Hugh Canning, Sunday Times, December 2012
“Micaela (honey-voiced Elizabeth Llewellyn) is presented as a more gutsy creature than usual, who is prepared to fight for her man”.
Warwick Thompson, Bloomberg, November 2012
“[Micaela] - as incarnated by Elizabeth Llewellyn[‘s] radiant singing [is] not Bizet’s simple country girl”.
Michael Church, Independent, November 2012
“Elizabeth Llewellyn’s admirably sung Micaela presents a streetwise girl who causes José some alarm with the less than chaste “mother’s kiss” she passes on. Her contemptuous laugh at Carmen in the third act suggests a schemer who may have cooked up the story of that mother’s imminent death to prise José away”.
Barry Millington, London Evening Standard, November 2012
“That Elizabeth Llewellyn's Micaela is also warm and seductive [like Donose’s Carmen] draws the two women together in their competition for Don Jose (he clearly falls for the same type)”.
Michael White, Daily Telegraph, November 2012
“…bright and heartfelt singing from Elizabeth Llewellyn as a more than usually assertive Micaela”
Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph, November 2012
“Elizabeth Llewellyn was a touching Micaëla”.
Mark Berry, Seen and Heard International, November 2012
“Elizabeth Llewellyn offers one of the most beautifully sung interpretations of Micaela you will ever hear”.
George Hall, The Stage, November 2012
“Vocal honours go to Elizabeth Llewellyn as a superb Micaela, which avoids any sense of mawkishness”.
Simon Thomas, What’s On Stage, November 2012
“Were Donose not such a strong protagonist, the palm for the performance of the night might well have been carried by Elizabeth Llewellyn’s extraordinary Micaëla. Beautifully sung and forcefully portrayed this was never going to be a performance that was fated to fade into the background. It has been one of the pleasures of the last few years to watch this artist develop and this performance was yet another major success”.
Sebastian Petit, Opera Britannia, November 2012
“Elizabeth Llewellyn sang Micaëla beautifully”.
Peter Reed, Classical Source, November 2012
“Star turn of the night, though, is undoubted Coliseum favourite Elizabeth Llewellyn, the glorious British Jamaican soprano whose superbly-sung Micaela, Jose’s childhood sweetheart from his home village, was transformational – upgrading her from timid peasant girl to another self-determining woman. Llewellyn’s brilliance made you wish, for a moment, that sopranos could play Carmen”.
Johnny Fox, Londonist, November 2012
“There's some fine singing [...] Llewellyn, radiant as always, just goes from strength to strength”.
Tim Ashley, Guardian, November 2012
“In [Bieito’s] Carmen it’s the bodies – the sinewy physicality – that speak volumes. […] In the midst of [the smuggling] scene Elizabeth Llewellyn makes a real fist of Micaëla’s aria lending it an intensity and resolve that you rarely hear. She is totally the outsider, seeking but not finding acceptance, a go-between José and his mother and an obsession called Carmen”.
Edward Seckerson, November 2012
“First performed in 1999, the production now includes the Basque hero, Don José (Adam Diegel), and his hometown girlfriend, Micaëla (Elizabeth Llewellyn), photographing themselves on a smartphone. The good-looking pair acted their hearts out... [T]his is a "Carmen" that reminds you how superb the familiar music is.”
Paul Levy, The Wall Street Journal, November 2012
“…the biggest cheer rightly reserved for Elizabeth Llewellyn’s Micaela”
David Gillard, Daily Mail, November 2012
“Only the least significant of the four main roles impressed: Elizabeth Llewellyn’s Micaëla showed strength of voice and character, with warmth and depth beyond what we’re used to”.
David Karlin, Bach Track, November 2012
First Lady in Mozart The Magic Flute
London Coliseum / cond. Nicholas Collon / dir. Nicholas Hytner
“A vivacious Ms Llewellyn sang with flair, whose luscious soprano graced the upper line.”
Faye Courtney, Opera Britannia, September 2012
“Elizabeth Llewellyn was in very fine voice as the Queen's First Lady attendant. The power and crystal clarity of her voice rang out above the rest”.
William Hartston, Express, September 2012
Soprano The Broadway Sound
BBC Proms / cond. John Wilson
“Delightful and heartfelt performance by Elizabeth Llewellyn (hot-foot from Opera Holland Park where she sang Fiordiligi).”
Chris Caspell, Classical Source, August 2012
Fiordiligi in Mozart Cosí fan tutte / Opera Holland Park
cond. Thomas Kemp / dir. Harry Fehr / City of London Sinfonia / Opera Holland Park Chorus
“[Dorabella’s] antics ... are a foil to the moving vulnerability of Elizabeth Llewellyn’s outstanding Fiordiligi, whose Per pietà is racked by inner sadness.”
Hilary Finch, Times, June 2012
“Cosí has some terrific young singers — Elizabeth Llewellyn’s sumptuously sung Fiordiligi...”
Hugh Canning, Sunday Times, June 2012
“The vocal blend is ideal: pure, supple and perfectly balanced... Llewellyn makes priggish Fiordiligi human, warm, even funny, in the coloratura pomp of ‘Come scoglio’.”
Anna Picard, Independent, June 2012
“The lovers are all rising stars - or stars already ... Elizabeth Llewellyn (Fiordiligi), a veteran of OHP’s Marriage of Figaro who also sang the Countess at English National Opera, has a sumptuous lower register and a sympathetic stage presence.”
David Gutman, The Stage, June 2012
“An outstandingly pure and beautiful voice...”
William Hartston, Daily Express, June 2012
“Vocally stunning, her performance of 'Come scoglio' is excellently measured, combining harshness towards the strangers, an element of rationality as she calmly explains that she loves another, and high comedy as she nearly faints and deprives the intruders of their tea and cake. Even after she submits to Ferrando, she looks profoundly uncomfortable at what she is about to do.”
Sam Smith, Music OMH, June 2012
“Elizabeth Llewellyn ... is in her element as Fiordiligi, and her partnership with Julia Riley’s Dorabella results in a vocal blend of the utmost sweetness and beauty.”
Mark Valencia,
Classical Source, June 2012
"Elizabeth Llewellyn's supremely dignified Fiordiligi is the night's highlight. Like her voice - already a glowing, autumnal soprano but dropping tantalising hints of more expansive roles to come - Llewellyn is going places... singing an assured "Come scoglio". In the harsher emotions of the second act, her entire performance blossoms."
David Benedict, The Arts Desk, June 2012
"Best of all is Elizabeth Llewellyn's turn as Fiordiligi - her rich-toned, seemingly effortless delivery of Per pietà, ben mio, perdona - resulting in rapturous applause and calls of "bravo!" from the audience."
Maia Jenkins, The Upcoming, June 2012
"The singing was of an impressively high calibre. The Fiordiligi of Elizabeth Llewellyn was the standout, her beautiful tone and attentiveness to vocal line making both ‘Come scoglio' and ‘Per pietà' absolute joys."
John E de Wald, Opera Britannia, June 2012
Countess in Mozart The Marriage of Figaro / English National Opera
Chorus of English National Opera / dir. Fiona Shaw / cond. Paul Daniel
“Best of all was the Countess, Elizabeth Llewellyn, whose rich-toned, agile soprano offered a level of vocal quality too often missing elsewhere; her performance was the more remarkable given that she was a late replacement, announced only on the day of performance. Following her strongly sung Mimì at the same address last season, Llewellyn here confirmed her potential as a rising star of the U.K. soprano firmament.”
George Hall, Opera News, January 2012
“Elizabeth Llewellyn, gave a superb account of the role. ‘Porgi amor’ was especially poignant.”
Russ McDonald, Opera, December 2011
“But the vocal honours were stolen by Elizabeth Llewellyn. A late substitute for Kate Valentine as a word-perfect and superbly poised Countess, she fitted into the production as if she had been rehearsing for weeks. This is a golden talent, deserving of careful nurture...”
Hugh Canning, Sunday Times, October 2011
“The star of the first night, though, was the velvety toned soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn, stepping in movingly as the Countess for an indisposed Kate Valentine.”
John Allison, Daily Telegraph, October 2011
“Fortunately, Elizabeth Llewellyn was able to step in with a bravura performance. Indeed, her commanding vocal and dramatic presence in both the big arias provided blissful relief from the manic hyperactivity on stage that irritated more than it illuminated.”
Barry Millington, London Evening Standard, October 2011
“Elizabeth Llewellyn's Countess was an admirable late replacement for an indisposed Kate Valentine.”
Fiona Maddocks, Observer, October 2011
“She was replaced by Elizabeth Llewellyn, her understudy, who had only sung the part once before. Happily, she did it with panache and wowed the critics, who called her performance "show-stealing". Shaw was visibly delighted, bobbing in her seat with glee. This may be the beginning of a bright new future for Ms Llewellyn. "Expect to see a lot more of her in future," gushes my man in the wings.”
Matthew Bell, Independent, October 2011
“Elizabeth Llewellyn, standing in at very short notice for a sick Kate Valentine, is a finely poised Countess, singing both arias with remarkable beauty and poise. I was reminded of a night in 1973 when I first heard an unknown young soprano called Kiri Te Kanawa sing this role and a star was born.”
Rupert Christansen, Daily Telegraph, October 2011
“…the most polished vocal contributions come from the last-minute stand-in: Elizabeth Llewellyn, who sang the Countess with gorgeous timbre and looked poised on what must have been a nerve-racking evening.”
Richard Morrison, Times, October 2011
“On the morning Elizabeth Llewellyn gamely stepped in and caused something of a sensation with her warm yet plaintive tone, beautiful embellishments of line and a searing depiction of this unhappy character’s emotional plight. There was wit, too. Her two arias were both high-points.”
Alexander Campbell, Classical Source, October 2011
“Elizabeth Llewellyn’s smoky-toned Countess sings with a touch of class”
Andrew Clark, Financial Times, October 2011
“... leaving Elizabeth Llewellyn bravely to assimilate herself into an extraordinarily complex evening. That she did so with poise and composure and affecting vocal bloom was a quite remarkable achievement. At the close of Shaw’s staging she is every thoroughly modern woman packed and ready to walk away from betrayal but ultimately big enough to stay.”
Edward Seckerson, Independent, October 2011
“Astonishingly, the best vocal performance came from a singer who had only stepped into her role earlier the same day. Elizabeth Llewellyn has a beautiful, tender soprano voice and true stage presence, but coming into the role of Countess Almaviva as a very late replacement for the indisposed Kate Valentine must have been a daunting prospect.
Remarkably, she played the part in a production that had never been seen before, singing words that had changed from any other time she had sung the role, as though she had been rehearsing it for months. At the end, she received the biggest ovation from the audience of all the performers and thoroughly deserved it.”
William Hartston, Daily Express, October 2011
“Yet stepping into this challenging assignment, Elizabeth Llewellyn undoubtedly took the evening’s vocal laurels - her rich, creamy soprano was superbly managed and deserves to take her far.”
George Hall, The Stage, October 2011
“Elizabeth Llewellyn, filling in for the sick Kate Valentine with mere hours notice, is more than that. She was outstanding. Her physical and vocal poise elevated the Countess’s predicament to genuine tragedy. Rarely are the tears behind the stiff upper lip so beautifully and poignantly evoked.”
Intermezzo, Bach Track, October 2011
Governess in Britten Turn of the Screw / Grimeborn Opera at the Arcola Theatre
cond. Thomas Blunt / dir. Max Key
“Graceful of presence, mellow of timbre, this Governess was sabotaged far less by neurosis than by her insistence that everything was going to be all right. Not that Llewellyn made the character obtuse or smug: an alert and sensitive performer, she could fill the theatre with emotionally-charged sound.”
Yehuda Shapiro, Opera Magazine, September 2011
Countess in Mozart Le nozze di Figaro / Opera Holland Park
cond. Matthew Willis / dir. Liam Steel
"Elizabeth Llewellyn's peachy soprano is the perfect sound for the Countess...she moved and acted with dignity, dominating the moral and emotional high ground."
Opera Magazine, July 2011
“Indeed, the vocal expressivity of Elizabeth Llewellyn, as the disillusioned, disheartened Countess, was one of the highlights of the evening. Both ‘Porgi amor’ and ‘Dove sono’ powerfully conveyed her distress and established her aristocratic dignity.”
Opera Today, June 2011
“Elizabeth Llewellyn’s glorious vocal sound... This was a beautiful performance from a soprano with a very special voice (described by Edward Seckerson as ‘ripening nicely.’). Both ‘Porgi, amor’ and ‘Dove sono’ were effectively showstoppers, delivered with dignity and poise.”
Opera Britannia, July 2011
“One standout vocal performance made the evening worthwhile. The Countess's inner despair was laced through Elizabeth Llewellyn's every note, peaking in a profoundly affecting Dove sono. It was all the remarkable for the aristocratic poise of her delivery, the raw feelings behind the Countess's unslippable social mask.”
Intermezzo, July 2011
“Two performances stand out from start to finish. The first comes from Elizabeth Llewellyn as the Countess whose performance of ‘Porgi, amor’ is an undoubted highlight of the evening. There is a wonderful sense of style in her delivery, which sees her stand as a goddess, eternally elegant of bearing. At the same time, she conveys immense human emotion, her fragility being so obvious that one senses she could physically disintegrate at any moment.”
Music OMH, July 2011
“There are ravishing accounts of ... Dove Sono by Elizabeth Llewellyn”
The Stage, July 2011
“Elizabeth Llewellyn’s Countess combined with great success beauty of tone and poignancy of affect”
Seen and Heard International, July 2011
Recital for the Rosenblatt Recital Series / St. John’s Smith Square, London
Pianist Simon Lepper
“... [In Walton's A Song for the Lord Mayor's Table] Llewellyn's poised rendition was pitched perfectly between warm nostalgia and gentle comedy. And her selection of Strauss lieder - five serenely ecstatic numbers - was compelling."
Times, April 2011
“What joy the soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn brought to them as a very valedictory encore to close her concert at St John’s, part of the long-running Rosenblatt Recitals series. (…) This is a big but supple voice, meltingly rich in the middle, but with a clean, flutey top.”
Times, April 2011
“The first thing you notice about Elizabeth Llewellyn’s voice is the bloom – a plushy, covered quality that extends pretty much throughout the range...”
Independent, April 2011
“Llewellyn closed the recital with one encore “Sweet chance that led my steps abroad” by Michael Head which brought the evening to a satisfying conclusion without attempting to top the preceding fireworks. Once again London audiences have cause to be grateful to Rosenblatt’s for giving a platform to such a promising singer who is likely to figure highly in our musical life in the future.”
Opera Britannia, April 2011
Mimì in Puccini La bohème / English National Opera
cond. Stephen Lord / dir. Jonathan Miller
“Much more appealing was Elizabeth Llewellyn, who enjoyed huge success with the audience... her full lyric soprano, with its distinctive timbre and warm middle register, sailed through everything else with winning grace and excellent diction.”
Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph, October 2010
“But it is Llewellyn, gorgeously toned and rapturous, who is the evening's real star.”
Guardian, October 2010
"Llewellyn... has a distinctive and very attractive soprano - warm, passionate, large but not forced, with a mezzo hue that will surely suit her Countess for Holland Park next summer"
Opera Magazine, October 2010
“Making her debut in the role of Mimi, Elizabeth Llewellyn adds to her growing reputation for tackling major roles. Her solos, particularly in the final scene, enable her to show off the pure soprano voice to perfection.”
Daily Express, October 2010
“Mimì was sung by the young soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn, making her ENO debut. It's hard to imagine a better debut: Llewellyn's voice has a lovely warm timbre, she sang with clarity and precision, and she is a credible actress.”
Bach Track, October 2010
“As Mimi, she of the frozen extremities, the creamy-voiced Elizabeth Llewellyn continues in her career-defining role. This enchanting lyric soprano brings a vulnerability and passion to the drama... for this revival, overseen by Jonathan Miller himself, dramatic balance is restored and Llewellyn’s Mimi is able to break our hearts.”
Classical Source, October 2010
“Elizabeth Llewellyn’s warm buttery soprano lent itself admirably to the role of Mimi and she handled the balance between pathos and conviction in her performance perfectly. Her exchange of arias with Hughes Jones in Act I was particularly moving, as was her final scene...”
Music OMH, October 2010
“Rising star Elizabeth Llewellyn makes a bigger splash with her house debut as Mimi. (…) the sumptuousness of her lower register promises great things.”
The Stage, October 2010
“Mimi herself was the star of the show, gloriously sung by Elizabeth Llewellyn, making her ENO debut. This is a young woman to watch out for”
Mark Ronans, Theatre Review, October 2010