Reviews

Salt Lake Tribune Article

as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette:
" Real-life couple Jonathan Boyd and Malinda Haslett make beautiful music together as Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers. ... Offstage romance translates into onstage magic in Utah Opera's production of Charles Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet." Married couple Jonathan Boyd and Malinda Haslett are one of the most attractive pairs of leads to appear on the Utah Opera stage. What's more important, they sing and act beautifully as well. The instant love between Romeo and Juliet is, in its way, as illogical as the generations-old hatred that divides their families. Boyd and Haslett's real-life relationship makes the connection completely believable and natural. For one thing, it gives director Nicolette Molnar an unusual degree of freedom in staging the bedroom scene. The marriage scene also is deftly staged; Boyd and Haslett amply convey the teenagers' lovestruck giddiness, with an assist from Kurt Link's kindly Friar Laurence. ... Haslett also excels with her first Juliet. Taking her cue from Gounod's music, the soprano makes a believable transformation from giggling girl to serious-minded woman, largely by changing the color of her voice as the brilliant lyric coloratura of Juliet's showy first-act music gives way to a mellower sound. "(Catherine Reese Newton, The Salt Lake Tribune, October 18, 2005)

as Violetta in La Traviata :
" La Traviata de l'Américaine Malinda Haslett a de l'élégance, du coffre, de la puissance tout en raffinant les demi-teintes. Brillante... " (Le Soir 23 Aout, 2005 by MICHÈLE FRICHE ) ("La Traviata of the American Malinda Haslett has elegance, girth of voice, strength, all while still able to refine fine hues of tone. Brilliant...")

" La distribution est dominée par la Violetta de la jeune soprano américaine Malinda Haslett, voix agile et lumineuse, justesse, musicalité, physique idéal. " (La Libre Belgique, Aout, 2005) (" The distribution is dominated by the Violetta of the young American soprano Malinda Haslett, agile and luminous voice, pitch-perfect, musicality, ideal physique.")

as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte :
"As Pamina, Malinda Haslett paced herself well, and sang "Ach, ich fühl's" with such meltingly limpid phrases that the audience held its collective breath. She is a singer that deserves more attention. " (Opera News by Johanna Keller/August 2004. Syracuse Opera)

As Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance :
"Mabel, his beloved, although "beloved" isn't quite the word you should use in a Gilbert & Sullivan work as cynical as this, was taken by soprano Malinda Haslett, who is personable, physically attractive and has the vocal facility to handle Sullivan's coloratura parodies."( The Dallas Morning News By OLIN CHISM/January 10, 2004. Fort Worth Opera)

"This cast, with some minor exceptions, displays both physical and vocal talent. Soprano Malinda Haslett best exemplifies this as Mabel, the maiden who falls for pirate apprentice Frederic (Curt Peterson). Her voice conveys longing and honesty but also humor." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram By Mark Lowry - January 10, 2004. Fort Worth Opera)

"...Mabel, the only woman he's ever seen aside from his nanny, was sung by soprano Malinda Haslett, an appealing stage presence and intelligent singer" ( Fort Worth Weekly by Leonard Eureka - January 14, 2004. Forth Worth Opera )

As Norina in Don Pasquale :
"Dallas-born soprano Malinda Haslett, who has a brilliant, flexible voice, was equally appealing as the clever Norina." (Star-Telegram Classical by Wayne Lee Gay - March 15, 2003. Forth Worth Opera)

As Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera :
"Malinda Haslett's Oscar, on the other hand, was an unalloyed delight, securely sung and nicely conveying the unconventionally prickly attitude her director had in mind. "
(OPERA NEWS, September, 2001 by John Crook)

As Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment :
"For the final production of its 2001 season, Lyric Opera Cleveland has had the smarts to import a soprano, Malinda Haslett, who can tame Donizetti's coloratura demands. Looking like a cross between Ado Annie and Annie Oakley (until her Eliza Doolittle-like transformation in Act II), Haslett brings a gawky girlishness to a role often undertaken by singers who warble brilliantly, but challenge verisimilitude. Haslett is pert and bright, spontaneous in gesture and musically sparkling. She is also a Marie who goes beyond mere merriment. Haslett sings both the florid and the buoyant lines with equal assurance. She is especially affecting in the two arias in which Marie must tug at the heartstrings, with expressive help from solo English horn and cello. " (The Plain Dealer/Cleveland - 20 July, 2001 by Donald Rosenberg)

"Malinda Haslett is fetchingly sassy as Marie, a lovable army brat and foundling rescued by the 21st Regiment, who's grown up as their canteen manager and darling mascot. With an awshucks cockiness that would enliven Annie Get Your Gun, she tosses around rifles and tosses off glittering above-the-staff notes with equal agility. Besides being credibly lithe and comely in a role often associated with hefty matrons, Haslett negotiates the cruelest stretches of coloratura flourishes with a bright, sharp, effervescent sound. She floats some ravishing, mournful pianissimos in her farewell to the regiment and movingly renders a pair of elegant second-act laments: while, with impressive dexterity, she turns right around to lead the robust frenzy of "Rataplan," a giddy pastiche of a military tattoo that looks back to Rossini. "
(The Free Times/ Cleveland 25 July, 2001 by Marie Andrusewicz and James Damico)

As Nannetta in Falstaff :
"Malinda Haslett, as the Fords' daughter, Nannetta, gives a beguiling performance in duets with her suitor, Fenton (Jonathan Boyd). Dressed all in white in the third-act forest scene, she is a magical presence, like an enchanted swan. " (By JOHN FLEMING, St. Petersburg Times, published February 15, 2001 )

"Malinda Haslett, who played the girlish Nannetta, and Jonathan Boyd, who took the role of her ardent swain, revealed well-trained voices in their evocations of young love. Their short arias were the best tunes in the opera. Haslett's sweet coloratura floated flute-like over the orchestra in the last scene as the full cast and chorus celebrated life as a huge prank, in which Verdi and his librettist proclaim we are all fools." (April 2, 2001 By CORINNE DUNNE, Special to the Naples Daily News, Naples, Florida)

"Throughout the story Boyd and Haslett steal brief moments for love and therein threaten to steal the show. Until now, their lovely singing has come only in bits and pieces. Here in the final scene Fenton sings more fully to his love in the garden. Boyd has a gentle dramatic flair, and Haslett joining reveals a light, shimmering voice. "
(By Gayle Williams and Maya Avrasin, The Longboat Observer, Wednesday, February 14, 2001)

As Valencienne in the Merry Widow :
"Malinda Haslett as Valencienne and Eric Van Hoven as Camille also charm as an illicit couple unwittingly pushed closer by her husband. Their well-matched voices are a lilting contrast to those of Hogan and Cheffer." (Hampton Roads Portfolio)

"These two singers in duets make a joyful sound. Malinda Haslett is pert and perky, like a soprano should be in her naughty flirting and carrying on as Valencienne." (National Public Radio)

As Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia :
"Soprano Malinda Haslett hustled and bustled, stirring up the comedy wherever possible. Her voice filled out the ensembles nicely and had a moment to shine in one aria, which was topped off by a well placed high note." (The Virginia Pilot)

As the title role in Dorit (World Premiere):
"The performance was somewhat uneven, although blessed with a splendid Dorit. Malinda Haslett has a face out of a sixteenth century portrait and a clear soprano that contrasted nicely with the darker voices of the other women. She played Dorit, fulcrum of the opera's multiple relationships, as a beautiful object, self-contained and self-centered as a cat." (Philadelphia Gay Press)

As soprano soloist in Messiah :
"Haslett, dressed in a gold metallic gown - the only spot of color in a black and white visual - had a lusciously clear coloratura... some phrases, such as in the famous aria, "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth" had spine-tingling sterling tones." (The Daily Gazette - Albany, NY)

In Concert :
"...but as for the evening highlights revealing serious star stuff: Malinda Haslett singing the part of Norina to Malatesta in "Pronta io son" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale was the first showstopper of Saturday night. The red-dressed Dallas, Texas native brought a tremendous, expressive command to the soprano role of the gay young widow." (Santa Barbara Press)