Dolora continues to own the role of Azucena in the Met’s Il Trovatore

“The powerhouse mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick, who made her 1988 Met debut in this opera as Azucena, still owns this role, the Gypsy haunted by the horrific memory of seeing her mother burned at the stake.” (New York Times, 27 September 2015) “It is difficult to imagine anyone other than Dolora Zajick as Azucena, as she has been projecting the part exceptionally for decades. She simply owns the role of Azucena (as well as that of Ježibaba in Rusalka) and shows no sign of wear on her marvelous deep mezzo voice. Absolutely relishing in her outsider role, she vividly brings incisive focus to the slightly off-center universe that is Il trovatore. Her ‘Stride la vampa’ carries with it an air of power and authenticity.” (Classical Source, 25 September 2015) “It seems unfair to bring up Dolora Zajick so late in this review because she was just as deserving of being discussed first. Her interpretation of Azucena is undoubtedly the best of modern times, and it just seems to get better and better with age.” (Latin Post, 26 September 2015) “The redoubtable Dolora Zajick sang Azucena, the role of her Met debut 27 years ago. She remains as commanding as ever, but she also offered some touching singing in the final scene, when Azucena dreams of returning to the mountains with Manrico...” (MusicalAmerica, 28 September 2015) "The Met’s reigning Azucena, Dolora Zajick, was on hand once again to inhabit the role with which she made her company debut in 1988. Nearly three decades have not softened her portrayal in the least; at sixty-three, she still brings a dark, imposing instrument to the stage, and craftily hides her malice under a world-weary façade." (New York Classical Review, 26 September 2015)