SUNDAY TIMES
La traviata, Glyndebourne
La Traviata, Glyndebourne

Gimadieva has all the makings of an outstanding interpreter of this star soprano role. She looks the tubercular courtesan to perfection: slim, with her almond-shaped face framed by the long black hair of Marie Duplessis, the model for Dumas’s Lady of the Camellias, on which La traviata is based. Gimadieva’s looks recall the young Galina Gorchakova, and her voice that of Anna Netrebko when she first emerged. She is a committed actress and her voice fills the medium-sized Glyndebourne auditorium without obvious effort…by “Alfredo, Alfredo” at Flora’s soirée she was spinning ear-caressing pianissmi; and in Addio del passato (Adieu to past dreams), tinged with regret and nostalgia, she had found her stride and her conquest of the audience was complete.

Guardian
La traviata. Glyndebourne
Venera Gimadieva is Thrilling in This Elegant Update

She is a soprano of huge presence, compelling to watch, with a voice of thrilling security and range, and a special quality to her quieter singing that makes you hang on every note. It’s a remarkable, touching Glyndebourne debut.