Staatsoper Hamburg: : Offenbach: Les contes d'hoffmann: olympia
A shower of applause also thunders down on the soprano Caroline Wettergreen, who, as Olympia, displays truly Olympic-level coloratura acrobatics that leave one in sheer amazement. She is also utterly sweet, this little wind-up doll, whose mechanically perfect vocal technique melts hearts. Always on point, precise, accurate, and incredibly sharp, the beautifully pure coloratura notes cascade stimulatingly into the ear.
- Opera Versum
The cast of this opera is always quite large when the respective nude leading roles are not sung by one person. This was the case with the women and it has advantages and disadvantages: dramaturgically, of course, it is more conclusive if it is sung by a single soprano - this makes it easier to understand the context of the scenes. If you look at voice specializations, a split is definitely beneficial. That's how I felt about it here: Caroline Wettergreen sang only Olympia in Act 2. But she did it with the best portrayal of this role I've ever seen: wonderfully automaton-like in every gesture and facial expression (my expensive opera glasses were worth it once again) and vocally sovereign. From all those involved, there was the biggest applause for her at the end and - quite unusual in Hamburg - minutes of applause after her Olympic aria.
- Tamino Klassikforum
This also applies to the coloratura of the Olympia: Caroline Wettergreen not only acted stunningly funny, no, she fulfilled the role of the music automaton puppet with her bell-like coloratura soprano and a rounded fullness of sound extremely substantial, there was no "soubrettige" to be heard at any moment, but a lot of comedy with vocally mature acrobatics.
- Oper Aktuell
