Opera San Jose
Azucena in Il Trovatore
Mezzo Daryl Freedman is on her way to becoming a force of nature in the Zajick mold with her powerful, knowing interpretation of the willful Azucena. Ms. Freedman’s well-schooled instrument was even from top to bottom, and she knows how to knit her registers with consummate skill. With a rich, ripe middle range, a searing, pliable top, and round, booming chest tones, this treasurable vocalist found every variation of intensity in the opera’s most complex role.
-James Sohre, Opera Today
Washington National Opera
Princess Eboli in Don Carlo
One of the WNO Young Artist Program étoiles, Daryl Freedman as Eboli... Freedman crafted a human Eboli with glorious low notes and two solid arias.
-Parterre Box, March 2018
Washington National Opera
Jade Boucher in Dead Man Walking
Soprano Kerriann Otaño and mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman stood out for their vocal power as the distraught mothers of the murder victims.
-Washington Classical Review, February 2017
Washington National Opera
The Doctor in Lifeboat & Amy in What Gets Kept
Mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman has been one of the most potent voices to come out of WNO’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program in recent years. Leading a cast made up mostly of her colleagues in that program, she was at the top of her vocal game as the Doctor, who mediates the growing antagonism between the Soldier and the Professor on either side of her. In the opera’s central aria, “Another body,” the Doctor gives a sort of autopsy report on the young refugee girl’s body brought to the surface by the Professor’s fishing line. As Peterson’s score marshaled the growing power of the small orchestra, Freedman was able to soar above it in a thrilling way.
-Classical Voice America, January 2017
...sung very well by Daryl Freedman as the dying Amy.
-The Washington Post, January 2017
Moments like the lovely central aria for the Doctor, sung here by the wonderful mezzo Daryl Freedman, emerge organically from the characters’ inner monologues rather than feeling like a contrived set piece... Daryl Freedman enjoyed another mini-triumph as Amy, finding tremendous poignancy in a monologue justifying her decision to end her life.
-Parterre, January 2017
Written in the Stars: Ten young American singers intent on taking the opera world by storm
With her unfettered, steely mezzo, resilient from bottom to top, Daryl has a real flair for opera's quirky character roles. Daryl recently gained her operatic laurels when she tackled the incredibly difficult lead role of a new chamber opera "Better Gods" at Washington National Opera. As queen Lili'uokalani, Hawaii's last reigning monarch, she gave a convincing and confident vocal and dramatic portrayal that would have tired many more experienced singers, with its dissonant score and interspersed with Hawaiian folksong. She has just appeared as a Valkyrie at in Washington operas Ring and Wagner seems to beckon for this big, confident versatile voice. In the meantime, she continues her training as a Domingo-Cafritz young artist in Washington.
-Opera Now, May 2016
Washington National Opera
Queen Lili'uokalani in Luna Pearl Woolf's Better Gods
The cast of this fascinating production are equally impressive. Queen Liliʻuokalani is played by mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman. The range and difficulty in the role is astounding and Freedman performs it masterfully.
-DC Metro Theater Arts
As the Queen, Daryl Freedman brings to the role not only a magnificent and formidable presence but an extraordinary mezzo soprano sound due to tones at the bottom of her range that beautifully show off Woolf’s music. She has to carry the show at an intensity that never waivers. Whether her deep, dark sound is particularly Hawaiian, I am not at all sure, but the range not only spoke of her character’s authority but suggested a spiritual connection with gods of land and sea.
-DC Theatre Scene
As the Queen, Mezzo-Soprano Daryl Freedman commands royalty and presence on the stage in both her voice and prowess. Her mighty range soars from a delicate upper register to a deep and soulful low sound.
-BroadwayWorld.com
First and foremost, however, the dominant role in “Better Gods” is that of Queen Liliʻuokalani. Although this is only a one-hour opera, the role of the Queen is both central and huge, making considerable demands on the soloist. Daryl Freedman embraced the challenge, creating a character possessing great dignity and honor fully capable of expressing herself clearly and forcefully in each of her two worlds.
Ms. Freedman’s vocal skill is considerable, and her phrasing and diction in this often-challenging part were exemplary. Icing on the cake: in her regal manner and appearance—considerably enhanced by Lynly A. Saunders’ royal costuming—transformed her into a dead-ringer for the actual historical Queen, at least according to period photographs. It was quite an impressive performance.
-Communities Digital News
Mezzo Daryl Freedman, who will join the Walküreschwestern in a few months, confidently led the show in the demanding role of the Queen. Digging into Lili’uokalani’s solo music with abandon, she easily filled the Terrace Theater with a big secure top, while credibly dipping into alto territory in a series of striking low-lying passages.
-Parterre.com
The mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman — like the rest of the cast, a member of the cast, a member of WNO’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program — rose admirably to the challenge of giving a big sing of a big character, in a role that requires her to be rather saintly and not entirely human for much of the evening. Her voice has a slightly metallic edge and... she sang a lot without a hint of tiredness. She also transformed herself from the characters she portrayed in WNO’s 20-minute operas a few weeks ago into a convincing personification of the queen (whose photograph was featured in the promotional materials for the show).
-The Washington Post
Impressive mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman was dignified and regal as Queen Lili'uokalani.
-Ionarts
Washington National Opera
Gertrude (Mother) in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel
Mezzo-Soprano Daryl Freedman brings a dramatic vocal power to the Mother that contrasts nicely with the sprightly, staccato sound of the children… Together, Freedman and Bogdanov well establish their relationship as a pair of loving parents who are devastated when their children go missing.
-DC Metro Theatre Arts
Impressive mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman was a viperous Mother.
-Ionarts
As mother, mezzo-soprano Freedman is dominant in voice and action.
-BroadwayWorld.com
Daryl Freedman is an imposing and disarming Mother Gertrude. Father Peter, Aleksey Bogdanov, is a wonderfully happy-go-lucky father whose soothing baritone blends impeccably with Freedman’s fierce and arresting mezzo-soprano.
-MD Theatre Guide
Washington National Opera
Osha in Twenty Minutes or Less & Autumn in Service Provider
The young members of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program did themselves proud... Daryl Freedman, a mezzo, stood out in her first WNO stage outings as both Osha in the first piece and the texting wife, Autumn, in the last.
-The Washington Post
Daryl Freedman and Raquel González (Osha and Candice) share the closest relationship and the highest notes as the new and experienced pizza makers. Freedman’s aria “My friend Alicia says I get dressed in people” is beautiful in her powerful soprano.
Daryl Freedman and Hunter Enoch (Autumn and Beau) seem like an old married couple…with gorgeous voices.
This was just hilarious beginning to end – turning an experience we’re all painfully familiar with into art.
-DC Metro Theater Arts
Tertulia Chamber Music Series
Alan Smith's Covered Wagon Woman
"Daryl Freedman, a mezzo-soprano, performed with profuse charisma and admirable precision, earning a loud, long ovation."
-The New York Times
Sarasota Opera
Amelfa in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel
"Special mention must be made of Studio Artist Daryl Freedman who sang the part of the Housekeeper with a large, round contralto with a great top extension."
-The Observer
Sarasota Opera
Marcellina in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro
"Daryl Freedman was the best of the comprimario roles, with a wonderful comic turn as Marcellina."
-South Florida Classical Review
Sarasota Opera
Mary in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer
"Daryl Freedman's clear, firm mezzo made Mary, Daland’s
housekeeper, a likable, sympathetic character."
-Classical Voice North America
Gotham Chamber Opera
Zotico in Cavalli's Eliogabalo
"The mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman is wonderful as
the whip-wielding servant, Zotico."
-The New York Times
The Merola Grand Finale
Ortrud in “Ortrud! Wo bist du?” from Wagner's Lohengrin
"On the basis of two hearings, Marcellina in Figaro and Ortrud in last night’s “Ortrud! Wo bist du?” from Lohengrin, I have become a major fan of Philadelphia native, mezzo-soprano, Daryl Freedman. Her strong, slightly harsh, distinctive voice and somewhat imperious presence seems tailor made for both roles, as different as they may be in character."
-San Francisco Classical Voice
"Most impressive was the generous share of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin to honor the bicentennial of the composer’s birth. The very first selection was the scene between Elsa (soprano Aviva Fortunata) and Ortrud (mezzo Daryl Freedman) from the second act."
-Examiner
Portland Opera
Concepción in Ravel's L'Heure Espagnol
"Mezzo-Soprano Daryl Freedman deliciously conveyed the wide emotional range of Conception..."
-Oregon Music News
"Daryl Freedman plays Concepción with a flair that conjures Minnie Driver’s Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera, appropriately upstaging the Muleteer. Despite tackling such a high-maintenance character, Freedman remains consistent and on-point throughout."
-Portland Monthly Magazine
The Merola Grand Finale
Ortrud in “Ortrud! Wo bist du?” from Wagner's Lohengrin
"On the basis of two hearings, Marcellina in Figaro and Ortrud in
last night’s “Ortrud! Wo bist du?” from Lohengrin, I have
become a major fan of Philadelphia native, mezzo-soprano, Daryl
Freedman. Her strong, slightly harsh, distinctive voice and somewhat
imperious presence seems tailor made for both roles,
as different as they may be in character."
-San Francisco Classical Voice
"Most impressive was the generous share of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin to
honor the bicentennial of the composer’s birth. The very first selection was
the scene between Elsa (soprano Aviva Fortunata)
and Ortrud (mezzo Daryl Freedman) from the second act."
-Examiner
Portland Opera
Concepción in Ravel's L'Heure Espagnol
"Mezzo-Soprano Daryl Freedman deliciously
conveyed the wide emotional range of Conception..."
-Oregon Music News
"Daryl Freedman plays Concepción with a flair that conjures
Minnie Driver’s Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera, appropriately
upstaging the Muleteer. Despite tackling such a high-maintenance
character, Freedman remains consistent and on-point throughout."
-Portland Monthly Magazine
Portland Opera
Sandman in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel
"Mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman sang an expansive, sumptuous Sandman."
-Opera News
"Daryl Freedman did an outstanding job of walking atop the long
wooden table, manipulating a marionette figure of the
Sandman, and singing beautifully at the same time."
-Oregon Music News
Portland Opera
Dinah in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti
"Daryl Freedman’s Dinah aroused our sympathy with her naïve
enjoyments and her painful attempts to reconnect with Sam."
-The Oregonian
Portland Opera
Aglaonice in Glass' Orphée
"Aglaonice, Eurydice’s friend, receives a winning
performance from mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman."
-Voix Des Arts
"There was strong singing by
mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman as Eurydice's friend Aglaonice..."
-Opera News
Sarasota Opera
Alisa in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
"Daryl Freedman's Alisa made a sympathetic companion to Lucia...
The famous vocal sextet was positively gorgeous."
-The Observer
"As Lucia, Kathleen Kim uses her large voice and coloratura
technique to great effect, especially in the mad scene...
Young-Bok Kim and Daryl Freedman are effective as Lucia's confidants."
-Herald-Tribune
