Kristina Stanek

"The actual Kundry is strongly sung and superbly acted by Kristina Stanek, projecting a potent mixture of passive-aggressive surliness and desperate sexuality." The Times

"Kristina Stanek is a lustrous mezzo… her chilling narrative of how she laughed at Christ on the cross has the full spine-tingle on the drop from a top B to a low middle C sharp." Arts Desk

“…to hear her voice blossom while keeping its incisiveness is one of the great thrills of the evening.” The Telegraph

"In her tight auburn bun and full-skirted dress, Kristina Stanek’s Kundry is the very picture of Effie Grey, rejected muse to Ruskin, wife and happier inspiration to Millais. Deeper still is the note of unspoken and unspeakable history: Kundry’s reincarnation within Ibsen’s Ghosts, in service of an Amfortas (Audun Iversen) ailing and dying from the most quintessential of 19th-century afflictions. Consistently compelling, Stanek drew on a deep and flowing well of lower-register tone.” Bachtrack

"Kundry is beautifully sung by Kristina Stanek.” The Article

"The conductor Robin Ticciati elicits a gleaming, flowing orchestral performance from the London Philharmonic, one that is supportive of an excellent cast – and hearing them in such an intimate theatre as this is special… Kristina Stanek’s rich-toned Kundry…” The Guardian

"Particularly noteworthy is Kristina Stanek, the discovery of the evening and role debutante, a convincing Brangäne across the board. She delights with a pleasant vibrato, a beautiful dark undertone and, despite the short notice of her performance, a confident and well-thought-out style of performance." Online Merker

"Both are, of course, outshone by a debutante: the mezzo-soprano Kristina Stanek, who is singing Brangäne for the first time, bright, strong and confident, with a velvety-sweet timbre – and with perfect text intelligibility. For her watchman's song ('Be careful, the night will soon escape!'), Thalheimer has transplanted her from the black stage box into the audience on the gallery. Her beautifully rounded voice sounds as if from heaven into the night of love." Neue Zürcher Zeitung

"Kristina Stanek in the role of Brangäne surprised people with her large, voluminous voice, given her petite figure. The longing, beguiling timbre of her voice had an almost magical, hypnotic effect as she sang her “Lonely awake in the night” from the top tier of the house. A goosebumps moment and the highlight of the performance.” Opera Gazet

"Individual scenes remain in the memory: Brangäne's “Be careful” calls, which she intones as truly successful invisible theater from the gallery of the auditorium and which Kristina Stanek sings with her motherly, grounded deep mezzo like a rock in the surf of exuberant emotions." Concerti

"On the other hand, the rest of the cast is absolutely outstanding, starting with the simply magnificent Brangäne of Kristina Stanek, placed on the third balcony in the second act, who easily conquers the audience with her bronze voice, floating effortlessly above the orchestra and the other singers , it provides the performance's only moment of grace." Concertonet

“Kristina Stanek as Azucena is simply ideal for the mezzo type required by Verdi: she has sonorous depth and shattering intensity on the upwardly open pitch scale.” Stuttgarter Zeitung

"In the extremely thin pool of dramatic mezzo-sopranos, Kristina Stanek is a welcome addition with her lush and yet always slim, expressive voice. Light and dark colors mix in her intense performance, which oppressively recreates the tormenting memories, to create a dense exploration of her extensive register, which does not cross any boundaries at either end." Online Note

“Kristina Stanek, with her characterful mezzo, who is extremely confident and supple in all registers, creates a shocking, extremely touching portrait from the role of Azucena, and probably the most impressive role portrait of the evening.” IOCO

"Kristina Stanek shone as Carmen, doing the title role justice with a pasty, haunting, extremely sensual mezzo-soprano and excellent legato." OperaFreund

"And Kristina Stanek's Eboli is also of electrifying power. Her coloraturas have class and class, in the aria of the fourth act (O don fatal), in which Eboli curses her beauty, Stanek's mezzo-soprano exudes great warmth. In the Veil Song, on the other hand, she uses her coloraturas like weapons." Opernwelt

"Kristina Stanek's portrayal of Princess Eboli is of phenomenal intensity […]. From Rossini's lightness in ‹Au palais de fées› (Veil Song) to the drama of ‹O don fatal›, she has all the necessary nuances at her disposal. When has one ever been able to experience such a seductive Eboli?" Onlinemerker

"Eboli rises all the more, reminiscent not only visually but also with her sadistic side of slam poet Lisa Eckhart. Only the king's dagger can stop this woman. Kristina Stanek towers above everyone in terms of scenery and voice." St. Galler Tagblatt

"The star of the evening is mezzo-soprano Kristina Stanek. She is the designated brothel madam in this interpretation, who keeps supplying the king with new playmates and sometimes even climbs into bed with the devout patriarch herself. Her portrayal of the role is a successful mixture of glamorous Jean Harlow and cold Lisa Eckhart. Stanek struts through the action with the straight back of a prima ballerina and her guttural voice, interwoven with dark colors, enchants right up to the back rows." Platform J