Yaritza Véliz

"… and eclipsing all else, the young Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz. Her haunted and terrified Mimi is the sort of megawatt performance, vocally and visually, that proclaims a star in the making." Richard Morrison, The Times

"The vocal standout of the evening was Chilean Yaritza Véliz, in her company debut as Adina. This is no old-time light-voiced soubrette at work but someone with a gleaming, lyric soprano voice who has exceptional facility in florid music and a variety of vocal colorations from which to draw. Her most emotionally convincing moments took place in the duet late in Act II, in which she and Nemorino finally declare their mutual love." Santa Fe New Mexican

"Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz impresses very much as Violetta. She sings with a bright sound that easily gets through the orchestra, and with a broad spectrum of nuances. She shines in the long, tragic phrases in the second and third act, and it is a long time since anyone died so beautifully on the main stage at the opera" Aftenposten, Norway

"Yaritza Véliz, who in the demanding role of Violetta opens the ball, with a clean-cut voice that moves like lightning around her. The debaucherous Violetta and the humble, warm, clear voice first, and then as the repentant and dying Violetta. An enormous range, which is not always and in all productions in the world sung and acted equally believably. A great experience!" Vartland, Norway
"Most unforgettable, though, was the triumphant debut of Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz as Catrina, the underworld potentate who makes the decisions about who can and can’t get a day pass back to Earth. Singing with a mighty, richly fortified sound and dominating the stage with the imperious assurance of a petty bureaucrat (her system of physical permits is an amusing touch), Véliz was a mesmerizing presence every moment she was on stage." San Francisco Chronicle

“Keeper of the Dead, Catrina - the soprano Yaritza Véliz, the work’s comic and musical highlight” New York Times

"Scintillating soprano Yaritza Véliz carries much of the responsibility of crafting the story’s magic. She is out-of-this-world as Catrina, the underworld’s soulkeeper. As Catrina, Véliz is a skeletal sight in bronze, commanding with her rules — no touching of a human, because “a caress can cost you the memory of pain." David John Cháves, KQED

"... but Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz took her role as Catrina, the Empress of the Underworld, to another level. Véliz’s brilliant soprano imbued her character with spine-tingling authority that commanded the stage in her every appearance, and the audience’s reaction to Véliz at the curtain call indicated she was their favored singer of the production" Ken Herman, San Diego Story

"His love interest Suzel was accounted for by the Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz. She has a hell of a voice, but always knew how to dose very well; nowhere did she sound too loud. In the car on the way to Amsterdam I had listened to the 1969 recording with Mirella Freni and the similarity was striking. I can't really give her a bigger compliment” Peter Franken, Opera Magazine NL

"But the night really belonged to the Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz, noteworthy not only for the warm, rounded quality of her exceptionally attractive voice, but for the dynamism and spirit she brought to a role that can sometimes feel a little insipid. Véliz acted her heart out, passionate and distraught in equal measure in a particularly visceral reading of the opera’s third act. The future as one of the great Mimi’s of our day surely beckons. Remember her name!" Alexandra Wilson, Opera Magazine

"Yaritza Véliz sings Mimì, a former Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera House and here making her debut at Glyndebourne. And what a debut it is – she is an artist with remarkable control and dexterity across the voice, and using soft-grained pianissimi and delicately-sculpted gestures to channel huge amounts of pathos. “Mi chiamano Mimì” was wonderfully velvety and even – consistency in color and tone was one of her many strengths that evening. In livelier moments – the Act two sequence – Véliz pops and pings through the texture. The very final scene with Rodolofo – when she sang the line “bella come un tramonto” (“as beautiful as a sunset”) was heartbreaking, followed by a feather soft reprise of “Mi chiamano Mimì.” Benjamin Poore, Operawire

"The cast was led by young Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz, and her first Violetta was a huge success. Her portrayal moved some in the audience to tears and she received a huge ovation." Matías Pérez, Opera Magazine

“In the midst emerges the brilliance of Puccini’s score, admirably served by Mimi by Yaritza Véliz. The Chilean soprano dominates the cast, dazzling from one end of her range to the other, a fleshy, well-timbred voice, gaining in emotion as the show unfolds, with a "Donde lieta uscì" in III and a “Fingevo di dormere” in the heartbreaking Act 4." André Pevrègne, Forum Opera

"Yaritza Véliz sings Mimi with a white gold, charged soprano!" Erica Jeal, The Guardian

"It was Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz in the role of Mimi who was the standout voice of the show though. Her rich soprano conveyed Mimi’s raw emotions, and gave an intellectual weight to a character who can often be portrayed as a slightly and weak femme fragile." Miranda Heggie, Arts Desk

"The Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz (as Suzel) was the star for me. A beautiful soprano who, in addition to ecstatic moments, sang impressive pianissimi." Lenneke van Anken, Basia con fuoco

"Yaritza Vèliz: her voice expands magnificently as first passion and then fatal illness intervene: the music takes flight!" Nicholas Kenyon, The Daily Telegraph

"But there's some persuasive acting too, not least from Yaritza Véliz's Mimì, who touches the heart with her passionate protestations to Rodolfo." Barry Millington, The Evening Standard

"...sickly seamstress Mimi sung brilliantly by Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz, a former Royal Opera House Jette Parker Young Artist making her Glyndebourne Festival debut." Adrian York, London Unattached

"Sparks flew with Yaritza Véliz’s passionate Mimì, here singing her first major role since her time as a Jette Parker Young Artist. I can’t imagine a more perfect Mimì, her vulnerability conveyed through judicious use of portamenti that recalled the great Mimìs of the past. Her voice is now a full lyric, blazing with passion but retaining a youthful freshness, and her two arias were beautifully sculpted, radiant and tinged with melancholy. Usually it’s the final act that elicits a tear – here, Mimì was doomed from the start which made it all the more poignant." Kevin W NG, Bachtrack

"Yaritza Véliz played and sang Suzel like innocence herself, with a beautiful timbre and a radiant high notes." Peter van der Lint, Trouw