2023
Susanna - Le nozze di Figaro - Dorset Opera
“Cast enters fully into Mozart's erotic dance” - Jamie Groote’s Countess provides warmth and poise, equalled in fellow-soprano Ellie Laugharne’s empathetic realisation of her servant and friend Susanna. https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/le-nozze-di-figaro-review-coade-theatre-dorset-opera-festival-2023-paul-carr
Servilia - La Clemenza di Tito - Chelsea Opera Group
A strong cast and a fine conductor lift a concert performance of Mozart's last masterpiece into something special - Ellie Laugharne was luxury casting as Servilia, she was delightfully response in her recitatives, moving and stylish in her lovely aria, "S'altro che lagrime". https://www.planethugill.com/2023/06/mozarts-late-masterpiece-la-clemenza-di.html
Requiem - Opera North
Choral-orchestral performance meets contemporary dance in cross-cultural fusion - Soloists Ellie Laugharne (soprano) and Ann Taylor (mezzo) bring purity and humanity to the vocal picture – the former in particular taking a significant and distinguished part in the choreography, too. https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music-dance-opera/requiem-opera-north-review-partnership-and-diversity
Frasquita - Carmen - English National Opera
Ellie Laugharne and Niamh O’Sullivan as Frasquita and Mercédès respectively, offered highly convincing, individual performances in their smaller roles. https://seenandheard-international.com/2023/02/disappointing-revival-of-calixto-bieitos-production-of-carmen-at-english-national-opera/
2022
Asteria - Tamerlano - English Touring Opera
The star of the evening was Ellie Laugharne as Asteria: dignified and expressive, singing with an aching purity that was matched by acting of unaffected sincerity. She’s compelling, without ever being insistent: one of those singers who don’t make the big headlines, but are unfailingly excellent in everything they touch. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/bold-self-assured-reimagining-of-monteverdi-opera-north-s-orpheus-reviewed/
Ellie Laugharne’s polished soprano (pictured above with Jorge Navarro Colorado) imbues Asteria with dignity, nobility, outbursts of passion, and the reflective resourcefulness that the men who vie to claim her lack. Numbers such as “Si potesse un dì placare” rank high in the long roll-call of blockbuster Handel arias, but Laugharne – like the rest of this cast – sang such highlights as steps within a fully integrated drama, not as semi-detached showpieces. https://theartsdesk.com/opera/tamerlano-english-touring-opera-review-darker-side-handel
A tremendous achievement: Handel's Tamerlano from English Touring Opera in performance that really drew you into the drama - We last saw Ellie Laugharne as Elsie Maynard in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard at the Grange Festival. This was very, very different and a remarkable change. Laugharne's voice is perhaps on the lighter side for the role, but she brought a sense of steel to the character. Never pushing the voice beyond lovely, but physically and vocally giving us the feeling of the rigidity of her feelings. Laugharne's body rarely relaxed, she was bolt upright, very much her father's daughter. We never doubted her feelings for Hall's Andronico, but her commitment to her father overrode everything. The remarkable scene that ended Act Two (with its echoes of a similar scene with Ottone in the previous night's Agrippina) really gripped and the act ended with her touching and moving aria. https://www.planethugill.com/2022/10/a-tremendous-achievement-handels.html
A character study in singing: Handel’s Tamerlano at English Touring Opera - Ellie Laugharne’s Asteria was immensely appealing. Her voice was full of warmth and lilt with a touch of glitter at the top, alternating strength and vulnerability with equal conviction. https://bachtrack.com/review-handel-tamerlano-conway-english-touring-opera-hackney-empire-october-2022
Ellie Laugharne’s sympathetic Asteria, vocal softness gradually coalescing into steely resolve. https://inews.co.uk/culture/arts/the-bands-visit-isata-kanneh-mason-last-days-the-best-of-weeks-live-reviews-1910026
Music and singing like this doesn’t need frills - I was slightly worried at first that Ellie Laugharne, playing Asteria, wouldn’t muster the vocal heft to match up to the boys, but the very lightness of her voice becomes a strength. Trapped between her father’s pyrrhic pride and her conqueror’s lust, Asteria is like a crushed flower, and Laugharne conveys this vulnerability perfectly. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tamerlano-review-music-and-singing-like-this-doesnt-need-frills-
Ellie Laugharne’s soprano is quite light, but she shaped her lines into beautiful contours and absolutely convinced in her portrayal of both Asteria’s pain and her defiance. She proved a discerning, dignified actress and both Asteria’s Act 2 closing aria and her duet with Andronico – a rare ensemble – were transfixing musically and theatrically. https://operatoday.com/2022/10/19300/
Elsie Maynard - The Yeomen of the Guard - The Grange Festival
A highly-sought performer on the opera stage, Laugharne is equally at home with all opera genres. As Elsie she sings with the power of grand opera and the lightness demanded by operetta, her limpid soprano an absolute delight to listen to...her reflective aria “’Tis done, I am a bride” is sung with truly touching compassion. https://markaspen.com/2022/07/08/yeo-guard/
At the centre of the evening lies Ellie Laugharne’s Elsie Maynard and Nick Haverson’s Jack Point. Laugharne is simply spot on throughout with her beautiful soprano and impeccable gestures. https://www.musicomh.com/classical/reviews-classical/the-yeomen-of-the-guard-brings-the-tower-of-london-to-the-grange-festival
Style and substance: a fascinating & engaging account of The Yeomen of the Guard - Ellie Laugharne brought surprising depth to Elsie's music, she was quite a way away from the soubrette and this repaid in spades the complexities of Elsie's role. Laugharne was beautifully touching in 'I have a song to sing, O' with Haverson and she moved her Act One solo, 'Tis done, I am a bride' securely into the serious light opera territory that the music deserves. https://www.planethugill.com/2022/07/style-and-substance-fascinating.html
A touching tribute to G&S’s marvellous marriage of words and music - Elsie, the innocent player swept into the plot, sung with great aplomb by Ellie Laugharne, is heartbreaking as she enters into the blind marriage with a passionate "'Tis done, I am a bride": she is the most operatic character, but the well-chosen voices here to not ape grand opera but remain intimate and focused. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opera/what-to-see/yeomen-guard-review-touching-tribute-gilbert-sullivans-marvellous/
Laugharne's luminous, conflicted Elsie https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/had-the-air-of-a-blue-peter-christmas-special-grange-festival-s-the-yeomen-of-the-guard-reviewed/
2021
Princess Zara - Utopia Limited - Scottish Opera
Utopia, Limited proves surprisingly timely in rare Scottish Opera revival Ellie Laugharne was a picture of elegance as Princess Zara, in radiant voice and in love with Fitzbattle. https://bachtrack.com/review-utopia-limited-clark-mcateer-howard-suart-hewitson-scottish-opera-october-2021
The female lead, Princess Zara, is a late arrival on the scene. Ellie Laugharne sings beautifully and gives a witty performance as a clever young woman, besotted by the physical charms of Captain Fitzbattleaxe. https://www.edinburghmusicreview.com/reviews/scottish-opera-utopia-ltd
Outstanding was soprano Ellie Laugharne’s captivating Princess Zara https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/opera-review-scottish-opera-utopia-limited-theatre-royal-glasgow-3432388
Ellie Laugharne glowed brilliantly as his daughter Princess Zara https://voxcarnyx.com/2021/10/22/opera-utopia-limited/
Gianetta - The Gondoliers - Scottish Opera
A gleeful Ellie Laugharne and mellower Sioned Gwen Davies bring complementary charm to the playful roles of Gianetta and Tessa https://voxcarnyx.com/2021/10/18/scottish-opera-gondoliers/
Their counterpart brides-elect, Tessa (Sioned Gwen Davies) and Gianetta (Ellie Laugharne), both vocally excellent, give character rich performances fit for an Oscar Wilde farce. https://theqr.co.uk/2021/10/29/the-gondoliers-the-festival-theatre-edinburgh/
The pairing of Ellie Laugharne (Gianetta) and Sioned Gwen Davies (Tessa) is touching and exuberant. https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/opera-review-scottish-opera-the-gondoliers-theatre-royal-glasgow-3433690
Scottish Opera's spectacular Gondoliers bump starts its new season - there was fine singing all round from Ellie Laugharne and Sioned Gwen Davies https://bachtrack.com/es_ES/review-gondoliers-maunder-clark-scottish-opera-glasgow-october-2021
“Deliciously frivolous” The central love quartet of William Morgan and Mark Nathan as Marco and Giuseppe, with Ellie Laugharne and Sioned Gwen Davies as Gianetta and Tessa, are particularly well established – the performers bring a depth beyond the more pantomimic elements of Gilbert’s lyrics. https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-gondoliers-scottish-opera-theatre-royal-glasgow-2021
Eliza - My Fair Lady - Liceu Opera Barcelona
'My fair lady' makes history as the first work of this genre in the Liceu - The debut of the musical genre at the Liceu, by the hand of the classic 'My fair lady', resulted in undeniable success. The talent, wisdom and excellence of a seamless cast of true specialists, a handful of singer-actors of extraordinary dramatic capacity...the soprano Ellie Laugharne drew an extraordinary Eliza Doolittle both in the musical sections and in her performance as an actress. https://www.elperiodico.com/es/ocio-y-cultura/20210723/my-fair-lady-critica-musical-liceu-11935436
'My fair lady' makes history as the first musical at the Liceu, The classic by Lerner and Loewe dazzles in the Barcelona Liceu with its irresistible charm - You have to take your hat off to the talent of the interpreters who gave life to the endearing characters of this jewel of the genre with talent, trade and their own personality. Soprano Ellie Laugharne brought grace and charm to Eliza Doolittle, the foul-mouthed florist from Covent Garden who ends up transforming into a sophisticated lady...With extraordinary class on stage, both embroidered characters marked in the memory of fans of the genre by the legendary couple formed by Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. And they did so by contributing their personal stamp: Laugharne sang with elegance and lyrical flight their great songs -with 'I could have danced all night' as the jewel of the evening- and outlined the character admirably as an actress. https://elpais.com/espana/catalunya/2021-07-26/my-fair-lady-hace-historia-como-el-primer-musical-en-el-liceo.html
'An unrivaled international premiere' - ...if we talk about the main characters of the musical, it must be said that what we experienced yesterday was an absolute dream. Vocal quality, interpretive quality and mutual admiration between them, heralded five minutes after the start of the show that this was going to be a success. So it was. Perfection would be the word to encompass what happened last night. To highlight, the interpretations of Ellie Laugharne, as Eliza Doolittle, in her evolution (vocal and interpretive) as a foul-mouthed florist to a lady of high society and a confident woman. http://enplatea.com/?p=31765
Soprano Ellie Laugharne played the role of Eliza Doolittle with the utmost reliability: mastery of singing and acting skills that were deservedly applauded. https://www.abc.es/espana/catalunya/abci-lluvia-sevilla-esta-bien-202107241314_noticia.html?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.es%2Fespana%2Fcatalunya%2Fabci-lluvia-sevilla-esta-bien-202107241314_noticia.html
Ellie Laugharne, who led the cast as Eliza Doolittle, lived up to the challenge in all its aspects, especially in the theater. Filling the scene at all times, she drew with humour and subtlety the character’s transition. https://www.nuvol.com/musica/classica/with-a-little-bit-of-my-fair-lady-195644
Eliza - My Fair Lady - The Grange Festival
'The masks come off for this dark and delicious My Fair Lady' - Unsworth avoids the most immediate problem regarding the dubious power dynamic between Eliza Dolittle and phonetician Henry Higgins, determined to prove he can turn a guttersnipe into a duchess, by casting Eliza not as a filthy mouthed ingenue but as a full grown woman clearly capable of looking after herself. Ellie Laugharne is marvellous, too - scowling and caterwauling away as the flower girl whose vowels so agonise the ears of Steven Pacey’s suavely tyrannical Henry. Moreover she only reveals what she is vocally capable of until the moment she literally finds a new voice, unleashing I Could Have Danced All Night with a quivering, startling opulence. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/masks-come-dark-delicious-fair-lady/
'Real intimacy: Lerner & Loewe's My Fair Lady in a concert staging at The Grange Festival' - From the first notes of Eliza's wail when her flower-stall is knocked over, it was clear the Ellie Laugharne's flower girl was a wondrous creation...this Eliza was a living, breathing being, strong minded and with an element of determination. 'Wouldn't it be loverly' was finely sung and well judged, not being hammed up too much...Laugharne managed to deftly suggest the fragility of Eliza's early success, pronouncing everything with a careful correctness, whilst 'Just you wait' was almost hissed with quiet intensity rather than shouted. https://www.planethugill.com/2021/07/real-intimacy-lerner-loewes-my-fair.html
2020
Frasquita - Carmen - ENO
Two other stellar performances come from Carmen’s partners in crime – Frasquita and Mercédès, played by Ellie Laugharne and Samantha Price respectively. These two gypsy women throw the much-needed comedy into the mix. Drunkenly hoaxing soldiers to give them money for sex, or at least the promise of it. They make light of their fairly tragic circumstances. https://www.citymatters.london/english-national-opera-carmen-review/
Soprano Ellie Laugharne turns in a fantastic performance as ditsy moll Frasquita https://www.culturewhisper.com/r/opera/english_national_opera_eno_carmen_bizet_review/15063
soprano Ellie Laugharne was an effervescent Frasquita. https://www.operaspy.com/blog/2020/1/31/carmen-bizet-english-national-opera
If I suggest that Ellie Laugharne (Frasquita) and Samantha Price (Mercédès) were a frightful double act, that’s a positive comment in the context of this production: in fact, the card scene was one of the most persuasive and ‘human’ episodes in the performance. http://www.operatoday.com/content/2020/01/bieitos_carmen_.php
Ellie Laugharne was a deliciously fresh-voiced Frasquita, again superbly paired with another gypsy, Samantha Price’s strong Mercèdes. https://seenandheard-international.com/2020/02/strength-of-ensemble-in-the-casting-is-a-defining-factor-of-this-eno-carmen-revival/
the fortune-telling scene enjoyed impressive movement and singing from Ellie Laugharne and Samantha Price as Frasquita and Mercédès. https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/english-national-opera-carmen-2/
The supporting roles too stood out on the night and brought energy to the stage. Carmen’s friends, Frasquita and Mercédès, impressed with their bright sounding sopranos in the trios with Gringté, and the quintet with Matthew Durkan, Dancer, and John Findon, Remendado, was very entertaining. https://artmuselondon.com/2020/02/03/a-darker-carmen-at-the-coliseum/
The interplay and performances of Mercédès and Frasquita (Ellie Laugharne) worked very well, providing a good basis for the wild gypsy atmosphere, which did come across well. https://markaspen.com/2020/01/30/carmen-eno/
Carmen’s friends Frasquita (Ellie Laugharne) and Mercedes (Samantha Price) are both raunchy in your face don’t mess with me good time girls, all cowboy boots, tattoos and bras stuffed with cash. Congratulations to them. https://www.londontheatre1.com/reviews/opera/carmen-by-georges-bizet-at-london-coliseum-review/
Ellie Laugharne and Samantha Price gave sympathetic performances as Frasquita and Mercédès. https://bachtrack.com/review-carmen-bieito-gringyte-panikkar-english-national-opera-january-2020
2019
Cupid - Orpheus in the Underworld - ENO
Soprano Ellie Laugharne as Cupid and bass-baritone Sir Willard White as smoothie Jupiter stand out in a strong supporting cast. https://www.culturewhisper.com/r/opera/orpheus_in_the_underworld_offenbach_english_national_opera/14530
Ellie Laugharne as Cupid, wore gold hot pants brilliantly and showed how to work the role with charm in this big space. https://www.planethugill.com/2019/10/orpheus-goes-to-hell-emma-rices-lively.html?m=1
Ellie Laugharne looks and sounds good as the gold-lame hot-pant wearing Cupid. http://www.operatoday.com/content/2019/10/_my_preparatory.php
Ellie Laugharne’s bright tones fall on the ear sweetly. https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/english-national-opera-jacques-offenbachs-orpheus-in-the-underworld/
Ellie Laugharne’s sparky, saucy Cupid. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/more-misogynistic-than-the-original-eno-s-orpheus-in-the-underworld-reviewed
There was luxury casting throughout the remainder of the experienced cast...Ellie Laugharne a perky Cupid https://seenandheard-international.com/2019/10/emma-rices-metoo-eno-orpheus-in-the-underworld-is-bleached-of-all-its-inherent-charm/
Helen - La Belle Helene - Blackheath Halls
Soprano Ellie Laugharne is perfectly cast as Helen, combining virtuosic singing with a real gift for comedy, particularly in her passion for shepherds. https://www.thegreenwichvisitorblog.com/post/la-belle-h%C3%A9l%C3%A8ne-at-blackheath-halls
And opera doesn’t come much more heartwarming than Blackheath Hall’s outstanding production of Offenbach’s fizzing La Belle Hélène...a starry lineup of principals, led by Ellie Laugharne as the beautiful Hélène...those lucky enough to get there won’t stop smiling. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/20/tao-of-philip-glass-manchester-international-festival-luka-okros-la-belle-helene-offenbach
Ellie Laugharne (Helen) had just the right sense of fun needed for this role – a young soprano of whom we shall certainly hear a lot more. http://operetta-research-center.org/offenbach-double-treat-london-la-belle-helene-orpheus-underworld/
In Ellie Laugharne’s hands, Helen is a flighty blonde with a steely determination and a ringing voice to match. https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/blackheath-halls-opera-offenbachs-la-belle-helene/
Susanna - Le Nozze di Figaro - The Grange Festival
So, it brings me to whom I felt was the star of the evening, Ellie Laugharne as Susanna. She is a fine actress and singer, her voice never tiring and her ability to alter posture showing effrontery through elegance to irritation is captivating. She does not overdo the scene when she discovers Figaro embracing his newly discovered mother whom Susanna assumes to be supplanting her as his wife and her rapport with Mihai and Lorenzo in Act Four is exemplary. https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/the-grange-festival-2019-mozarts-the-marriage-of-figaro-toby-girling-simona-mihai-ellie-laugharne-roberto-lorenzi-directed-by-martin-lloyd-evans-conducted-by-richard/
Ellie Laugharne stood out as Susanna for clarity of tone and quality of legato; tightly-wound, she showed just the right combination of frustration and amusement. Barely able to conceal her physical repulsion of Almaviva, we were given a woman determined to do her utmost to take control of her fate. https://bachtrack.com/review-figaro-lloyd-evans-egarr-grange-festival-alresford-june-2019
...the ease with which Ellie Laugharne creates a vibrant Susanna, impressing as a feisty no-nonsense wife-to-be in the opening duet, and thereafter determined to thwart the Count’s libidinous schemes, while also making sure her beloved toes the line. It’s a full flesh-on-the-bones characterisation. http://www.operatoday.com/content/2019/06/a_classy_figaro.php
Ellie Laugharne grew in authority and impact until a barnstormingly beautiful “Deh vieni” smashed the ball out of the park. https://theartsdesk.com/opera/le-nozze-di-figaro-grange-festival-review-%E2%80%93-dark-side-power
…the enchanting Ellie Laugharne melts all ours in her raptly phrased “Deh Vieni”. www.thetimes.co.uk/magazine/cu ... ngold-975tzv22n
Ellie Laugharne’s grounded Susanna and Simona Mihai's sorrowful Countess offer real depth of feeling, and the opera’s final healing message of love and forgiveness rings completely true. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/review-the-marriage-of-figaro-at-the-grange-festival-hampshire-x9bcr52vl
Ellie Laugharne and Roberto Lorenzi made a lively Susanna and Figaro, sparking off each other in their relationship. Yet both brought a vein of seriousness into their characters...Laugharne brought out interesting complexities in her Susanna, a rather more poised and less sparky portrayal than usual. https://www.planethugill.com/2019/06/pacey-intimate-youthful-mozarts-comedy.html?m=1
Ellie Laugharne’s Susanna is a woman who knows her own destiny. Despite her precarious position, she can balance guarded necessity against a slight amusement at the manly mayhem around her. As a smile flickers across her lips, you know that she is the brains behind the Figaro-Susanna conspiracies. Laugharne (whom we saw last season as Phyllis in ENO’s tongue-in-cheek Iolanthe ) has a clear soprano with a pleasing legato which softens even Susanna’s harsher pronouncements. https://markaspen.com/2019/06/08/figaro/
Pamina - The Magic Flute - Opera North (Nottingham)
Pamina is performed by Ellie Laugharne in Nottingham, and she brings spirit and energy to the role, her elegant soprano voice caressing the softer melodies. https://eastmidlandstheatre.com/2019/03/20/review-the-magic-flute-opera-north-nottingham-theatre-royal/
2018
Polissena - Radamisto - ETO
Soprano Ellie Laugharne brought real dignity to her portrayal of the wronged Polissena, singing with affecting grace https://bachtrack.com/review-radamisto-conway-towers-bray-english-touring-opera-hackney-october-2018
Mellifluous and elegant, her soprano had a commanding quality which matched Polissena’s growing sense of her own power, which finally brings the unbridled Tiridate to heel. https://theidlewoman.net/2018/10/13/radamisto-george-frideric-handel-1720/#more-51885
Ellie Laugharne endowed Polissene with dignity and presence, phrasing the plaintive ‘Sommi dei’ beautifully and singing with lovely expressive tone and shading. https://operatoday.com/2018/11/english_touring_opera_troubled_fidelities_and_faith/
...a drama in which it’s the women who really get things done. Ellie Laugharne’s softly lyrical Polissena (impeccably sung) conceals a steely core, her coolness a foil to the pulsing heat of Katie Bray as Zenobia https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/on-the-road-25-october-2018
Ellie Laugharne and Katie Bray bring tonal clarity and sensitive style to the virtuous ladies in the cast. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opera/what-to-see/radamisto-english-touring-operahackney-empire-review-aspirited/ Rupert Christiansen
Ellie Laugharne’s Polissena opens with a ravishing lament. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/radamisto-hackney-empire-review-english-touring-opera-handel-national-eno-ring-salome-traviata-a8573756.html
Ellie Laugharne (is) a spitfire of a Polissena. https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/radamisto-review-at-hackney-empire-london--vitality-and-visual-magic George Hall
It’s felicitous, too, that the strongest singers here play female characters. Ellie Laugharne as his queen, Polissena, conveys resilience and wins our sympathies with warm tone and expressive phrasing, and there’s a nice suggestion that she won’t take him back at the end. https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/radamistoenglish-touring-opera-review-female-singers-seize-the-moment-in-rollicking-tale-of-power-and-lust-a3959156.html
Ellie Laugharne is similarly commanding as Polissena. She acts as a voice for Tiridate’s conscience, and her two major appearances frame the opera. Laugharne has a narrow soprano voice, which she bolsters with a delicate vibrato, to particularly emotive effect in the last act. https://theartsdesk.com/opera/radamisto-english-touring-opera-review-propulsive-lively-handel
Laugharne was full of fire through her runs. https://www.musicdurham.co.uk/reviews/review-eto-radamisto
Bastienne - Bastien&Bastienne - The Mozartist's, Wigmore Hall
Ellie Laugharne is a natural actress with a meltingly mellifluous soprano who brought an insouciant charm to Bastienne. https://www.planethugill.com/2018/09/a-pastoral-delight-mozarts-bastien-und.html
The superb soprano Ellie Laugharne was delightful in ‘Wurstl mein Schatz’rl’ (‘My darling little sausage’), an aria of lament at parting from her lover; the second aria, ‘Verdopple deine Wuth’ (‘Double your anger then’) just as affecting….A quirk of the final song ’Du könntest zwar vor allen’ was that the first three lines are in three different languages (German, Italian and French); but it was Laugharne’s perfect slurs that really impressed. …Ellie Laugharne’s Bastienne was fresh...infinitely tender. https://seenandheard-international.com/2018/09/a-splendid-evening-capped-by-bastien-und-bastienne/
Ellie Laugharne sang the slighted shepherdess with admirable nobility and resilience, giving expression to the character’s coquettish wiles rather than any self-pity. …Laugharne played her part more straight in the three remaining arias, singing with charm and polish. https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/classical-opera-at-wigmore-hall-ian-page-conducts-bastien-und-bastienne-la-passione/
Phyllis - Iolanthe - ENO
Ellie Laugharne’s Phyllis was a delight, her conniving charisma convincing as her voice. They did a clog tap dance dressed as Dresden shepherd & shepherdess whilst singing – a piece of ENO magic I’ll not forget in a while.
https://www.gscene.com/arts/music/opera-review-iolanthe-eno/
Ellie Laugharne and Marcus Farnsworth made a delightful pair of romantic leads, Phyllis and Strephon, costumed in 18th century Arcadian style complete with mock toile-de-jouy fabric! Both seemed to be having the time of their life, and it was this sense of enjoyment which radiated from the production. Both Laugharne and Farnsworth had the right degree of heft and lyrical charm to make the roles count, and their opening duet was a complete delight and they even managed to avoid being upstaged by the comic business with the sheep. And in their Act Two duet, we got a wonderful clog dance too, a brilliant touch.
http://www.planethugill.com/2018/02/topsy-turvy-fun-cal-mccrystal-directs-g.html
Ellie Laugharne stands out for the sweetness and shape that she brings to her sound as Phyllis.
https://www.musicomh.com/classical/reviews-classical/iolanthe-coliseum-london
Ellie Laugharne and Marcus Farnsworth, as Phyllis and Strephon, are a perfect Arcadian couple who might have stepped off a Wedgwood vase.
https://www.ft.com/content/35fa3994-117a-11e8-940e-08320fc2a277
The shepherd-and-shepherdess couple of Marcus Farnsworth and Ellie Laugharne gave us the strongest purely operatic voices of the evening.
https://bachtrack.com/review-iolanthe-english-national-opera-cal-mccrystai-yvonne-howard-february-2018
Ellie Laugharne was a pert and suitably girlish Phyllis; her soprano is bright and fresh, and she climbed cleanly to the stratosphere (and beyond, in a dog-whistle yell of passion), but Phyllis’ sweet demureness is rashly swept aside in an impressive tantrum in which she lambasts the ‘faithless’ Strephon and offers her heart to any peer who’ll have her - as long as she can be a countess.
http://www.operatoday.com/content/2018/02/iolanthe_englis.php
There was a brilliant number of clog dancing from Ellie Laugharne and Marcus Farnsworth, which should surely go down in history.
https://www.schmopera.com/technicolour-gs-enos-iolanthe/
Ellie Laugharne’s feisty Phyllis follows with a brilliant tap number. https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/iolanthe-english-national-opera-review-bright-and-beautiful-gs-all
The loved-up pair sing ravishingly and act with delicious self-awareness, topping off their night with a riotous clog dance.
https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/reviews/review-iolanthe-london-coliseum_45785.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=14feb2018
Ellie Laugharne and Marcus Farnsworth as the young lovers complement each other beautifully. https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/theatre/920613/Gilbert-Sullivan-s-Iolanthe-opera-review-English-National-Opera
Terrific performances all round, with Yvonne Howard and Andrew Shore excelling as the Queen of the Fairies and Lord Chancellor, and Marcus Farnsworth and Ellie Laugharne as the dainty Arcadian Strephon and Phyllis. The chorus has a ball.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opera/what-to-see/could-prove-just-big-hit-eno-needs-iolanthe-english-national/
Marcus Farnsworth and Ellie Laugharne are excellent as the dainty Arcadian Strephon and Phyllis.
https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/BWW-Review-IOLANTHE-London-Coliseum-20180218
The light voice of Ellie Laugharne is perfect for Phyllis, and one hopes to hear more from her.
http://seenandheard-international.com/2018/02/highly-entertaining-iolanthe-from-eno/
Ellie Laugharne sounds sparkling as Phyllis.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/14/iolanthe-review-house-lords-satire-cal-mccrystal-coliseum-london-
Ellie Laugharne’s Phyllis charms
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/iolanthe-coliseum-review-samantha-price-a8209931.html
Laugharne shapes her lines with delightful alertness
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/02/a-mischievous-daring-production-that-produces-the-goods-iolanthe-reviewed/
Ellie Laugharne brings a bright and silvery vocalism to Phyllis.
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=15203
Temperanzia - Applausus, Haydn - Classical Opera Company
Of all the soloists, Laugharne appeared most engaged in the unfolding sentiments of the work, and in her aria, ‘Rerum, quas perpendimus’, she made light of the virtuosic demands, engaging intelligently with the horns and cello to suggest a real musical conversation. Laugharne’s vocal commitment did not flag for one moment in this twenty-minute stamina-challenge; nor did her judgement - the chromaticism of the B section was thoughtfully exploited and the trills judiciously brief. No wonder, despite the silent respect shown elsewhere, the audience felt compelled to applaud.
http://www.operatoday.com/content/2018/03/haydns_applausu.php
Ellie Laugharne’s Temperance was lucid and graceful.
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=15288
Soprano Ellie Laugharne’s aria ‘Rerum, quas perpendimus’ revealed a singer of cleanliness – particularly as regards her slurs – and accuracy.
http://seenandheard-international.com/2018/03/a-great-rarity-by-haydn-proves-delightful/
2017
Zerlina - Don Giovanni - Opera Holland Park
Ellie Laugharne gave a convincing and rounded portrayal of Zerlina, her two arias were superb. I loved the rapport with the orchestra’s inner strings at the end of ‘Batti, batti o bel Masetto’ while in ‘Vedrai carino’ she offered some of the best singing of the evening.
seenandheard-international.com ... f-don-giovanni/
Ellie Laugharne so much more than a naive working-class girl in a deft and well-projected portrayal of Zerlina.
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ope ... rk-w8-rh5s7d9x3
A year ago, I enjoyed Ellie Laugharne’s Zerlina for Classical Opera at Cadogan Hall, and she charmed with the same sweetness of tone and wicked sparkle here.
www.operatoday.com/content/2017/06/don_giovannitak.php
Ellie Laugharne was in radiant voice as the biddable Zerlina.
www.whatsonstage.com/london-th ... park_43783.html
Ellie Laugharne's Zerlina delivered a delightful, buttery-toned “Vedrai carino”. bachtrack.com/review-don-giova ... -park-june-2017
Ellie Laugharne’s beautifully sung Zerlina.
www.musicomh.com/classical/rev ... and-park-london
2016
Adina - Elixir of Love - Scottish Opera
None did this more engagingly than Ellie Laugharne’s Adina, her glamorous trouser outfits suggesting a 1930s fashion goddess, with slim blonde looks, expressive persona and fragrant vocalita to match. This classy soprano made music of Donizetti’s decorative flourishes. She also gave meaning to the words and inhabited the stage like a natural: a joy to behold.
Andrew Clark, Opera Magazine
But there are some fine turns, particularly from soprano Ellie Laugharne, whose Adina is breezy and warmhearted, a natural for comic timing, a genuinely magnetic stage presence and a creamy and nimble voice. None of the rest of the cast matches her.
www.theguardian.com/music/2016 ... tish-opera-tour
Ellie Laugharne as the teasing Adina is a constant fascination, both as actor and singer, finding that essential mix of social confidence and private vulnerability.
https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/opera-review-scottish-opera-the-elixir-of-love-1-4238268
There was some very fine singing from the young cast, soprano Ellie Laugharne taking the honours with a honeyed, warm-spirited and riveting performance as Adina, holding the attention on stage.
bachtrack.com/review-elixir-lo ... ra-october-2016
Zerlina - Don Giovanni - Classical Opera Company
Ellie Laugharne was completely charming as Zerlina, responding delightfully to Jacques Imbrailo's beautifully sung La ci darem and making Batti batti (an aria I always rather worry about) work well.
www.planethugill.com/2016/06/v ... ovanni.html?m=1
Laugharne brought a pure lyric beauty to her duet with Imbrailo. She gave an accomplished, highly engaging performance of Batti, batti bel Masetto.
seenandheard-international.com ... od-instruments/
Despina - Cosi fan tutte - Opera North
His laboratory assistant is a versatile Ellie Laugharne as Despina, a cheeky soubrette who at times steals the show as she bustles around as maid, doctor and lawyer. For much of the time she has a faintly Japanese look, with what appear to be red chopsticks in her hair, her soprano is fresh, her diction crystal-sharp. Her Act II aria “A woman at fifteen years old” (Una donna a quindici anni) is truly memorable.
bachtrack.com/review-cosi-fan-tutte-albery-opera-north-leeds-february-2016
Despina, the women’s maid, becomes a vital tool in Alphonso’s wicked plan. In the most truly comic role of the opera, soprano Ellie Laugharne charted her Pinteresque, table turning way from downtrodden servant to manipulator of her Mistresses with cheeky aplomb. This is much more than a bit part. Mozart wrote some vocally demanding passages that were carried off with a skill that matched Laugharne’s acting ability and comic timing.
seenandheard-international.com ... ood-as-it-gets/
Ellie Laugharne’s Despina emerge(s) as the true head of La Scuola degli amanti, as she tirelessly whisked everyone into shape - and gave the unattributed translation the best diction of them all.
Martin Dreyer, Opera Magazine
Laugharne sings with clarity and great beauty, while also managing moments of comic impersonation and irony with style. She… moves around the space with an easeful grace.
www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/cosi-fan-tutte-leeds-grand-the-12520
The role of the maid Despina was brilliantly handled by Ellie Laugharne, whose energy and humour drove the action forward.
www.northwestend.co.uk/index.p ... e-lowry-salford
Laugharne is charming as Despina brimming with energy, a very generous performance.
www.thereviewshub.com/opera-north-cosi-fan-tutte-the-lowry-salford/
Ellie Laugharne’s Despina is a sheer treat and left me breathless. With a wicked glint in her eye and a love of the finer things that she can’t have as a ladies maid she is Despina as Despina is meant to be.
www.leedsguide.co.uk/absolutely-amazing/
2015
Tina - Flight - Opera Holland Park
Ellie Laugharne’s creamy, lyric soprano was well-suited to Tina.
bachtrack.com/review-dove-flight-barlow-opera-holland-park-june-2015
There are some sharply-etched characterisations too – in particular from Ellie Laugharne.
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/mu ... d-pleasure.html
Ellie Laugharne and Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts as the couple trying to re-kindle a lost love likewise – she vocalising a nice bit of operatic ‘rage’ in the final Act.
www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=12893
Emirena - Adriano in Siria - Classical Opera
Ellie Laugharne’s Emirena and Filipa van Eck’s Sabina sparkle confidently as friends and rivals in Adriano’s romantic confusion.
www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/music/classical/article4412170.ece
Emirena sung by sweet-toned and agile soprano Ellie Laugharne.
bachtrack.com/review-bach-adriano-siria-classical-opera-london-april-2015
Laugharne impressed in the way she coped with the bravura with poise and yet had the beauty of tone and sense of phrasing to bring the more lyrical, Mozartian moments off too.
www.planethugill.com/2015/04/jc-bachs-adriano-in-siria.html?m=1
Her rival in love was Ellie Laugharne’s Emirena...whose more delicate soprano proved to have a truly sparkling command of coloratura. Crucially for this role, Laugharne was also a strong actress...Laugharne’s Emirena was thoroughly, convincingly besotted with her beloved...and one of the highlights for me was the duet Se non ti moro at the end of Act 1: an intimate intertwining of desperation, hope and resolution, performed with complete conviction by both parties. https://theidlewoman.net/2015/04/19/adriano-in-siria-johann-christian-bach-1765/#more-408
Barbarina - Le Nozze di Figaro - Opera North
…an ear-catching Ellie Laugharne making the most of Barbarina’s fleeting appearance
www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/01/marriage-of-figaro-opera-north-review
Barbarina’s lovely aria is sung with intelligence and warmth by Ellie Laugharne. https://operabritanniauk.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/mozart-le-nozze-di-figaro-opera-north-24th-january-2015/
Ellie Laugharne’s charming Barbarina is definitely one to watch, especially after her portrayal of the Governess for Opera Holland Park last year. http://www.thestateofthearts.co.uk/features/review-opera-norths-the-marriage-of-figaro-at-leeds-grand-theatre/
Ellie Laugharne seizes her moments well as a bold and cheeky Barbarina. www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/the-marriage-of-the-lyric-theat-11304
2014
Barbarina - Le Nozze di Figaro - ENO
Ellie Laugharne gives an eyecatching performance as a tipsy Barbarina, with beautiful ornamentation at the end of her “L’ho perduta.”
bachtrack.com/review-marriage-figaro-shaw-eno-october-2014
Amidst the smaller roles Lucy Schaufer as Marcellina and Ellie Laugharne as Barbarina stand out. As the latter sings 'L'ho perduto, me meschina' one senses we may be looking at another Susanna in the making. musicomh.com
Any superlatives should also include...a very fine Barbarina from Ellie Laugharne. Arts desk
Ellie Laugharne a delightful Barbarina. operabritanniauk
Governess - The Turn of the Screw - Opera Holland Park
Rightly, the heart of the opera is Ellie Laugharne’s Governess. Looking like one of those willowy English roses who got regularly terrorised in Seventies Hammer Horror, she combines beauty of sound with nerve-shredding vulnerability.
Neil Fisher, The Times
Ellie Laugharne shines as the Governess… her voice gleaming throughout.
Erica Jeal, The Guardian
Singing with bell-like clarity, Ellie Laugharne makes a painfully isolated and more than usually sympathetic Governess; her hesitant writing of the hopeless letter to the children’s guardian becomes a cry from a sincerely troubled heart and the production’s emotional centre…
Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph
Far from neurotic or hysterical, as she could equally convincingly be portrayed, Ellie Laugharne’s Governess is the picture of virtue, vocally pure and girlish.
Hannah Nepil, Financial Times
From the outset Ellie Laugharne brings an appropriate sense of feeling and concern to the Governess as she applies tenderness and subtlety to a sound possessed of brilliant clarity.
Sam Smith, www.musicomh.com
The adult cast are led by Ellie Laugharne’s Governess –all warm manner and silvery vocals – whose innocent intentions are beyond question...exquisite performance.
Alexandra Coghlan, www.theartsdesk.com
Ellie Laugharne is touchingly vulnerable as the Governess.
George Hall, www.thestage.co.uk
At the heart of the drama stood Ellie Laugharne’s Governess. Her helplessness and her goodness – not saccharine, but human – came across powerfully indeed, torn as she was between incompatible, maybe impossible, paths to take… certainly one of the finest performances I have witnessed at Opera Holland Park.
Mark Berry, www.seenandheard-international.com
The singing is universally excellent. Ellie Laugharne sings the role of the Governess – she is never named – with beauty of tone and conveys a growing sense of dread and despair with total conviction.
Owen Davies, www.playstosee.com
Ellie Laugharne was fantastic as the Governess: all bright eyed innocence, just a little in love with her mysterious employer; becoming slowly terrified of the ghosts and the children, while wanting to save them.
Hilary Glover, www.planethugill.com
Ellie Laugharne sang with energy and passion, revealing a full, rich soprano. Claire Seymour www.operatoday.com