Reviews
La fille du Régiment - Opera Company of Middlebury
"True fine-voiced comedy was achieved by contralto Alissa Anderson as the haughty Marquise of Berkenfield" - Times Argus
Albert Herring - Chicago Opera Theatre
"Alissa Anderson delivered a real plush contralto prig of a Florence Pike" - Opera News
Król Roger - Chicago Opera Theatre
"Alissa Anderson as the Deaconess does not have a large role but her voice soars in the first act as one who calls for the Shepherd to be imprisoned" - Third Coast Review
The Medium - Nashville Opera
“Alissa Anderson, singing the role for Nashville Opera, conveyed Madame Flora’s broken state in her final extended soliloquy at the very end of the opera quite well.” - Music City Review
Why I live at the P.O. - UrbanArias
“Mama, played by Alissa Anderson to great comic effect, is highly manipulative…One of the funniest bits, without song or dialog, is the scene where Mama helps herself to a shot of whiskey. from a bottle stored openly in the kitchen, she drinks it from a coffee cup.” - DC Theater Arts
The Rake's Progress - Opéra de Rennes/Nantes Opera
"Sonorous Mother Goose, with an assertive presence, Alissa Anderson makes a strong impression, and we regret that the madam mother has so little to sing" - archyworldlys.com
"The cast also enjoys the shimmering colors of contralto Alissa Anderson as Mother Goose"
- resmusica.com
"Laurels also for Alissa Anderson, Mother Goose, wielding the authority of a contralto timbre with a formidable stage presence" - wanderer site.com
"Mother Goose is performed by contralto Alissa Anderson. Her well-projected voice with assertive bass and resonance, slightly cheeky allows her to establish herself as a madam mother." - Olyrix.com
"Excellent was the authoritarian Mother Goose by Alissa Anderson" - asopera.fr
"Mother Goose is served by the beautiful mezzo of the imposing Alissa Anderson." - forumopera.com
Messy Messiah - Heartbeat Opera
"Mezzo soprano Alissa Anderson transfixes in her solos, including the haunting Must the winter come so soon" - blogcritics.org
Falstaff - Berkshire Opera Festival
"The women who are Falstaff’s target sang with a beauty and clear, ringing tones as they plotted...They were aided by their powerful (and befittingly deep) contralto Alissa Anderson’s Mrs. Quickly. The trio performed their scenes as if they had been singing these parts together for years; timing and tone flawless" - Operawire
"Mezzo Alissa Anderson, in the scene-stealing role of Mistress Quickly, did just that, her chest voice offering a passive-aggressive "Reverenza!" to Falstaff that he fell for completely. She was also capable of lightening her tone for ensembles. Her Mrs Lovett must also be a delight" - Bachtrack
"Alissa Anderson is a wonderfully funny Mrs. Quickly, the messenger who convinces Falstaff to tumble right into Alice Ford’s trap" - Berkshire on Stage
"Mezzo Alissa Anderson portrays the ringleader of their avenging schemes, Mistress Quickly, with comic glee." - In the Spotlight
Das Rheingold - Opera Santa Barbara
"Erda, the goddess of the earth and the individual with the most power over Wotan and the universe, was deeply realized by mezzo-soprano, Alissa Anderson. Her entry out of the sidelines into the center was especially remarkable and her aria of doom and warning was memorable. It was a chilling moment, and one of the best realized scenes of the performance”
- Voice Magazine
Sweeney Todd – Royal Danish Opera
“. . . it was left to an American Mrs Lovett, Alissa Anderson, to show the natives how it should be done. . . Anderson was the best of all of them. She has a true contralto voice that had no problems handling Mrs Lovett’s sprawling range and mixture of lyricism and patter. Her comic timing was exemplary and her character’s central shift from downtrodden pessimism to opportunistic enterprise was captured well. We felt the pathos of her situation in a compellingly sung “By the Sea” and in the layered sophistication of “Nothing’s Going to Harm You,” one of the score’s most touching songs.”
- Opera News
The Love for Three Oranges – Opera Philadelphia
“Two distinctive, highly stageworthy mezzos made company debuts—Alissa Anderson, as a Princess Anne-style Clarissa...”
- Opera News
"All were notable and deserving of mention, but I was especially impressed by the four leading female roles. . . and contralto Alissa Anderson as Princess Clarissa, the king’s scheming niece, menacing in fox-hunting attire.”
- Bachtrack
“Alissa Anderson, a fast-rising contralto, deserves to graduate to a more substantial assignment than the one she’s given here, as the King’s conniving niece who plots to usurp the throne for herself.”
- Broad Street Review
"Texas contralto Alissa Anderson, on whose Maddalena I had reported earlier this year was the villainous Princess Clarice. . . Both Altman and Anderson were persuasive in their vocal projection of evil intent."
- Opera Warhorses
"As the plotting duo Princess Clarissa and Leander, Allissa Anderson and Zachary Altman oozed mellifluous malintent. Ms. Anderson’s generous, throbbing mezzo made the most of her every utterance"
- Opera Today
Into the Woods – Utah Festival Opera
“In terms of powerhouse vocal performances, Olivia Yokers and Alissa Anderson share the spotlight as Cinderella and the Wicked Witch respectively...Ms. Anderson uses the breathtaking range and strength of her operatic mezzo-soprano voice to blow the doors off the Eccles Theatre and nearly succeeds.”
- The Herald Journal
“Anderson played her own version of the Witch (and not a Bernadette Peters imitation). You see her love for Rapunzel, but you also see her vindictive nature bubble up from time to time. She is cynical and that leads to her be the prototypical over protective parent. Her “Children Will Listen” is part parental lament and warning to Baker as he raises his son.”
- Front Row Reviewers Utah
“Alissa Anderson was especially fine as the witch”
- Deseret News
Il trittico – Opera Delaware
"All three Tabarro principals acted (and interacted) very credibly. . . Equipped with healthy chest voice, Alissa Anderson charmed the audience with Frugola’s antics . . . Calenos and Anderson returned after intermission as the familial antagonists of Suor Angelica. Though both striking women, by force of character projection they seemed completely different beings than as Giorgietta and Frugola. . . Anderson, again favoring the contralto end of things, scored every possible point textually and in detailed stance and movement."
- Opera News
Tragedy of Carmen – Opera Birmingham
"Portraying a voluptuous Carmen, contralto Alissa Anderson sang the “Habanera” with power and passion as she searched for Don José, soon after presenting a more reflective “Seguidilla.”"
- Artsbham.com
"The smoldering Alissa Anderson breathed life into Carmen, a gypsy "hostess" giving her unquenchable affection for the right price. Anderson provided a bellowing voice with sensuality. Her skilled seductions lead to danger when a soldier becomes lost in Carmen's raw attraction."
- Broadway World
Le nozze di Figaro – North Carolina Opera
"Contralto Alissa Anderson was the rare Marcellina who was in no danger of retiring—or who sounded as though she should retire—before the end of the performance. In the hilarious Act One duet with Susanna, Anderson sang ‘Via, resti servita, madama brillante’ splendidly, the voice firm, focused, and filling the theatre with golden sound. Later, her entry with Bartolo and Basilio into the raucous ensemble of the Act Two finale had the force of a sudden tempest, her voicing of ‘Voi Signor! che giusto siete’ bursting forth like a thunderclap. Not even on the most acclaimed recordings of Le nozze di Figaro is Marcellina’s ‘Riconosci in questo amplesso una madre, amato figlio’ in the Act Three sextet sung as well as Anderson sang it in Raleigh. Like Henderson’s Basilio, Anderson’s Marcellina was unfortunately deprived of her Act Four aria, ‘Il capro e la capretta son sempre in amistà,’ but the singer garnered a spontaneous ovation with her adrenalized vow to defend her sex by warning Susanna of looming peril. Even without the aria, Anderson was an extraordinarily enjoyable Marcellina, one who truly sang the role. Without a singer of Anderson’s abilities in the part, how many audiences never fully appreciate how enchanting Marcellina’s music can be?"
- Voix des Arts
"The cast was superb from the beginning to the end. . . Alissa Anderson sang a saucy Marcellina and was ideally matched with Hartmann's Bartolo for maximum comedic effect and Mozartian charm."
- Classical Voice North Carolina
Gianni Schicchi/Suor Angelica – Opera Santa Barbara
"The ensemble rose to the challenge of this fast-paced farce by displaying a seemingly effortless but no doubt hard-earned cohesion throughout the work’s multiple shifts in mood. . . Alissa Anderson, as the Principessa, achieved an equal dignity even in an unsympathetic role, lending significant gravitas to the proceedings. The meeting of these two unstoppable forces—social censure and spiritual yearning—issued in transcendent music."
- Santa Barbara Independent
Rigoletto – Opera in the Heights
"Mezzo-soprano Alissa Anderson brought an earthy voice and bearing to Maddalena, Sparfucile's sister and accomplice."
- Steven Brown, Houston Chronicle
"The supporting players were well limned, especially mezzo Alissa Anderson as earthy slut Maddalena. . . "
- D.L. Groover, Houston Press
Song Recital – Voces Intimae – Dallas, TX
“She delivered powerful vocalism, with a chest voice that many a baritone would be proud to own . . . ”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News
Falstaff – Opera in the Heights
“Mistress Quickly (mezzo Alissa Anderson, comically perfect) delivers the billets-doux to Falstaff with false flattery and a flash of ample bosom to snare him . . . ”
- Houston Press Blogs
“Alissa Anderson’s mezzo soprano instrument is on gorgeous display as she gracefully and proactively charms Falstaff and the audience alike . . . ”
- BroadwayWorld.com
Lysistrata – Fort Worth Opera
“The most inspired comic creation is Lampito, the leader of the Spartan women, who issues severe proclamations in an accent that combines Zsa Zsa Gabor and Elmer Fudd. She is played straight-facedly here by statuesque mezzo-soprano Alissa Anderson whose commanding presence only makes her pronouncements more risible.”
- Fort Worth Weekly
“Mezzo soprano Alissa Anderson was frighteningly formidable as Lampito, the chief of the Spartan women. . .”
- Dallas Front Row
Verdi Requiem – Bass Hall – Fort Worth, TX
Mezzo Alissa Anderson supplied aptly rich tones and an awesome chest voice”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News
La Cenerentola – Fort Worth Opera
“powerful mezzo . . . deliciously over the top”
- Opera News
La Cenerentola – Opera New Jersey
“Alissa Anderson and Rebecca Kier portray Tisbe and Clorinda with glittering voices and daring physicality worthy of Carol Burnett”
- The Times of Trenton
“As embodied with towering zeal by soprano Rebecca Kier and mezzo Alissa Anderson, Cinderella’s evil stepsisters are wonderfully ridiculous creatures of vanity and entitlement, like Paris Hiltons in hoops skirts”
- The Star Ledger
Amahl and the Night Visitors – Fort Worth Opera
“As the mother, Alissa Anderson shone as bright as the star of Bethlehem, her gleaming tone and crisp vocal delivery a big delight of the show”
- Fort Worth Star Telegram