As Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata​

Amy Cofield’s psychologically nuanced Violetta… gives us a heroine of great range in sound and spirit, her masterful bursts of coloratura and expressive line matched by deeply perceptive readings of Violetta’s mercurial moods — an exceptionally memorable performance.                                                                    

The Roanoke Times (VA)

 

Opera Roanoke’s Violetta, soprano Amy Cofield, was a crossroads at which lyricism and drama intersected. As a vocalist and an actress, Cofield provided the Roanoke audience with a warm, womanly Violetta that absorbingly honored Duplessis, Dumas, Piave, and, above all, Verdi. (See bottom of page for full review)

David Newsome, Voix des Artes  

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As Cleoopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare

[Julius Caeser] was partnered well by Amy Cofield (Williamson) as Cleopatra, who played the famous Queen as a playful and seductive creature with changeable and complex feelings. Cofield Williamson dispatched all her arias with finesse, displaying an incredible vocal range and control, from the sustained beauty of “Piangero” to the fast coloratura of “Da tempeste.”

Timothy Gaylard, Lexington VA

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As Lucia di Lammermoor

The indisputable star of this performance was Amy Cofield, however, whose amazing coloratura figuration, floating high above everything else, unfailingly evoked bravos and shouts.

- The Roanoke Times

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As Mimi in La Boheme

Amy Cofield as Mimi showed a subtlety and nuance of both voice and acting that highlighted the perpetually fragile nature of one battling a fatal disease."

The Moniter, McAllen, TX

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As Pamina in The Magic Flute:

KNOXVILLE OPERA OPENS SEASON WITH MOZART'S 'THE MAGIC FLUTE': The beguiling role of Pamina is sung by returning soprano Amy Cofield, who bewitched Knoxville audiences with her interpretation of Musetta in La Bohème in 2002 Cofield’s voice is perfectly suited to this role and its lyricism. A fetching beauty with a gorgeous silky voice, Ms. Cofield has enchanted audiences coast to coast with her musicality and compelling stage presence.

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As Violetta in La Traviata 

Amy Cofield, whose performance was the most complete I've ever seen…effortlessly floated notes and hit high ones while bringing nuanced feeling to each aria. Physically, she has an arresting presence, grace and beauty beyond any of the prima donnas I've seen in the role.

Baltimore Sun, MD

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Concert - Washington Square Festival, NYC

Amy Cofield, a soprano with a lovely, rich tone, sang [Andy Stein’s “How do you know when it’s over?”] amusingly, and was later heard to fine effect inMozart’s “Exsultate, Jubilate."

New York Times, NY

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As Gilda in Rigoletto 

vocally impressive…she has grown in the confidence of her delivery, the subtlety of her technique and the opulence of her instrument

San Antonio Express News, TX

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As Musetta in La Boheme 

Amy Cofield’s Musetta was brimming with animal spiritedness, and her utterly sensuous and seductive delivery of the Act 2 ‘Musetta’s Waltz’ was one of the highlights of the evening.

Democrat and Chronicle - Rochester, NY

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As Cunegonde in Candide 

The other outstanding element in the production was the performance by soprano Amy Cofield, who was as convincing as the darkly comical Cunegonda as she was a year ago in the tragic but lyric title role in Floyd’s ‘Susannah.’ Here, she was wide-eyed and wise by turn, and always compelling in a complex role.

Star Telegram - Fort Worth, TX

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As Mimi in La Boheme 

A definite high point is soprano Amy Cofield, who as Mimi is truly one of the standout performers of Opera!Lenawee’s history. She sings the role (Mimi) beautifully and interprets it to perfection, and when she’s onstage she lights it up simply with her presence.

The Daily Telegram - Adrian, MI

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As Susannah in Floyd's Susannah

Soprano Amy Cofield, brought a silvery but vital vocal tone to the title role while credibly transforming from an innocent, hopeful, life-loving girl into a threatening virago.

Star Telegram - Fort Worth, TX

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As Violetta in La Traviata 

Wonderful artistry and a great interpretation were fused in the production of the excellent actuation of Amy Cofield as Violeta Valery. With perfect imagination…she represented all aspects of the character’s personality. (translated from Spanish)

El Caribe - Santo Domingo

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Concert: A Soprano’s Album of Favorites

…Cofield has grown into an artist of formidable power and a disarming grace. Among her many attributes as a musician, she has a gift for dynamics -- especially the heart-stopping crescendo as heard in the climactic bars of Mozart’s ‘Laudate Dominum’…and at the devastating conclusion of the ‘Addio del Passato’ aria from ‘La Traviata,’ which brought the slender soprano to her knees. But it was another ‘La Traviata’ excerpt that really brought the house down, as Cofield charged with absolute confidence through this coloratura tour de force.

South Bend Tribune - IN

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Opera Roanoke’s Violetta, soprano Amy Cofield, was a crossroads at which lyricism and drama intersected. Enunciating ‘Flora, amici, la notte che resta’ with spirit, Cofield delivered her part in the Brindisi, ‘Tra voi saprò dividere il tempo mio giocondo’ with gusto. In Violetta’s scene with Alfredo, the soprano delivered ‘Ah, se ciò è ver, fuggitemi’ with intensity, and her voicing of ‘È strano! è strano!’ was probing. Cofield made the aria ‘Ah, fors’è lui che l’anima’ a profoundly personal reverie, her calm, confident vocalism driven by the text, facilitated by her expert diction. Her trill in the aria’s cadenza was superb. The contrast of the utterance of ‘Follie! Delirio vano è questo!’ that followed could hardly have been greater, Violetta’s gaiety returning as the vocal line climbed higher. Cofield’s performance of the cabaletta ‘Sempre libera degg’io folleggiare di gioia in gioia’ was all the more enjoyable for being unforced. The scale of her singing matched that of her account of the preceding aria, her top Cs bright and certain of intonation and the long­held interpolated E in alt slightly effortful but decidedly worth the risk. In the magnificent Act Two scene with Germont, the soprano’s interjection of ‘Ah! comprendo’ after learning of Alfredo’s sister was piercing, this Violetta already sensing what would be asked of her. The quiet fortitude of Cofield’s voicing of ‘Non sapete quale affetto’ led to a heartbreaking performance of ‘Ah! Dite alla giovine sì bella e pura,’ the voice reduced to a thread of concentrated, arrestingly beautiful sound. Then, the emotional landslide of ‘Morrò! La mia memoria non fia ch’ei maledica’ swept over Violetta and Germont with unstinting force, propelled by Cofield’s emotive singing. The first of Violetta’s great arching melodies, ‘Amami, Alfredo, amami quant’io t’amo,’ drew from the soprano an outpouring of opulent tone. At Flora’s ball, Cofield’s Violetta intoned ‘Invitato a qui seguirmi’ with disquieting foreboding, and her understated reaction to Alfredo’s cruelty was indicative of the sincerity of her love for him. With her ravishing singing of the second of Violetta’s exalted melodies, ‘Alfredo, Alfredo, di questo core non puoi comprendere tutto l’amore,’ Cofield proved herself to be markedly superior to many sopranos who sing the rôle today. Even in the context of Flora’s ball, this was an unmistakably introverted passage, a statement meant for Alfredo alone, and the hushed tranquility of Cofield’s singing was far more moving than many sopranos’ near­hysterical caterwauling. Act Three of La traviata is a formidable test for any soprano, and Cofield further distinguished herself with singing of prodigious but never exaggerated expressivity. ‘Addio del passato bei sogni ridenti,’ reduced to one verse, was here a gravely private reflection, Cofield’s top A a tone of epic beauty. In the ecstatic duet with Alfredo, ‘Parigi, o caro, noi lasceremo,’ this Violetta seemed to believe for a moment that escape from her tragic circumstances was possible before the reality of her condition asserted itself in an expansively ­phrased ‘Ah! Gran Dio! Morir sì giovine, io che penato ho tanto!’ The simplicity with which Cofield sang both ‘Prendi, quest’è l’immagine de’ miei passati giorni’ and ‘Se una pudica vergine, degli anni suoi sul fiore’ was affecting, and the skill of her acting made the moment of Violetta’s death agonizing, her body going limp in Alfredo’s arms just as it seemed that she was poised to soar back to health. As a vocalist and an actress, Cofield provided the Roanoke audience with a warm, womanly Violetta that absorbingly honored Duplessis, Dumas, Piave, and, above all, Verdi.

                                                David Newsome, Voix des Artes    http://www.voix-des-arts.com/2016/04/performance-review-giuseppe-verdi-la.html