this is definitively Elizabeth’s opera. Her portrayal by Joyce El-Khoury is quite exquisite. Appearing in a bright red silk dress and a striking blond wig, her commanding soprano echoing through the auditorium full of strong passion and longing....El-Khoury is as magnificent and compelling in her grief as she was when expressing her great love. A truly unforgettable performance. – Theatre Wales
she was absolutely convincing, both vocally and in terms of characterisation, creating a queen at the edge of madness as she learned about the limitations of political power and how her emotions can have power over her; now the vocal control was immaculate. Her reading of Elizabeth’s final aria, ‘Vivi, ingrate, a lei acconto’ was positively stunning, a thing of intensely melancholy beauty. – Seen and Heard
[She] rises superbly to the considerable vocal challenges of the role in both her solo arias and the Queen’s duets with Robert in the second half, with a spine-tingling solo aria, Vivi, ingrato as the curtain falls. – The Reviews Hub
Joyce El-Khoury gives a performance of extraordinary intensity. The music makes demands that push her to the absolute edge of her technique... but she gives it everything she's got and then some, making her final cavatina "Vivi ingrato" something of aching sadness and beauty – The Telegraph
The highlight was an electric turn from Joyce El-Khoury, whose Queen Elizabeth stole every scene she was in, bringing the house down with a rendition of Vivi that set bones tingling during the gripping finale – Buzz Magazine
El-Khoury “deftly navigated the arc from youthful passion to mature, steely resolve. She has a voice tailor-made for the composer’s melodic flights.” – -Toronto Star
Let us say it right away: the performance of the Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury is miraculous. In the fire of the live performance, all the imperfections which could be a bother in a recording become assets. We’re left open-mouthed with admiration: the infinite length of her breath, the science of chiaroscuro, her projection in the high register, the quality of her pianissimo, the variety of accents, by turns strong and vulnerable, included in the extraordinarily lively recits, like we haven’t heard them since Callas. As for the bewitching cantilena, no Imogene had reached such heights since Caballé! – -OPÉRA Magazine, translated from French (Bellini's Il pirata, Opéra National de Bordeaux)
“…the infinite length of the breath, the science of chiaroscuro, the projection of the treble, the quality of the pianissimi, the variety of accents, in turn authoritarian and vulnerable, including in extraordinarily lively recitatives, as we had not heard them since Maria Callas. As for the bewitching final cantilene (<<Col sorriso d’innocenza>>) no Imogene had reached such summits since Montserrat Caballé.” – -OPÉRA Magazine, translated from French (Bellini's Il pirata, Opéra National de Bordeaux)
The soprano Joyce ElKhoury interprets Imogene with a highly placed voice. Her limpid timber swells with emotion in the lower register and in the piano moments, with a thread like sound fleeing from her nearly closed mouth. In a palpitating finale, her acting talents, unbothered by any mise en scene, are shining: her eyes cry, hope, lose themselves and beg in the folly of a character too virtuous to live her illegitimate love, but too in love to live without him. – Olyrix, translated from French
