Welsh National Opera: Verdi La Traviata
“Joyce El-Khoury is simply sublime as Violetta…her’s is a virtuoso performance” –Bristol247.com
“Canadian Joyce El-Khoury Soprano making her European debut, fully occupies the central role of Violetta, with magically floated musical lines and seemingly limitless vocal flexibility helping to deliver soaring heartbreak.” –Portsmouth News
“A sexy soprano; coquettishly portraying tingling coloratura passages, astronomical high notes with lovely controlled pianissimos both in solo arias and a fine duet with Jason Howard as Alfredo’s disapproving father.”–Maggie Cotton, Birmingham Post
“McVicar is fortunate in this revival in having a young Canadian soprano, Joyce El-Khoury (pictured right), making her European début, who can not only get round Verdi’s coloratura but knows how to move, knows how to stand still, and knows how to react. As a singer she is decidedly interesting”
–Stephen Walsh, The ArtsDesk
“Not only does she sing like a bird but knows how to move, knows how to be still, and knows how to act. As a singer she is truly interesting and colourful and there are moments that are so wonderfully touching.” –The Public Reviews
“The rapport [Leonardo Capalbo] has built up with Canadian Joyce El-Khoury Soprano — in superb voice, whether sad or glad — is clear, and wonderful to behold.” –The Oxford Times
“For once, it was perfectly possible to believe in the all-consuming nature of Alfredo and Violetta’s love, with Joyce El-Khoury also making a strong company debut. Every clinch felt if their lives depended on it.”
–Rian Evans, The Guardian
“Joyce El-Khoury’s (Violetta’s) “Sempre libera” makes light work of Verdi’s demanding vocal part, ranging assuredly over its varied registers. Over the next two acts, Violetta’s tuberculosis gradually encroaches on her vocal range: her protracted spiral downwards into bodily and vocal oblivion can be tricky to pull off, but El-Khoury handles it with consummate dramatic skill.”
–Gavin Williams, MusicalCriticism.com
“[Joyce] made stunning work of her encounter with Germont, forcing the suspension of disbelief and bringing a tear to the eye.”
–Philippa May, Hereford times