Birsan receives rave reviews for her auspicious performance as Lyric Opera of Chicago's "La
"Birsan turned in an impressive performance as the doomed courtesan, one that will likely become even more assured should she be required to sing additional dates over the rest of the run." – Chicago Classical Review
"American soprano and Ryan Center alumna Emily Birsan, who stole the audience’s heart. Her sweet tone and breathtaking pianissimo perfectly captured the character of Violetta, the young courtesan suffering from tuberculosis. Equally impressive was her acting; at one point, following her brilliant caballeta in Act I, she took a longer pause than I have ever heard in a recording, and in that brief moment I saw in her face and body language precisely what she was going through emotionally. It was one of those rare moments in opera when acting equaled singing." -Opera Sense
"The role of Violetta is very challenging as it requires strong vocal skills, extremely flexible singing technique and outstanding artistic presentation, and Birsan's talent shines in this role. Birsan finds the best way to deliver the features of Violetta's personality that develops vocally throughout the opera. La Traviata is popular for presenting some of the most revered music in the entire soprano repertoire, and the audience deeply appreciated beautiful soprano arias presented by Birsan and greeted them with delight. One of the arias, Sempre libera, is especially well known as a beautiful and extremely challenging and demanding soprano aria. Birsan performed it with extreme brilliance and mastership, just as all other arias and duets." -Daily Herald
"the Lyric provided a seamless production with Emily Birsan as Violetta, stepping in for the ailing Ms. Shagmiratova. And Ms. Birsan, an alumna of the Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center, was so very, very good, I hope Ms. Shagmiratova allows herself a full recovery before attempting to return to the stage so Ms. Birsan can be seen in this role. She is absolutely mesmerizing as Violetta. . . it’s Emily Birsan’s fragile sweetness and fluid voice that centers the entire thing from the very first scene. This opera is about Violetta, and the Lyric has a superb one here." -SplashMags.com