Marie Te Hapuku - New Zealand Maori Soprano

Opera Reviews

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·Aida ·Lina ·Donna Elvira ·Leonora ·Abigaille ·Fiordiligi ·Tosca ·Liù

Aida
Excels as the slave Aida, not only with her strong, beautiful voice, but also with her ability to capture the conflict Aida feels between loving Radames and loving her father and her homeland.
Deseret News

A passionate Aida with a powerful voice that allowed her to be easily heard over chorus and orchestra.
mvdaily.com (Phoenix, AZ)

Masterfully sung. From previous performances, [she] has been described as 'the perfect Verdi heroine, richly musical and emotionally touching' . . . [She] proves to UFOC audiences to be that and more.
Utah Statesman

Verdi wrote some of his most moving, exotic music for "Aida", and [she] sings it with beautiful tone colors throughout her wide vocal range and high-voltage emotion.
Salt Lake Tribune

Lina (STIFFELIO)
A large, well-focused soprano that could be heard with excellent clarity in even the most frantic numbers. Lina's prayer for forgiveness, "A te ascenda o Dio clemente,'' was touchingly delicate. She has the sort of voice that the orchestra loves, fitting into its texture with an easy warmth.

The Stiffelio-Lina duet in Act III was profound, as she appealed to him to hear her not as her husband but as her minister.
Opera News

What really matters is the singing, and we were given great stretches of superlative vocalism, primarily in the taxing soprano role of Lina, the adulterous but loving wife. As the cuckolded minister Stiffelio, Todd Geer brought his rich tenor and musical intelligence to a complex role, matching [Lina's] ringing note for ringing note in their duets, and responding to her lustrous, dramatic intensity in their emotional confrontations.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Lustrous, full voice tones on a column of unbroken air. Her "O, most clement God" showed her talent to develop an extraordinary full range of color. . . .Together, [Lina and Stiffelio] were palpably dynamic in their confrontations. Their voices blended beautifully and their attacks were precise and exhilarating.
Venice Gondolier Sun

Sings the role of [Stiffelio's] wife, Lina, with imperious feminine charm.
Pelican Press

A fine showing in a difficult role. The soprano's bright and flexible voice handled the coloratura with agility and brought a sensitively shaded rendering of Lina's prayer to her dead mother, "Ah! dagli scanni eterei".
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Especially commanding as Lina, possessing a rich soprano voice that actually matched in power the rousing strains of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra.
SCENE magazine

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Donna Elvira (DON GIOVANNI)
Donna Elvira proves she is the perfect foil to [Giovanni]'s wit and charm, winning us over immediately with her splendid opening aria, 'Ah, chi mi dice mai.'
Capital Times

. . . a splendid Donna Elvira: well in command of the technical challenges, possessed of a rich voice with just a hint of steel behind it, and blessed by a personality that communicates effortlessly across the footlights.
Opera~Opera Magazine - Australia

Donna Elvira displayed a thoughtful and sinuous voice and her enthusiastic acting gave the role a delicious sensuality. National Business Review

Donna Elvira sang her achingly beautiful arias with glorious command and conviction.
Manawatu Standard

Creates a lusty, busty heroine out of Donna Elvira, and is a whirlwind on stage.
New Zealand Herald

Donna Elvira is vocally secure and entirely believable. Dominion Post

Donna Elvira is in sexual thrall to Giovanni and you can believe it from [her] vivid performance.
Sunday Star Times

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Leonora (IL TROVATORE / LE TROUVÈRE)
The glorious soprano voice of Leonore fulfilled all the demands of the gorgeous arias. . . .[her] vocal beauty reached its peak in the fourth-act aria 'D'amor sull ali rosee' as Leonore plans to save Manrique. The round purity of her tone as she reached the D above high C was ravishing..
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

A very promising young dramatic soprano, one who can carry the long span of Verdi's phrases, and ride the crests of his phrase peaks with authority. Her tone is rich and colourful, if not outright opulent, and she made an excellent effect with Leonore's two great arias. She capped the ensembles with generous, ringing top notes and, further, is a grand, stately presence on the stage.
Opera~Opera Magazine - Australia

Léonore was the standout. Looking like a young, less starchy Joan Sutherland, the New Zealand-born soprano displayed a lovely lyric-dramatic voice. . . with limpid tone and offered natural, understated acting.
Opera News

Both musically and dramatically adept in the famous arias here [Act I, Scene II], known in the Italian as "Tacea la notte' and "Di tal amore"(sic). Her moderately textured voice conveys the passion and hopes of our heroine while negotiating trills, runs and coloratura passages. . . . Dramatically, this [Act IV, Scene I] is [her] finest hour as she paces and frets while a monk's chorus is heard in the distance. . .Her voice throughout these florid lines is clear and supple.
Longboat Observer

Here, as through the entire production, her sympathetic interpretation gives flesh and blood to a character often seen as little more than an onslaught of notes.
Pelican Press

Especially delightful was the New Zealand soprano . . . Her Leonore was lyrical, her voice smooth and elegant throughout wide-ranging arias.
St. Petersburg Times

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Abigaille (NABUCCO)
With scores of characters on stage and much movement involved, it went off without a hitch and all ensemble numbers were particularly strong. But 'strong' only scratches the surface of the performance in her thrilling presentation of Abigaille. She was never out of character. Her voice was tremendous and well-trained. At the side of the stage, while attention was cast to her sister or father, [she] could be seen seething and plotting. In a heartfelt number with changing dynamics and varied emphasis, [she] wins the audience's heart and keeps each one firmly in her hand when, late in Act One during a solo, she also declares a love for Ismaele and ponders liberation for the Hebrews. Even in ensemble numbers, [she] can be heard above the din and eyes and ears are always on Abigaille when she is on stage.
Utah Statesman

Of all the various aspects that surround opera, this year's producers have gone for the (musical) gusto and really gotten some incredible vocalists. Abigaille in 'Nabucco' leads them all with her powerful vocal presence. Her clear, strong, rich voice is - by itself - worth the price of the ticket. Wisely, she is surrounded by a cast that can keep up with - but not rival - her vocally....
Deseret News

Abigaille soared through the many high C's with glorious brilliance and raged downward to the low A's with vocal fervor.
Logan Herald-Journal

[She} negotiated the vengeful Abigaille's highly demanding fioratura with aplomb.
Classical New Jersey Society

As any seasoned operaphile knows, the leading soprano part in this opera demands a singer of extraordinary ability. Their choice was the New Zealand born soprano. Having begun her career as a mezzo, she had well-developed low notes, but it was her beautiful high extension which led her to become a dramatic soprano. As Abigaille, she had a commanding presence on stage and her sizable voice had a good variety of color which enabled her to handle both the visual and vocal demands of the role.
Opera Japonica

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Fiordiligi (COSÌ FAN TUTTE)
Performed admirably as Fiordiligi, both vocally and dramatically.
Opera News

A majestic soprano voice.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

This cast is filled with wonderful young singers whose musical astuteness turns the evening into a masterpiece. Fiordiligi could be a little more passionate, but we give her many accolades for the care she gives her singing in two killer arias: "Come scoglio" and "Per pieta, ben mio, perdona." Mozart takes the soprano from the depths to the very heights of her range, and [she] handles the leaps, bounds and coloratura with beauty and agility.
Longboat Observer

A brilliant soprano, especially effective as Fiordiligi in her beautiful but oh-so-earnest arias.
Times Argus

Tosca (TOSCA)
[She] continues a line of New Zealand Puccini sopranos including Frances Alda and Kiri Te Kanawa.
Philadelphia City PaperSarasota Herald-Tribune

Liù (TURANDOT)
Gave the role of the slave girl Liù a combination of sweetness, vulnerability and strength. Her first act aria, 'Signore ascolta,' was magical - a pleading cry for mercy sung with gorgeous, polished tone and impeccable phrasing.
Salt Lake Tribune

A beautiful soprano. Her voice exudes a vibrancy and warmth that give her singing depth and definition. One of her finest moments was in the aria 'Signore, ascolta!' from Act One.
Deseret News

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"Her tone is rich and colourful, if not outright opulent, and she made an excellent effect with Leonore's two great arias. She capped the ensembles with generous, ringing top notes and, further, is a grand, stately presence on the stage."
Opera~Opera Magazine - Australia