Role Reviews
I greatly admired Rosalind Plowright as Míla’s Mother, who was at her best when she was mad, dressed in a fur coat, with wild hair and a sumptuously full voice. She plunged over a balcony with her daughter too soon in Act 2, a standard operatic device which should perhaps have ended the show. Richard Wilcocks - Bachtrack - Nov 2017
Rosalind Plowright was luxury casting as Míla’s nightmare Mother. Fiona Maddocks - The Guardian - Nov 2017
There are standout performances from ..... and Rosalind Plowright as her deranged mother. Jim Seaton - Wharfedale Observer - Nov 2017
Mila's mother is a small but important role. Rosalind Plowright made her rigid and elegant in Act one, so the collapse when she learned of Zivny and Mila's marriage, was believable. And the madness in Act Two was striking. Robert Hugill - Planet Hugill - Nov 2017
while Rosalind Plowright is on searing form as her mother. Mark Valencia - What's on Stage - Nov 2017
Rosalind Plowright was austere and formidable in Act I and portrayed the deranged assassin in Act II with professional skill and aplomb. Robert J Farr - Seen and Heard - Nov 2017
Talking of stars, the name of Rosalind Plowright seems like a stellar blast from the past. Plowright has lost none of her hypnotic stage presence. Her voice could be huge, with a cutting edge that was never unpleasant and a delivery of the key word ‘Fatum’ that was positively spine-tingling. Opera Today - 23.08.08
Rosalind Plowright, as her crazed mother, was a great improvement - commandingly loud and convincingly bonkers. Intermezzo - 21.08.08
Rosalind Plowright, now billed as a mezzo, displayed a huge, intense voice as the menacing mother- in-law. Huntley Dent - Berkshire Review - 22.08.08
There's another of Janácek's domineering older women in Míla's demented mother, much sketchier than the Kostelnicka of Jenufa or Katya's Kabanikha, but vividly brought to life by the redoubtable Rosalind Plowright. Simon Thomas - MusicOMH.com - 23.08.08
Rosalind Plowright was impressive vocally and emotionally, all the more so because she looked so composed! Anne Ozorio - Seen & Heard - 25.08.08
it also featured Rosalind Plowright in fine dramatic form as her wonderfully unhinged mother. Hugo Shirley - Musical Critiscm.com - 25.08.08
and Rosalind Plowright's baleful soprano suited the role of Mila's mother, yet another of Janácek's ghastly mother-in-law figures Richard Fairman - Financial Times - 25.08.08
And the magnificently histrionic Rosalind Plowright was her homicidally unhinged mother. Richard Morrison - The Times - 25.08.08
Rosalind Plowright made a characteristically electrifying impact as Mila's mother. Martin Kettle - The Guardian - 23.08.08
Rosalind Plowright who could develop a terrific line in demented old witches, brought some real class with her portrayal of Mila's mother. Barry Millington - Evening Standard - 23.08.08
... and Rosalind Plowright made the small but crucial role of the mother-in-law from hell her own. Matthew Rye - Daily Telegraph - 22.8.08
Hinter dem Paravent spukt Milas Wahsinnig gewordene Mutter (Rosalind Plowright als stimmgewaltige Rachefurie), um kurz darauf vom Balkon zu springen und die Tochter mit in die Tiefe zu reißen. "Behind the screen spookily sits Mila's now demented mother (played by Rosalind Plowright as a vocally forceful and raging Fury), who leaps from the balcony dragging her daughter to their deaths." Werner M Grimmel - Kultur - March 2012
...und Rosalind Plowright führt ihren Mezzo hochdramatisch durch die wahnhafte Zerrüttung der Mutter. ".. and Rosalind Plowright reinforces the madly deranged role of the Mother with her intensely dramatic mezzo." Eckhard Britsch - Opernnetz - 15.03.12
In der Kürze einer Rolle ein Maximum an künstlerischer Entfaltung zu erreichen gilt es in der Rolle der Mutter - und die heute mit unverminderter Stimmkraft im Charakterfach tätige Rosalind Plowright tut das mit geradezu beängstigender Intensität (wenn sie z.B. als Zeichen der Verachtung Zivnys zu den im Orchester erklingenden Klavierakkorden mit den Füßen über die Tasten donnert). "The role which affords the maximum possibility for artistic development in the shortest space of time is that of Míla's mother, sung here by Rosalind Plowright with her undiminished vocal strength and characterisation. She achieves this with direct and frightening intensity (for example when she stamps her feet over the piano keys, to the piano accompaniment in the orchestra, as a sign of her contempt for Zivny)." Udo Klebes - Der neue Merker - 14.03.12
….und Rosalind Plowright als Mutter führen ein vielköpfiges, fabelhaftes Ensemble an) mehr Raum für Zwischentöne abseits des dramatischen Überdrucks. "… and Rosalind Plowright (as Míla's mother) and her principal colleagues present a fabulous, multi-faceted cast, with fine shading of tonal quality in addition to the overall dramatic intensity." Neue Musikzeitung - 12.3.12
Nel cast dell'opera di Janacek, da segnalare innanzi tutto la bellissima prova di Rosalind Plowright nel ruolo della madre di Mila, il personaggio che tramite i suoi problemi psichici funge da elemento trascinante nella catastrofe dei protagonisti. La voce è ancora ampia e di bel colore e il fraseggio è sempre di grande incisività. "Among the cast members of Janacek's opera, first of all, we want to underline Rosalind Plowright's great performance in the role of Mila's mother, the character who through her psychological problems is the catalyst in the protagonists' catastrophe. Her voice is still opulent, of beautiful colouring, and her phrasing is always greatly incisive." Giorgio Bagnoli - GB Opera - 14.03.12
