as Micaëla
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OPERA INTERNATIONAL
Liverpool Empire Theatre
“British-based Korean-American soprano Rosa Lee Thomas, fast becoming a popular operatic force in Liverpool, is a perfect Mimi, the embroiderer who steals the heart of starving artist Rodolfo. She not only looks the part, pathetic, pretty and rather sad, but sings beautifully.Her opening aria I Am Called Mimi (Si, mi chiamano Mimi) would capture any sensitive male heart.”
UKRAINIAN NATIONAL OPERA OF ODESSA
Milton Keynes Theatre
“Like a rare Butterfly indeed Rosa Lee Thomas not only sang her heart out in the title role in Milton Keynes Theatre on Monday, she acted the part to perfection as well. Although tiny and seemingly delicate, the Korean soprano nevertheless dominated the stage with a sweetly dignified Madama Butterfly who frequently revealed flashes of spirit and playfulness. Rosa Lee Thomas has a strong, supple voice that also belies her fragile figure and she sang her big role effortlessly and with a simple beauty.”
Brighton Theatre Royal
“In Brighton, in a passionate production by the Ukrainian National Opera of Odessa, La Traviata reunited the company’s leading singers Rosa Lee Thomas and Akhmed Agadi in a magnificent reading. Ms. Thomas, a Korean-American soprano now living in the UK, made a sensational Violetta who certainly broke my heart. And, in the scene where she agrees to give up her lover to save his family’s embarrassment, I wanted to cry for her. Her death bed scene really brought tears to my eyes.”
Brighton Theatre Royal
“If you were fortunate enough be at Theatre Royal, Brighton last night for Verdi’s La Traviata you will have witnessed the tragic consequences of the disease at its most virulent.
Violetta, a consumptive courtesan sung by charming Rosa Lee Thomas, is the embodiment of the most virulent strain: enduring true love. There is reconciliation on her deathbed but that is just too agonising for words. In the true spirit of opera La Traviata will rip you to tiny shreds, reduce you to a quivering wreck and drag you though the hedge backwards before leaving you numb and gagging for your next fix of extreme emotional turmoil.”
King’s Theatre, Glasgow
“What saved this one was that Rosa Lee Thomas, the young Korean-American exponent of the title role [Butterfly] was so credible, so touching and so refreshingly undemonstrative - the perfect Puccini waif who, as self-sacrifice was gradually, but inexorably demanded of her, proved that she could wring all our hearts. So natural and responsive was her portrayal, and so truthfully voiced, the [director’s] production, for all its faults, successfully intensified as it progressed.”
The Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
“To immense acclaim, the international Korean soprano Rosa Lee Thomas once again (as she has in so many productions) donned the persona of Butterfly captivating the audience from beginning to end. Her voice can only be described as angelic and her professionalism enabled her, with the utmost of ease, to adapt from the heights of passion to the depth of despair.
Supporting Thomas, ... [Pinkerton] was like that of Thomas as Butterfly, extremely unique and wholesome, and their combination in the famous love duet was mesmerising and haunting to say the least.
Within the opera, the projection of both music and libretto are equally important, and without the success of one then the other quite simply fails. What was seen last night was opera at its best. A triumphant amalgamation of every aspect required in order to make opera a pleasant experience.”
Bristol Hippodrome
“Rosa Lee Thomas sings and acts with great subtlety - Hers was a lovely, sensitive Butterfly whose agony of pain when she was finally rejected by the weak, selfish Lieutenant Pinkerton was as deep as her love had been earlier. She conveyed this with beautifully controlled gentle tones to match powerful climaxes.”
Liverpool Empire Theatre
“And in the middle of all this perfection is Butterfly. Rosa Lee Thomas floats like a butterfly, and sings like a kimono-clad angel. Every note appears effortless, and at the same time shows clearly the care and effort poured into her performance. Puccini’s Butterfly spends the majority of the two-and-a-half hours on stage, and the soprano is luminous from first to last - from the delicate and trusting teenage bride with all her hopes and fears, to the dignified wife deserted by her feckless husband. They say a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world creates a tornado in another. It cetainly created a phenomenon in the Empire auditorium where for once you could hear a pin drop, or at least grown men sniffling discreetly as Butterfly and Pinkerton proclaimed their love for one another. . . . Go and be moved.”
Liverpool Empire Theatre
“It’s easy to understand why the Korean-born soprano Rosa Lee Thomas gets more requests to sing Madama Butterfly than she can cope with. She really gives the definitive performance in Puccini’s opera. A pitch-perfect voice, a delicate stage presence and a heart-rending performance make her Butterfly one guaranteed to reduce the most cynical to an emotional wreck. It was of her that Shakespeare must have been thinking when he wrote ‘If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.’ . . . Above all, it was a production which captured the raw emotion at the centre of the opera. Don’t take a handkerchief with you, take a box of them.”
Manchester Opera House
“Korean born soprano, Rosa Lee Thomas has a lovely purity and sweetness of voice, which conveys the vulnerability and fragility of the young Butterfly . . . . This is a “Madama Butterfly” you should try to catch if you can - but don’t forget to bring your hankie because there won’t be a dry eye in the house!”
COMPAGNIA D’OPERA ITALIANA DI MILANO
Palais de la Musique et des Congrès - Strasbourg FRANCE
“Et ce qu'on retient avant tout de ce spectacle, c'est bien le caractère de Cio-Cio San: sa determination, ses colères aussi, sa révolte - son grand air bien placé vocalement, ne s'être pas en rubato chewing-gum pour faire pleurer, mais souligne sa fermeté d'âme.”
“And what one retains above all from this performance, it is the character of Cio-Cio San: her determination, her anger, her rebellion - her great aria vocally well rendered, not sung in a slow chewing-gum rubato to make one cry, but underlined her firmness of heart.”
Centre des Arts Pluriels - Ettelbrück LUXEMBOURG
“In der Hauptrolle der unglücklichen Butterfly glänzte Thomas durch ihre feinfühlige Darstellung einer eleganten, zarten, zerbrechlichen aber auch selbstbewussten und stolzen Frauenfigur. Mit ihre kristallklaren Sopranstimme voll Wärme und Inbrunst bewegte und begeisterte sie aufs innigste im Liebesduett "Vogliatemi bene" am Ende des ersten Aktes sowie in der berühmten Sehnsuchtsarie "Un bel di" im zweiten Akt. Mit tiefer Ergriffenheit und keineswegs rührseligem Pathos gestaltete sie die tragische Schlussszene zu einem wahren Höhepunkt.”
“In the title role of unfortunate Butterfly, Thomas shone with her sensitive performance of an elegant, tender, fragile but self-confident and proud woman figure. With her crystal-clear soprano voice full of warmth and ardor moved and inspired, especially in the intimate love duet "Vogliatemi bene" and at the end of the first act, as well as in the famous ardent aria "Un bel di" in the second act. With deep emotion and not in the least sentimental pathos, she built up the tragic conclusion to a true high point.”
Graf-Zeppelin-Haus - Friedrichschaffen GERMANY
“Der Auftritt von Rosa Lee Thomas als Butterfly wird so manchem unvergesslich bleiben. Zart, fast zerbrechlich, aber mit einem aussergewöhnlichen Stimmvolumen und anrühren der Anmut, ist sie die grosser überraschung, der ganz grosse Star, an diesem Abend. Mit leuchtender Strahlkraft taucht sie ein in alle Former der Emotionen. Sie fasziniert mit der Fähigkeit, das Schauspielerische mit dem Gesanglichen perfekt zu verbinden. Ob sie weint, sie freut oder in Ohnmacht fällt, es ist nie theatralisch, sondern wirkt ergreifend echt. Ungemein intensivinterpretiert sie Schmerz, Trauer und Verzweiflung. Zu Tränen rühren Szenen wie in hohen, zarten Tönen gipfelnde Verlassenheit und die im schmerzvoll tönenden Glissando ausgedrückte Trauer. . . . Die Aufführung lebte von der bezaubernden Anmut Rosa Lee Thomas, ihrer glanzvollen Stimme und den grossartigen Stimmen ihrer Gesangspartner sowie von romantischen wie auch packenden Höhepunkten.”
“The appearance of Rosa Lee Thomas as a Butterfly will remain unforgettable to many. Delicate, almost fragile, but with an extraordinary voice size and gracefulness, she is a big surprise, a big star, at this evening's performance. With illuminating ray power, she projects all forms of emotion. She fascinates with the capacity to perfectly connect acting with singing. Whether she cries, rejoices or faints, it is never theatrical, but rather genuinely moving. Unusually intensely she interprets pain, sorrow and despair. Whole scenes move one to tears with her delicate sounds expressing abandonment and sorrow, the glissandos expressing pain. . . . The performance was brought to life by the charming gracefulness of Rosa Lee Thomas, her brilliant voice and the magnificent voices of her colleagues as well as romantic thrilling highpoints.”
Kurtheater - Bad Homburg GERMANY
“Bewegungen und Gesten vertraut und selbstverständlich, die andere Künstler nur nachahmen können. Rosa Lee Thomas in der Rolle der Cio-Cio San, genannt Butterfly (Sopran), verkörperte genau das zierliche Persönchen mit den asiatischen Gesichtszügen und dezenten Bewegungen, das man sich in dieser Rolle wunsch - und dem man eine so ausdrucksslurke, bis in die höchsten Tonlagen sichere Stimme zunächst kaum zugetraut hat.”
“Movements and gestures well versed and self-evident, which other artists can only imitate. Rosa Lee Thomas in the role of Cio-Cio San, also known as Butterfly (soprano), embodied exactly the delicate personality with oriental features and proper movements, which one desires in this role - one would have scarcely imagined that she could have sung with such a secure voice up to the highest notes.”
Kurtheater - Bad Homburg GERMANY
“Rosa Lee Thomas verkörperte eine bildschöne und stimmlich herausragend Butterfly. Mühelos schwang sie sich in höchste Register hinauf und meisterte sie mit zartestem Piano, um dann weder voller Leidenschaft der mitreissenden Partie Intensität und Ausdruckskraft zu verleihen.”
“Rosa Lee Thomas embodied perfectly a beautiful and vocally exceptional Butterfly. She soared effortlessly into the highest register and mastered the most delicate piano, then blossoming into full passion and expressiveness of this intense role.”
Stadttheater - Schaffhausen SWITZERLAND
“Den beiden Hauptdarstellern . . . als Pinkerton und Rosa Lee Thomas als Cio-Cio San (der offizielle Name der «Butterfly») gebührt höchste Anerkennung und Bewunderung für ihr bravouröses sängerisches wie schauspielerisches Können. Namentlich die Sopranistin vergügt über sämtlich Register der Stimmtimbrierung (wundervolles Piano auch in Höchsten Lagen!), der Ausdrucksskala vom Mädchenhaften bis zum ausgereift Fraulichen, von Jubel und abgrundtiefem Schmerz, dazu von Respekt gebietendem Durchhaltevermögen und sicherer Stimmbeherschung in allen Lagen und Körper stellungen.”
“Highest recognition is due and admiration for the splendid singing as well as acting ability to both leading performers . . . as Pinkerton and Rosa Lee Thomas as Cio-Cio San (the official name of “Butterfly”). The soprano excelled in all registers of the colours of the voice (wonderful piano singing even in the highest pitches!), from girlish to mature womanly expression, from jubilation to abysmal pain, commanding additional respect for stamina and secure vocal control in all situations and body positions.”
Neues Theater - Emden GERMANY
“Rosa Lee Thomas in der Titelrolle lebte eine Cio-Cio San mit derartiger Hingabe in Gesang und Spiel, dass sie auf allen Opernbühnen dieser Welt mit Beifall bedacht worden wäre. Am Ende ist alles Elend für MB erreicht und sie nimmt sich das Leben. Das Publikum ist ergriffen . . . Nach dem ergreifenden Finale gab es stehende Ovationene vom Publikum!”
“Rosa Lee Thomas in the title part lived a Cio-Cio San with such abandon in singing and acting that she would have met with approval on all the opera stages of this world. At the end of so much misery for Madama Butterfly, she takes her own life. The public is moved . . After the moving finale there was a standing ovation!”
Theater - Wolfsburg GERMANY
“Grandiose Aufführung! Rosa Lee Thomas als Madama Butterfly war die in ihrer Zartheit und ihrem Liebreiz bezaubernde Geisha. Sie gestaltet die grosse Titelpartie mit erschütternder Ausdrucks und Wandlungs fähigkeit. Bezaubernt ihre Solo Arien, die Duette mit Pinkerton, mit Suzuki. Ihr wunderbarer Sopran ist von hinreissender Schönheit.”
“Grandiose performance! Rosa Lee Thomas as Madama Butterfly portrayed with her tenderness and loving charm an enchanting Geisha. She portrayed the large title role with moving expression and ability to change moods. Her solo arias, her duets with Pinkerton and Suzuki were enchanting. Her marvelous soprano is of astounding beauty.”
Theater - Wolfsburg GERMANY
“So überzeugte Rosa Lee Thomas als Cio-Cio San, gennant Butterfly, in der Titelrolle bis zum letzten Takt mit ihrem Kraftvollen Sopran.”
“Rosa Lee Thomas as Cio-Cio San (known as Butterfly) in the
title role was utterly convincing up to the last moment with her powerful soprano voice.”
Agder Teater/Opera Sør - Kristiansand NORWAY
“Hove drollen som Cio-Cio San, bærer hovedtyungden av det sanglige og musikalske gjennom samtlige tre akter, og Rosa Lee Thomas flylte rollen med ynde og gratie, og med en fortryllende stemme som ikke pranget men som dirret av liv og intensitet.”
OPERA INTERNATIONAL
Liverpool Empire
“An outstanding performance came from Rosa Lee Thomas, a British-based Korean-American soprano, who took the role of Liù, the girl who sacrificed herself for her love of Calaf. Her emotional final aria Tu, che di gel sei cinta was heart-rending.”
Bristol Hippodrome
“But threatening to steal the glory from both of them was Rosa Lee Thomas, with a beautifully moving portrayal of the doomed Liù.”
" . . . three outstanding soloists. Ellen Kent is never afraid to augment her touring Eastern European companies with experienced international artists and here Rome-based soprano Natalia Margarit and Korean-American counterpart Rosa Lee Thomas sing with great purity in the title role and as the slave girl Liù, while at the same time contrasting their respective power complex and innocence to strong effect."
Beiteddine Festival - Beiteddine LEBANON
“ . . . performance was musically flawless. The three principle voices Margarit, Agadi and Rosa Lee Thomas, who plays the love-lorn, self-sacrificing slave girl Liù - were all in top form. Margarit and Thomas did an admirable job of bending their voices to the arrogance and humility of their respective characters, while Agadi provided a more than competent foil for them.”
UKRAINIAN NATIONAL OPERA OF ODESSA
Manchester Opera House
“This is a Butterfly to cherish. As Cio-Cio-San, the Korean-American soprano Rosa Lee Thomas captures all the emotions of the Japanese geisha so cruelly crossed in love - from trusting child-bride, through loyal wife awaiting her husband’s return, to mother driven to suicide. She looks the part and she sings beautifully. Naturally, she is the spellbinding focus of an all-round pleasing production.”
Manchester Opera House
“Thomas's heart-rending performance as Cio-Cio-San reduced many audience members to tears. Although I have seen Madame Butterfly on many occasions this production will stay with me for a long time.”
Manchester Opera House
“Here, Rosa Lee Thomas, with a power which belies her slight frame, is superb. Butterfly must convince us that she is consumed by a devotion which brooks not a moment’s doubt. With her it’s love, or it’s death. Thomas’s performance never falls from that high intensity, as Tatiana Busuioc’s hand-wringing Suzuki is left to express the agonies of compromise and scepticism which we might feel are the better option.”
Waterfront Hall, Belfast
“As good as some of the principals were it was the central role of Cio-Cio-San that held this performance together. The Korean-American soprano Rosa Lee Thomas inhabited the tragic role effortlessly. She has a sweet and warm voice and an acting talent that is rare in opera. Important to the ensuing tragedy was Rosa Lee Thomas’ strong characterisation that convincingly communicated the Butterfly’s near control of the situation through charisma, will and, of course, love. The final scene - with the central character’s complete abandonment and the loss of her son - provokes some of the most heart wrenching music written for the stage and this production, despite its many shortcomings, played its part in honouring a great popular opera.”
Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
“Rosa Lee Thomas’ singing as Madama Butterfly was characterised by her beauty of tone and intelligence of execution. She never forced her voice outside its limits and yet managed to convey the despair and hope so central to the role.”
Bristol Hippodrome
“Korean-American soprano Rosa Lee Thomas received the relatively rare opera distinction of a standing ovation for her heart-rending and vocally thrilling interpretation of the tragic Cio-Cio-San in this fine production by the Ukrainian National Opera of Odessa.
Lee Thomas, born and trained in America, but now resident in the UK, has made something of a speciality of Butterfly, choosing the role for her British debut and subsequently singing it at the Royal Albert Hall. Her exquisite figure and bearing are ideally shaped to bring authenticity to the 15-year-old geisha girl who becomes the American Lieutenant's Woman with such lamentable consequences. Combine this with with her supreme vocal control in One Fine Day and Act I's love duet, the strong support of ... and tribute in full is paid to one of the world's most popular operas.”
Liverpool Empire
“Tiny singer sends hearts a-flutter: Thomas is tiny and her voice is particularly powerful, but like a song bird, she can produce the most mournful of notes. Last night’s audience gave her a rapturous applause for a dominating performance which allowed her to steal the stage from the start.”
New Theatre, Oxford
“But if having a good old cry is top of your night's schedule you couldn't help but be moved by Thomas' goose-bump inducing voice and her outstanding portrayal of Butterfly's love and sorrow.”
Theatre Royal, Norwich
“Rosa Lee Thomas, a Cio-Cio-San who looked and sounded an ideal Madam Butterfly. Not only that, her interpretation of the role allowed us to observe this naive child-bride develop into the courageous, tragic wife-mother who does what she does because she is who she is. This is the stuff from which true tragic heroines are made and we experienced it in Rosa Lee Thomas' performance.”
Theatre Royal, Norwich
“[Rosa] gave a superb performance with some intensive and inspired singing with her voice delicate and fragile one moment and strong and robust the next. And with her small stature she fitted the role of Butterfly perfectly. It was the final scene in the final act - let alone the big number of One Fine Day - that won her over to the packed audience, who were enjoying every minute of her performance. It was stunning! The audience certainly showed its appreciation at curtain call.”
UKRAINIAN NATIONAL OPERA OF ODESSA
Colston Hall, Bristol
"This role [Violetta] is one of the most demanding in the whole operatic repertoire but Rosa Lee Thomas gave a high quality performance and the whole drama was conveyed in her moving portrayal. Her quiet singing was particularly pleasing, showing subtle variations of tenderness and inner anxiety and she blended convincingly with Alfredo in their duets."
OPERA INTERNATIONAL
Manchester Opera House
"Soprano Rosa Lee Thomas, as the lovelorn slave girl Liù, is waif-like and touching, producing glorious sound and communicating real emotion."
Manchester Opera House
"Don José, ... and Korean-American soprano, Rosa Lee Thomas as Micaëla, are world class singers. They are fine actors, and their voices took the production to a stratospheric level, rarely seen in Britain. Micaëla is a part sometimes glossed over, but Rosa Lee made her shine with modesty and unrequited love with her magnificent interpretive singing."
"As in Carmen on Tuesday night, the voices of Rosa Lee Thomas as the slave girl Liù and ... as Calaf,... are superb. Rosa Lee should audition for Cardiff Singer of the World, she's really that good."
Manchester Opera House
"I was massively impressed by the singing of [Don José], [Carmen] and the Korean-American soprano Rosa Lee Thomas [Micaëla] who was a complete revelation. Her vocal control was superb and the sheer beauty of her voice a delight. She is clearly someone destined for the Premier league, a fact not lost on a knowledgeable and appreciative audience."
Apollo Theatre, Oxford
"Rosa Lee Thomas, affecting and pure voiced both as Micaëla and Liù, ...."
Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
"But most impressive of all was the young Korean-American soprano Rosa Lee Thomas, who played the slave girl Liù. This is a singer destined for great things for her voice has the strength not only to fill the auditorium, but to move hearts."
MID WALES OPERA
Theatre Hafren, Newtown
"...what makes this Butterfly so special is the cast, especially Rosa Lee Thomas in the title role. Not only does she look perfect - demure and geisha-like at the start, elegantly poised then poignantly tragic in Act 2 - she is totally believable. Here is a Cio-Cio San who fully engages our emotions, and astounds with a voice of tremendous range and colour."
RAYMOND GUBBAY LTD
Royal Albert Hall, London
"...Rosa Lee Thomas - has a lovely voice and regal presence...it's clear the woman can act too... The climax is as wrenching as I have ever seen it. Puccini is a master of musical suspense, which this Cio-Cio San uses to the full. The standing ovation is well-deserved."
EUROPEAN CHAMBER OPERA
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
"Rosa Lee Thomas is an outstanding Mimì. Here is a character dying from consumption - a condition killing the body from lack of breath. She is blessed with a rich, well-educated voice, so the illusion could be achieved only by her consummate acting skill."