“New Zealand soprano Madeleine Pierard (Noémie) and Estonian mezzo-soprano Kai Rüütel (Dorothée) were charming and vulnerable as the comic duo of sisters, while at the same time they delivered faultless singing. Indeed, Pierard and Rüütel – both of them Jette Parker Young Artists – must have made the Royal Opera House proud.”  

(Cendrillon, The Royal Opera, Pelly/de Billy),

Agnes Kory, Musical Criticism, 8 July 2011

 

 

"Ms Pierard exposes a dramatic voice with true bite while retaining her beautiful rounded tone. The opening recitative is truly expressive and Per pietà is sung simply and lyrically. Throughout this is a very beautiful reading. This is a singer I hope to hear more of."

(Naxos Recording: Beethoven Egmont/Ah! Perfido - NZSO/Judd 2008)

Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International, May 2010

 

 

"Madeleine Pierard and Nicky Spence romped through “Happy we” from Acis and Galatea and Britten’s Soldier won’t you marry me? Spence even removed his shoes and other garments to illustrate the Britten. Both performers have an easy platform manner and excellent voices which bode well for their careers both in concert and on the stage.”  

(Young Singers Welfare Foundation Gala, Wigmore Hall),
Sebastian Petit, Opera Britannica, 4 April 2010

 

 

"This well produced and recorded disc also introduces…the soprano of Madeleine Pierard, bright, agile and confident…crisply enjoyable."  

(Naxos Recording: Beethoven Egmont/Ah! Perfido - NZSO/Judd, 2008), 

Colin Anderson, International Record Review, March 2010

 

 

"Conducted by James Judd, the performance is very grand, intense, at times genuinely ecstatic, and there are fine contributions from soprano Madeleine Pierard as a feisty Klärchen. The filler is the concert aria Ah! Perfido, which Pierard sings with extraordinary elegance and piercing clarity of tone."  

(Beethoven Ah, Perfido! Op. 65 and Egmont Lieder Op. 84, Recorded for Naxos with the NZSO/James Judd 2008),

4/5 stars in The Guardian, UK, 11 February 2010

 

 

"..from New Zealand, but trained in the UK, Madeleine Pierard has the power and command to do battle with the New Zealand Symphony in the pungent moments of the songs, the more relaxed passages displaying a voice of considerable beauty."  

(Lyell Cresswell 'Cassandra's Songs' and 'The Voice Inside' recorded for Naxos with the NZSO/James Judd)

David Denton, Naxos.com

 

 

"Here was a star, not just in the making, but made. In the strange artificiality of Handelian belcanto, she brought an electrifying dramatic sense, utter security, agility and brilliance. ...In Rossini’s famous Semiramide aria, ‘Bel raggio lusighier’, she demonstrated a virtuosity that I would risk saying might be unmatched by any other New Zealand singer."  

(NZ Opera Society Gala Concert with Bruce Greenfield),

Lindis Taylor, 10 December 2008

 

 

"Of the four soloists, Madeleine Pierard stood out with beautiful tone, focus and intonation, and her articulation of varied and brilliant ornamentation was breathtaking. Every one of her arias and recitatives would have been encored if this had been opera." 

(Messiah with the Tudor Consort and VWO),

The Dominion Post, 5 December 2008

 

 

Each year, the November/December issue of Opera Now magazine includes a “Who’s hot?” feature, in which the international reviewers pick the best young talent they have spotted during the year. Madeleine is featured 2008's List: 
"Madeleine Pierard, formerly a mezzo and now a soprano has a great future in castrato roles. Coloratura is her thing, and she has a way with da capos that certainly sounds like spontaneous musicianship”

(Atalanta for the London Handel Festival),

Opera Now Magazine, Nov/Dec Issue 2008

 

 

"In this performance we heard New Zealander Madeleine Pierard: assured, confident, very convincing as a young man. She dealt with Meleagro’s complex arias splendidly, her voice rippling though the intricate settings with suppleness and purity of tone. The aria 'Tu solcasti il mare infido' must be among the most brilliant of Handel’s compositions. Pierard dazzled in it, yet the steady line of her ‘Care selve’ showed her equally at home in graceful music. Hearing her for the first time, I was very impressed and shall certainly look out for her. Justice asks for a fine future for her." 

(Atalanta for the London Handel Festival),

Classical Source, 21 April 2008