Teatro alla Scala - Les contes d'Hoffmann
"As for the cast, all very well: Ramón Vargas, Ildar Abdrazakov, Ekaterina Gubanova, Genia Kühmeier and Veronica Simeoni. The Olympia Rachele Gilmore, however, is exceptional."
Enrico Girardi, Corriere della Serra
"Rachele Gilmore lends a voice to the crystal acrobatic coloratura of Olympia. There are roulades, trills, ascending and descending scales, glissandi available without trouble. The high notes are bright lightning."
Ugo Malasoma, OperaClick
"With the famous aria of Olympia, "Les oiseaux dans la CHARMILLE", the American soprano Rachele Gilmore did show off her flawless agility...her dazzling high notes had an ecstatic echo."
Courtney Smith, Grazia.it
Michigan Opera Theatre - Rigoletto
"Rachele Gilmore sang Gilda's music with skill, her coloratura supple, her ptiches perfect."
John Guinn, Opera News
"As Gilda, the young coloratura soprano Rachele Gilmore provides a sparkling complement to Thomas' darkness. She tosses off Verdi's soaring high notes not only with ease but with expressive point. She's a tremulous birdling, a teenager scarcely yet flown from the nest. The outside world, love, the amoral Duke: Gilda is about to take it all in at once, with inevitable consequences. Gilmore portrays a girl we genuinely care about and frames her in singing to be relished. Her rapturous aria "Caro nome" brought down the house."
Lawrence B. Johnson, The Detroit News
"In a memorable MOT debut, Gilmore, a young American soprano, sang her first Gilda and revealed herself as a Verdi heroine of great promise. Verdi demands an unusual combination of power and grace from his leading women, and Gilmore offered lots of both, singing of love in her showcase "Caro nome" with sweetness, poise, control. Her leaping coloratura lines floated effortlessly high above the stage as if riding a cloud."
Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press
Knoxville Opera - I Puritani
"The draw for sopranos in the character of Elvira is, of course, the Act II mad scene (“Qui la voce… Vien, diletto, è in ciel la luna”). As Elvira sank from happiness into despair, Gilmore showed not only the seemingly effortless and focused, thrill-inducing coloratura high end that she is capable of, but also a rich, flexible depth of mid-range that described her psychological journey. As a woman at the mercy of romantic and political pressure, Gilmore’s dramatic arc seemed to be an extension of her vocal soul."
Alan Sherrod, Metro Pulse
Grand Théâtre de Genève – Alice in Wonderland
“The remarkable Rachele Gilmore has a perfectly tapered, exquisite voice.”
Bertrand Tappolet, Gauchebdo.ch
“The coloratura of Rachele Gilmore does not get into the shrill, and she maintains the rounded, shapely phrasing of Alice fresh, often with a melancholy smile.”
Didier van Moere, Concertone.net
“Rachele Gimore, the American coloratura soprano, who has clear diction and a voice that is like a jet spray, running as high as nearby Lake Geneva, made us believe in the 12 year-old Alice and her at times malicious behavior.”
Caroline Alexander, Webthea.com
As Zerbinetta, soprano Rachele Gilmore, in sunglasses and Gibson Girl bloomers, displayed more talent and charm than any one person should be allowed to possess. In her hands, "Grossmächtige Prinzessin" was not merely an astonishing pyrotechnical display (although it certainly was that) but a joyous expression of Zerbinetta's character, the bushels of notes and baskets of embellishments an overflowing abundance in keeping with her view of life and love.
Opera News
Gilmore and Owens held court for the "Opera" portion, embodying both ends of the diva spectrum, with Gilmore's coloratura acrobatics at one end, and Owens' Wagnerian presence at the other. Gilmore's performance as Zerbinetta was near impeccable. Gilmore also resisted the temptation to make Zerbinetta too much of a stock character, and this made her ultimate pragmatic truths resonate over her follies and antics.
The Boston Music Intelligencer
Gilmore is the whole package-a clever actress with a top-notch voice and a willing manner.
The Boston Herald
Rachele Gilmore was a winning Zerbinetta with all the coquettish charm this role demands and also the secure technique and theatrical flair to make the role's big coloratura number feel organically connected to her character rather than like a stretch of disconnected virtuoso preening.
The Boston Globe
As Zerbinetta, the comic Colombina figure, coloratura Rachele Gilmore is utterly charming. Her frothy soprano has the just the right weight and color for the role. Wisely, she underplayed the coyness in her portrayal of the character, singing the role in a straightforward manner. She posses vocal flexibility, and an easy extension to the upper reaches of the voice. The centerpiece of the entire opera, her treacherous aria, "Grossmächtige Prinzessin," was put away with èlan and astounding ease.
EDGE
Rachele Gilmore's bright high soprano filled the hall as Zerbinetta and made me wonder at how it's possible for such a voice to come from such a slight and beautiful woman. She, with the added comedy and voice of Julius Ahn, glowed, and used her troupe as a springboard to add life to the slow moving whole.
Boston Theater Review
Lucia di Lammermoor - Knoxville Opera
Metropulse
Without doubt, the first-ever performance of the role by a soprano can be a telling indicator of whether she has those extraordinary qualities that define a great Lucia- the ability to thrill an audience with a unique vocal prowess and the ability to paint a dramatic portrayal with both subtlety and boldness. Rachele Gilmore, in Knoxville Opera's production of Lucia di Lammermoor last weekend, did just that- she thrilled a cheering, applauding audience in what was the most solidly accomplished KOC production in recent history. Gilmore has what sopranos dream of: clear-as-a-bell, seemingly effortless high notes, and vocal flexibility with power throughout her range. Her size and voice seemed perfect for her fragile and haunted Lucia. In the famous Mad Scene...Gilmore's Lucia was the image of tragedy, alternating between a pale, dying flower and a menacing fiend. As the tensions built and the impact of the tragedy upon the wedding guests edged higher, Gilmore's vocal madness rippled like waves in a bloody pool. And, those infamous high notes cut through it all like the bloody dager in her hand. In the end, this was Rachele Gilmore's evening- her first Lucia, but obviously not her last, given the tumultuous ovations she received here.
Knoxnews
As everyone who heard Gilmore at Friday night's opening performance knows, she is doing it again. gilmore's Lucia simply radiates from the stage...It's gilmore's voice that one can simply not get out of one's head. She was superb. If she keeps singing like this, no one will be forgetting her.
Metropolitan Opera - Les contes d'Hoffmann
Classical Source Online
Making her Met debut, Rachele Gilmore brought the house down as Olympia. Her flawless coloratura in "Les oiseaux dans la charmille" was quite literally show-stopping, as she gave a delightfully comedic portrayal of the automaton.
Broad Street Review: Philidelphia
A young American woman named Rachele Gilmore, who flew up to solid and beautiful high G's and one A-flat (that's five notes above high C) that has never been heard at the Met in this part. I felt lucky to hsee and hear her.
Indianapolis Star
Rachele Gilmore, who made such a hit with Indianapolis Opera audiences in the company's production of "The Tales of Hoffman" in 2008, cast a similar spell upon the metropolitan Opera late last year in it's prodution of the Offenbach's work. After Gilmore gets wound up for the showcase aria of the doll, you can see and hear her deft characterization (tricky, when the character is a machine) and commanding coloratura.
Ariadne auf Naxos: Indianapolis Opera
Opera News
Rachele Gilmore's ebullient Zerbinetta scattered vocal filigree with abandon.
NUVO: Indianapolis Alternative Voice
Coloratura Rachele Gilmore as Zerbinetta delivered equisite high pitches in both parts, her "speech" to Ariadne about love- "Grossmächtige Prinzessin" in the Opera- being the evening's high point.
The Examiner
More than doing justice to Grossmächtige Prinzessin one of the opera's most famous arias, was Rachele Gilmore, whose coloratura soprano voice delighted an engaged and highly responsive audience.
The Indianapolis Star
Rachele Gilmore reveled in the agile display required of the wise, fickle Zerbinetta.