I recently had the immense pleasure of seeing my college friend Elizabeth Bishop (not the poet) sing the role of Amneris in Verdi's Aida with Atlanta Opera. Here is my gush:

What an absolute pleasure it was to hear her singing so beautifully and musically! How she uses her voice as an integral part of her acting. How healthy she sounds. How her vibrato is spot on - not to wide, not to shallow. (this is a pet peeve of mine)

I loved her characterization of Amneris as NOT a shrieking harpy - as is sometimes so easy to do. But as a woman who is unaccustomed to not getting what she wants, who genuinely loves Radames and can only direct her hurt and anger towards the only source she can think of. I love that she also heard in Verdi's music that Amneris ultimately makes peace with the lovers (although admittedly she DID sort of "win" ha!) and is really the only character who grows and changes over the course of the story. If I were telling this story, Amneris would be MY focus. By all accounts, she is technically the protagonist!

But I just can't say enough about how beautiful she sounded. I wish every one of my students could have heard her sing.