Judy in Birtwistle’s Punch & Judy
English National Opera / dir. Daniel Kraemer / cond. Edward Gardner
“Lucy Schaufer is luxury casting as Judy/Fortune”
Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times, April 2008
“(Edward) Gardner brought out a hitherto unsuspected anguish and melancholy in the piece. Nowhere was that more evident than in the heartbreaking lament sung towards the end by Lucy Schaufer’s outstanding Mrs Punch.”
Richard Morrisson, The Times, April 2008
“…one recalls Judy's poignant reflections in Lucy Schaufer's portrayal…”
Colin Anderson, The Opera Critic, April 2008
Stavinsky Orchestral Songs
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / cond. Sakari Oramo
"Conductor Sakari Oramo and the American mezzo Lucy Schaufer invested the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's sound with a warm and deeply Russian lyricism, underlining this mainspring of Stravinsky's inspiration."
"Schaufer brought both earthy character and burnished tone to Pribaoutki and Cat's Cradle Songs."
Rian Evans, The Guardian, March 2008
Octavian in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier
Staatsoper Hamburg / cond. Simone Young
"Lucy Schaufer was thoroughly impressive as a youthful, cunning Oktavian, fighting against the usual run-of -the-mill interpretations."
Süd Kurier, November 2007
"Lucy Schaufer proved a sensation of a high / bright mezzo as Oktavian"
Die Welt, November 2007
"The young American soprano Lucy Schaufer makes her debut in the title role, throwing herself with great energy and refreshing stage presence into the trouser role of Octavian."
NDR Kultur, November 2007
"Lucy Schaufer was ideally cast, as her Oktavian looked exactly like the young boy that the libretto speaks of next to the Marshallin."
Kreiszeitung Sylter Zeitung, November 2007
"The petite Lucy Schaufer as Oktavian made a fantastic tomboy."
Das Opernglas, January 2008
Claire de Loone in Bernstein On the Town
English National Opera / cond. Simon Lee / dir. Jude Kelly
"It's the leading ladies, Caroline O'Connor and Lucy Schaufer, who get the best numbers and the sharpest characters, and walk away with the show."
Rupert Christensen, The Daily Telegraph, April 2007
"Lucy Schaufer sings prettily as man-hungry Claire de Loone"
George Hall, The Guardian, April 2007
"The few opera singers on display turn out to be the show's real stars. Lucy Schaufer tears up the stage as horny anthropologist Claire de Loone."
Anthony Holden, The Observer, April 2007
Hansel in Hansel and Gretel
LA Opera/ cond. Alan Gilbert/ dir. Douglas Fitch
"Lucy Schaufer sang Hansel respectively, with strength and winsome charm…acting her role persuasively."
Chris Pasles, Los Angeles Times, November 2006
"Mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer (Hansel) convincingly tumbled about as child, pointing out the words of Richard Sparks' compulsively rhyming English libretto with particular clarity."
Richard S. Ginell, Variety.com , November 2006
"Lucy Schaufer was superb as Hansel. Schaufer is one of those performers, who like Netrebko, can actually act as well as sing. She is a joy to watch and listen to at the same time - an excellent, but ironically rare talent in the opera world."
Out West Arts, December 2006
Placido Domingo and Friends: L.A. Opera's 20th Gala
Cond. Placido Domingo
"Lucy Schaufer, in male drag as Prince Oflofsky, was handed a localized verson of "Chacun a son gout" that playfully sent up L.A. while delivering a fund-raising pitch for the company."
Richard S. Ginell, Variety.com , April 2006
"Lucy Schaufer, as Prince Orlofsky, was the evening's most alluring singer."
Mark Swed, L.A. Times Online , April 2006
Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro
L.A. Opera/ cond. Nagano
"Lucy Schaufer, a rapscallion Cherubino, was the exciting fly in the ointment. "
Mark Swed., L.A. Times , March 2006
"Lucy Schaufer as the diminutive pheromone-driven Cherubino: she's remarkably convincing as a teenage boy, even more so as a splendid, lyric mezzo-soprano. "
Alan Rich, Variety , March 2006
"Lucy Schaufer's Cherubino had the right amount of adolescent single-mindness and delived a modulated, controlled and quite affecting "Voi che Sapete."
Peter Lefevre, Orange County Register , March 2006
"A tiny bundle of mezzo-soprano named Lucy Schaufer, as Cherubino, steals hearts and scenes alike."
Alan Rich, L.A. Weekly, March 2006
"But the most excitment comes whenever Lucy Schaufer burst onto the stage in the trouser role of Cherubino. She delivers the most memorable solos of an evening in which much of the pleasures come from the ensemble singing. Her opening cry of adolescent confusion "Non so più cosa son cosa faccio" brought a smile to every face in the house."
Marc Porter Zasada, Los Angeles Downtown News, March 2006
"In the role of Cherubino, the teenage pageboy who is just discovering love and pursues all the women in the household, Lucy Schaufer is a wonder. She is small and athletic, looks every inch a boy and has a sense of sly fun. Moreover, she sings with delicacy and shimmering detail in two of Mozart's most lovely and touching arias."
John Farrell, Press-Telegram , March 2006
"...heartfelt and warmly sung...English mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer brought those qualities and ample spunk to the trouser role of Cherubino."
David Mermelstein, The Daily News of Los Angeles , April 2006
"Also returning is mezzo Lucy Schaufer, who has an infectiously fabulous time wearing Cherubino's trousers."
P.J. Ochlan, The Arts Report , March 2006
"And what can be said about Lucy Schaufer's Cherubino? She obviously followed throught with the director's stage directions and literally "became" the energetic sex-craving character she portrayed. A little shoking and a jolt to the system - one might wonder what Schaufer will do with the role of Hansel in Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" next season."
Carie J. Delmar, OperaOnline.us , March 2006
"Also new to the cast was Lucy Schaufer, a Cherubino in perpetual wet-dream mode, a lively teenage scamp remindful of little Mozart and his own sexcapades - as well as a lyric mezzo who defly embroidered her vocal ine with appoggiaturas."
Donna Perlmutter, Los Angeles City Beat, 2006
"The standout among the principals was mezzo soprano Lucy Schaufer, who caught fire as Cherubino, bringing the hormonal teen to life with vocal and dramatic intensity reminiscent of her triumph here as Erika in last season's Vanessa."
Carl Byron, Opera News, 2006
Clare de Loone in Berstein On the Town
ENO/ cond. Simon Lee
"Schaufer's "We'll catch up some other time" is as hauntingly poignant s Vera Lynn singing "White Cliffs of Dover."
The Independent
"Lucy Schaufer - so good in ENO's On the Town - is terrific here: great prescence and real engagement against the odds."
The Independent
"Lucy Schaufer sings beatfiully as the anthropologist Claire de Loone. She's the best of the legitimate opera singers involved in the show."
The Sunday Times
"Lucy Schaufer is superb as Claire, proving that operatic singers can cross in to musicals - and can dance too."
Helen Wright, musicomh.com, 2005
"Lucy Schaufer's robustly funny yet also heart-stopping Claire de Loone…Howar's buoyant, irrespresible Ozzie...well worth rooting for. Schaufer's performance as the libidinous anthropologist is the production's standout, through Shore's hilariously empathic Pikin lands every scene as well."
Variety.com, 2005
"The sole opera singer with a lead role is Lucy Schaufer, the volatile, sensationally sung Claire de Loone, which hardly makes a successful fusion of opera singer and music theatre performers."
David Blewitt, The Stage Online, March 2005
Amastis in Xerxes
ENO/ cond Noel Davies
"Janis Kelly's spitfire runs as the lovesick Romilda are married to an acute sense of stagecraft while Lucy Schaufer ably negotiates the treacherous depths of the king long-suffering bethroted Amastis."
Neil Fisher, The Times Online , November 2005
Thea in Tippett The Knot Garden
ROH2 and Music Theatre Wales
"As Thea, Lucy Schaufer sang with authority, and her acting gave the role of self-contained, semi-abandoned wife depth and dignity."
The Sunday Telegraph, May 2005
"…Lucy Schaufer's radiantly sung Thea, the only actor to emrge with credibility."
The FT, May 2005
Sesto in Giulio Cesare
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
"Lucy Schaufer's impetuous Sesto seemed comfortable in the soprano tessitura, and her duet with Banditelli at the close of Act 1 was a highlight."
June 2002
Charlotte in Werther
Bühnen der Stadt Köln
"Doch die perlende Stimmkraft und darstellerische Intensität von Lucy Schaufer riss den...almählich mit."
KölnerStadt - Anzeiger/Kurzkritk, Mai 2002
Erika in Vanessa
Washington Opera
"Lucy Schaufer, as the heartsick Erika, gave a performance of star quality. The mezzo produced an undending stream of superbly shaped, sensitively shaded notes and breathed potent life into Menotti's lines. During the New Year's Eve scene, Schaufer's detailed acting brought Erika's conflict over the unwanted pregnancy into uncomfortably sharp relief."
Baltimore Sun, 2002
Sméraldine in L'amour de trois Oranges
Bühnen der Stadt Köln
"…und Lucy Schaufer reissen den Dämonenschl und gar kräftig und weit aufsuperb."
KölnerStadt-Anzeiger , April 2001
Erika in Vanessa
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
"Autres voix magnifiques: Lucy Schaufer. Inoubliable Erika, sa voix longue et flexible s'adapte sans peine au role de cette nièce trouble, bouleversée, désespérée, exigeant un grave charnu et un aigu tranchant. Que ses vocalises sont sures et sa technique irréprochable!"
Nice-Matin , February 2001
"With her vast expessive range, superb dynamic control and bright tone, Schaufer gave a dazzling musical performance. Her account of the Act I "Must the Winter" was beautifully shaped and infused with a repressed ardor that made a convincing case for Erika's subsequent dalliance with Anatol. As the opera unfolded, Schaufer thrilled the audience with her intensifying portrayal of a young woman torn ever deeper between her devotion to Vanessa, her lust for her aun'ts lover and the consequences of her pregnancy. Her gutsy fall down the grand spiral staircase that dominated Paul Brown's elegantly icy set made for a riveting Act II climax."
Opera News, 2001
"L'Erika de Lucy Schaufer est émouvante et bien chantante."
Le Monde, February 2001
"Der eigentlich Star ist die Erika von Lucy Schaufer. Die junge Amerikanerin setzt für die Frau, die sich nicht dem Erstbesten hinwirft, einen Mezzosopran von verschwenderischer Schönheit ein."
Die Welt, February 2001
"L'important rôle d'Erika était confié à la mezzo américaine Lucy Schaufer, fine musicienne à la voix généreuse et bien conduite."
La Lettre du Musicien, March 2001
"Star des Abends war hingegen ganz sicher die junge Lucy Schaufer als errengende, leidenschaftliche, präsente und exzellent singende Erika - ein junger Mezzo bester Farbe und toller Höhe."
Opernspiegel, April 2001
"Das nun gelang der jungen Lucy schaufer in der Rolle der Erika auf Anhieb. Die Sängerin besitzt einen flexiblen, kräftigen Mezzosopran, den sie gestalterisch treffend einsetzte, sowie schauspielerische Fähigkeiten, die es ihr ermöglichten, eine charakter glaubhaft entstehen zu lassen."
Das Opernglas, April 2001
"Diese Partie der Erika ist, wie bei Strauss die Zdenka, eigentlich viel interessanter als die titelgebende Madame, und Lucy Schaufer lässt sich die Chance nicht entgehen."
Opernwelt , April 2001
"The mezzo soprano Lucy Schaufer was impressive as Erika, which in the end is dramatically the most telling role"
International Herald Tribune , February 2001
Johanna in Sweeney Todd
Opera North
"Lucy Schaufer's performance as Johanna, yellow-haired as a storybook princess, is bold and vital."
The Times , January 1998
Ava in Hopper's Wife
Long Beach Opera
"Schaufer was extraordinary as Ava, vocally and physically. She sang a difficult aria splendidly standing nude in a bubble bath which serves a place in the operatic hall of fame."
The Orange County Register , June 1997