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“Pinch-hitter of the year” – New York Classical Review

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“Superb” – Los Angeles Times

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“Exquisitely lovely” – Globe and Mail

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“She totally blew us apart!”

“She was always a standout.  There was something about that girl where her work always jumped off the page at once.”

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(film director Kevin Sullivan and Opera Atelier’s Marshall Pynkoski,

on CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, 2006)

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As Adele at the Metropolitan Opera, December 2015:

“Covering a leading role at the Met is always a major responsibility; to do so at a season premiere, with the house (hopefully) full and the press corps in attendance, is both a challenge and an opportunity. Mireille Asselin, filling in for Lucy Crowe as Adele in Die Fledermaus, was undaunted, giving one of the most enchanting performances of 2015. We hope the Met will get into the habit of giving her notice a little further in advance.”

Eric C. Simpson, New York Classical Review 

In Recital at Carnegie Hall, January 2012:

(Meche Kroop, January 19 ’12)

Today was day #3 of Marilyn Horne’s birthday week celebration of the art of the song. Today’s recital was nothing short of stellar.  Stunning soprano Mireille Asselin…and gifted collaborative pianist Bryan Wagorn joined forces for an hour of intensely passionate singing and playing.  It could have gone on forever without complaint.  The program opened with Mozart’s “Das Veilchen”…The song is a charming one and Ms. Asselin is a fine storyteller with a crystalline voice, using gesture and vocal color to convey the sad plight of the lovelorn violet crushed beneath the feet of his beloved shepherdess.  Schubert’s “Viola” received similar dramatic attention, as did Debussy’s “Apparition” and Schwantner’s “Black Anemones”.

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Want to know more about Mireille’s Carnegie hall debut recital?  Click here for the profile which ran in the Toronto Star, and here for a wonderful article published by the Ottawa Citizen.….

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As Flore and Proserpine with Boston Early Music

in La couronne de fleurs & La descente d’Orphée:.

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The Boston Globe

(Jeremy Eichler, November 29 ’11)

“Both pieces benefited from consistently stylish singing, with Mireille Asselin… standing out among this capable ensemble cast.” 

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The Boston Musical Intelligencer

(Joel Schwindt, November 28 ‘11)

“Both works featured outstanding performances by the leads, namely Mireille Asselin’s “Flore” in La Couronne, and Aaron Sheean’s “Orphée” in La Descente.  Aside from their exceptional musical artistry, both displayed an excellent grasp of the “elegant artifice” of the Baroque acting style.”

“Flore’s (Mireille Asselin) invocation of the coming of spring at the opening of La Couronne, for example, was immediately engaging — graceful and effervescent, (and quite impressive considering that Asselin had been holding a still pose at the front of the stage for almost thirty minutes while the audience was seated).” 

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Singing at the Boston Early Music Festival

with Tragicomedia – Fioratura:

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(Allan Kozinn, June 20 ’11)

“The singers – Ellen Hargis and Mireille Asselin, sopranos; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Mr. McStoots, tenor; and Mr. Williams, bass-baritone — gave a robust performance in which the sense of text was paramount. That, thankfully, was the rule rather than the exception in this program, and at the festival generally.”

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The Berkshire Review

(Michael Miller, July 6 ‘11)

“A young soprano, Mireille Asselin, contributed a resplendent voice, with wonderful flashes of colour all along her range, fine taste in her phrasing, and a spirited delivery.”  

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Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne and

Omar Daniel’s Neruda Canciones with Orchestra London:

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Norules-nolights.com

(Brian Hay, Feb. 20 ’11)

“Mireille Asselin’s performances of Joseph Canteloube’s ‘Songs of the Auvergne’ were lovely. And she’s a character herself. Her playful side was on the surface for ‘Lo Fiolarie’, ‘Te, l’co, te’ and ‘Lou Coucut’. She followed a superbly restrained performance of ‘Brezirola’ with a hilariously coquettish rendition of ‘Oï ayaï’. Her rendition of ‘Bailero’ was nothing short of sublime, just sheer beauty set music. Before the performance Conductor Jimmy Sommerville said that, with ‘Bailero’, we might all find ourselves listening to the most beautiful song we’d ever heard. This reading of the song, from orchestra and singer alike did a lot to substantiate his statement.”

 

“The first, ‘La Bandala’ (‘The Flag’), was performed by Asselin with a tambourine and no accompaniment from the orchestra. She was like one raging with the fires of an inferno inside her. The final of the work, ‘El Tigre’ (‘The Tiger’) was superb. Her performances of ‘El Desvio’ (‘The Slip’) and ‘El Condor’ were thrilling. Daniel’s orchestration of these pieces and Asselin’s singing coloured each other perfectly”

“Mireille Asselin showed why her star’s burning so brightly and why it will continue to do so. She has a voice that’s beautifully light but deceptively powerful. Her control is superb and she’s fun to watch. She has a playful and mischievous nature that’s never far from the surface and delights in sharing it with the audience.”

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As Galatea in Opera Atelier’s Acis and Galatea:

 

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(John Terauds, October 31 ’10)

“Each member of the small cast…brought charisma as well as fine singing to their roles. Wiliford and Asselin deserve special kudos for a glowing, compelling blend of vocal nuance and dramatic life force they brought to the show.”

Click here to read John Teraud’s feature article on Mireille: “Opera owes its success to nurturing young talent”

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(Ken Winters, October 31 ’10)

“Soprano Mireille Asselin made an exquisitely lovely Galatea, the immortal sea-nymph…both her singing and her dramatic grip on the role deepened and took on real shape and fire.”

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Press + 1

(James Karas, November 4 ’10)

“The delight of the evening is soprano Mireille Asselin’s Galatea. Ms. Asselin has a lovely voice, rich in tone and colour and she was a pleasure to watch and hear.”

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(John Kaplan, November 5 ’10)

“The other three soloists are also memorable, with Asselin capturing the sensual, temperamental quality of Galatea and investing her with some comic moments, as well. Macleay’s lyrical tenor suggests the naïve side of Acis as well as his boyish passion and romantic pain when he’s not with Galatea. The two singers share a strong chemistry, a sense that they’re mutually fascinated with each other. That’s a plus in Pynkoski’s  staging, which emphasizes the text’s eroticism.”

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(Christopher Hoile, November 1 ’10)

“The music-making could hardly be bettered…All four singers give impeccable performances and move with the same grace as dancers… Asselin’s crystalline soprano effortlessly copes with runs and trills.”

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showtimemagazine.ca

(Stanley Fefferman, October 31 ’10)

“…When he comes on to Galatea, Mireille Asselin turned off the charm of her bright, thrilling soprano, and put him down with the tones of a high-school queen…The death of Acis, Galatea’s grief, and the consolation of his transformation, are profoundly moving.”

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(Michael Johnson, November 5 ’10)

“Mireille Asselin makes a memorable debut as Galatea. She trained at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory and more recently at Yale. I suspect (and hope) we’ll be seeing and hearing more of her, with Opera Atelier and elsewhere.”

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Singing Poulenc’s Gloria with

the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra:

(Milton Moore, April 12 ’10)

“Front and center for the Poulenc was soprano Mireille Asselin, a glamorous presence onstage in a strapless purple gown who charged her solos with emotion, personality and that ineffable quality that reaches across the lights to connect with her audience. In the two final sections, the “Domine Deus, Agnus Dei” and the “Qui sedes,” her unforced timbre and heartfelt emotion were compelling.”

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As Susanna in Yale Opera’s Le Nozze di Figaro:

(Jeffrey Johnson, February 13 ’10)

“These were young actors who worked together harmoniously. Their performance was detailed, informed and convincing… Several individual performances stood apart. Mireille Asselin is to be congratulated for her endurance in the ever present role of Susanna. She sang the role with that important sense of innocence tempered by blazing vocal chops.”

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As Adele in Opera Hamilton’s Die Fledermaus:

(Terry Gaisin, October 25 ’09)

“Soprano Mireille Asselin is a focal point every moment she’s on stage. Whether as the help; or Liza Dolittling at the party- she’s a charmer. Her voice and diction is non-pareil and she also is one hell of an actress.”

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JWR

www.jamesweggreview.org

(S. James Wegg, October 24 ’09)

“Mireille Asselin was a stellar Adele, whether tripping seemingly effortlessly through the “Laughing Song” or killing off another sick aunt.”

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As Theodora in Handel’s Theodora with

the Bach Collegium San Diego:

 

(Jeff Britton, July 6 ’09)

“…the spotlight shone brightest on Mireille Asselin in the title role. Her rich soprano had clarity and a resonant fortitude that was both lovely and emotionally transporting. Her final duet with Taylor was blissfully beautiful.”

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(Ramon Jacques, July 2 ’09)

“The role of Theodora was interpreted in an outstanding manner by the Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin, who offered a blended and virtuosic exhibition, with her crystalline tone, agile coloratura, and perfect diction. In the interpretation of her first act arias “Fond flatt’ring world” and “Angels, ever bright and fair”, and “With darkness deep, as is my woe” in the second, she demonstrated stirring emotion and sensitivity.”

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(George Weinberg-Harter, June 28 ’09)

“The young Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin sings the title role with lovely floating tones, and performs the sequence – comprising the two arias “With darkness deep” and “But why art thou disquieted” – during which Theodora passes through her dark night of the soul into peace and acceptance, with excellent transition from despair to joy.”

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(Richard S. Ginell, June 29 ’09)

“Egarr had a superb, agile group of vocal soloists to work with – soprano Mireille Asselin, countertenor Darryl Taylor, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Lane, tenor Derek Chester, bass John Polhamus –and he gave everyone the freedom in tempo to indulge in elaborate ornamentation.”

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(Valerie Scher, June 28 ’09)

“Soprano Mireille Asselin, a graduate student at Yale, seemed born for the title role. Her voice had a pleasing purity and she radiated so much charm that her Theodora was genuinely Theodor-able.

The gifted countertenor Darryl Taylor portrayed Didymus, the Roman officer who was smitten with Theodora. His voice was almost as pretty as hers. And they made a vocally attractive pair, as in the astonishingly lovely duet, “Thither let our hearts aspire,” where notes entwined as sumptuously as flowering vines.”

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As Joas in Handel’s Athalia with

the Britten-Pears Baroque Orchestra:

 
 
 

(Mike Reynolds, August 21 ’08)

“Canadian Mireille Asselin gave for me the most appealing female vocal performance of the evening. She has a pure, piping sound (Handel specified a boy soprano for the role) and sang well within herself throughout, most beautifully.”

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As Adele in Opera NUOVA’s Die Fledermaus:

 

(July 2008)

“Mireille Asselin, now at the outset of a Master’s degree in opera at Yale, was a delightful Adele. She has a vivacious stage presence and a soprano that both charms and brightens a room.”