"All the Web's a Stage"  (view this article from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

Richmond Symphony, Purcell's "Fairy Queen" (excerpts) and Walton's "Facade"

Richmond Times Dispatch (January, 2002)

"Maguire sings three airs from the Purcell suite stylishly, keeping her mezzo-soprano steady through some tough coloratura runs and making "The Plaint" a lovely duet with concertmaster Karen Johnson. But Maguire's tour do force (or tour de farce?) is (William Walton's) "Facade." Walton casts the reciter almost as a musical instrument, sounding fairly deep within an ensemble of nine winds, strings and percussion. The voice must be rhymthically, sonorously musical while delivering a lot of not easily recitable words, as well as projecting a wryly witty, English drawing-room character. Getting through Sitwell's Gilbert and Sullivan-go-dada patter without serious mishap, intoning the more mellifluous verses in a merrily fulsome drawl, Maguire earned the standing ovation she received after last night's performance."

Glenn Gould Studio, Off-Centre Music, Mahler's "Die Kindertotenlieder"

The Toronto Star (January 2002)

"The music is dark as it moves through the five songs in the set, but it is also alive with ideas and feelings. Melodic lines that descend into oblivion are matched by phrases that soar in hope. Maguire's richly coloured voice warmed the darkness in the songs and made listening to them a pleasure. "

Oahu Choral Society, Verdi's "Requiem" Honolulu Star Bulletin

All the Web’s a Stage (June, 2001)

"Tomorrow night's performance of Verdi's "Requiem," the closing event of this year's Hawaii International Choral Festival, may well signal a death of a different kind: that of the old-style way of planning a concert. At any rate, conductor Timothy Carney, who booked the featured soloists, certainly doesn't eschew the latest technology.

"I actually found my mezzo on the Internet," he said, referring to Linda Maguire, whom Carney had corresponded with via e-mail but had never actually spoken to until a few days ago. "She has an incredible Web site filled with all these sound clips, and because the site was so good, I was able to audition her that way."

You're probably thinking that Carney took quite a risk, but then again, you've probably never seen lindamaguire.com, an incredibly thorough guide to one woman's mezzo-soprano career. Along with the requisite audio and video clips, a discography and collection of reviews, you can post messages for Linda (sample: "I am glad to know what you look like"), even talk about the diva in a chat room on Saturday mornings from 10 to 11:30. You can also get a sense of just how exhausting, not to mention ego-punishing, the audition process can be, and how the Internet might mitigate those concerns. Of the cyber-audition, Maguire writes:

"I would expect directors to click away -- pick and choose -- cut my pieces off at any point (which would be most offensive at an audition -- auditioners have to listen through an aria at an audition -- no offense taken on a Web site!!!) I want them to see the complete kaleidoscope of my talents at their leisure ... 14 measures of Strauss here, 25 measures of Mozart there -- they can skip right to the end of a piece and check out the final high notes." ....

Kitchener Philharmonic Choir, Dvorak's "Stabat Mater"

Kitchener-Waterloo Record (April, 2001)

"Maguire sings like whatever she has to sing at the time is the most crucial thing in her life. I love that about her. It would be difficult, near impossible, to find fault with this presentation."

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Beethoven Ninth Symphony

Toronto's Globe and Mail (May 2000)

"The soloists, too, were excellent. You couldn't hear the mezzo, but you never can - that's Beethoven's fault - and the glamourous Linda Maguire followed Maureen Forrester's sound and classic dictum on that subject. Forrester once said: "I know Beethoven has made me inaudible, so I just save my breath, wear a big dress and smile a lot." That's exactly what Maguire did."

Vancouver Bach Choir, Verdi's "Requiem"

The Vancouver Sun (February, 2000)

"Headline: "Verdi soloists snort fire, harmonize like angels" ..with four beautifully matched operatic soloists who could snort fire and harmonize like angels....mezzo-soprano, who has the heft of a real Verdi mezzo. They just launched themselves into their great parts, singing with passion and floods of tone while showing the ear to blend with one another in duets, trios and quartets."

Berlioz "Les Nuits d'Été" - Eastern Connecticut Symphony

New London, Connecticut, March 25, 2000

"Throughout the languorous, six-song cycle, Maguire blended stagecraft, sensuous phrasing and, above all, as appealing a mezzo sound imaginable. Using scores with her own set of keys, Maguire reveled in her lower register, one without vibrato and capable of retaining both volume and her rich, round tone. In 'Sur les Lagunes,' she bottomed out with an amazing low F flat.
"Maguire's sense of both the physical beauty of the long hypnotic passages and the emotional outbursts was near-perfect, never wallowing in pure sound and sacrificing phrasing and diction, never overselling the often tongue-in-cheek hyperbole of Gautier's poetry.
"Hers is a flat out gorgeous instrument, and her musicianship, such as her delicate phrasing in negotiating the fragility of the long rests in 'Absence,' did her justice.
"The Toronto resident's experience on the opera stage served her well in the half-hour song cycle. Whether smiling serenely with eyes closed listening to the lovely introduction to 'Le Spectre de la Rose' or clasping her hands as she threw her head back in delight at the optimistic final song, 'L'Île Inconnue,' she knew, as the impresarios say, how to sell the material.
"... mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire, [was] mesmerizing in the Berlioz song cycle 'Les Nuits d'Été.'"

La Clemenza di Tito - Dallas Opera

"Superb work by the entire cast went into this triumph, but the star of the evening was soprano Linda Maguire as Vitellia, with a meaty role that allowed her to paint, with broad strokes, a viciously manipulative woman who eventually transforms.... Her spitting delivery of the name of her rival Berenice in the opening lines set a tone of intensity and drama that was maintained throughout the performance."
"Mozart's stepchild comely work", Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1999)

"The most interesting role in Clemenza is that of Vitellia. In a cast full of almost insufferably noble characters, she's the most human. She's scheming, spiteful, selfish and ambitious - Linda Maguire made the most of the role, like Ms. von Stade singing strongly, acting cleverly."
"Grand Gesture", Olin Chism, Dallas Morning News, (1999)

LOFT Community Services Christmas Concert for the Homeless (Toronto)

"Your performances were a highlight of the concert as you probably gathered from the ovations which followed each of your numbers. Your choice of repertoire was very sensitive and so beautifully sung and The Keys to the Vaults of Heaven in particular resonated with the LOFT Community Services residents and staff and made this ninth concert especially memorable. Together, we raised $70,000 for LOFT Community Services' work with the homeless and those with special needs."
Carole Chabot, Director of Development, Loft Community Services (1999)

Handel Arias, Tafelmusik - CBC broadcast from Glenn Gould Hall

"Maguire delivered with powerful intensity, and also seized the repeated passages of arias in dazzling, dramatic ways that heightened an emotional appeal ranging from wistfully mellow to passionate desire to aching misery. Her 'Se bramate' and 'Ombra mai fu' from Xerxes were especially effective."
"Handelian handiness", Geoff Chapman, The Toronto Star (1999)

"A fine, sensitive singer matches the ensemble in a top-notch concert. This singer, this ensemble and this repertoire seem made for each other ... Linda Maguire is responsive as she is intelligent ... the musicians seemed delighted to complement Linda Maguire's rich, expressive sound and her technical vivacity ... Maguire decorated the already ornate arias Dopo Notte and Con l'ali di costanza with brilliant bravura ornamentation delivered with unique vocal freedom ... it was just Linda Maguire and Tafelmusik making Handel swing."
"Tafelmusik plays Handel with care", Urjo Kareda, Toronto Globe and Mail (1999)

Messiah - Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra

"Mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire also makes a strong impression, Her style of singing tends toward the opulent with musical lily always thoroughly gilded. This is particularly the case in He Was Despised, which is Wagnerian rather than Handelian in effect .... She is very well prepared and her arias and recitative are strongly delivered."
Kenneth Delong, Calgary Herald (December 1998)

Verdi Requiem - Kitchener Waterloo Philharmonic Choir

"Both of the ladies were simply beyond praise - Linda Maguire, mezzo, gets alot of the good lines in this piece and she was wonderfully effective in them all."

"[It was] a profound experience for the rows upon rows of rapt listeners. Maguire's talent is boundless, not only brimming with fascinating vocality, her ability to connect with Klassen in split octaves was amazing, as was her generosity and flexibility in matching timbres when it was time for duets and ensembles."
Colleen Johnston, Kitchener-Waterloo Record (November 1998)

Iphigenie en Tauride (Gluck) - Toronto Opera In Concert

"In the title role, Linda Maguire was a handsome and commanding presence. Her authoritive declaration and fine acting make get a moving tragedienne. Even while silent, she listened and reacted to everything that was taking place. This is not a conventionally beautiful voice, but I love her. Like many excellent singing actresses, she is unafraid to sacrifice sweet tone in pursuit of dramatic truth."
Alan Horgan, Toronto Globe and Mail (January 1998)

"She sang not only with an impressive fullness of tone and easy command of the vocal range of the part, the was a wholehearted embrace of its emotional demands."
William Littler, The Toronto Star (January 1998)

The Czardas Princess - Toronto Operetta Theatre

"As Sylvia Varescu, the czardas diva, Linda Maguire looked properly smashing and sang with rich, glamorous tone; she was temperamentally mercurial enough to make Tosca look like a Prozac case by comparison. The audience, needless to say, gobbled it up like the sinful pastry that it is."
Urjo Kareda, Toronto Globe and Mail (December 1997)

Barbiere di Siviglia - Opera Hamilton

"Linda Maguire has developed a fabulous lower register that speaks of a whole new career in a heavier repertoire."
Paula Citron, Opera Canada (Spring (1996)

Orfeo, National Reisopera - Netherlands

"The superb way she was able to mix the chest register suited the part of Orfeo perfectly. In the low coloratura passages, Maguire produced a sound which is impossible to match by a countertenor. The aria she sang to soften the furies in the underworld sounded meltingly sweet. In the aria 'Addio miei sospiri' she proved that she could could flame. Linda Maguire crossed the river Lethe in a gripping manner ... to be short: a splendid interpretation."
Peter van der Lint, Trouw (March 1996)

"Linda Maguire is a magnificent and convincing Orfeo, who can reproduce fast coloratura passages with a fine timbre. Linda Maguire - magnificent Orfeo."
Joke Dame, Het Utrechts Nieuwsblad (March 1996)

"Linda Maguire, a beautiful voice from low to high, can handle the coloratura passages and makes a very dramatic interpretation as Orfeo."
Kaspar Jansen, NRC (Dutch national newspaper, 1996)

Elgar's Sea Pictures, Prokefiev's Alexander Nevsky - Winnipeg Symphony

"Canadian mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire's performance was evocative and full of sensitivity. In Nevsky, though, she found the dark, Slavic hues the music needed, with weightier, more expansive shaping of the phrases as befitted the tragic text."
James Manishen, Free Press, Winnipeg (November 1996)

Handel's Messiah - Houston Symphony Orchestra

"Maguire was almost too exciting a singer, just as she was last year in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas for Houston Grand Opera. She knows how to convey moods and story extremely well. So, when she sang about the refiner's fire in But who may abide, the listener could almost hear the flames crackling in her voice ... fully committed to the drama."
Charles Ward, Houston Chronicle (December 1996)

Handel's Messiah - Calgary Philharmonic

"Mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire delivered her solos with energy and fervor, bringing to performance a finely gauged sense of Handelian grandeur ..."
Kenneth Delong, Calgary Herald (December 1996)

Dido and Aeneas - Tafelmusik

"Linda Maguire created a Dido who was both grand and yet also intimate, devastating in her Lament."
Urjo Kareda, Toronto Globe and Mail (November 1995)

Ermione - Glyndebourne Festival Opera

"What an actress, what a moving artist ... one thought of Maria Callas!"
Renaud Machart, Le Monde (June (1995)

Dido and Aeneas - Houston Grand Opera

"Linda Maguire was outstanding as Dido, queen of Carthage. Her first-act rendition of 'Ah Belinda,' perhaps the opera's best-known aria, was sung with conviction and emotion. Equally compelling was her interpretation of Dido's lament at the end of the opera 'When I am Laid in Earth.'"
Bruce Guynn, Houston Press (February 1995)

"Mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire displayed a pleasantly rich, dramatic voice in the female title role, arousing suitable sympathetic emotions with her plaintive singing of Dido's famed and beautiful lament, 'When I am laid in earth,' at the end of the opera."
Carl Cunningham, The Houston Post (February 1995)

"Maguire's singing was impressive ... clear, impassioned yet controlled."
Charles Ward, Houston Chronicle (February 1995)

Handel's Messiah - Kitchener Philharmonic Choir

"We were simply blown away by Linda Maguire's 'For He is like a refiner's fire,' for instance - those way-down-there notes were as clear and powerful as we have ever heard them, and she can execute a Handelian trill and add some ornaments as if this were an English horn rather than a mere human voice. Quite amazing!"
Jan Narveson, University of Waterloo Gazette (December 1995)

"Maguire is intense and one marvels at her consistency of quality throughout her wide range."
Colleen Johnston, Kitchener-Waterloo Record (December 1995)

Barber of Seville - l'Opera de Montreal

"Rosina outshone vocally and in acting ability. Her mezzo was strong at both ends of the range, and her aria 'Una voce poco fa' at the opening of Act One, demonstrated a good sense of comedy and what she could do with the bel-canto style."
Anne Smith, The Press Republican (April 1995)

"Linda Maguire, mezzo-soprano: sa voix est belle et ses vocalises dans l'air fameux Una voce poco fa ne sont pas sans impressioner pour ses debuts a Montreal."
Charles Roberge, Le Nouvelliste, (April 1995)

"La voix est aussi tres belle, precise dans les recitatifs, humoristique dans les acces do colere ou lors do la lecon de musique, et lyrique quand il lui faut rendre ses airs ... son ornamentation est interessante et intelligent, ... Linda Maguire fait une Rosina capricieuse, femme un peu legere et entantine. Cela lui reussit bien."
Francois Tousignant, Le Devoir (April 1995)

Handel's Messiah - Vancouver Cantata Singers

"Linda Maguire - her voice is is dark and full of shadows. When she sings the lines 'For he is like a refiner's fire,' sharp tongues of flame dance in her cadenza."
Michael Scott, The Vancouver Sun (December 1994)

"This feels like Linda Maguire's time. The current season has already brought her eloquent performance as Purcell's Dido and her success as Bellini's Romeo for Opera in Concert. Next summer, she will make an important debut at the Glyndebourne Festival in the title role of Rossini's Ermione. Her solo recital for The Aldeburgh Connection on Thursday at the Glenn Gould Studio was a kind of interim progress report, a full account of the goods she's got.
"Chief among these is the formidable security of her technique which animates a naturally alluring and dark-hued mezzo voice.
"Maguire began her recital with three florid arias by Handel, two from Ariodante and the famous Largo, with a gorgeously ornamented da capo reprise from Serse. Taken together, all three present a catalogue of vocal challenges, requiring a beautiful line, ease in rapid passage work, perfect trills, a wide range and championship breath control. Maguire passed through this music with the poised, self-certain nonchalance of the Queen of France taking a stroll through the grounds at Versailles.
"An equally assertive showcase was the daunting Rossini cantata Giovanna d'Arco. Judging by the authority in this repertoire, Maguire's scheduled debut in Ermione, one of Rossini's most vocally elaborate operas, is no miscalculation.
"Maguire can drive her music hard, putting the full impact of her personality into every moment of singing. This full investment is part of what makes her Handel and Rossini singing so vivid, but it can also overwhelm the music she takes on. The second half of the recital also included some of Arnold Schoenberg's cabaret songs. Unperformed in his lifetime, they are now among his greatest hits. Maguire reveled in their delights, allowing a seductive bloom into her tone. In high spirits, she finished the recital with Emmanuel Chabrier's Espana, embracing its cheerful vulgarity like a long lost friend."
"Mezzo-soprano in top form", Urjo Kareda, Toronto Globe and Mail (December 1994)

Capuletti ed i Montecchi (Bellini) - Toronto's Opera in Concert

"The part of Romeo, superbly taken by Linda Maguire .... I have heard her many times but never in a role that so well showed how rich are her vocal gifts .... She combined the composure of a warrior with a lover's passion, without ever losing her sensitive control of Bellini's florid line of melody and ornamentation ...."
Ronald Hambleton, The Toronto Star (November 1994)

Magnificat (Bach) - National Arts Centre

"The quartet of soloists were up to scratch as well. The best of them was undoubtedly Linda Maguire, whose intelligent and assured control of her gorgeous mezzo voice was an unalloyed joy."
Richard Todd, The Ottawa Citizen (November 1994)

Showboat Concert - Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

"In Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Bill, and Can't Help Lovin that Man, mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire demonstrated not only limpid phrasing, but also a very moving sincerity."
Neil Harris, Winnipeg Free Press (March 1994)

Mass in b-minor (Bach) - National Arts Centre Orchestre

"Of the four soloists, only Linda Maguire held the audience's attention. Her voice is beautiful and precise, her expression of the text is always thoughtful and clear."
Claude Gingras, La Presse (July 1994)

Brahm's Alto Rhapsody, Raminsch Magnificat - Kitchener Philharmonic Choir

"Linda Maguire's is also a good deal more than the classical top-ten she's undoubtedly paid her dues with three works enhanced with her elegant and persuasive artistry, listeners quickly recognized such vocal stature for themselves .... Maguire's compelling resonance ... Maguire portrayed the first-person role of Mary as if the solo line had been tailored especially for her .... Maguire projected throughout with power to spare, but left her final phrase, Lord in you have I trusted, suspended on a glimmering fine thread of hope."
Pauline Dirchen, Kitchener-Waterloo Record (February 1993)

Stabat Mater (Rossini), Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

"Linda Maguire's beautiful contralto served the 'hedonistic' side of the music well."
Tamara Bernstein, Toronto Globe and Mail (October 1992)

La Cenerentola - Opera Hamilton

"Maguire's basic sound is lovely and her vocal technique is extraordinary. Rapid coloratura passages were articulated perfectly and she sang with ease up to high 'b'. What's more, Maguire is an effective actress. Her transformation from scullery maid to jet-set dazzler reminded me of Ann Baxter's performance in "All About Eve" .... Her voice for the finale, a real coloratura tour de force."
Eugene Gage, Buffalo News (November 1992)

"Mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire presented a delightfully innocent, confused Cinderella. Her vocal control and agility made one forget the extreme difficulty of Rossini's arias and simply enjoy the music."
Elaine Schmidt, Hamilton Spectator (November (1992)

"[Linda Maguire's] bel canto was the evening's highlight."
Charles Pope, Opera Canada Magazine (Winter 1992)

Florence, the Lady with the Lamp - Elora Festival

"It was, in every way the mattered, a true collective of individual strengths; no more so than in the superb cast headlined by mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire, who took on a title role of punishing vocal complexity and transformed it into heart-stiring poetry. Her magnificent command of range and diction (not just some, but every word struck home) was equaled by the compelling presence of bass Gary Relyea."
Pauline Durchen, Kitchener-Waterloo Record (August 1992)

"Linda Maguire, in the title role was all one could ask for, vocally rich and secure, dramatically committed."
Peter Dyson, Opera Canada Magazine (Fall 1992)

Mozart Arias concert, 'Mozart Festival' - l'Opera de Montreal

"Linda Maguire fut, pour moi, la decouverte de la soiree. La voix est heroique, avec une belle couleur de mezzo et en meme temps l'agilite et l'eclat du soprano, la concentration et la musicalite sont celles d'une interprete authentique, la prononciation est impeccable. Cette artists donne beaucoup de plaisir a l'ecouter. On souhaite vivement l'entendre a l'Opera de Montreal."
Claude Gingras, La Presse (April 1992)

Carousel - Calgary Opera

"Linda Maguire has it ... who can say what qualities allow Maguire to stand radiantly still, silent or speaking, and make everything else on the huge Jubilee stage seem like an accompaniment to her presence?"
Calgary Herald (1992)

La Cenerentola - Opera Lyra

"She zips up and down the scale passages, hits the leaps in the vocal line spot on centre, and rolls off the roulades with an aplomb that shows she could be a Cinderella of international acclaim.
The Ottawa Citizen (1992)

Gala Concert - Opera Hamilton

"Mezzo Linda Maguire is another to bring back immediately. A velvety voice of power and agility, the pianissimo ending to Nobles Seigneurs, salut was phrasing at its most voluptuous."
The Spectator (1991)

St. Matthew (Bach) - Kitchener Philharmonic Choir

"Maguire, whose more robust and burnished quality served consistently well, did fine justice to the popular aria Erbarme dich, mein Gott."
Pauline Dirchen, Kitchener-Waterloo Record (March 1991)

Lucrezia (Britten) - Ottawa Thirteen Strings

"Linda Maguire's voice has a laser-like focus. it has the power and intensity to cut through steel ... it was inevitable that she should have stunned the audience with the power of her singing."
Jacob Siskind, The Ottawa Citizen (March (1991)

Cantata (Handel) - Ottawa Thirteen Strings

"Maguire has quite a beautiful voice, and is a splendid musician to boot .... She had the measure of the music."
Richard Todd, The Ottawa Citizen (October 1991)

Il Tramonto (Respighi) - Vancouver

"She handled the shadings in the Respighi with the care of someone holding a delicate piece of china."
Vancouver Province (1990)

Floridante - Tafelmusik

"Linda Maguire sang with an authority that was awe inspiring. the voice is particularly effective for Baroque music and all of her arias were delivered with just that extra touch of emphasis that holds the attention of an audience."
The Ottawa Citizen (1990)

"La mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire (Elmira) a product une forte impression. Peu connue, cette artiste merite toute notre attention; la voix est souple et coloree, l'interpretation appropriee. Il s'agit certes d'un nom a retenir."
Aria Magazine (1990)

"Linda Maguire, who substituted for Zehava Gal as Elmira, did so with an authority that was awe inspiring. The voice is particularly effective for baroque music and all of her arias were delivered with just that extra touch of emphasis that holds the attention of an audience.
Jacob Siskind, The Ottawa Citizen (March 1990)

"Linda Maguire [sang] with an authority that was awe inspiring. The voice is particularly effective for Baroque music and all of her arias were delivered with just that extra touch of emphasis that holds the attention of an audience."
The Ottawa Citizen (1990)

"La mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire (Elmira) a produit une forte impression. Peu connue, cette artiste merite toute notre attention; la voix est souple et coloree, l'interpretation appropriee. Il s'agit certes d'un nom a retenir."
Aria Magazine (1990)

Alexander Nevsky (Prokofiew) - National Arts Centre

"Linda Maguire rose to the occasion magnificently, singing with a warmth that was all the more affecting because it never became sentimental."
Jacob Siskind, The Ottawa Citizen (February (1990)

Vanessa - Opera in Concert

"Linda Maguire's Erika coursed through a wide range of emotion, always in control of the character, often showing creative flexibility in matching the voice and gesture to this difficult role."
The Toronto Star (1990)

Il Tramonto (Respighi) - CBC Vancouver Orchestra

"She handled the shadings in the Respighi with the care of someone holding a delicate piece of china."
Vancouver Province (1990)

Folk Songs (Berio) - National Ballet of Canada

"The highlight of the performance was mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire, who articulated each song with simple elegance."
The Globe and Mail (1990)

"There was so much about this work that was right, from the set, costumes and lighting, to the exquisite singing of Mezzo-soprano Linda Maguire."
Sara Kennedy, The Toronto Star (1989)

Alexander Nevsky (Prokofiew) - Ottawa Choral Society

"Maguire rose to the occasion magnificently, singing with a warmth that was all the more effective because it never became sentimental."
Jacob Siskind, The Ottawa Citizen (February 1990)

Canadian Opera Company Recital

"The more one hears younger Canadian singers, the more impressed one becomes with their standards. Each was a singer of alertness, pleasing voice, and absent of histrionics. One holds hope for their careers, within this country and beyond. Maguire offered a piquant, deft Flower Catalogue of Milhaud."
Peter Mose, The Toronto Star (March 1990)

Amahl and the Night Visitors - Symphony Nova Scotia

"Linda Maguire's mother was powerfully acted, but not overstated. Her singing was extremely beautiful."
Stephen Pedersen, The Chronicle Herald (December 1990)

Il Barbiere di Siviglia - Canadian Opera Company

"Linda Maguire (Rosina) struck a blow of sorts for historical authenticity; her mezzo-soprano was in theory closer to what Rossini originally wanted for this role, so often taken by sopranos. The role is different with a mezzo: Rosina's vow to have her man (in 'Una voce poco fa') sounds far more elemental with a bit of womanly gruff behind it. Maguire made a leisurely meal of Rossini's gingerbread in this aria, apparently intent not to miss a single delicious crumb."
Robert Everett-Green, Toronto Globe and Mail (1989)

Five Tudor Portraits (Vaughan Williams) - National Arts Centre

"The audience was so pleased with this performance that it insisted upon applauding between the movements of the work. Linda Maguire made much of her contributions."
Jacob Siskind, The Ottawa Citizen (February (1989)

Christmas Oratorio (Bach) - Calgary Philharmonic

"Linda Maguire was especially good; what she achieved was so beautiful and so immediate that it demanded acceptance."
Eric Dawson, Calgary Herald (November (1989)

Turn of the Screw - Canadian Opera Company

"Maguire seemed much more aware of the musical implications of her text. and better able to mold tone and rhythm to sense. This gave a vivid cast to a minor and potentially insipid role."
Robert Everett-Green, Toronto Globe and Mail (March 1988)

"Linda Maguire presented a delicious threat to the composure of dogs and small children as the ghostly Miss Jessel."
William Littler, The Toronto Star (March 1988)

Madame Butterfly - Symphony Nova Scotia

"[Madame Butterfly] gets expert help from Linda Maguire as Suzuki. Their flower duet was one of the highlights of the first scene of Act Two. Maguire's mezzo-soprano has the grain of mahogany, and high-range power to match (Butterfly's) sunburst high register."
Stephen Pedersen, The Chronicle Herald (October (1988)

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Compact Disc Reviews

Floridante - Tafelmusik Barque Orchestra

"She sings finely too in the very moving duet that ends Act 1, a piece with echoes of Esther, where she is joined by Linda Maguire, who makes no less accomplished a heroine in Elmira's music - listen to her powerful ringing mezzo in the vigorous 'Ma pria vedro le stelle' (a furious protestation of fidelity), or her outburst of rage ('Barbaro!') in Act 2, or above all her second aria in that act sung with a Verdian intensity yet without a hint of infringing the limits of Handelian style." Grammophone Magazine (January, 1993)

Linda Maguire Sings · Berlioz Les Nuits d'été, Coulthard, Wagner, Respighi

"While Maguire is best known for her work in the baroque and classical spheres - there is nothing on the four-language disc to suggest a lack of sympathy with the language of romanticism. And (compared with Anne Sophie von Otter's Les Nuits d'Été release) ... A lay CD shopper might have some difficulty reaching for Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été sung by Toronto mezzo Linda Maguire when Anne Sophie von Otter's beckons on the same shelf of new releases. It would, however be the better choice. Maguire offers much the better value." Arthur Kaptanis, Montreal Gazette (April, 1995)

"I am now about to rave about mezzo Linda Maguire , who doesn't [sing at the Met] and sounds as though she ought to be there.... with 'Sur les lagunes', she disarmed me. The rich color of the voice is what the song cries out for, and she sings it with real understanding and feeling, 'Absence' is even better. Her vibrato is a positive asset, not a liability, and her legato is exemplary. The dying-away of the second pair of 'adieu's that begin every other verse is unforgettable. Though I would probably not trade recordings by Marco Lazzara, Gedda, Ameling, or Baker-Barbirolli for this one, I should not want to be without it. I thought Cheryl Studer's recent DG recording of Wagner's Wesendonklieder about as effective as any I knew. Maguire's strike me as even better. I had wondered if a possible lack of power had kept her out of the big time, but she comes on like gangbusters in 'Schmerzen'. The mezzo competition is fierce these days, but I hope some impresarios will take note of this disc. I strongly recommend it." David Mason Greene, Fanfare Magazine (August 1995)

"Toronto based mezzo-soprano Maguire - star of Timothy Sullivan's Florence: The Lady with the Lamp - is as much at home as a concert singer as in the world of contemporary opera, witness this attractive new album ... her singing is consistently intelligent in the pages of these works." William Littler, Toronto Star (1995)

"She begins with an elegant and intimate account of the great Berlioz song cycle Les Nuits d'été, music which ideally suits Maguire's opulent, sensuous mezzo-soprano. Her response to this fusion of texts and harmonies is subtle and enticing ... her interpretation provides an effective salon-scaled directness as an alternative to Olympian Grandeur." Urjo Kareda, Toronto Globe and Mail (April 1995)

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