The role of the heroine is impressively taken by Alison Langer, combining beauty of tone with security of technique.

Evening Standard (May 2023)

Into the maelstrom is thrust a wonderful performance:
Alison Langer as Gilda. Langer nails every note in the middle with confidence, expressivity and a deliciously warm timbre. She's also a far more sympathetic Gilda than many, just an ordinary girl next door whose father's refusal to discuss anything has left her utterly unprepared for the dangers that will assault her. Langer came through OP's Young Artists scheme and they can be proud of her; this is a young soprano destined for great things.

BachTrack (May 2023)

Alison Langer's Gilda delivers a better "Caro nome" than often heard at many grander operatic addresses. Singing with glinting tone.

Telegraph (May 2023)

Opera Holland Park has a special talent for spotting rising singers, and its fans love watching these new names become the next big stars. Soprano Alison Langer is a classic example. She came up through OHP's Young Artists' scheme, made a big impression in a small role in the outstanding Un Ballo in Maschera in 2019, broke hearts as jilted Micaela in Carmen in 2022, and now she is singing Gilda, one of the best-known and most demanding roles in Italian opera.......
Langer sings her tender role with grace and delicacy but also the inner strength that will propel her character to a final act of self-sacrifice. Look and listen out for her in other opera houses: she is sure to be back at OHP too.

Culture Whisper (May 2023)

Vocally, she [Langer] is on top of everything Verdi throws at her.

The Stage (May 2023)

...the Duke’s court is relocated to interwar Oxford, with Alison Langer’s beautifully sung Gilda a standout..
......Langer who provides the best singing, capturing in her soprano all the sweetness Verdi assigns to Rigoletto’s closeted daughter Gilda while giving the character a determined edge that reaches beyond the self-sacrificing element of her story

Guardian (May 2023)

When Alison Langer’s Gilda makes her appearance, she seems desperately gauche and in total thrall to her father Rigoletto (Stephen Gadd). But when she begins to sing she holds us in thrall, with a gorgeously floated high register and a pianissimo to break the heart

iNews (May 2023)

Best of the cast is Alison Langer, a former OHP Young Artist, as Gilda.... Langer sings with considerable poise and beauty. ‘Care nome’ is absolutely secure and conveys every ounce of conflicting emotion experience by the inexperienced Gilda.

Opera Today (May 2023)

There’s a nice tenderness to his relationship with Alison Langer’s plucky Gilda (pictured above) – less sheltered than some, a rebel who hides champagne bottles and sunglasses from her father’s watchful eyes, and is ripe for her first romance. It’s the best performance on the stage: sweetly and precisely sung, “Caro nome” gleaming in this difficult space

The Arts Desk (May 2023)

Alison Langer’s Gilda was a different story, happily. The vocal assurance – bang in the middle of the note – is the perfect match for the character’s burgeoning personhood in Stinton’s production, and her coloratura in “Caro nome” – especially the nosebleed-high trills – was razor-sharp. When she needed power it was there in spades, defiantly soaring over the orchestra in the Act two finale as she makes the case for mercy over vengeance (vocal and moral strength of a piece). Her dying duet with her father shimmered – a searing performance.

Opera Wire (June 2023)

Standout star of the evening is Langer. She hits every sweet spot, while displaying courage and power. The soprano garners plaudits from the audience at this performance, with enthusiastic cheering and stamping of feet.

Broadway World (June 2023)

The standout vocal and dramatic performance of the evening came from Alison Langer’s Gilda, secure from the off but seemingly just growing and growing in stature. Her ‘Caro nome’ was full of the flush of young love. She has the vocal virtuosity, certainly, and her whole stage persona exudes vibrancy. Her stage presence is also notable. I described Langer as ‘a rising star, beyond doubt’ in my review of OHP’s 2019 Un ballo in maschera; her way forwards towards a firm place in the operatic firmament continues with this starring role. Langer has a great career ahead of her on this evidence.

Seen and Heard (June 2023)

Alison Langer was a very poised Gilda, certainly not quite the naïve ingenue that is often the case; we first saw her character sneaking back into the house complete with an open bottle of champagne. 'Caro nome' was elegantly done, with Langer achieving something of Gilda's dreamy intensity alongside her poised account of the ornamentation. Langer and Gadd had a strong relationship, their interactions having a profound tug, particularly true in Act Two but occurring throughout the opera.

Planet Hugill (June 2023)

The stand-out performance here is from Alison Langer as Gilda. Too often she is played as an overly passive, reactive character, simply at the mercy of the men around her. This time she has much more presence right from the start, chafing at confinement and eager to develop the fresh relationship she has begun with the man who turns out to be the duke. This lends all the more poignancy to her expert delivery of the key aria ‘Caro nome’, and to her later interventions where she resists easy victimhood.

British Theatre (June 2023)

Fortunately there were musical compensations, not least in the Violetta of Alison Langer. Her quiet organization of her Act 1 double aria seemed to emanate from a singer of much wider experience; her coloratura was calmly controlled and her phrasing succulently spacious, where others so often seem anxious to get it out of the way. She also looked young enough for the role - a rarity in itself - with a touch of frailty that was engaging. On this showing, she is at the start of something really big; certainly she looks and sounds ready for it.

Opera Magazine (November 2022)

La traviata review — Alison Langer is a vivacious, vulnerable Violetta

Alison Langer, delivers quality on every front. She acts persuasively: playful, almost dismissive of Alfredo at the start; proud and determined in her confrontation with his father; broken yet transcendentally graceful in her final moments. And she has the power and sweetness in her voice to convey Violetta’s essential mixture of outward verve and inner vulnerability.

Times (October 2022)

Soprano Alison Langer is an extraordinary Violetta. She’s convincingly coquettish in the opening act, and offers a hint of the drama and tragedy that’s to come during her significant first meeting with Alfredo’s father Giorgio (Damiano Salerno) Her performance in the final act, meanwhile, is so powerful that it’s almost hard to watch. She also delivers a note-perfect rendition of Violetta’s stand-out aria Sempre libera...

The Stage (September 2022)

Alison Langer paces herself, the first party scene delivered stylishly, then a building of momentum to an unbearably moving death scene, the death itself beautifully handled.

TheReviewsHub (September 2022)

Alison Langer has a big, well focussed soprano which she uses with refinement; she’s not fazed by the demanding coloratura and she responds sensitively to the more tender moments.

‘Gran dio, morir si giovane’ began as a cry of rage rather than a sigh of regret, and those moved by the demise of operatic characters will have been very satisfied by this interpretation.

Music OMH (September 2022)

The major role of Violetta was played and sung by Alison Langer in a fine soprano, and her pathos in illness and the terrible treatment she endured was done with true feeling.

Yorkshire Magazine (September 2022)

Alison Langer as Violetta and Nico Darmanin (in his Opera North debut) as Alfredo were utterly convincing as the doomed lovers but the scene which stood out for me was between Langer and Damiano Salerno as Giorgio Germont – both the singing and the acting were top-notch.

Yorkshire Post (October 2022)

Alison Langer's Micaela was in deliberate contrast to Bienek's Carmen. Slightly plain, very demurely dressed and perhaps rather bookish, Langer's Micaela had a quiet strength to her behind the demure exterior, a determination which showed throughout her performance in Act Three including a superb account of that act's solo.

Planet Hugill (June 2022)

A new production of Bizet’s Carmen at OHP has a very special star in soprano Alison Langer, as Micaëla, the jilted girlfriend of flirty Carmen’s latest passing fancy, Don José, and a number of other attractive performances. Langer has recently turned in notable performances at OHP in the wonderful La Traviata and Un Ballo in Maschera.

Culture Whisper (June 2022)

And the hits? A children’s chorus drawn from Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School was excellent. So was Alison Langer, who sang with ardour and a lovely straight sound as Micaëla.

The Times (June 2022)

The two foils to Carmen and Don José both make appreciable marks. Alison Langer’s long lyrical line and steady determination to draw José away from Carmen form the foundations for an impressive Micaëla

The Stage (June 2022)

Alison Langer’s jilted Micaëla takes on something of a heroic quality, alone on the catwalk stage in front of the orchestra as she sings her big aria, her gleaming soprano tone belying her drab, sensible appearance.

The Guardian (June 2022)

Alison Langer is also captivating as Micaëla. As she sings ‘Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante’ beautifully and alone at the front of the stage her expressions reveal the character’s tenderness and loving nature on the one hand, but also the courage that she must possess in order to enter a smugglers’ den to rescue Don José.

Music OMH (June 2022)

Micaëlas rarely disappoint, but that is no reason not to celebrate Alison Langer’s performance, beautifully and touchingly sung.

Opera Today (June 2022)

Real quality singing came from touchingly ardent soprano Alison Langer, as Micaëla,

Bach Track (June 2022)

Alison Langer's Micaela was luminous, showcasing Langer's firm and flexible soprano. She made Micaela's sense of purpose dramatically musical without her ever seeming a prig. Act One was lovely, but in Act Three Langer showed her metal in the taxing aria here.

Planet Hugill (February 2022)

Alison Langer too is outstanding as José’s deserted love, Micaëla. The passion of her delivery and power of her voice is almost overwhelming.

Quays Life (March 2022)

Meanwhile, Alison Langer, who dances as brilliantly as she sings, makes marvellous work of Gustavo’s factotum Oscar, ensuring that Verdi’s blend of high comedy and grim tragedy is as pungent as it is in Rigoletto.

The Independent (June 2019)

As Oscar (one of Verdi’s rare girl-dressed-as-boy roles), Alison Langer moves and sings vivaciously in those numbers where Verdi seems to be discovering his inner Johann Strauss.

The Times (June 2019)

Alison Langer makes a fine Oscar, with her silvery tone and precise coloratura.

The Guardian (June 2019)

But it is two supporting roles that linger in the mind...The second scene-stealer is Alison Langer, as Gustavo’s servant Oscar. Langer gives the role a Cherubino-like sparkle, adding a welcome lightness to Verdi’s dark story.

The Stage (June 2019)

Alison Langer’s cheeky factotum Oscar and Rosalind Plowright’s imperious sorceress Madame Arvidson were superbly defined, adding juice to the melodrama and singing with absolute conviction despite the silliness of their roles.

Bachtrack (June 2019)

The sense is of the closed world of a 1940s gentleman’s club, a place whose sober, ritual solemnity exuberant page Oscar (Alison Langer) disregards with a cheeky wink and a swagger, climbing on benches, ruffling heads and egos as he goes…. Alison Langer’s Oscar is a romping delight, dashing off her arias with ease and plenty of nifty choreography...

The Arts Desk (June 2019)

Good singers fill the principal roles:.. Alison Langer a sprightly Oscar...

The Sunday Times (June 2019)

Despite Duprels’s excellence, she was nearly outshone by the fabulous Oscar of Alison Langer. She is a rising star, beyond doubt. I had enjoyed her Erodiade in the Guildhall production in 2014 of Stradella’s San Giovanni Battista (review) and it is good to see that the trajectory is on course; she also played the role of Violetta (La traviata) in last year’s Young Artists performance, which gives an idea of her ambition. Completely convincing both in terms of acting and vocally, she took the trouser role of Oscar with brilliance; vocally, her pyrotechnics were of the very first order. That first act of Traviata last year must have been something else.

Seen and Heard International (June 2019)

As Oscar Alison Langer is an engaging presence. She sings with brightness and charm, the dazzle of the coloratura not overdone...

Classical Source (June 2019)

Another first rate performance comes from Alison Langer as Oscar, whose excellent singing is complemented by some slick moving at the ball.

MusicOMH (June 2019)

Alison Langer’s Oscar, dressed in black trousers, waistcoat and top hat, radiated charm, not least through faultless coloratura, and provided an ideal comic antidote until grief-striken at Gustavo’s death. She Danced with equal assurance and is a clearly a talent to watch.

Opera Magazine (August 2019)

...she gets to duet with her alter ego‚ the lusciously voiced Alison Langer‚ all the strings of the plot come together‚ and – for a few instants – we feel we completely ‘get’ what the show is about.

British Theatre.com (September 2017)

Josephine Barstow duets poignantly with Alison Langer...

Evening Standard (September 2017)

...we hear it blossom in her younger self‚ Alison Langer – but she‚ too‚ commands attention whenever she’s on stage.

The Arts Desk (September 2017)

...and the ecstatic operetta duet “One More Kiss” by the great classical soprano‚ Josephine Barstow‚ making her NT debut at 78‚ and the astonishing Alison Langer.

The Independent (September 2017)

There’s Josephine Barstow and Alison Langer’s duet as old and young Heidi‚ joining their two operatic soprano voices with crystal clarity.

The Stage (September 2017)

...while Marcello’s former love Musetta‚ (the charismatic Alison Langer) makes a shameless display of throwing over her rich benefactor in order to rekindle their affair. In a scene filled with gaiety and youthful hedonism‚ Langer has star presence as Musetta‚ while the character’s questionable morals make Mimì appear all the more ethereal. There’s a convincing chemistry between both Flaum and Flavin and Langer and Lester‚ making for a captivating piece of storytelling that does sometimes leave the other characters forgotten.

The Arbuturian (May 2017)

Nicholas Lester’s Marcello and Alison Langer’s Musetta exemplify their characters’ charisma‚ selfcentredness and innate goodness...

The Fine Times Recorder (May 2017)

The soprano Alison Langer’s New Queen was particularly strikingly delivered...

Opera Magazine (May 2017)

...Alison Langer made a strong impression in the small role of the mistress who becomes the new Queen.

Planet Hugill (February 2017)