Grace Jean
Washington Post
July 2006

"Victoria Litherland's 'Vissi d'arte' was as imploring and searching as bass-baritone Sun Yu's 'La povera mia cena fu interrotta' was ardent and menacing. Litherland also played a saucy Musetta to Toomey's Marcello during 'Dunque e proprio finite,' featuring soprano Hai-bo Bai and tenor Jingma Fan."

Eleni Novakovska
Vest [News] Daily Macedonia
May 2006

"In Victoria Litherland's Aida we were able to hear wonderful phrasing, fantastic diction, dynamic attention to the finest of details in the vocal part, as well as compelling stage presence. In her singing every melodic line, in an aria, duet or a tutti scene was brought to perfection."

Peter Lefevre
The Orange County Register
April 2006

"Litherland, who, earlier this season, sang the alternate performance of the title role in Opera Pacific's 'Tosca,' is getting quite a bit of buzz in the opera world. She's on the roster at the Metropolitan and her Manon Lescaut at Seattle last year generated reams of favorable press. She sang the role of Aïda previously at Fort Worth and Intermountain and certainly has the prerequisite Verdian force for the tormented slave girl. An intensely focused tone, assertive and direct vocal presence, a bright and explosive high end. Her phrasing could have used a hair more finesse, but in general one had very few qualms with her strong musicality."

Mark Thomas Ketterson
Opera News
July 2005

"Sarah's metaphysical quest is evocatively suggested via a recurring motif of otherworldy arpeggios and a series of melismas, through which soprano Victoria Litherland coursed with precision and radiance, as well as with an affecting measure of emotional understanding."

Michael Muckian
Capital Times
April 23, 2005

"As Sarah, Litherland holds her own both in intensity and tone, her voice frequently rising above the robust performance of an abbreviated Madison Symphony orechestra under maestro John SeMain. There's a believable chemistry between Litherland and Phares, and the superb voices further deepen the emotions of their relationship."

John W. Barker
Isthmus
April 28, 2005

"Victoria Litherland powerfully portrayed the complicated Sarah with vocal robustness and great dramatic intensity. Crystal-clear diction made the English surtitles almost needless."

R.M. Campbell
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
January 2005

"In the alternate cast yesterday afternoon, Victoria Litherland sang Manon and Ted Lee, des Grieux. I liked Litherland not only for the warmth of her soprano, but also the coherency of her portrayal. There was genuine progression from the fetching girl in the first act to the distraught heroine of the final two acts. She even managed the little comedy well."    Read full review.

Alex Ross
(of The New Yorker)
The Rest Is Noise weblog
January 25, 2005

"Trrill, the site that tells you 'what the f*** we think about opera' (we're a family blog here), has a great post about the legendary castrato Farinelli. Trrill's chief editrix, Mme. Grisi Pasta, also reports that le tout Seattle has gone mad for soprano Victoria Litherland, now singing Manon in Manon Lescaut. Sound files on the singer's site are worth hearing.

Maria Nockin
Opera Japonica
March 2, 2004

"As Tosca, Victoria Litherland showed that she could act the part of the diva and had excellent control of her large, sumptuous voice as it soared easily over the orchestra. She knows how to utilize dynamics and she captured every aspect of her role. "

Alan Montgomery
Opera News
March 2003

"Litherland built the role beautifully, from the flirtation of Act I to the tragic despair of Act II. She made 'Vissi d'arte' a simple prayer, sung very well. Her Tosca was nave, loving, jealous and yet, when pushed to it capable of dealing with Scarpia's advances."

Daniel Buckley
Tucson Citizen
March 2003

"No lover of singing in his or her right mind should miss Arizona Opera Company's production of Tosca. Not surprisingly, it was the production's Tosca - soprano Victoria Litherland - who made the most striking impression. Blessed with a voice capable of blowtorch intensity and caressing tenderness, she took on all compass points of Puccini's fiendish charts. But as much as her vocal agility and great range both in terms of pitch and expression - her dramatic skills proved remarkable. And Tosca is no simple part. Litherland believably moved from emotion to emotion as lithley as from note to note. And while one might cite her for littering in the second act, as she maniacally strewed the stage with papers from Scarpias's cold, dead hand (next to Charlton Heston's gun), her singing would make even and evil cop turn a blind eye."    Read full review.

Donald Rosenberg
Cleveland Plain Dealer
October 2002

"Few can be said to sing the music with such sensitivity to phrasing and tonal nuances. Litherland shaped and affecting account of 'Vissa d'arte' and her voice always sounded focused whether she was teasing or scolding Cavaradossi or lashing out at the detestable Baron Scarpia."

Opera-L Archives
April, 2002

"Aprile Millo having withdrawn from the Portland performance was replaced be a genuine find: Victoria Litherland. Ms. Litherland is the real deal: a tall, beautiful young woman with a rich lirico spinto quality voice who can shade and color with delicacy and nuance yet fully capable of producing tremendous volume evenly produced high notes with a genuine ping. Her act I gave us a sunny, earth Tosca easy to love, with interesting touches that made you know who this Tosca was. An example; upon seeing and accusing the blue eyes of the Attavanti in Mario's painting of staring/mocking her, she refuses to look at the painting again, even taking to walking backwards towards it as she instructs Mario to change the eye color. Nice touch that. In Act II, Litherland was made up to look like a young Tebaldi. She responded amazingly to the violence both surrounding her and caught up in. Flung from divan to chair, hurled down to the floor or slapped by Mario for her betrayal, our Floria underwent some trauma. Maestro Matakiev let out all the stops here as he and the orchestra went for broke adding to a truly hair raising Act II. Predictable, Ms. Litherland stopped the show with a genuinely felt "Vissi d'arte" shaping it both into a perfect show piece and a naturally felt prayer, with her final "cosi" held on forever diminutively wafting off into a thread of stunning sound sending the house into a fit of cheers and applause."   Read full review.

Robi Polgar
Austin Chronicle
2002

"Victoria Litherland's Tosca was exceptional. Litherland was an impish, peevish, sultry and fiercely loyal Tosca: She sang splendidly. Gorgeous 'Vissi d'arte'."

Elaine Guregian
(music critic for
Akron Beacon Journal)
October, 2002

"Victoria Litherland carried off the role of Tosca as if she had been rehearsing with this cast from the start. Litherland's warmly expressive, tightly focused singing was up to the challenges of the role."

Tulsa World
April 2001

"Victoria Litherland sang the role of Tosca passionately..."