Ms. Yende sang beautifully from the start, gaining warmth and depth as nonchalance and flirtatiousness developed into love. She deftly executed the acrobatics at the end, with joyous, tumbling high roulades.
James R. Oestreich, New York Times
Yende, the South African soprano who is fast becoming a favorite at the Met, is a natural as Adina. Her flirtatious smile is always playful and her transitions to jealousy and then love for Nemorino are convincing. Her voice has a lilting, silvery quality that is at once bright and delicate, especially her pianissimo passages. In her opening cavatina, reading from the book, she runs through a succession of trills like a race horse. And her duets with Nemorino are at first feisty then tender and loving.
Wilborn Hampton, Huffington post
In the role of Adina, Pretty Yende displayed great vocal agility, soaring and falling with an ease that spoke to the flighty, elusive nature of Adina. This was overall an excellent performance by Yende, who made playing hard-to-get sound splendid from beginning to end.
OperaWire
There was an infectious glee in her acting, and her bright, creamy timbre was employed in a performance of quick-witted verve and bounce, supple coloratura and sunlight.
Seen and Heard International
South African soprano Pretty Yende is no stranger to the Met’s stage, or to the music of Donizetti, and her experience and enjoyment of the role shows in her portrayal of Adina, the beautiful, wealthy landowner who has – to her temporary dismay – captured the heart of poor villager Nemorino. She moves with purpose and an almost constant, brilliant smile, and sings some of the most difficult music of the genre with clarity, warmth, and strength. Her Adina knows herself, takes joy where she will, and comes to discover she’s just a little deeper than she’d thought. Yende’s voice and dimply smile are equally beautiful, and she gives the audience an unreserved share of both.
Suzanne Magnuson, Splash Magazine
Her Adina was a lovely creation from start to finish, the start including notably poised singing in the duet with Nemorino where they sing the pleasant breezes and flowing rivers. Others adopt a more take-charge attitude in Act 1, which can lend greater tension to Adina’s fling with Belcore, but Yende’s demure demeanour paid dividends in the tender momentos of Act 2, sung with pure, sweet tone.
George Loomis, Opera Magazine