. . .
"There is a particular magic in the voice of Gabriela Pochinki that, when you hear it, takes you by the hand into the very soul of the score."

- Gabriele Vitella
Corriere Del Teatro

Jerusalem Post, December 20, 2001
reviews


Illustrierte NEUE WELT, December 2001/January 2002

I HAVE THE GIFT TO BE ABLE TO SING EVERYTHING

Angelika Montel talks with the young Argentine soprano Gabriela Pochinki, who in November sang Maria in "West Side Story" at the Volksoper in Vienna, and in December will be singing Adele in "The Bat" in Tel Aviv.

The clear emerald-green cover of her last CD, "Sin barreras: Arias & Liturgical Songs" is anything but mainstream: Gabriela, the young soprano from Argentina – uncensored: a coquettish smile on her lips, her long black hair being swung around, anti-static. The almost finished pop-CD, with Joe Jackson as producer, is only a logical consequence of her versatility. When one listens to her CDs one is, willingly or unwillingly deeply touched, even if one is not of a sentimental disposition. A dialogue starts between the soul of the sound and one's own soul. Her voice breathes vitality and clarity – her temperament, naturalness and straightforwardness are breath-taking.


Piccolo Regio, Saturday 29th April 2000

The musical association "Friends of the Regio" can well boast of having invited the young soprano Gabriela Pochinki to Turin, as part of a rich programme of events dedicated to the universe of the voice. The Argentinean singer whose promising career has already got off to a good start in other venues of prestige, gave a warmly applauded recital with a particularly engaging programme at the Piccolo Regio Theatre on 29th April.

From the first pages the soprano revealed the characteristics of her voice: Pochinki has a soft and velvety but also incisive and limpid tone, capable of a thousand enchantments and pleasant chiaroscuro variations. She was accompanied at the piano by Diego Mingoll, whose grace and fresh touch exalted the formal and expressive characteristics of the various pieces in the programme.

The "menu" included a wide range of very different composers, genres and styles, in which Pochinki – it has to be admitted – immediately appeared at her ease, and also displayed an equally appreciable excellent diction in several languages, which is not to be overlooked.

If at the opening of the concert the young artist won over the audience with her graceful interpretation of the Arcadian profiles of an aria by the eighteenth-century composer Caldara, then a piece rich in archaisms by Palermo’s Stefano Donaudy, the most significant surprises were yet to come. With Donizetti and Rossini we entered the nineteenth century: the respective pieces of Mi voio fa na casa and the sparkling tarantella were performed, with Ms. Pochinki tackling them with gusto and showing hints of captivating stage effects. But it was with the pieces by her fellow-countrymen (Carlos Guastavino – La rosa y el sauce, Carlos Gardel and Fernando Obradors – Del cabello mas sutil) that the young artist expressed herself in all her exuberant clarity: of course, entering the Latin American universe it is easy to intuit that her strong stage personality found particularly touching registers; and the same goes for the pieces by the Spaniards Rodrigo and Granados.

But Ms. Pochinki intended to show the versatility of her interpretative talent by also venturing into the universe of the romantic middle-European lied, although with a brief but significant incursion with a gentle performance of the affectionate nostalgia of a page by Schumann (Widmung) which was dedicated by the composer of the "Renana" to his beloved wife, Clara.

We crossed a frontier, taking us into the world of Parisian cabaret with La Diva de l’Empire by nineteenth-century composer Satie, which the singer performed in a lively and sparkling manner. But our stay in France was short as Ouvre ton coeur by Bizet, which the composer himself described as a Spanish serenade, once again alluded to the Iberian world which is particularly congenial to Ms. Pochinki.

Bur her fine voice was equally up to the American musical and pieces that belong even more brazenly to "entertainment": if from the genre we heard with pleasure two pages taken from West Side Story by the late genius Bernstein, her performance of a popular song was engaging and extrovert, offering the "irresistible" humour of I want to be a prima donna by Victor Herbert, a prolific Irish composer of light music who settled in the United States, where he made his fortune.

And this was the successful conclusion to a concert marked by "divertissement" supported by solid technical mastery and the all too rare skill of "living" the various parts with a spontaneous naturalness which would appear to be Gabriela Pochinki’s most striking feature.

Ms. Pochinki wanted to offer further pleasure to her audience, who seemed appreciative of the whole concert, by singing four surprise pieces. Donizetti again, in a more effervescent style and with brio: the artist chose Chacun le sait from the opera comique La fille du regiment and then tackled the role of Oscar, singing Saper vorreste from Un ballo in maschera, providing a further excellent demonstration as far as her stage presence is concerned: just a few touches needed to bring the young page and his vigorous vocality to life; then it was the turn of Musetta (Quando men vo) and, to finish, she took on the role of Norina, performing the most famous aria from Don Pasquale with genuine passion. And it was a real personal success for a singer who communicates with forthright immediacy and whose career now appears projected towards international heights.

Attilio Piovano

Music critic



Der Standard / April 15th 1998

[] a similar fate regards the spoken dialogue, as soon as it is subjugated instrumentally. Things go better for Gabriela Pochinki, a pretty Maria with a silvery soprano voice. But Peter Breuer’s attention, as direktor and maitre de ballet, is not turned towards the two lovers, but rather to the dance groups.



SVZ, March 30th 1998

The Argentinean Gabriela Pochinki and Pentti Hietanen from Finland in their respective roles as Maria and Tony who, absorbed in their passionate love, forget harsh reality, both gave convincing performances in their singing and acting. Bernardo, the leader of the "Sharks"

(Alexander Franzen) and Riff, the head of the "Jets" (Jesse Webb), but Tony as well who wants to intervene as a go-between, are all victims of the fierce rivalry. The total commitment of all the cast was rewarded at the premiere on Saturday by a long and sustained applause.