I have heard no finer, no more moving Ilia than Louise Alder’s, taking its leave from words and music alike, and above all from the alchemic synthesis of the two.

OPERA TODAY, Mark Berry, June 2016

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As Ilia, Louise Alder made each of her arias a wonderfully telling glimpse of the human heart. THE TIMES, Rebecca Franks, June 2016

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Louise Alder's Ilia was terrific, fully up to the challenges of the role and singing with appealingly youthful but powerful tone. OPERA, Huge Shirley, August 2016

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As Ilia, the fast-rising soprano Louise Alder sings sublimely – this is voice to listen out for at every opportunity. CULTURE WHISPER, Claudia Pritchard, June 2016

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Economical but direct in every expressive gesture, radiant in lyric-soprano delivery, Alder - who's already one of the finest singers of the new generation - melts our hearts as she arranges peonies in a vase to match the woodwind's bucolic strains in "Se il padre perdei", where it's subtly suggested that Spence's Idomeneo may have fallen in love with her himself. THE ARTS DESK, David Nice, June 2016

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Caitlin Hulcup’s Idamante, all adolescent awkwardness and intensity, overflows with ardour for his beloved Ilia, reciprocated with shy delight by Louise Alder. Dramatically it’s a near-perfect pairing, finding the youth and even the silliness in two lovers whose sophistication is only a veneer painted on by suffering. Vocally, too, from Hulcup’s impassioned ‘Non ho colpa’ to Alder’s ‘Zeffiretti lusinghieri’, defiant in its radiant beauty, these are exceptional performances that rise to the challenge of conductor Tobias Ringborg’s speeds and forward-thrusting musical momentum. THE SPECTATOR, Alexandra Coghlan, June 2016

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The voices of Louise Alder (Ilia) and Caitlin Hulcup (Idamante) play off each other with graceful intensity. THE INDEPENENT, Michael Church, July 2016

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Louise Alder's Ilia had a vulnerability which combined with a sense of inner strength, and a highly focused beauty of line. This was stylish singing of great beauty, yet full of passion and it is testament to Alder's skill that she gave us a sense of Ilia's inner life. PLANET HUGILL, Robert Hugill, June 2016

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It certainly isn't difficult to care for this production's exceptionally affecting Ilia from Louise Alder, whose softly iridescent soprano constantly impresses. Her "Zefiretti" aria soared calmly across the pattering of rainstorms outside on a thoroughly wet night at Wormsley. BACHTRACK, Charlotte Valori, June 2016