Orontea
Pinchgut Opera, 2022
“Orontea herself has the largest emotional arc of the characters, and Anna Dowsley impressed on every entry. Her first aria, “Superbo Amore,” where she defied love to lodge itself in her heart, immediately established her largeness of character, especially in the carefree lilt with which she assured Love that he did not torment her and the insolent swagger of her insistence on ‘libertà,’ or ‘freedom.’
The most famous number in the work is Orontea’s “Intorno all’idol mio,” or, as it was translated by the multi-talented Roberta Diamond in the program booklet, “Around my idol let breezes waft, oh waft soft and kind…” It is another sleeping scene, where the aria is delivered over a prostrate Alidoro. Anna Dowsley expresses great passion within the constraints of the ‘lullaby’ genre, her swelling through a word like ‘cortesi’ and then dying away almost to nothing, conveying a sense of being riven by feeling.”
Carmen
Staatstheater Nürnberg, 2021
(Translated from German): “With Anna Dowsley, a young Australian mezzo-soprano at the Sydney Opera House, the production had a centre of power that authentically and relentlessly translated Nemirova’s intention. Her play of a loner with erotic seduction, the intensity of her love, vulnerability of her feelings or rebelliousness against laws was uncompromising and fascinating, whether in fashionable leather jacket with cargo pants, black skull shirt with rhinestones or tight-fitting blood-red torera costume.Her Carmen was not only characterized by dramatic luminosity, but also in her musical interpretation, with a soft, deep timbre and on a technically fabulous coloratura level, reflected touching love, pride and anger in the dramatic rendezvous."
Faust
Opera Australia, 2019
“Of the smaller roles, perfect pants-mezzo Anna Dowsley could slot in on any of the world’s best stages and sing Siebel. With believable boyish charisma and a balanced, glossy voice, she’s also slenderer and taller than most of the men.”
“In the trouser role of Siébel, she excels, receiving strong acclaim for her interpretation of the Act Three Aria as much as her powerful contributions to the many ensemble pieces in which she features.”
Le nozze di Figaro
Opera Australia, 2019
“Anna Dowsley’s Cherubino might have stolen the show. This character’s two gems, Non so piu in act one and Voi che sapete in act two never tire and her voice for these has become finely honed and immaculately articulated, set within the persona of a tiresomely hormonal, gawky adolescent.”
“Then there was Anna Dowsley as the lank-haired, hormonal Cherubino. She was a clear winner with the audience, with a mezzo-soprano voice of very satisfying richness and beautiful dynamic control in “Voi che sapete”.”
“Also reprising her role, Anna Dowsley’s Cherubino proved a delightful foil for the rest of the cast, lovestruck and constantly underfoot. The dynamic mezzo offered up a breathlessly fervent Non so piùand a Voi che sapete moving in its openhearted sincerity, successfully striking a balance between the scene’s humour and truth.”
“Anna Dowsley as Cherubino is fantastic as the hormonal young page. With her luscious rich voice, she continues from success to success. Cherubino’s two famous arias were beautifully performed. She embodies the young page with wit and charm and not small amount of swagger. Few mezzo-sopranos manage trouser roles better than this.”
“Audience applause at the curtain clearly defined the most outstanding performance as Australian mezzo Anna Dowsley as Cherubino. It’s a great star vehicle role anyway but Dowsley showcased her skills with strong singing, comic timing and easily straddled the acting subtleties of a woman performer playing a gawky, pubescent teenage boy dressed by the servants as a girl to keep him out of trouble. To be able to pull this off while giving away no hints of the feminine performer is a mighty challenge and the audience fully appreciated her artistry.”
Anna Bolena
Opera Australia, 2019
“As Anne’s infatuated page Smeaton, Anna Dowsley sang with attractive tone, sure pitch and nuanced flexibility and a sense of youthful febrile emotionality and life.”
“Anna Dowsley, fast getting a name for exciting performance of trouser roles, was perfect as young Mark Smeaton: her singing faultless, her wannabe swashbuckling a wonderfully naive foil to the court powers around her.”
“Not even the presence of an outsize codpiece could conceal Anna Dowsley’s essential femininity, but vocally there was everything to admire in her smooth and expressive mezzo delivery as the page Smeton.”
“Not to be missed and a magnificent discovery for Opera Australia was young Australian Mezzo-Soprano Anna Dowsley playing the love struck servant Mark Smeaton. The superb costumes, which were a modern take on period originals, endowed her with more than just a fabulous voice. Her act developed beautifully from the naive musician in love with his queen, passing through the moment a boy becomes a man when he defends the queen against attack, through to the trauma of torture and acceptance that death is nigh. Dowsley received big applause from an appreciative audience.”
“Anna Dowsley portrayed the pants role of the doomed admirer Mark Smeaton with great flair and panache. Her voice displayed true bel canto fineness of tone, clarity of pitch and fluid coloratura with affecting dynamics and phrasing. Her portrayal was physically convincing and her authentic empathy for the character elicited a sympathetic response in the audience.”
“Of the other singers, Anna Dowsley stood out as Mark Smeaton. Dowsley, who made such an impression as Dorabella in Melbourne, is fast becoming one of the stars of this season. Her opening song in the first scene, and the aria ‘Ah, parea che per incanto’ in the third, were superb.”
Andrea Chenier in Concert
Opera Australia, 2019
“In the supporting roles, Anna Dowsley created a beautifully phrased tragic cameo as the old woman volunteering her last surviving grandchild to the cause.”
“Completely off book, Anna Dowsley made the most of the cameo role of elderly blind woman Madelon, singing beautifully and conveying the poor woman’s sorrow in her body language.”
“In a brief appearance as a grieving grandmother, the incongruously youthful Anna Dowsley is spectacular: in this exalted company she soars and sounds like liquid amber: golden and rich.”
Così fan tutte
Opera Australia, 2019
Sydney Morning Herald
“…the entire cast is excellent, but particularly Anna Dowsley and Taryn Fiebig. As Dorabella, Dowsley's youthful feistiness is simply charming, her silvery mezzo soprano well-suited to the role.”
Il turco in Italia
Opera Australia, 2018
“Anna Dowsley as the spurned melancholic and spirited cat fighter Zaida has a delightful mix of gangling vulnerability and ferocity and her voice cuts through with appealing haughty strength.”
“Anna Dowsley brings her clear, refulgent mezzo to Zaida, reprising the role with which she made her Opera Australia debut in 2014 (“a triumph,” according to Clive Paget then and no less impressive today)”
La Traviata
Opera Australia, 2018
"As Flora, Violetta's confidante, Anna Dowsley both sang and acted with effervescent freshness"
"There’s terrific support too in the smaller roles. Anna Dowsley shines as Flora, having stepped into the part at late notice."
The Rape of Lucretia
Sydney Chamber Opera, 2017
"...it is Dowsley who is the star. Her warm timbred mezzo unfurling with astonishing power throughout, and she brings an incredibly level of detail and resonance to her final scenes, her and Kleeman re-establishing a sense of character that was lost in the fracturing of the first act."
"Anna Dowsley gives the best performance I’ve seen from her as Lucretia… her vocal performance is exciting and dramatically-driven. She has astonishing warmth and clarity throughout her entire range, none of which is sacrificed as Lucretia endures all kinds of torment."
“Anna Dowsley showed how far she has come in the last few years (she is regularly cast in principal mezzo roles by Opera Australia) in a performance that was vocally superb, and dramatically engaging.”
Parsifal
Opera Australia, 2017
“Anna Dowsley really stood out as an Esquire, Flower Maiden and that Heavenly voice at the end of Act I, her firm, luscious tone rising to Wagnerian proportions. It will be fascinating to see where this young singer’s career takes her next.”
Pelléas et Mélisande
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, 2017
“Australian Anna Dowsley’s mezzo is beautifully honeyed as his daughter Geneviève (mother of Pelléas and Golaud).”
“Young Australian mezzosoprano Anna Dowsley (Genevieve) impressed with her tonal warmth and shapely phrasing”
Pitti-Sing, The Mikado
New Zealand Opera, 2017
“it was Anna Dowsley's Pitti-Sing who was the stand-out performer with a sophisticated display of acting and singing. Her clear articulation of the words showed what a good voice can achieve where others were not so skilled.”
Dorabella, Così fan tutte
Opera Australia, 2016
“Nicole Car as Fiordiligi and Anna Dowsley as Dorabella are immaculately paired as the two sisters, providing a golden vocal blend in ensembles while each asserting a high level of distinctiveness and individual character…. Dowsley has a more focused, narrower sound in terms of colour, matching her manic intensity and exaggerated passion of character, and she cuts through ensembles with thrilling definition.”
"Anna Dowsley, who moved from pants roles to leading lady as Rosina in The Barber of Seville earlier in the year, confirms her promise with another lovely, comic performance, her silvery mezzo-soprano well suited to the role. The two of them [with Nicole Car] both have a warm stage presence and convince as close sisters.”
“Endearing, treacle-rich mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley steals many a moment with her cracker understated comic charm and nervous energy as Dorabella, with touches of comic inspiration from the great Carol Burnett. With Car, a convincing sisterly pairing emerged while their chalk-and-cheese differences created exciting curiosity concerning both their predicament and actions.”
“Talented soprano Nicole Car and up-and-coming mezzosoprano Anna Dowsley formed a perfect partnership as Fiordiligi and Dorabella respectively….Elfin Dowsley played the wavering Dorabella, singing with expressive ease as she alternately swooned and strutted with an engaging confidence, no mean feat considering she was invited into Opera Australia’s Young Artist Program as recently as 2014.”
“Anna Dowsley has only recently been given major roles with the company and she more than justifies her casting as Dorabella. In her challenging Act 1 aria Smanie implacabile she surmounted the technical challenges and delivered it with appropriate fire and energy. Throughout the performance her characterisation of the younger sister was finely graded as she discovered the new possibilities outside her confined world.”
Rosina, Il barbiere di Siviglia
Opera Australia, 2016
"Among the strong cast, Anna Dowsley makes an impressive role debut as Rosina, singing with rounded fluency, agile control in rapid passages and with flashes of colour and vocal elan. From the dramatic point of view, she enlivened a graceful and poised demeanour with moments of coltish impetuousness."
"As the resourceful Rosina, mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley makes another distinguished role debut for OA. A gifted actor with a silvery voice flecked with copper overtones, she is absolutely right in the part, playing the savvy young woman with charm and ebullience. Her Una voce poco fa is subtly shaped, never overly flash, with all the top notes securely in place."
"Dowsley, making her role debut in this production as Rosina, also impressed with her confident singing, her elegant sense of style, and especially, her ability to hold her own on a stage on which she is surrounded by some of the world’s most experienced exponents of the opera buffo style, performing at the top of their game."
"Anna Dowsley finally gets to wear some frocks as Rosina, after playing trouser roles for most of last year. She really is perfectly cast in the role: youthful, full of spark and spunk, and a great sense of comedic timing. I’d be very surprised if she doesn’t become OA’s new favourite young mezzo for comedies. It’s also an excellent vocal performance, and her first aria showcases the full capabilities of her voice — full of fast runs and sudden turns."
Cherubino, Le nozze di Figaro
Opera Australia, 2015
Sydney Morning Herald
"Anna Dowsley was a tall, gangling and endearing Cherubino, singing the character's two magical arias with fresh bright-eyed colour and bringing credibility to the chemistry that must be ignited between her and the countess."
SoundsLikeSydney
"Rising star and Young Artist Anna Dowsley as Cherubino was a favourite, playing the girl playing the boy playing the girl. Her portrayal of the lanky adolescent with a libido that was growing even more quickly than his physique, was entertaining and supported by a strong vocal performance."
Limelight Magazine
"A singer very much on the rise, Anna Dowsley offers a neat Cherubino, capturing the gawkiness and insecurity of the adolescent and proving a firm audience favourite."
Australian Book Review
"Anna Dowsley was a delightful Cherubino, all elbows, knees, and social awkwardness, but with a voice of rich hues: a young singer to watch."
Heavenly Handel
Brisbane Baroque Festival , 2015
Limelight Magazine
"Mezzo soprano Anna Dowsley (an opera Australia young artist who shone in last year’s Turk in Italy and as Siebel in the recent McVicar Faust) offered a series of unalloyed delights from a fine-spun Ombra Mai Fu (never as easy as it might seem) to Rinaldo’s loin-girding Venti, Turbini with its rollicking roulades and delicious gurgling bassoon obligato. I think I've said it before, but her rich, smooth voice is an absolute dream and nowhere was that shown more clearly than in Ariodante’s Scherza Infida, one of Handel’s most demanding slow arias. Entering into character from the first, her full, flexible voice sailed serenely over fluttering violins, plucked cello and bass and a baleful bassoon. So simple, yet so effective"
The Culture Concept Circle ⋅
"The stunning Mezzo Soprano Anna Dowsley arrived and she certainly took the audience by storm as she superbly sang... Scherza infida from Ariodante....Here was a voice we thought – absolutely glorious in ever register, tonally rich, wonderfully warm and mellow for someone so young – true knock your socks right off stuff!"
Siebel, Faust
Opera Australia, 2015
Limelight Magazine
"In a refreshingly original take on the trouser role, Anna Dowsley proves a star turn once again as the gawky Siebel – his gammy-leg presumably keeping him out of the army. She acts with understated passion and great realism, making her very, very watchable on stage. And vocally she’s first rate, clear and rich of tone with superlative diction."
Man in Chair
"Young Artist Anna Dowsley creates a sweet and pure characterisation of love-struck youth Siébel, her performance of “Faites-lui mes aveux” comparing most favourably with her more experienced colleagues."
Australian Stage
"Anna Dowsley as Siebel charms the audience with her beautiful lyrical mezzo voice and boyish acting."
SoundsLikeSydney
"Opera Australia Young Artist Anna Dowsley acquitted herself admirably as the vulnerable, love-lorn Siébel"
Aussie Theatre
"Anna Dowsley is refreshing as the geeky Siebel, singing with sincerity and clear, rich tone."
Sydney Arts Guide
"Anna Dowsley brings a delicious sweetness and impetuosity to young Siebel."
Zaida, Il Turco in Italia
Opera Australia, 2014
UK Opera Magazine
“A star-of-tomorrow performance from Dowsley. The young mezzo has a delightfully fresh, unmannered presence, sings with taste and understanding, and appeared quite unawed in this company. A real find."
Sydney Morning Herald
“Against her is newcomer Anna Dowsley making her debut with the company, and singing with a fresh attractive sound and natural expressive ease that informed both shaping of musical phrases and her characterisation of the part.”
Concrete Playground
"Young mezzo and member of the Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist Program, Dowsley makes her main stage debut as Zaida. Her singing is warm and agile, and she’s magnetic to watch. It’s a performance charged with promise."
SoundsLikeSydney
“Opera Australia Young Artist Anna Dowsley makes an impressive debut as the youthful and optimistic Zaida.”
Daily Review
“Not as large as these characters, but a fine performer nonetheless, is Anna Dowsley, as Zaida, the jilted gypsy girl. Fine-boned and featured, Dowsley draws you in with her pristine and powerful mezzo. This is a voice to be reckoned with and that she’s so surefooted in all departments in her OA debut is an immense feather for her cap.”
Limelight Magazine
“Last but not least of the six main characters is the Pasha’s former ‘sex-slave’, Zaida. I say not least because by any standards the Opera Australia debut of Anna Dowsley must be accounted a triumph. A member of the Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist Program, the young mezzo shows a warm, flexible voice of considerable power and projection and dramatically held her own against all comers.”
Opera Britannia
“Rising artist Anna Dowsley also made her mark as Zaida, with a light but clear-toned mezzo-soprano instrument.”
Daily Review
"Dowsley impresses with her solid, secure mezzo and natural dramatic abilities in her Opera Australia debut as Zaida."
StageNoise
"There is also an exciting mainstage debut by Anna Dowsley - a voice and comic performance to savour."
Man in Chair
"Young mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley makes her Opera Australia debut with the role of lovelorn gypsy Zaida. Most often hidden under wig and makeup, Dowsley’s natural charm still shines through, and her pure, well-defined singing voice is a pleasure to hear."
Sydney Arts Guide
"As sad, lovesick Zaida...Dowsley is magnificent She sings gloriously and looks as if she stepped out of a Picasso painting."
I Have Had Enough
Sydney Chamber Opera, 2011
Sydney Morning Herald
“a blonde gothic abbess/goddess dressed in black with weird lipstick entered the earth-covered arena bearing a cross-like dagger aloft….she sang the soprano version of this glorious piece with pristine clarity of tone, fine pitch and well-moulded melodic shape”