Reviews
NORMA
“With Adalgisa’s entrance aria “Sgombra è la sacra selva”, Simone McIntosh displays all the virtues of her perfectly focused, warm, supple voice, which extends down into the contralto range. Her voice blends just as ideally with Yende’s as with Dahdah’s, and so one peak of delight follows another; in the duet “Sì, fino all’ore estreme compagna tua m’avrai”, the listener dies yet another death.”
- Online Merker
BÜHNEN BERN
An Evening in Vienna
Toronto Summer Music Festival
“McIntosh delivered the arias with refulgent tone, her big gleaming high mezzo with its brilliant top never sounded better. Added to that her irrepressible stage persona, and you have a winning formula.”
~ Ludwig Van
La Cenerentola
Bayerische Staatsoper- 2025
“Tisbe, is sung wittily by Simone McIntosh and in beautiful harmony with Gvritishvili, in a completely successful [Bayerische Staatsoper] debut.”
— Opera Magazine
Handmaid’s Tale
San Francisco - 2024
“In several scenes Roberts is matched beautifully by mezzo-soprano and former Adler Fellow Simone McIntosh, who performs Offred’s pre-revolution self. In one of the work’s most successful unfoldings of vocal magic, the two women—the before and after Offreds—share a powerful duet, exchanging past and future dreams.”
— Opera Wire
L’Orfeo
Zürich - 2024
“Simone McIntosh dresses her interceson in such bewitching, flawless tones that one (including us) cannot resist. Just now - and there with painful emphasis - she had also embodied the Speranza, which accompanied Orfeo to the hell gate and had to leave him when a door leaf opened - with squeaks and creaking, like a last warning to the reckless mortal.”
— Senior Web
Don Giovanni
“McIntosh’s skill in the bel canto repertoire lends itself to a beautifully sung Zerlina. Her ‘Vedrai, carino’ was sweetly sung without being saccharin. Her chemistry with both Bintner’s Don and her betrothed Masetto was lovely to watch.”
— Schmopera
Toronto - 2024
The Barber of Seville
Scotland - 2023
“The young Swiss-Canadian mezzo was the centrepiece this production had been waiting for—a classy, confident comedienne with a strong top voice, a rich lower register and an evenness in between, unfolding the recitatives engagingly and coming into blossom in her arias. Decoration were articulated musically, the vocal line emerging with gracefulness rather than as a technical tour de force. Not only did her voice fit the Theatre Royal like the proverbial glove, she also looked the part, demure innocence blending with feminine guile.”
— Opera News
Xerxes
Wintertur - 2023
“Xerxes’ brother Arsamene, portrayed by Simone McIntosh, is more complex. She portrays the young rebels between anger and pain with blazing mezzo-soprano and physical intensity.”
— Rauchszeichen
Maometto secondo
“The vocal star of the show, for me, was Vancouver native Simone McIntosh, lithe and lovely, whose crystalline high mezzo fully commanded Anna’s wide range and whose unforced expressivity shaped every phrase with eloquence; her final aria was exquisitely nuanced without seeming the least bit precious.”
— Opera Canada
New York - 2022
concerts & Competitions
IOS Gala
Zürich 2023
“Mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh impresses with her full, colourful, wonderfully carried voice. […] McIntosh interprets «Dieu! Que-viens je d’entendre? Il m'en souvient" from Berlioz's "Béatrice et Bénedict" as if she had decades of stage experience and still maintained her youthful freshness.”
— Online Merker
Montreal International Music Competition
Montreal 2022
“Certainly, fearless versatility and charisma seem to be Simone McIntosh’s trademark. As mentioned, the mezzo-soprano was awarded the first prize and met with roaring applause from the audience – and it’s not hard to understand why. Her voice promptly adapted to each piece, retaining its full, pleasant tone in both Strauss’ lyrical stirrings and Rossini’s challenging coloratura.”
— Bachtrack
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World
Cardiff 2023
“McIntosh delivered an ambitious opera excerpts program that showed off her musical and dramatic range, with arias by Handel; Donizetti ; Strauss ; and Berlioz. The last aria was particularly impressive, showcasing delightful acting, perfect French diction and a ravishing, clear tone that easily filled St David’s Hall.”
— Opera Canada
Adler Finale Gala
”Simone McIntosh has a magnificent voice, full of burnished tone, astonishing range and ample power. Though slight of build, Simone McIntosh probably generates more vocal power per pound than any other singer! She absolutely stole the show in this concert, producing the true highlight of the entire evening!”
— Berkley Daily Planet