natalie@natalieraybould.co.uk
...beautiful voice and a strong presence on the stage - incredible
Harry Vogt, Witten Festival
This was a riveting account of Albert Giraud's poetry (in German, translated by Otto Erich Hartleben) in which the non-German speaker, such as this author, was able not only to hear the text but also understand it.[...]Raybould's technique is something marvellous to watch and hear, pitched speaking of great colour and dynamic, with such a syllabic clarity that it appears her mouth is doing all the acting.
Song, Stage and Story...As the computer works its odd magic, the words from “Yesterday” slowly blend and dissolve into the lyrics from “Tomorrow,” and by the end of the hourlong work, the three singers (all with lovely voices) have come together again, performing that song in unison just as it was originally composed[...] But as the songs were scrambled, the tenor of the music took on an eerie liturgical quality, as if each singer were performing an individual Gregorian chant. We might almost be listening to Latin or some unknown foreign tongue.[...] "Yesterday Tomorrow” is, at its heart, a musical meditation on the ineluctable passing of time.
Charles Isherwood New York Times
...The title comes from her work for soprano, piano 4 hands and cello, You Promised me Everything Last Night, which explores, in repeating this phrase over and over, its many inflections and interpretations, charting perhaps rather depressingly a trajectory from joyous ecstasy to ultimate bitter desperation and sadness. The inflections are expertly characterised with a stunning performance from soprano Natalie Raybould, over a largely simple and somewhat bleak accompaniment.
Gscene Brighton
...Harawi was here sung by Natalie Raybould. In a striking interpretation of the score, just watching her was enough to be gripped. Spellbinding performance...
The Sprout, Cardiff
The artist sat down with us and through using her body she made contact with each baby, mimicking their movements. Suddenly eleven (there are never any more than 12) babies were enchanted! You have to remember that they are all under one, that’s quite an achievement! Using her voice but only to sing notes, her body and a big lit up ball in the middle of the room she captivated them and us for the entire half hour. She dipped in and out of the material with another little ball of light and made shadows on the walls, danced in the middle with the giant light ball and draped muslins over the babies. It felt very relaxing and almost like a spa treatment – I tell you, that is NOT a feeling one usually gets when out with a baby! And Jimmy thought it was wonderful. He loved looking at all the other babies and playing with the muslins. He was captivated by the balls which lit up and eagerly reached out to touch the big one when she brought it round the circle. It was very interesting to see the mood of the room change as the lights got brighter or dimmer and watch the babies reactions to everything, they might have been under one but they were taking it all in!I don’t know what I was expecting really? I guess something bright and colourful and this was the antithesis of that yet it worked amazingly well and I would say everyone looked relaxed and as if they were enjoying it. Every performance must be slightly different, different numbers in the audience, different reactions from different babies of course but our experience was one of enjoyable and calm enchantment...A totally lovely thing to do with your baby. RocknRoller Baby I expected it to be a performance full of colour and noise - a real sensory overload but in fact it was quite the opposite. With only 9 other babies and mums we removed our shoes and left all our baby paraphernalia behind and stepped into a large cream tent with a fluffy cream carpet and a cream orb hanging from the ceiling. The performer, dressed in cream, came in and we all sat on the carpet (babies free to roam) while she sang and interacted with the babies. Her approach was incredibly gentle and the babies were all (generally) very calm. At the end of the performance we were able to stay sitting on the carpet in the tent playing with the babies. childfriendly.co.uk Deviser, composer and performer Natalie Raybould, dressed in a neutral fabric similar to that surrounding the tent, begins by kneeling down and singing a haunting yet relaxing melody whilst making small interactions with the babies. The little boy who was sharing the tent with me at this point was completely transfixed, not only by the singing and music, but also by Raybould folding a caterpillar out of muslin, which, through a series of movements, becomes a butterfly. It is both beautiful and engaging for the baby. Slowly, Raybould brings in a large lit ball, and interacts with it as if she was protecting the world. Without spoiling it too much, the singing continues whilst lighting and shadows are used to enhance the mood. It is then left to the parents to enjoy ten minutes of time with their child in whatever capacity they want. On exiting, carers are also provided with a website where they can download the music from the show. The score is effective in having a relaxing effect on the child and their carer, and in the cosy, carpeted tent, it gives a sense of a safe environment in which to play. Lullaby is a great idea to engage children from a very early age in music and the senses... an interactive session for parent and baby to bond, and I think is very important in providing the very young with their first theatrical experience. Jemma Anderson A Younger Theatre
Natalie's animations and vocals were excellent and really created a calmness (think of those last five minutes of a yoga class). My six-month old, who has just discovered the art of moving, was spellbound by the magic glow ball; he thought it was fascinating and followed it round the tent...a delight to watch his senses enjoying the moment. An afternoon of great enjoyment and fun. Shelly Wallace For Sanity's Sake
...the babies were all entranced... Frank Skinner Absolute Radio
Bruchstrücke aus Songs von Pop bis Klassik, die dort über Lautsprecher erklingen, werden in Song Recital (für Frauenstimme und Ensemble) gleichsam wieder ins Leben zurückverwandelt. Hinreißend hier: Die Sängerin Natalie Rayboult [sic]. Mathias Nofze Neue Zeitshrift für Musik The tape is no glitch-pop mashup, but a convincing reconstruction of the original musical material that translates beautifully into the live vocal part of Song Recital. Song Recital was premiered by soprano Natalie Raybould amid the crumbling interior of Paris’ Théâtre de La Chappelle [sic]. Barely a detail was not communicated from the original tape part to the live vocal part, including breathy articulations, finger clicks, peaking microphone artefacts and awkward ‘asides.’ Raybould’s performance was more than a transcription of the tape part, but brought each character to life, interacting with the rest of the ensemble as they imitated and accompanied her. Matthew Lorenzon Realtime Arts
There are very few occasions in theatre where a show makes you laugh and cry simultaneously and this is one of them. The beautiful synergy between Ward’s music and Porter’s words in My Alien Hand, combined with [Natalie] Raybould’s stunning and poignant portrayal of the poor woman’s affliction, made this the highlight of the show. Michael Wilkinson Broadway Baby As the nurses - and maybe angels of mercy - Natalie Raybould and Tamsin Dalley provide firm and understanding performances, slipping easily into the strangest of aberrations, such as the woman with a murderous alien hand...Lullaby
Song Recital
Dr. Quimpugh's Compendium of Peculiar Afflictions
Thom Dibdin The Stage Robert Gildon, Tamsin Dalley and Natalie Raybould are all excellent actor-singers, and Dr Quimpugh's Compendium is likely to linger in your memory long after other Fringe shows are forgotten.
Gerald Berkowitz TheatrereviewLondon
...soprano Natalie Raybould and mezzo-soprano Tamsin Dalley as a catalogue of memorable patients demonstrate the expected vocal talent, but also an impressive degree of dramatic skill. Each character they create is genuinely distinct, and together they tell a surprisingly touching story.
Julie Dawson TV Bomb
...particular high point was the patient with the ‘Alien Hand’ who hilariously sang of how her independent-minded hand would ruin her life by randomly groping authority figures and stabbing her lover. She was convincingly tragic and remorseful as she sang: “Oh my alien hand / gets me in terrible trouble…”
Christiana Spens 3am Magazine
The journey of Dr Quimpugh is an enjoyable one and the performances of Natalie Raybould (soprano), Tasmin Dalley (mezzo-soprano) and Robert Gildon (baritone) are uplifting and masterful. Dr Quimpugh's Compendium of Peculiar Afflictions is at times tragic, at times comedic but always a fantastic and curious meditation into a deranged and interesting mind.
Steven Fraser The Skinny
...the nurses beautifully transform into a whole host of deliciously damaged individuals, as the doctor grows young and then old again through the course of the evening. The range of impressive vocals, paired with an even more impressive display of dialect and accents incorporated into the operatic singing, is all truly remarkable.
Molly Marinik Theatre is Easy (USA)
This new one-act piece by Martin Ward is the kind of thing contemporary opera needs. The music was modern but not difficult to listen to, and the action was entertaining. The story is the near-death reflection of the doctor. His two nurses play various former patients as he relives his oddest cases. I was especially impressed by the comedic talents of soprano Natalie Raybould (who also sang very well) in a scene in which her hand acted outside her control.
Ellen Rabiner Elleninturkey.com
...never heard and seen such a singer: beautiful voice and a strong presence on the stage - incredible; hard to imagine these songs with a "normal" gifted singer...
Harry Vogt Director, Wittener Tage
There were also some wonderful illustrations of her work through recorded sounds and video, but also live performance. [Errollyn Wallen] was joined by Omar Ebrahim and Natalie Raybould who at one point gave a stunning rendition of a movement from her work for children, Cautionary Tales. Author Bonnie Greer also performed a snippet from the upcoming opera, Yes, based around her infamous appearance on Question Time in 2009, for which Greer herself was the librettist.
James Waygood Sosogay
What really carried the show was the performance and personality of the artists involved. While Young was a charming compère to the proceedings, it was soprano Natalie Raybould and baritone James Savournin that drove the entire show with their animated and agile performances of all the operas... Together and apart they were both a real joy to watch, with their ability and their energy making for some captivating entertainment.
James Waygood Sosogay
...Natalie Raybould was uniformly excellent, and brought so much to even the most under-composed of repertoire. Her acting ability matched her singing and defined the character-based works such as those by Tattersal and West. Her ability to switch from the experimental and avant-garde to the sentimental and traditional seamlessly is one of the most potent weapons in her armoury, and was greatly used in this performance. It can’t be long until she is given a major role by a major company.
Catherine Elford Operaticus
...Natalie Raybould was reassuringly capable...delightfully comic...brings life to every note.
Mathew James remotegoat
A complete and utter delight...a brilliant cast.
Lyn Gardner The Guardian
Natalie Raybould...entered fully into her role as puppeteer...performed with great skill and her singing was impressive.
John Bird remotegoat
...a delightful performance by the young Natalie Raybould with the Kreisler Ensemble. This was hard to fault for musicality, vocal skill, language, rhythmic accuracy and basic concept, including her appearance in a charming and original ‘girl-clown’ costume. A nice touch was the use of a hand-held mirror: she arrived on stage at the end of the concert interval, putting on her make-up in view of the audience. She has developed her own highly convincing Sprechstimme. Her attitude to the work is refreshingly idealistic and committed, informed by a combination of intellect and a sheer love of the music.
Jane Manning OBE Voicing Pierrot
Natalie Raybould’s clear and convincing soprano voice handles the considerable demands impressively.
It was another soprano, Natalie Raybould, who stole the show at Saturday lunchtime, performing with the Kreisler Ensemble under Matilda Hofman. Everything Raybould touched turned to gold, from pianist Iain Farrington's bluesy settings of Maya Angelou to her vocal and choreographic cadenza on Maxwell Davies's adaptation of Purcell. The centrepiece was an astonishing tour de force written for her by Cheryl Frances-Hoad and sung entirely in Old English. The Glory Tree had remarkable scoring, stratospheric singing and was performed with shamanic authority, her final scream reverberating through the cloisters.
Keith Bruce The Herald
Nathalie (sic) was a key feature of the programme, consistently striking in her ability to perform and communicate contemporary music, making it engaging and accessible. She demonstrated an impressively wide vocal range and ability to sing in a range of languages, including Old English. She particularly contributed to the dramatic element of the performance and was able to evoke a range of feeling and atmosphere in the range of pieces alongside the use of costumes...dancing, facial expression and general bravado.
Tamsin Mendelsohn Scottish Arts Council
Natalie Raybould gave an intense, stunning and emotionally draining performance.
Audience feedback Tête à Tête 2007 Opera Festival
Craftily, Tuckett plants two fine singers among his onstage chorus of dancers, and these two give a running commentary in song - their diction so crisp I didn't miss a syllable - setting the scene, moving the action along, and generally adding pep and polish to the musical ensemble. I loved their florid interruptions of Geppetto's patter song, helping him choose a name for his foundling wooden son.
Jenny Gilbert The Independent
...superbly convincing both as singer and actor...Raybould's was the most striking performance of the evening. She had lead roles in all six works, and showed a kaleidoscopic range of characterisations; from distressed care-worker to glamorous socialite and from sex-mad harpy to world-weary singleton.
Tom Service Opera
The performances are as near to faultless as you can get in live music-making...the voices are all promising...Raybould's the most flexible. Indeed Raybould is something of a catch; physically confident, an astute actress and full of charm.
Anna Picard Independent on Sunday
The real stars of the show are the performers, especially Raybould, who takes starring roles in every piece. Her transformations from socialite to psychic are brilliantly accomplished, and she gives each role a vivid dramatic and vocal characterisation.
The Guardian
Soprano Natalie Raybould stands out as an impressive talent with an uncanny eye for dramatic detail.
Warwick Thompson Metro
Natalie Raybould is superb as the girl left behind; a suitably inward, thoughtful performance with excellent diction.
Opera
Natalie Raybould...gives a searing performance as The Girl...
Simon Trezise Opera Now
[The Girl] is played convincingly by English soprano Natalie Raybould, who rises vocally to the big dramatic moments, whilst in the quieter passages she was extremely moving.
Gus Smith Irish Times
Natalie Raybould is radiant…moving from innocence to authority.
Pat O’Kelly Irish Independent
Natalie Raybould, a soprano with real dramatic flair and dazzling technical virtuosity.
Mark Hewitt West Highland Free Press
Natalie Raybould conquered all as Cleopatra; vocal control, presence, acting - all superb.
Jeannine Alton Oxford Mail