mozart COSI FAN TUTTE / hamburgische staatsoper

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"Eine ebenso geile (Pardon, mir fällt gerade kein anderes passendes Adjektiv ein) musikalische und darstellerische Performance zeigt seine Sister in Crime, die Despina von Heidi Stober. Sie agiert wie in Wirbelwind auf der Szene, löst Begeisterungsstürme aus, ihre Auftritte sind von sagenhafter Bühnenpräsenz, unterstrichen von ihren wunderbar virtuos gestalteten Arien und ihren umwerfenden stimmlichen Verstellungen als Dottore und Notario."

"Heidi Stober's Despina shows an equally awesome (sorry, I can't think of any other suitable adjective) musical and dramatic performance. She acts like in a whirlwind on the scene, triggers storms of enthusiasm, she performs with incredible stage presence, underlined by her wonderfully virtuosic arias and her stunning vocal disguises as doctor and notary."
Kaspar Sannemann, Oper Aktuell (21 February 2023)

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humperdinck HANSEL & GRETEL / lyric opera of chicago

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"But one of the pleasures of the production that opened Wednesday night at the Lyric Opera of Chicago is how well the soprano Heidi Stober, who plays Gretel opposite Samantha Hankey’s earthier Hansel, encapsulates a lively and inquisitive young girl, both vocally and physically. Both Stober’s voice and body explore the role without condescension, and neither do they layer Gretel with some kind of faux adult sophistication. It’s a fine line and Stober, who is experienced in this role and jumps and struts all the way to the curtain call, has it down perfectly."
Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune (27 January 2023)

"At the center of this tale, of course, are the ever-hungry siblings. Mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey takes a deft turn in the pants role of Hansel, and, as Gretel, his high-spirited sister, soprano Heidi Stober gives a most engaging performance. Both singers are deft movers and display a great deal of youthful energy that suggests their affection for each other, as well as their frequent bursts of frustration."
Hedy Weiss, wttw.com (26 January 2023)

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"The current production is anchored by vibrant and polished performances by Samantha Hankey and Heidi Stober, as Hansel and Gretel respectively. 

Stober’s singing was the purer of the two, with unstrained and dynamically rich acrobatics at the top of Act III (all while energetically dancing), But Hankey’s performance was nimble and expressive as well They both summoned a suitably childlike freshness of timbre, without descending into cutesy caricature. Their physical acting was just as good—their strides gawky, their squabbling believably sibling-like."

John Y Lawrence, Chicago Classical Review (26 January 2023)

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"Taking on the title roles are soprano Heidi Stober as Gretel and mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as Hansel. Well-matched as actors and singers, the two are completely believable as children and siblings in the way they carry themselves and taunt and support each other.

Stober and Hankey expend enormous quantities of energy as they dance and romp around in their highly physical portrayals, really letting loose as they tear up the witch’s kitchen after they triumphantly push her into the oven in Act 3.

Deserving particular praise is Stober, who is back for her third appearance at Lyric. The technically secure soprano has appeared in this role with major companies like New York’s Metropolitan Opera, and she convincingly conveys both the strength and youthful vulnerability of Gretel and compellingly handles Humperdinck’s poignant writing for this character."

Kyle MacMillan, Chicago Sun Times (26 January 2023)

handel MESSIAH / boston baroque, jordan hall

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"Heidi Stober was an animated soprano, turning quickly to this section of the audience and then that. Her nightingale trills brightened “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion,” and she was clarion in “How beautiful are the feet,” with moments of piercing sunshine."
Jeffrey Gantz, Boston Globe (5 December 2022)

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poulenc LES DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES / san francisco opera

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"Soprano Heidi Stober's appearances with the company have been reliable sources of joy ever since her 2010 debut in Massenet's "Werther".  But her performance as Blanche added a new and even deeper level of psychological specificity to her expected vocal brilliance."
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle (18 October 2022)

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"There is nothing contained about Blanche, played and sung with volatile conviction by soprano Heidi Stober. After startling her father (bass-baritone Dale Travis) and brother (the splendid tenor Ben Bliss) with her decision to enter the convent, Blanche remains a study in animated ambivalence herself. In a scene with another relative newcomer to the Carmelites (soprano Deanna Breiwick as Sister Constance), the performers convey the impetuous drive of two excitable young women. It’s as if their habits are a kind of disguise, still not fully inhabited by their wearers.
Shortly thereafter, in one of the evening’s most absorbing encounters, Blanche’s brother comes to visit her at the convent, with news of their father’s imminent flight from the revolutionaries. Under Music Director Eun Sun Kim’s baton, the music surges and flows through Poulenc’s vitalizing melodies. The siblings confront each other with shifting currents of persuasion and resistance, responsibility and guilt. Stober and Bliss both act and sing with spontaneity and urgency."

Steven Winn, Classical Voice (18 October 2022)

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wagner DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBURG / deutsche oper berlin

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"In the third act she revealed a voice of generous presence and pleasingly silvery tone: the startling ‘O Sachs! Mein Freund’ emerged less as a response to Sachs’s jealousy than a sudden moment of clarity, a cathartic outpouring of honest feeling that cleared away the messy emotional turmoil of the earlier scenes. The same radiance and clarity carried over to the quintet in which she was the dominant force."
Jesse Simon, Mundoclassico.com (27 June 2022)

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"Heidi Stober dealt with the physical demands of singing Eva, such as being entangled on the floor with Sachs, rather well with her slender but pliant, clear soprano."
Ako Imamura, Bachtrack (20 June 2022)

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bizet CARMEN / houston grand Opera

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“Soprano Heidi Stober, another former HGO Studio artist, has the most difficult job of all, portraying wimpy Micaela, whose character was added to Meilhac and Halevy's libretto as a sop to French family values. Virginal and skittish, she carries a torch for Jose, as well as a not-so-subtle kiss from mom to be given to her son. She's a throwback to grand opera days long past and can be portrayed as a dishrag when chirpy soubrettes take on the role, but Stober's burnished and powerful soprano gives her surprising depth and solemnity. Stober's Act I duet with Jose is a classic as is her final aria. These numbers are Bizet at his most radiantly old-fashioned, they're real crowd pleasers in emotion and sweeping French melody. Stober stops the show each time with her dramatic interpretation and golden pipes.”

D L Groover, Houston Press (October 2021)

"In a role that depends even more on sheer vocal attractiveness, soprano Heidi Stober brought warmth and lyrical glow to Micaela’s brief time onstage. In Micaela’s duet with José in Act 1 and aria in Act 3, Stober enabled Bizet’s big melodies to well up richly, but she also gave each number a flavor its own. In the duet, her touches of delicacy conveyed Micaela’s innocence and her love for José."
Steve Brown, Texas Classical Review (October 2021)

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"Elsewhere, soprano Heidi Stober makes the most of a rather thankless role as Micaela, the pious woman Jose throws over for Carmen. She shares a thrilling act one duet with Smagur that would be more romantic if the characters weren’t passing messages to and from Jose’s mother, but it’s still a beautiful scene. Her act three aria “Je dis que rien m’epouvante,” a plea for God to protect her after following Jose into the mountains, is likewise gorgeous."
Chris Gray, Houston Chronicle (October 2021)

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mozart COSI FAN TUTTE / Metropolitan Opera

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“The soprano Heidi Stober has been away from the Met for a few seasons, but returns with a cheerfully bright, natural, unexaggerated Despina.”

Zachary Woolfe, New York Times (February 2020)

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“As Despina, Heidi Stober carried herself with a fiery, magnetic energy that shone through the character’s many desires and disguises.”

Logan Martell, OperaWire (February 2020)

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“Heidi Stober’s serviceable soprano put across Despina’s “Una donna a quindici anni,” with flair, and she brought conspiratorial glee and a randy elbow in the ribs to the role.”

David Wright, New York Classical Review, (February 2020)