...the standout was soprano Melanie Long in several cameos, easily switch-hitting from high coloratura to Broadway belt.

Long conquered the considerable vocal and dramatic challenges of the role with seeming effortlessness. She gave Anna a layered complexity before singing a note. Vocally, she was agile and shimmering, with a pure, focused tone that managed to land with conversational delivery. Long gave a beautifully inflected rendering of the poignant, yearning aria that opens Act II; later, when Anna desperately declares “I love you, Mat,” in the midst of an obvious struggle against her feelings, it was a surging emotional climax to a stunning passage that was a triumph for both performer and composer. 

Joshua Rosenblum for ZEALnyc

In the title role, Melanie Long gave a compelling and fully convincing portrayal of Anna’s bitterness, vulnerability, anger and sarcasm —and her guarded, worldly-wise sense of love and hopefulness. Anna’s Act I description to Marthy of how tired, worn out and cynical she has become was movingly performed, and her Act II description of her life as an abandoned child raised in servitude and ultimately drawn into prostitution was emotionally powerful.

Opera News