Recordings
Marvellous Mezzo-Soprano and Contralto
Wagner: Das Rheingold
(Erda)
Australian mezzo-soprano Deborah Humble, and the direness of her Erda’s warnings to Wotan are all the more chilling for being so splendidly sung. Humble invests troves of rich, burnished tone and unerring dramatic instincts in her performance of “Weiche, Wotan, weiche!” The result is one of the most compelling recorded accounts of the brief but crucial role, one in which every note of the part is wholly in the voice and no compromises are required. Humble rivals Lili Chookasian and Oralia Dominguez for sheer vocal quality and uses German text as imaginatively as Maria von Ilosvay and Marga Hoeffgen. Arrogant and foolish indeed is the Wotan who fails to heed the counsel of such an Erda!”
Joseph Newsome, Voix des Arts, 2015
Wagner: Siegfried
(Erda)
“…the Erda of Deborah Humble remarkably well sung…”
Vincent HK Lau, Classical Net, 2017
“With steely nerves and a solid voice to boot, Deborah Humble as Erda targeted Wotan’s questions with offhand but forceful ripostes.”
Alan Yu, Bachtrack, 2017
Wagner: Das Rheingold
(Erda)
“Deborah Humble’s Erda carries real weight of vocal authority, especially in the warnings of ‘Höre, höre, höre!”
Colin Clarke, Classical CD reviews, March 2009
“Erda, Deborah Humble, delivers her warning with a majestic dignity and a ruby-coloured timbre.”
Kathrin Feldmann, Applaus, October 2008
“Deborah Humble sings Erda faultlessly.”
Das Opernglas, October 2008
Wagner: Die Walkuere
(Schwertleite)
“The chorus of Valkyries may be the best on record.”
Stephen Habington, Classical Music Sentinel, Essential Recordings, 2009
“A live performance. Simone Young guides her orchestra and singers through the score in great, irresistible waves of sound while still paying attention to the finest, meticulously rehearsed structural details.”
Presto Classical, 2010
Wagner: Siegfried
(Erda)
“Deborah Humble is an authoritative Erda.”
Gavin Dixon, Classics Online, Music Web International, 2011
“All the soloists are excellent – the clarity and understanding of the text is impressive….and Deborah Humble as Erda is no exception.”
Classics Online, 2011
Wagner: Die Götterdämmerung
(1st Norn)
“The Norns sound excellent individually but there is good homogenous work too…”
Klassik.com, 2012
“Every performer here is in the top league of modern Wagner interpretation…there is some great ensemble singing from the Norns.”
Music Web International, 2012
Prokofiev: The Love For Three Oranges (Clarissa)
“Deborah Humble’s villainous Clarissa has a rich and fruity mezzo.”
John Slavin, The Age, January 2005
“…the best singing comes from the thoroughly wicked-sounding trio of baddies…including Deborah Humble as Clarissa.”
Tim Ashley, The Guardian, January 2006
“…heard in English for the first time and mounted with an ensemble of Opera Australia’s star performers…a jeu d’esprit…its pantomime spirit brilliantly caught.”
David Fanning, Gramophone, 2006 Critic’s Choice
Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder
"Träume"
Recorded in Wellington in May 2014.
Marc Taddei conducting Orchestra Wellington