The Falling and the Rising, Seattle Opera, 2019 (Seattle, WA)

“Altiveros, who was onstage much of the time, melded a fine voice that resounded of inner strength with a sympathetic countenance that bespoke complete identification with her role. As emotions grew more intense, and notes rose higher in the scale, the warmth of her portrayal drove the opera’s message straight to the heart…her triumph in a role that is, by its very nature, the antithesis of a prima donna vehicle declared her potential for a major career.”

-Classical Voice North America

L’enfant et les sortilèges, Pacific Symphony, 2019 (Orange County, CA)

“An outstanding cast headed by Tess Altiveros as a particularly soulful child.”

-L.A. Times

Borders (world premiere) by John Muelheisen, 2019 (Carnegie Hall, NY)

“The most effective moment, for me, was the revelation of letters from an Irish woman, starving in the potato famine of the mid-19th century, writing to her son, who presumably emigrated to the US. Here, the work of Ms. Altiveros was clear and very poignant.

-New York Concert Review

Leading Ladies: Barbara Strozzi and the female virtuosi of the 17th century, Pacific MusicWorks, 2019 (Seattle, WA)

“…Altiveros’ sound is darker, creamy, sensuous, but she can fill it with so much drama that the stereotyped tropes of a Baroque lament offers a fully rounded portrait of a woman’s pain…sprezzatura personified.”

“ Danielle Sampson and Tess Altiveros are both formidable singers technically, with an astonishing command of 17th century vocal technique; but how could one anticipate that they would also have the vivid presence of a Ziegfeld sister-act?”

-Opera Today

“”Altiveros’ performance was nothing short of thrilling.”

-The Sybaritic Singer

Così fan Tutte, Skylark Opera Theatre, 2019 (St. Paul, MN)

“Altiveros has some of the most poignant music as Fiordiligi, and when she simply sits on the stage to agonize over her feelings, it’s magical.”

-Minnesota Theater Love

The Princess Sophia, Orpheus Project, 2018 (Juneau, AK) – *World Premiere

“Altiveros’s full and focused soprano was pure gold.”

-Opera Magazine

O+E, Seattle Opera, 2018 (Seattle, WA)

“E appears as dazzling and graceful a woman as ever there was…The gorgeous Tess Altiveros as E […] is able, in a very short amount of stage time, to make it clear why someone would brave the depths of the underworld to bring her back. Altiveros’s E is passionate and fiery and from her first notes, her luscious soprano is infused with a great depth of emotion.”

-Drama in the Hood

“Steals the show.”

-The Stranger

“The singing of the three principals…is among the best I’ve heard on any stage: such rich, full voices held the audience absolutely still and mute before this story of love, loss and death. As importantly, the three performers fill the space of the Seattle Opera Studios with these archetypal but very human figures that have been the protagonists of these tales for millenia.”

-The BritishTheatre Guide

“All three singers are excellent, the deep emotions clear in the fine acting of both Gartner and Altiveros, and with the audience so close it was easy to enter into those feelings”

-The Sunbreak

A Light in Darkness:  Bach Advent Cantatas, Pacific MusicWorks, 2017 (Seattle, WA)

“Soprano Altiveros stood out in each of her solos for her expressiveness, not only in the lovely voice but in her stance and face, full of excitement, loving or full of hope.”

-The Sunbreak

L’Orfeo, Pacific Music Works, 2017 (Seattle, WA | Portland, OR | Vancouver, B.C. Canada) 

“Special praise is also due to soprano Tess Altiveros in the dual role of Eurydice and Proserpine: with an artful combination of facial expression, gesture, and vocal suavity, she succeeded in infusing both characters with tenderness and charm as well as dignity. Indeed, the soloists were able to inhabit their roles – both vocally and physically – as deeply as in any staged performance.”

-Vancouver Classical Music

“Balzer and his co-stars, through sheer performance dynamics, managed to project their passion to nearly a thousand EMV aficionados in the four-tiered splendor of the Chan Centre….Nor was Balzer the only one in the cast with such power over the audience. Tess Altiveros brought me close to tears with her ‘troppo dulce e troppo amara’ as she sank back into Hades forever.”

– The Vancouver Observer

Don Giovanni, Skylark Opera Theatre, 2017 (Minneapolis, MN)

“Tess Altiveros as Donna Elvira injects vocal and visual fire into every scene into which she appears.”

– Twin Cities Arts Reader

“Mozart gave most of this opera’s best music to the sopranos, and a trio of them did outstanding things with it on opening night Thursday.  Tess Altiveros was a fiery Donna Elvira with a soaring voice…”

-Pioneer Press

The Combat, Seattle Opera, 2017 (Seattle, WA)

“Seattle Opera has scored another success with ‘The Combat’ …The three principals – Segen, Altiveros and Neuville – are all compelling singing actors with distinctive, beautifully produced voices.”

-The Seattle Times

“With this remarkable production of The Combat, visionary director Dan Wallace Miller and his cast transformed not only the Seattle Opera rehearsal building, but also my heart. This is a profound experience of theater.”

-The Stranger

“[The Combat] is an hour-long, exciting, gut-wrenching immersion in the forces of love and humanity versus intolerance, and the human toll taken in the battle between those opposing forces…All three excellent singers are well-versed in baroque performance style, easily able to traverse the demanding ornamentation, and all three are expressive actors…The battle scene is lengthy and furious…From one end of the platform to the other, [Tancredi and Clorinda] hack at each other, swinging and slashing; it’s an amazing fight to watch…Don’t miss it. Hope, request, that it will be brought back. ”

-City Arts Online

The Tragedy of Carmen, Skylark Opera Theatre, 2017 (St. Paul, MN)

“There was plenty to like, starting with Tess Altiveros’ Carmen, the most captivating combination of skilled singing and magnetic acting that I’ve seen brought to the role in several years. Each of her familiar arias was smooth, spicy and disarmingly natural…Hers is a tour de force performance.”

-Pioneer Press

“Soprano Tess Altiveros was, predictably, a provocative presence in black leathers and slinky knee boots. Crucially, Altiveros avoided overacting, allowing her natural sensuality and the art of gradual insinuation to do the talking…[and] she unleashed the higher notes with passionate, thrilling impact.”

–Star Tribune

“As Carmen, Tess Altiveros is eye-catching and ear-catching with her performance; her movement is dynamic and, above all, intensely seductive.”

-Twin Cities Arts Reader

Marriage of Figaro, Angels & Demons Entertainment – 2016 (St. Paul, MN)

“…By his side was the luminous Tess Altiveros as Susanna, deceptively dainty in stature and possessed of wit, poise, and sensitivity throughout. Altiveros was equally at home with the more mad-cap slapstick physical comedy and the sweeter romance, sporting a full and graceful soprano voice and offering an absolutely transcendent rendition of ‘Beloved, don’t delay’ (‘Deh vieni, non tardar’ in the original Italian) in Act IV…Altiveros and Preisser’s performances were utterly captivating…”

    – Twin Cities Arts Reader

“Susanna is given a warm, engaging, tough and tender portrayal by Seattle-based soprano Tess Altiveros.”

– Pioneer Press

Messiah, Tacoma Symphony – 2015 (Tacoma, WA)

“Altiveros sang her angelic role with a Rossini-esque charm and coloratura…”

-The Tacoma Tribune

Turn of the Screw, Eugene Opera – 2015 (Eugene, OR)

“Tess Altiveros lavished a ripe, sensual lyric soprano on Miss Jessel.”                                                   – Opera News

“Tess Altiveros’s passionate Miss Jessel proved to be as engaging as it was disturbing…”

    -The Register Guard

“The emotional anchor of this show was the coupling of tenor Brendan Tuohy, as Peter Quint, and soprano Tess Altiveros, as his lover, Miss Jessel.  Both Northwesterners, the two singers have powerfully dark and sexy chemistry onstage, making them perfect evil spirits trying to seduce the children into another world.”

– Eugene Art Talk (Eugene, OR)

Les Mamelles de Tiresias, Vespertine Opera Theater – 2013 (Seattle, WA)

“The singing, particularly from the leads (Tess Altiveros, José Rubio, Daniel Oakden), is fearless and all-out; the commitment of the whole cast is evident all evening.”

   -Melinda Bargreen (Seattle, WA)