Highly IntelligentVerdi's 'Don Carlo',
reviewed by ROBERT HUGILL for the Music and Vision:

.."Elizabeth was Marina Poplavskaya, a previous Jette Parker Young  
Artist, and her heaviest roles to date have been Donna Anna and Rachel  
(in La Juive). First night reviews of the opera suggested that she  
might have been over parted, but by this final performance she seems  
to have got the measure of the role. Like Villazon she currently  
seemed a little light for the part but there was no doubt that  
Poplavskaya had the requisite element of steel in her voice. Currently  
she is young and has a brilliant voice, low on vibrato, high on a  
sense of line and if she does not try to do too much too fast then she  
will develop into a superb Elizabeth. Already she is a profoundly  
moving one, and had sufficient reserves to give a stunning account of  
Tu che la vanita in the final act. It helps of course that Poplavskaya  
looks good. She was rather a contained, controlled figure on stage but  
this is entirely apposite for Elizabeth.."


Marina Poplavskaya triumphs in Los Angeles Opera 'La Traviata', Mark  
Swed LA Times :


.. go, and go especially when Marina Poplavskaya sings Violetta.  The  
company was smart to get this young Russian soprano now.  It won t be  
long before her fees hit the ceiling; she is a major sensation.  
Thursday she was supported by a respectable cast.  If no else was up  
to her level, not too many Verdi singers are these days.
Poplavskaya s magnetic Violetta is what really stands out.  Petite and  
pretty, she has already won over the London opera and is in the early  
stages of conquering the rest of the opera world.

A natural on stage, she is fatalistic world-weary Violetta.  Her charm  
is unforced and never girlish.  She seems to have ability to trap men  
without needing to try.  She brings to Verdi s French courtesan an  
enigmatic inner life.

The voice?  She uses little vibrato, which makes her amber lower  
registers all the more seductive and her unsuspected volcanic power  
all the more shocking.  Her top is bright and tighter, although it  
opened as the evening went on.  The contrast between top and bottom is  
part of the mystery.

Poplavskaya made a spectacle of coloratura, when asked.  She was  
rhythmically precise, but she makes that seem natural as well.  With  
body limp yet voice focused, she made her death scene mesmerizing.  
Although only in her early 30s, she is said to have a repertory of  
over 300 works, from early music to postmodern.  What a Lulu she would  
make."

2009,october:  in Metropolitan Opera  Puccini's "Turandot"

The most complete performance came from the elegant Russian soprano Marina Poplavskaya as Liù, the slave girl devoted to Timur and in love with Calàf. She sang with warmth, beautifully earthy colorings and captivating pianissimo high notes.  (Antony Tommasini, NY Times)