VANESSA (Barber)

"[O'Regan Thiele's] portrayal is emotionally charged and finely nuanced.  Vanessa is a tragic figure as she denies reality and fights so desperately to stay in the past.  Thiele captured that brilliantly.  Thiele was also brilliant vocally, hitting the high notes of her demanding role with ease while still infusing her singing with a keen expressiveness.  It was quite an impassioned and virtuosic presentation".

"The musical success was made complete by a highly accomplished cast of singers.  In the demanding title role (written for Callas but passed down to Steber), Beverly O'Regan Thiele exuded glamour and elegance, physically and vocally.  Hers is an alluring sound and she possesses sound technical ability.  She convincingly makes the transition from desperate longing to almost girlish fulfillment.  She seems to have found a rich subtext to Vanessa, coupled as it is with well-judged vocal effects.... Happily, she doesn't force her beautiful tone beyond its limits and the overall achievement was thoroughly captivating".
- James Sohre - OPERA TODAY

"...Beverly O'Regan Thiele as the mercurial Vanessa...  [Thiele and Alice-Anne Light] expertly conveyed the story's psychological underpinnings as the women's physical and emotional situations gradually reverse.  Thiele sculpted elegant, well-turned phrases during the first act's 'He has come ... Do not utter a word'.  [Thiele and Light's] voices blended like sisters during ensembles, making it difficult at times to determine who was singing which line".
- Robert Coleman, OPERA NEWS

"Michael Ballam searched far and wide to find the right voice for the title role of Samuel Barber's "Vanessa".  With soprano Beverly O'Regan Thiele, he found the expressive qualities and vocal agility to tackle the challenge".


"It's a huge undertaking.  Thiele successfully spans the gamut from a self-absorbed, unabashed flirt to a delusional victim who has endured great suffering and now must depend upon the kindness of strangers.
The vocal challenges are just as great.  It's a long sing.  Plenty of critical lines are delivered at the bottom of the range.  Plenty more are high and floating pianissimos.  But with such soliloquies as "I can smell the sea air", Thiele held the audience in the palm of her hand."
-Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk, Grand Rapids Press; MLive

"The brilliant soprano, Beverly O'Regan Thiele, as Blanche DuBois, with Micaela Oeste's Stella, reached the climax of their opening duet that defined the evening's passion with utmost clarity and expressiveness."
"This was certainly one of the highlights of the year in Santa Barbara."
-Charles Donelan, Santa Barbara Independent

"Soprano Beverly O'Regan Thiele's Blanche DuBois, the fragile and complex aging Southern Belle, was magical."
"A perfect cast of acting singers was assembled for Opera Santa Barbara's riveting production of Previn's STREETCAR.  Soprano Beverly O'Regan Thiele sang the role of Blanche DuBois with the gentle ease of "Soft People" one of her most revealing arias."
-Daniel Kepl, Casa Magazine

"Beverly O'Regan Thiele, soprano, as Blanche DuBois, had a long night carrying the majority of the singing and character development... She was terrific!  All the principles were excellent."
-Joseph Giannino - Opera (Washington National Opera)

"San Francisco Opera premiered André Previn's A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE in September, 1998....  In that time, only two sopranos have left their mark on multiple productions in the leading role of Blanche DuBois: Renée Fleming, for whom the role was written, and Beverly O'Regan Thiele"
-Charles Donelan - Santa Barbara Independent


 "Beverly O'Regan Thiele delivered a very intelligently crafted rendering of Floyd's wronged innocent.  The climaxes of "Ain't it a pretty night" rang forth powerfully, and her performance was graced by a myriad of subtly specific touches; a draining of color from her sound for an exhausted "How long's it gonna last, Sam?" tore one's heart out."
- Mark Thomas Ketterson - Opera News

"...the real star is Beverly O'Regan Thiele, whose Susannah begins with a carefree spirit and gradually hardens as her neighbors make her an outcast.  By the end, she becomes completely unhinged.  The soprano... hasn't sung with DMMO since her turn as Abigail in 'The Crucible'.... and it's been too long.  She sings with clarity and streamlined sort of strength that is well suited to the role, especially with its unusually difficult intervals, and her stage presence balances both vulnerability and resolve."
- Michael Morain - Des Moines Register

THE SEAGULL (Pasatieri)

 "Best of the brilliant cast was Beverly O'Regan Thiele as the actress Irina Arkadina, Constantine's mother.  Thiele's interplay with Constantine was a study in the ambiguities of familial relations.  Arkadina thwarts and disrupts Constantine whenever he manages to draw the center of attention away from her, yet in the Act II confrontational discussion Thiele managed to convey the actress's genuine maternal love for Contantine.  Thiele's performance at the end of act III was the most powerful scene in the entire opera".
Arlo McKinnon - Opera News

"Beverly O'Regan Thiele had a commanding presence; not only was her voice tempestuous (as was her character's personality) but she....supplied the opera's few moments of levity.  Arkadina's presence was felt throughout the opera, and O'Regan handled it all with marvelous aplomb".
Victor Wheeler -

"The strong cast was led by the bright-voiced soprano Beverly O'Regan Thiele as the flamboyant Arkadina".
Anthony Tommasini - New York Times

THE CONSUL (Menotti)

 "Beverly O'Regan Thiele brought a shimmering soprano and naturally understated acting to Madga Sorel.  Thiele--young, small-boned and vulnerable-looking--suggested a once-vibrant woman with the passion, wt and confidence beaten out of her.  This Madga's quiet reaction to her infant's death was very moving--the more so for its restraint.... Thiele's way felt that much more honest and lived-in (compared to the other cast)."
- Joe Banna - Washington Post

"...soprano Beverly O'Regan Thiele displayed as much dramatic flair as vocal power.  Her show-stopping second act [aria], 'To this we've come', is enough reason in itself to make opera lovers want to buy the (first ever) CONSUL recording."
- Curtain Up

"Beverly O'Regan Thiele's Magda looked like 40's actress Madeleine Carroll in one of her trench-coat roles... She does boast a well-produced soprano of attractive timber and dramatic savvy."
- Richard Dyer - The Boston Globe

"It was drama at the highest level, performed by a cast whose vocal excellence matched their acting feats.  Magda Sorel, as portrayed by Beverly O'Regan Thiele, the wife of a hunted human prey, grew into a martyred figure of awesome dimension."
- Simon Wainrib - Berkshire Record

"...there isn't a weak link among them.  Beverly O'Regan Thiele was the doomed Magda, struggling beyond herself to survive a hostile world.  Thiele is strong at the beginnig, determined to save her family, but she is done in by circumstances and terror.  When she faces the secretary straight on "Aren't you secretaries human beings like us?', she speaks for all oppressed people at the mercy of functionaries.  When she is determined to 'burn these paper chains' and be free, she dominates the stage with the heroism of the human spirit and becomes one with the role."
- Ron Emery - Times Union, Albany

"Soprano Beverly O'Regan Thiele is compelling as the ill-fated Magda...  Thiele is up to the task of her very physical and gut-wrenching role.  Her voice is rich and her solos powerful, but combined with those of mezzo-soprano Joyce Castle, in the role of the Mother, there is magic on stage... With...great charisma between (Michael) Chioldi and Thiele and a social commentary that is poignant, the Berkshire Opera Company presents a potent musical experience that leaves a strong impact."
 - Rosemary Jette - North Adams Transcript

" outstanding cast of fine singer/actors who fashioned viable theater from an all-too-convincing subject...  The rich quality and flexibility of the two lead voices (O'Regan Thiele and Joyce Castle) is maintained throughout the taxing evening."
- Elsbet Wayne - The South Advocate

"Beverly O'Regan Thiele filled the role of Magda with a dramatic intensity and a brilliant voice.  Her agonized denunciation of human beings' inhumanity to each other in the second act - 'To this we've come' - was a show stopper and an overwhelming moment in the opera."
- Ron Lee - Entertainment Scene - WBRK Radio

"Making her impressive company debut as Magda Sorel, the central character who attempts to climb the wall of bureaucracy to gain her familuy's salvation, Beverly O'Regan Thiele brings to the role  scene-chewing dramatic flair, along with a hefty soprano.  Her second act aria, 'To this we've come' is a carefully layered emotional spree that on Broadway is known as a show-stopper."
- Richard Houdek - the Berkshire Eagle

"Beverly O'Regan Thiele as Magda Sorel... displayed not only a marvelous vocal capability in the second act aria, "To this we've come", but also demonstrated her fine acting ability and clear diction throughout the evening."
- Peter Marshall - Lakeville Journal and Millerton News

"Beverly O'Regan Thiele is magnificent vocally and dramatically as Magda Sorel."
- Bill Rice - The Daily Gazette