Reviews
King Arthur
“Standouts include two singers rapidly becoming local favorites. Soprano Sarah Jane McMahon, last season's sly Mabel in City Opera's “The Pirates of Penzance,” wields her bright voice and clear diction with great style, radiating real star presence.” - Variety (March 2008)
“In a duet for sopranos, accompanied only by a continuo group and beautifully sung by Sarah Jane McMahon and Heidi Stober, the sheer intricacy of the entwining vocal lines is transfixing.” - The New York Times (March 2008)
“Sarah Jane McMahon's bright soprano and vivid interpretation of the text made her first song, “Hither this way,” a delight, and she was also heard to fine effect in a duet for two lovers near the end.” - The New York Sun (March 2008)
“If Morris' ensemble of dancers are often the focus on the opera's staging, his singers not only hold their own, they happily play along with his sense of fun. For example, the silvery-voiced soprano Sarah Jane McMahon does a little juggling (clad in a gorgeous Mizrahi take on the little black dress).” - TheaterMania.com (March 2008)
Der Zwerg“Sarah Jane McMahon, singing the Infanta in an attractive soprano, lent credibility to the Dwarf's misapprehension of her love with her kindly attitude towards him.” - Opera (December 2007)
“Sarah Jane McMahon laughed and danced as the glamorous Infanta, making a golden sound with an alluring light vibrato that evoked the young Pilar Lorengar.” - Opera News (November 2007)
“Sarah Jane McMahon sang with a bright soprano and was convincing as the manipulative, cruel princess.” - The New York Times (July 30, 2007)
“Sarah Jane McMahon not only manages her lovely soprano voice to perfection in her portrayal of the Infanta, her virtuosic command of movement is extraordinary.” - Berkshire Fine Arts.com (July 29, 2007)
“The spoiled Donna Clara is Sarah Jane McMahon, appropriately flirty, who sang pleasingly, with a bright, clean, effortless sound.” - The Independent (August 3, 2007)
“The soprano Sarah Jane McMahon, in fine voice, played the Infanta as one genuinely intrigued by the dwarf, even if she regards him as only a plaything.” - The Financial Times (August 7, 2007)
A Night at the Operetta“Sarah Jane McMahon, who looks like a beautiful pageant girl from the '70s, offered a superb, stylish rendition of ‘One Kiss.’” - Opera News (October 2007)
“The standout performance in an outstanding company was provided by Sarah Jane McMahon, the soprano recently seen as Mabel in New York City Opera's The Pirates Of Penzance. With a career that has covered opera, operetta and musical comedy, McMahon combined a gorgeous vocal sophistication, a sparkling presence and an intelligent sense of lyric phrasing for a divine solo of “One Kiss,” and the pairing of her and Jacoby for “Wanting You” set off beautiful romantic sparks.” - BroadwayWorld.com (July 23, 2007)
“McMahon in particular has a splendid voice to go with her beauty and stage bearing, and her mike-less “One Kiss” from “The New Moon“ was a spine-tingling highlight of the evening.” - Wolf Entertainment Guide (July 17, 2007)
Broadway by the Year“One of the smartest things Kudisch did was to bring along his colleagues from the recent City Opera production of The Pirates of Penzance , that production's model Major-General and Mabel, Mark Jacoby and Sarah Jane McMahon. McMahon is a pretty, trim opera soprano whose trilling is thrilling. She can also act up a storm and is not averse to doing a somersault and showing off her amazing yoga proficiency. She has all the makings of a brunette Kristin Chenoweth.” - Curtainup.com
“There are not enough superlatives to describe the extraordinary talent that was showcased during the most recent edition of Broadway By the Year: The Broadway Musicals of 1959. But if one performer managed to stand out among the nine who defined the word terrific, it was Sarah Jane McMahon, a beautiful coloratura who elicited cheers with her radiant singing of the familiar spirits- raising “Climb Every Mountain” from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music. McMahon, who most recently appeared as Mabel in a new production of The Pirates of Penzance at the New York City Opera, gave us reason to believe that this was a Mother Superior who was just waiting to show Mama Rose a thing or two. She also commandeered an audience-participating “Do Re Mi” during which she not only displayed a cascade of high notes a la Cunegonde but capped the number with a fearless split that would give many a nimble performer pause. McMahon's versatility was even more notable, however, in the sensitivity that defined her singing “I Wish it So,” from Mark Blitzstein's gorgeous score for Juno. She joined baritone Marc Kudisch (her co-star in Pirates, and who also admirably directed this concert) for an “unplugged” and playful singing of “Yesterday I Love You,” from Once Upon a Mattress. We got a hint at the top of the concert of what was ahead as she blended in with Emily Skinner, Mark Jacoby and Manoel Felciano to sing the title song from The Sound of Music a cappella.” - TheaterScene.net
“At most of the shows in the Broadway by the Year series there is at least one surprise, and for me the main one in “The Broadway Musicals of 1959” was Sarah Jane McMahon, with whose work I had not been familiar. Not only does she have a dazzling soprano operatic voice, but she is attractive, exhibits a sense of comedy in the fashion of Broadway musicals, and, as if that were not enough, she can sit with both legs behind her head, a habit she says she acquired as a little girl when watching television. McMahon played Mabel in a recent production of “The Pirates of Penzance” at the New York City Opera. Wish I had seen it. The quality of McMahon's voice became immediately apparent as she led off the show singing “The Sound Of Music,” the title number from one of the hit productions of 1959, along with Mark Jacoby, also in “Pirates,” Emily Skinner and Manoel Felciano. Her subsequent “I Wish It So” from “Juno,” “Doe a Deer” and “Climb Every Mountain” solos, and her participation in such numbers as “Take Me Along” from the same titled show, “Yesterday I Loved You” from “Once Upon a Mattress” and “Let Me Entertain You” from “Gypsy” further emphasized what a find she is. Evidently Placido Domingo had a similar reaction. He invited her to join his Los Angeles Opera company.” - Wolf Entertainment Guide
Full Review at WolfEntertainmentGuide.com
“Imagine, for instance, Sarah Jane McMahon, fresh from her stint as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance at New York City Opera, ending “Do Re Mi” (from “Music”) in full splits. McMahon's soprano sounded glorious in this and other numbers, including “Let Me Entertain You” (form “Gypsy”), where she not only proved that she could do cartwheels, but also demonstrated her prowess as a contortionist. McMahon also delivered a ravishing “I Wish It So” from Juno.” - American Theater Web
“And Sarah Jane McMahon bringing a serene, yet soaring reverence to “Climb Every Mountain.”” - Variety
Musetta - Puccini's La Bohème“Sarah Jane McMahon was everything a Musetta should be: gorgeous, pert and beautifully voiced. While some Musettas tend toward screechiness, McMahon maintained a smooth, quicksilver tone through her most challenging lines. Her rendition of Musetta's waltz was splendid; her quieter moments in the final act were true and moving.” - The Times-Picayune (April 25, 2007)
Mabel - Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance“Sarah Jane McMahon, as Mabel, gave a superb account of that showpiece ("Poor Wand'ring One") and proved the most polished and flexible singer in the cast. Also a deft comic actress, she had no trouble leaving the stage in one scene with a series of perfectly turned cartwheels.” - New York Times (March 10, 2007)
“Sarah Jane McMahon, the operatic ringer of the bunch, not only sings beautifully as Mabel but athletically performs a series of cartwheels to boot.” - The Hollywood Reporter (March 27, 2007)
“Soprano Sarah Jane McMahon makes a lovely Mabel with an impressive coloratura and a mean cartwheel which she uses to exit the stage after her second act aria.” - TheaterScene.net
“Broadway regulars Marc Kudisch and Mark Jacoby bring musical comedy sass to the opera house, while opera-trained Sarah Jane McMahon proves their match.” - Variety (March 8, 2007)
“The performer who stands out comes not from the world of Broadway but from opera. Soprano Sarah Jane McMahon gives a delightfully witty, spunky performance as the lovestruck Mabel, even making a cartwheeling exit at one point. She also sings like a dream, making such songs as "Poor Wand'ring One" a special pleasure.” - The Record (March 15, 2007)
“Sarah Jane McMahon not only brings a rich soprano, pretty face, and good figure to the role of Mabel but at one point exits the stage with a double somersault.” - CurtainUp.com
“Sarah Jane McMahon is also delightful as Mabel. She has great comic pitch and timing, and during a parry with a flute, she really shows off her vocal ability. But she has other amazing talents which she demonstrates in one hand-over-foot exit. It has to be seen to be appreciated.” - NYTheatre.com
“McMahon provides the energy that causes the stage lights to pulse a little every time she comes onstage. She manages the seemingly impossible: to sing coloratura well and evoke a whole panoply of those who have sung it badly.” - Newsday.com
“Sarah Jane McMahon is a particularly spirited, fetching, and athletic Mabel.” - TheaterMania (March 10, 2007)
“Sarah Jane McMahon proves as adept at cartwheels as high-flying cadenzas in Mabel's 'Poor Wandering One,' later exhibiting depth of feeling in 'Ah, Leave Me Not to Pine.'” - BackStage (March 10, 2007)
“Sarah Jane McMahon's clear, agile soprano made for a fine Mabel, and I was grateful Ms. Groag gave her the opportunity to make something expressive of her duet with Frederic, an opportunity she did not squander.” - The New York Sun (March 10, 2007)
Dorinda - Handel's Orlando“The young soprano Sarah Jane McMahon sang Dorinda with fetching charm and a lovely, agile voice.” - The Washington Post (November ’06)
“Miss McMahon was coy and winsome as the passionate but puzzled Dorinda.” - Washington Post (November ’06)
“Sarah Jane McMahon had a sugary sweet soprano sound with probably the best acting at this production.” - AllArts4U.com (November ’06)
Galatea - Handel's Acis and Galatea“Sarah Jane McMahon's Galatea was bright, active, and fastidiously musical. She cut a nice figure on stage.” - New York Times (April ’06)
“Moving like a dancer and singing with expressive tone, Sarah Jane McMahon was a nimble Galatea.” - Opera News Online (July ’06)
“As Galatea, Sarah Jane McMahon sang the lead fluently.” - The New Yorker (April ’06)
“At the heart of this sexy production is the pleasant and sensual Sarah Jane McMahon as Galatea.” - The New York Feuilleton (May ’06)
“Sarah Jane McMahon (as Galatea) was fluent and pleasing vocally—and she's obviously a trained dancer, very expressive onstage. The whole well-staged progression of chorus, recit and the sublime “Heart, the seat of soft delight”—perhaps the most moving aria in English after Dido's Lament—got my tears going in a way they're rarely engaged in the opera house these days.” - Gay City News (May ’06)
Magnolia - Kern's Show Boat“Sarah Jane McMahon's Magnolia is ravishing, both in her exquisite, supple soprano (which hits a high C in "After the Ball") and in her porcelain beauty. Her character carries a local symbolism since she is called "Nola" for short. Akin and McMahon singing "Make Believe" and especially the operetta duet "You are Love," make musical magic.” - (June ’06)
Cleopatra - Handel's Giulio Cesare
“Dazzling is not too strong a word to describe Sarah Jane McMahon...
The young raven-haired Yale graduate was electric onstage... She excelled in a difficult singing role that also requires
strong acting to convey everything from bright humor to sexual allure and
pathos.
McMahon was funny as she entered admiring herself in a mirror, then was
impressive in Handel's strenuous, ornate up-and-down runs, and then was
mesmerizing in her subdued love arias, particularly "V'adoro pupille".
She soared easily to full high notes, then floated some beautiful pianos whose
effect was all the greater because of the small auditorium's intimacy. She moved
with a dancer's grace. Lying on the floor in a lover's dejected agony did not
hamper her vocal projection. And, in an intimate moment with Caesar, she gave an
intriguingly drawn-out delivery of the word “darling,” imbuing it with a quality
that, by itself, probably justified a PG-13 rating.” - The Hartford Courant (August ’05)
“As Cleopatra, McMahon's timbre is rich and warm, with a thrilling finish at the top, an unusual combination in a genre that stresses vocal flexibility. She is nothing short of vocally ravishing in the second act paean to love, “V'adoro pupile.” One senses a star in the making.” - The Day (August ’05)
Naiad - R. Strauss' Ariadne Auf Naxos“Naiad and Echo were interpreted by soprano resident artists, Sarah Jane McMahon and Johee Choi, who together with mezzo-soprano, Deanne Meek, formed a harmonious trio of nymphs. These fine young artists looked and sounded heavenly.” - Opera Japonica (’04)
Sari - Kalman's Sari“The singers bring fine, if not stellar voices to their roles, with the striking addition of Sarah Jane McMahon, whose soprano has a bright, pleasing sheen that recalls the young Barbara Hendricks.” - Opera News
“The cast standout was Sarah Jane McMahon as Sari, Racz’s daughter. McMahon is quite a package; she’s extremely pretty, with plenty of stage prescence and a high dance kick that scrapes the chandeliers. Her voice is fresh and unforced, with potential to grow.” - The Repository
“Sarah Jane McMahon was a sparkling Sari, dancing spectacularly and singing with brilliance.” - The American Record Guide
Mabel - Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance“Sarah Jane McMahon handles Mabel’s often-comic vocal ornamentations with ease.” - The Denver Post
Abigail Williams - Ward's The Crucible“The young and demure Sarah Jane McMahon sings the role of the manipulating, yet tormented Abigail Williams with great finesse. Her luscious soprano is matched with superb acting skills.” - The Des Moines Register
Susanna - Mozart's Le Nozze Di Figaro“Sarah Jane McMahon as Susanna is lovely and winning in both acting and musicality; her confidence and poise grow perceptibly throughout the performance, and by her featured aria, “Deh vieni, non tardar,” she achieves a creamy nuance of tone.” - The New Haven Register