Opera Press Reviews

For June Spoon in Opera North’s production of David Fennessy’s Pass the Spoon, December 2025

With Amy J Payne as June Spoon, we were already guaranteed a larger-than-life portrait of a culinary celeb. But with the tenor Xavier Hetherington as her sous-chef foil Philip Fork, you had a recipe for kitchen chaos. Together they were hilarious.
Opera Magazine

Spare a thought for Amy J Payne, the gutsy mezzo-soprano who plays the title role in Opera North’s Pass the Spoon. Divas, of course, are used to leaping from castle walls or being swept away in avalanches but seldom is a singer required to be swallowed whole by a monstrous gourmand. Payne plays June Spoon, the vociferous host of a TV cookery programme….Payne worked tirelessly as Spoon, pumping out the decibels each time she hurled forth the word “soup”.

The Guardian

It’s impossible to imagine a more cheerfully domineering June Spoon than Amy J Payne, nor a more abject Phillip Fork than Xavier Hetherington….all excel.
The Stage

….Amy J Payne as June Spoon and tenor Xavier Hetherington as Phillip Fork clearly relish Fennessy’s perilous high-wire vocal writing.
Ilkley Gazette

The preparation of a three-course meal by an overbearing TV host called June Spoon and her alternately simpering or terrified sidekick, Phillip Fork (Amy J Payne and Xavier Hetherington, both superbly funny), does end with full-body cannibalism, the gleeful disembowelling of a larger-than-life gangster puppet, and solos for a dancing turd and a dung beetle.
The Times

Amy J. Payne is a dominant June Spoon and Xavier Hetherington a meekly helpless Philip Fork, both negotiating Fennessy’s odd pitches and distorted sound shapes with aplomb…..One thing is certain: cast and orchestra are wonderfully committed – and seem to enjoy themselves!
The Reviews Hub

Outsize personality June Spoon (Amy J Payne) and her co-host, the more accommodating Phillip Fork (Xavier Hetherington), present their regular show before a live audience, with the real audience in Leeds joining in as required; but on this occasion things go seriously wrong….The entire cast gives their all to this wacky piece of absurdist theatre….
Opera Now

…two hapless television hosts—the imperious June Spoon (Amy J Payne) and the dimwitted Phillip Fork (Xavier Hetherington)—find their carefully managed broadcast descending into chaos…The performances are finely calibrated for maximum comic impact, and the ensemble clearly relishes the material. Payne is a marvellously mercurial Spoon, shifting effortlessly from daytime- TV banality to something darker and more controlling, while Hetherington matches her for offbeat hilarity as her perpetually put-upon husband. Their scenes together are sharply timed, and there is a pleasing balance between Payne’s penetrating mezzo-soprano and Hetherington’s lighter, airier vocals.
British Theatre Guide

For Old Lady in Welsh National Opera’s production of Bernstein’s Candide, Autumn 2025

Amy J. Payne all but runs away with the ridiculous humour as the Old Woman. Her rich mezzo, her comic bite, her sheer presence is a vocal and theatrical tour de force.

South Wales Argus

…the Old Lady’s big number ‘I Am Easily Assimilated’ (performed with gusto by the excellent Amy J Payne)

Opera Scene

Amy J. Payne delivers a truly stand-out performance as the Old Woman: from the moment she first comes on stage, she consistently steals the scene, whether singing or acting.

Arts Scene in Wales

The singing by all members of the cast is excellent. Soraya Mafi stands out with a powerful voice and delightful timbre. Excellent is also Amy Payne as The Old Woman, delivering a funny and skillful performance…  

Get the Chance

Amy J Payne as the Old Woman gets lots of exposition in her backstory; she gets the piercing vocals of I Am Easily Assimilated right, too.

Buzz Mag

…and, perhaps above all, the panache displayed by Amy J Payne’s Old Lady is extraordinary.

Midlands Music Reviews

But the vocal honours go to Ed Lyon’s tireless, textured tenor lyricism as Candide…..and Amy J Payne’s joyous Old Lady – the latter a demonstration of how to maximise every opportunity in both text and score to brilliant comic effect. Equalling Payne’s stage savvy, Aled Hall offers a couple of highly skilled turns…..

The Stage

Mafi is sheer perfection as Cunégonde…. Her companion throughout many of her more dubious adventures is the Old Woman , a woman in possession of just one buttock, played with magnificent energy and humour by Amy J Payne, dressed in extravagant period costume.
Western Mail

For Olga in Lehár’s The Merry Widow for Scottish Opera, Spring 2025

….and outstanding in their more incidental roles were Matthew Kellett as a zappy Negus and Amy J Payne as an explosive Olga.

Opera Magazine

Come for the big tunes, stay for the straight-legged “Russian” folk dance performed unsmiling in dark glasses…… Christopher Nairne and Connor James Smith made one winning double act as warring Italians, Amy J Payne and Matthew Siveter as another, the ferocious “Russian” Kromows.

The Guardian

….Amy J Payne created the wondrous character of Olga out of virtually nothing.
Planet Hugill

In fact the whole cast is unsurprisingly stellar…. and although not a featured character, Olga played by Amy J Payne still managed to steal the scene with her fearsome expressivity.
North West End UK

…Matthew Siveter and Amy J Payne made the most of the Kromows’ cameo interjections
Opera Magazine

Matthew Siveter and Amy J Payne are a highlight as Mr. Kromow, a Russian mobster, and his wife Olga. Vocally, physically, comically, they make the absolute most of every moment they appear.
All Edinburgh Theatre

Russian mafioso Kromov and his wife Olga (bass-baritone Matthew Siveter in his Scottish Opera debut and multi-talented English mezzo Amy J Payne) delivered a strong deadpan comedic performance (with great Russian accents) but the highlight was their Russian dance… at the beginning of Act II, accompanied by the chorus in harmony – prompting a hugely merited ovation from the audience. Olga battering her husband when he dared to suspect her of infidelity was also a comedic gem.
Edinburgh Music Review

…Amy J Payne is hilarious as Olga, wife of the Russian mobster Mr Kromow.
The Stage

For Mother Goose in The Rake’s Progress for English Touring Opera, Spring 2024

Though it is not made clear that Mother Goose is running a brothel, Amy J Payne gives its dubious owner a definite vocal personality.
THE STAGE

Amy J Payne made the most of Mother Goose’s all-too-brief appearances and a costume that contained surprises worthy of Bunuel or Dali.
PLAYS TO SEE

A lot of Ms Graham’s casting did work really well…Amy J Payne proved to be a very seductive Mother Goose; that provocative, surrealist costume was alarming to say the least.
charleshutchpress

For Dame Carruthers, The Yeomen of the Guard at Opera Holland Park 2024

….Payne’s delightful smirk of satisfaction was pure joy……Amy J Payne’s Dame Carruthers was very conscious of her dignity, a performance that was funny without ever sending the character up, and Payne relished both of Carruthers’ solos giving the character musical satisfaction too.
Planet Hugill

With her rich mezzo-soprano, Amy J Payne is a suitably haughty Dame Carruthers….Payne’s interpretation, however, is perfectly pitched.
Music OMH

There are particularly memorable performances from Amy J Payne as a formidable Dame Carruthers…
The Times

Exhilarating: Amy J Payne and Darren Jeffrey both impress.
The Mail on Sunday

The cast is all in fine form, with sterling work from…Amy J Payne as Dame Carruthers
The Reviews Hub

Darren Jeffrey’s Sergeant Meryll is well-matched with Amy J Payne’s Dame Carruthers, and their duet, Rapture, Rapture, is a comic highlight.
Musical Theatre Review

The four-part madrigal “Strange Adventure” (Natasha Agarwal as Kate, Amy J Payne as Dame Carruthers, William Morgan as Fairfax and Darren Jeffrey as Sergeant Meryll) was a musical showstopper with every note and harmony deliciously accurate.
Susan Elkin

For Arnalta, The Coronation of Poppea for English Touring Opera 2023

There are some fine moments where the agile continuo group are allowed to carry the score, notably in the gorgeous lullaby to Poppea that Amy J Payne as Arnalta sings winningly…
The Telegraph

…but the most impressive performances come from Amy J Payne’s Arnalta…
London Evening Standard

…there are strong performances….particularly Amy Payne, crystal-clear both in diction and scheming intent
The Times

Actually the dramatic star is Amy J Payne as the nurse Arnalta, showing just how to bring character and depth to singing without moving a muscle, as with her beguiling lullaby as Poppea sleeps.
Opera Now

Mezzo Amy J Payne offers a star comic turn…
The Stage

…one of several artists who from their first notes made the listener sit bolt upright [was] the mezzo-soprano Amy J Payne, known to many as one of the best comprimarios on the circuit, here given a role commensurate with her talents as Arnalta
Bachtrack