"The production features...mezzo-soprano Dawn Pierce as Metella...From a purely vocal standpoint, the opening night show was a performance in which the female voices were a notch or two above most of the men singing opposite them. And leading the way in that respect was Pierce, who sang with a deep, rich voice that filled the hall and then some. She got the show off to a good start in the early going with her denial aria, "I don't know them." One only wished she had a larger role vocally as the work moved along."

"Dawn Pierce gave Butterfly's devoted servant Suzuki endearing warmth, her clear voice dramatically expressing all the fears that Butterfly denies. Together, they provided the opera's most moving sections."

"...mezzo-soprano Dawn Pierce scored another triumph as Thisbe. Her robust sound was readily projected; it was throaty when communicating high dudgeon and soared evenly when expressing rage. Pierce's flair for comedy was a contrast to her recent tragic roles for the Fletcher Opera Institute - Idamante in Idomeneo and the title role in The Rape of Lucretia."

"Mezzo-soprano Dawn Pierce sang Idamante with warm tone and focused intonation. The Prince's constant struggles among his love for his long-lost father, filial duty, and his newly-found passionate love for Ilia were bought vividly to life."

"There is not a single weak member in the splendid cast of singers from the Fletcher Opera Institute. All sang without any signs of strain, everyone was at ease within the vocal ranges, and the diction was excellent.

Mechem poured the greatest depths in this opera into the role of Orgon's long-suffering second wife Elmire. Dramatic (mezzo) soprano Dawn Pierce plumbed the core of this role, paying careful attention to nuances of expression and emotions. Act III opens with a splendid piece in which Elmire reflects upon men, women's relationships with them, and an unromantic view of human loneliness. This would make an effective addition to any vocal recital. Poulenc-like, the composer pricks the balloon of seriousness and pops back quickly to comedy. Pierce's attempts to seduce Tartuffe - and above all, her coughing signals to get Orgon to come out of hiding - were comic tours de force worthy of the best of the Marx Brothers."

"Mezzo-soprano Dawn Pierce combined a marvelously even-toned voice and superb diction with total identification with the role of Irene.

Britten's Rape of Lucretia Receives Vivid NCSA-FOI Production Posted: May 5, 2004 Mezzo-soprano Dawn Pierce brought a firmly supported voice, clear diction, and subtle acting to the role of Lucretia. She projected, at the outset, dutiful domesticity, followed by portrayals of a frightened hostess and then a struggling rape victim who then dealt with the wrenching aftermath of the crime, leading to her suicide."

"Dawn Pierce did a fantastic job in the title role of Carmen, a sultry and seductive gypsy who plays with the heart and mind of a soldier named Don Jose. Miffed that she has no effect on him, Carmen tosses a rose at him during her break from working at the cigarette factory in Seville, Spain. Pierce's voice was strong and soft and always full....

As the mezzo soprano sings in French, her thoughts are written all over her face. The set of her jaw. The posistion of her lips. The arch of an eyebrow. The intense, prolonged look with her brown eyes that unsettles the leading man..."