Critically Acclaimed

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro
Royal Ballet and Opera
Riccardo Fassi; Giulia Semenzato; Germán E. Alcántara; Federica Lombardi; Hanna Hipp; Gregory Bonfatti
"McVicar’s elegant production strikes a perfect balance between the high seriousness and slapstick comedy of this timeless, surpassingly brilliant work, whose story unfolds in one single day." (The Independent ★★★★★)
"... a fizzy, funny, hugely accomplished revival ..." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★)
"A lively Riccardo Fassi and Giulia Semenzato spark off of each other as Figaro and Susanna… the remaining cast is excellent." (Opera Now ★★★★)

The Royal Opera Collection
Royal Ballet and Opera
Renée Fleming; Jonas Kaufmann; Diana Damrau; Simon Keenlyside; Anna Caterina Antonacci; Joseph Calleja
"This is a 'Must See' opera!...You'll regret it if you don't!" (Musical Opinion - Le Nozze di Figaro)
"It is the best opera written over the last twenty years." ( Le Monde - Written on Skin)
"Nicola Luisotti draws sensuous playing from the ROH orchestra, he and Paul Wingfield generating daring and witty dissonances in their keyboard continuo." (The Independent ★★★★ - Don Giovanni)

Shakespeare: Henry VI Parts I-III
Royal Shakespeare Company
Mark Quartley; Christopher Middleton; Minnie Gale; Oliver Alvin-Wilson; Ashley D Gayle; Mark Hadfield
"thrilling games of thrones" (The Guardian ★★★★★)
"... powerful and well-measured performances across the board from a necessarily high-energy cast - and impressive production values further recommending the shows..." (Midlands Whats On ★★★★★)
"a bloody, unruly triumph" (The Daily Mail ★★★★)

Monteverdi: Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Teatro La Fenice, Venice
Hana Blažíková; Krystian Adam; Furio Zanasi; Lucile Richardot; Michał Czerniawski; Gareth Treseder
"It's the dramatic power of Monteverdi's music that comes through most strongly, exactly as it should." (The Guardian ★★★★★)
"Gardiner’s Monteverdi Odyssey begins, aptly and superbly, with his Odysseus masterpiece" (The Arts Desk ★★★★★)
"In gorgeous aubergine silk, with a voice to match, Lucile Richardot made a wonderfully imploring and dignified Penelope. Furio Zanasi was her vivid Ulisse; he makes everything he sings sound as natural as speech." (The Times ★★★★★)

Monteverdi: L’Orfeo
Teatro La Fenice, Venice
Hana Blažíková; Krystian Adam; Anna Dennis; Kangmin Justin Kim; Lucile Richardot; Francesca Boncompagni
"Binding it together was Gardiner, knowing exactly when to allow the drama to unfold naturally, when to give it an extra push and how to give the ceremonial moments, with cornetti and sackbuts to the fore, regal and magical power. Played straight through, without an interval, it was all magically coherent, every phrase totally memorable." (The Guardian ★★★★★)

Britten: The Rape of Lucretia
Glyndebourne
Christine Rice; Allan Clayton; Kate Royal; Duncan Rock; Matthew Rose; Catherine Wyn-Rogers
"This new production… the first at Glyndebourne since Britten’s chamber opera had its premiere there in 1946, is quite the darkest – and possibly the most truthful – you’re likely to see in some time." (The Times ★★★★★)
"Sonically, the recording is a treat: resonant, richly coloured, responsive to the detailed textural marvels of Britten's score, its timbres alive and true." (DVD of the Month - Opera)

Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov
Royal Ballet and Opera
Bryn Terfel; John Graham-Hall; John Tomlinson; Ain Anger; Vlada Borovko; Harry Nicoll
"In this, the first production of Mussorgsky's original 1869 Boris Godunov, Covent Garden field their A-team of director Richard Jones, conductor Antonio Pappano and bass-baritone Bryn Terfel. The opera is not just a historical epic but a deeply moving tragedy, with Tsar Boris's death scene, played out before his young son, so searing that on the first night the audience was reduced to stunned silence at the end. The closing minutes were as intense a piece of drama as most people present will have witnessed." (Mail on Sunday ★★★★★)

Shakespeare: The Comedy of Errors
Royal Shakespeare Company
Antony Bunsee; Guy Lewis; Jonathan Broadbent; Rowan Polonski; Greg Haiste; Hedydd Dylan
"After a period in which The Comedy of Errors has been busy as a headline on the government, the RSC gloriously reclaims it for theatre." (The Guardian ★★★★★)
"Across the cast, there are touches of brilliance and moments of high comedy, with Breen's directorial hand steering proceedings assuredly to their outrageous conclusion" (WhatsOn Stage ★★★★)
""... slice of Renaissance silliness embraces chaos ..." (Evening Standard ★★★★)

Rachmaninov; Messager: Rachmaninov: Rhapsody; Messager: The Two Pigeons
Royal Ballet and Opera
Natalia Osipova; Steven McRae; Lauren Cuthbertson; Vadim Muntagirov; Fumi Kaneko; Ryoichi Hirano
"Our favourite Russian ballerina is nothing if not electrifying, and so she proves here making her debut in Ashton's hymn to the glory of pure dance." (The Times ★★★★)
"Not only in close up, one-on-one partnerships, but Ashton can set a stageful of dancers going and you suddenly see Messager’s melodies and orchestrations come to life before your very eyes. That is more than mere choreography." (The Daily Express ★★★★)

Massenet: Manon
Royal Ballet and Opera
Sarah Lamb; Vadim Muntagirov; Ryoichi Hirano; Itziar Mendizabal; Gary Avis; Kristen McNally
"A beloved masterpiece" (The Daily Express ★★★★★)
"This popular, three-act ballet, with beautiful designs by Nicholas Georgiadis, is never out of the Royal Ballet’s repertory for long... only those with a heart of ice could fail to be moved by this tragic tale." (The Jewish Chronicle ★★★★★)
"The current revival is vividly played and danced by some first-rate casts." (The Financial Times ★★★★★)

Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Glyndebourne
Edgaras Montvidas; Tobias Kehrer; Brenden Gunnell; Franck Saurel; Sally Matthews; Mari Eriksmoen
"Mesmerising, sensitive, at times troublingly erotic, the whole thing forces us to rethink a remarkable work. Outstanding." (The Guardian ★★★★★)
"... the most exciting orchestral reading since Solti's 1987 version on Decca." (BBC Music Magazine ★★★★)

Starstruck - Gene Kelly's Love Letter to Ballet
Scottish Ballet
Sophie Martin; Christopher Harrison; Bruno Micchiardi; Javier Andreu; Roseanna Leney; Nicholas Shoesmith
"Heavenly ... Joyful ... Gloriously graceful ... An enthralling hour of deliciously unconventional ballet" (The Telegraph ★★★★★)
"A mix of styles that brings out the best in Scottish Ballet’s impressively versatile dancers, who fizz and sparkle" (The Herald ★★★★★)
"Exuberant escapism ... A feel-good comeback to live performance" (The Scotsman ★★★★★)