Reviews & Features
Il barbiere di Siviglia
★★★★★
"Mezzo-soprano Katie Bray's Rosina is as much in charge of her destiny as she is of her high notes"
Charles Hebbert, Culture Whisper, 2 June
★★★★
"Christopher Luscombe directs for the first time at this address, bringing a wealth of experience in the management of comedy – spoken and sung – to his task. The result is consistently entertaining"
George Hall, The Stage, 1 June
★★★★
"Garsington's sharp and sunny Rossini ... The detailed 1930s sets by Simon Higlett are ravishing"
Neil Fisher, The Times, 1 June
★★★★
"Johannes Kammler’s unctuously acted and sonorously sung Figaro was a commanding presence from the moment he circled the stage on a bicycle"
Melanie Eskenazi, MusicOMH, 3 June
★★★
"Much, including the shaving scene of Doctor Bartolo, is razor-sharp and everything is light on its feet"
Richard Fairman, Financial Times, 2 June
★★★
"Douglas Boyd led The English Concert in a vivacious, buoyant reading of the score, with some particularly fine woodwind playing"
Dominic Lowe, Bachtrack, 2 June
"Callum Thorpe as Basilio exuded a double-espresso vocal kick out of all proportion to the scale of his role"
"The singing was consistently sunny and supple, and Boyd and his band matched it for grace, colour and wit."
Richard Bratby, The Spectator, 8 June
Mitridate, re di Ponto
★★★★
"The barnstorming role of the tyrannical but heroic Mitridate is sung with utter commitment by Robert Murray – an experienced Mozart tenor who here attains the heights of tragedy"
George Hall, The Stage, 2 June
★★★★
"Conductor Clemens Schuldt has a firm hand on the pace and drama, and lively, lovely playing from the English Concert drives the opera forward"
Rebecca Franks, The Times, 2 June
★★★★
"Garsington’s cast delivers the goods in fine style"
Richard Fairman, Financial Times, 2 June
★★★★1/2
"Tim Albery’s production and Hannah Clark’s designs were the ideal backdrop for these tempestuous characters"
Melanie Eskenazi, MusicOMH, 5 June
★★★★
'... A rare light is shone here upon the boy Mozart, allowing those of us who love the work of the mature master to better grasp his route to the top. Those who appreciate Mozart will understand him a lot better after seeing this wonderful performance'
David Mellor, Mail on Sunday, 4 June
★★★★
"Davies, consistently musical, expressive and characterful, turns louche Farnace from villain to hero, while Kemény’s high-minded Sifare is sung with purity"
Claudia Pritchard, Culture Whisper, 2 June
★★★
"Albery has assembled five voices that are exceptionally strong and vividly differentiated"
Michael Church, The Independent, 2 June
★★★
"Soprano Louise Kemény, in the trouser role of Sifare, was particularly impressive; impassioned yet dignified, the perfect foil to Iestyn Davies’ wonderfully louche, repellent Farnace, who brought a Handelian sense of line to his often furiously hectic vocal fireworks"
Stephen Pritchard, Bachtrack, 2 June
★★★
"Elizabeth Watts is an immaculate Aspasia, stopping time in Act III’s ravishing “Pallid’ ombre”, her richer tones a foil to Soraya Mafi’s silvery clarity and Swarovski coloratura as Ismene"
Alexandra Coghlan, inews, 2 June