28 May 2017
The Guardian ★★★★★ by Andrew Clements
‘Under John Eliot Gardiner and his exceptional group of musicians, every element in Monteverdi’s 1607 music drama was perfectly scaled and projected’
‘This year, there’s no shortage of performances marking the 450th anniversary of the birth of Claudio Monteverdi. But if any of the events still to come match the concert stagings of the three surviving operas that John Eliot Gardiner is touring all summer with the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and his troupe of solo singers, we will be very lucky indeed.’
The Times ★★★★★ by Rebecca Franks
‘This production of the first great opera ever written is otherworldly and unforgettable, letting Monteverdi’s genius shine through’
‘Played straight through, without an interval, it was all magically coherent, every phrase totally memorable.’
‘Monteverdi’s genius shone through at every turn in this vibrant, heartfelt performance…’
‘Every soloist caught the ear, particularly Lucile Richardot’s plangent La Messaggera and Gianluca Buratto’s sepulchral Caronte/Plutone.’
theartsdesk.com by Stephen Walsh
‘A better presentation of this beautiful, serene masterpiece would be hard to imagine’
‘The music’s madrigalian character means a lot of work for the chorus, and here the Monteverdi Choir were in their element, singing, dancing and acting with verve, precision but evident enjoyment.’
‘Anna Dennis was excellent, for the third time of asking, as Speranza, the Hope that is abandoned entering Hades; Lucile Richardot handled superbly her long, slow entrance as the bearer of ill tidings. But in the end it was Adam and Buratto who mattered, the first great operatic confrontation; and Gardiner, the ultimate master of ceremonies.’
