9 Aug 2017
The Independent ★★★★★ by Alexandra Coghlan
‘John Eliot Gardiner’s instinct for Berlioz has been honed over many years, and the result here was a performance brimming with detail and colour.’
‘Was it Ann Hallenberg’s glowing “D’amour l’ardente flame” ... the easy brilliance of Michael Spyres’ “Nature immense”, or Laurent Naouri’s plausible, clubbable Mephistopheles that was the evening’s highlight? It would be impossible to choose.’
theartsdesk.com ★★★★ by David Nice
’...he tore through the livelier scenes with the sharpest of edges from his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique’
The Financial Times (prem) ★★★★
‘One of the delights of Gardiner’s Berlioz has always been that he plays these effects to the hilt: the hellish trombones, the woozy solo bassoon trailing after the students, the plaintive cor anglais haunting Marguerite, every detail told.’
The Times (prem) ★★★★★ by Neil Fisher
‘John Eliot Gardiner[‘s] Berlioz performances [...] have become Proms highlights, and this thrilling night was no exception.’
‘All four soloists were on strong form. [...] Next year he returns to the Proms with the same forces as Aeneas in Berlioz’s Les Troyens. Don’t miss it.’
