McGegan “expressive as ever”
“McGegan has always prized flexibility and dramatic immediacy, as Saturday’s performance in Berkeley’s First Congregational Church showed… “He gave the singers their time and they rewarded him and the audience with superbly characterized performances, even though Judas doesn’t dwell on plot details or character interactions. Several times, he leaned over the podium to listen carefully […]
“Taylor’s versatile voice: sweetness and light or fearless and daring”
“What made this performance truly exceptional to me was the replacement of the usual contralto parts with a countertenor. There was a warm glow to Daniel Taylor’s “But who may abide” and “Good tidings from Zion” that simply doesn’t exist in the much cooler contralto timbre. And what a versatile voice — he could be […]
Moore’s 5-Star Messiah
“Contralto Diana Moore relished Handel’s word-painting, tenderly singing of lambs and shepherds at one moment and then vividly recalling the horrors of the crucifixion the next. And like all the soloists her eye-contact with the audience was a vital part of the effect.”5***** -ReviewsGate
Adams’ splendid, rich bass/baritone Messiah
“…splendidly direct with Hadleigh Adams’ rich bass/baritone full of character” Read more at Stuff
McGegan “master at communicating with his audiences”
“Here, as earlier, the Cleveland Orchestra musicians were putty in the conductor’s batonless hands, especially in the expressive Andante. If you went on your way after the warm ovation whistling the infectious Rondo tune, thank both Joseph Haydn and Nicholas McGegan — each of them masters at communicating with their audiences.” Read more at Cleveland […]
“Moore was serenely radiant as Gerontius’ guardian Angel”
“Diana Moore was serenely radiant as Gerontius’ guardian Angel, quietly ecstatic in her intensity as her charge approached his Judgment (and what a climax Weaver drew from the orchestra!). Her Farewell, underscored by choral entreaties and praises, was like a sacrament.” Read more at Midlands Music Review
McGegan’s “inimitable panache”
“Stocked with lovely works from the Classical period and led with inimitable panache by Nicholas McGegan, the evening is one of pure, uncomplicated enjoyment.” Read more at The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Williams “is Giovanni incarnate”
“Cast in Don Giovanni’s title role, bass-baritone Douglas Williams delights. Outrageously handsome, the dashing young American lead essentially devours the stage in a strikingly charismatic performance, his… high note-friendly instrument rippling with honeyed charm. Soloing on mandolin, albeit for only a few bars, Williams utterly captivates with a gently playful rendition of Mozart’s irresistible serenade, […]
McGegan’s lofty season opener with Philhamornia Baroque Orchestra
“In the nine-movement “Ode,” McGegan’s lively conducting and joyful interactions with the vocalists and lush-sounding orchestra instilled the occasion with vibrancy… “In “Terpsichore,” a prologue of the opera “Il pastor fido,” McGegan guided the orchestra with stately grace through the Prelude. It was followed by an energetic gallop culminating in a foot stomp from the […]
Agnew shocks and awes with Gesualdo’s sacred madrigals
“Leading it all from his place in the semicircle of singers was Paul Agnew, who gave the most minimal of cues during the performance. Yet his musical direction was evident in the great variety of timbres and effects achieved by his ensemble, and in its secure navigation of this composer’s tortured harmonies…. “Superbly attentive to […]
