"For a long time, the only live performance of opera I heard was on the radio .... Until I discovered Opera North ... Just like at the Met, I've attended some phenomenal productions at Opera North ... And the principal singers at Opera North are the same professionals one would hear at any of the nation's premier opera houses ... These established professionals are joined by a new generation of performers as part of Opera North's Young Artist Program. This program, now in its twenty-fifth year, offers talented singers great opportunities to train and perform in the early stages of their careers. The program also offers the audience a chance to hear remarkable new voices ... These days, I just bask in the spectacle from my affordable, good seat, listening to great, live opera, 264 miles north of the Met."

This commentary was written by Deborah Lee Luskin
for Vermont Public Radio and aired 7/28/09.
Click here to find the complete
text and audio.

"Opera North is staging an exceptionally exuberant and joyous version of Rossini's most popular work .... The production is fortunate to have three very fine singers in the leads: Arthur Espiritu as the lovesick Count Almaviva, Leah Partridge as his love, Rosina, and Jose Adan Perez as Figaro, the rascally barber who both creates chaos and restores order to the universe ... the production is first-rate, and every inch the comic entertainment that Rossini intended it to be."

Nicola Smith
Valley News, Opera Review
August 15, 2009

"This show was strong on talent and a sound ensemble cast and chorus made this Carmen a clear success .... If you haven't seen this Carmen yet, may I strongly recommend that you don't miss it. Opera North is on a good roll, and it just keeps getting better every year."

Paul Joseph Walkowski
OperaOnline.us
August 14, 2009

"... at the beginning of Act IV, when the crowd masses in anticipation of Escamillo's bull fight, the production is at its best. The music is intoxicating, the orchestra is playing with a controlled abandon, the chorus sings confidently and with heart. It's thrilling .... Here is why people go to the opera.

Nicola Smith
Valley News
August 8, 2009

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