ENO - Medea

MusicOMH“English National Opera deserves a big round of applause...” A resplendent Sarah Connolly as the sorceress Medea, shunted aside by her lover Jason to make way for a politically advantageous marriage. Vocally dominant throughout, she seamlessly worked her way through Charpentier’s demanding writing...

Opera Britannia“ A stupendous cast and production...” This was a peculiarly frustrating evening – to see this array of talent being brought to bear on a work that they clearly regard with huge affection and yet to still find the work in the main unrewarding is the opposite of what I had hoped for...

The Stage“An evening to relish, for Charpentier’s score as much as the cast...” Lynne Page’s choreography leaves a mixed impression, and the demons who aid Medea in her nefarious schemes look cliched. But the central drama is convincingly realised by an exceptional cast...

Exeunt“There are some beautifully inventive touches to the staging...” Christian Curnyn conducts Charpentier’s score with sensitivity and understanding, but it is the combination of elements, the relationship between the music and the staging, that makes this opera come so vividly to life...

Whatsonstage.com“It is Creon who provides the behind-the-scenes climactic trauma... ” Charpentier’s score is gorgeous, conducted with characteristic precision and vigour by Christian Curnyn, and along with a drama that, after a shaky start, grips like a vice, makes this rare foray into French baroque an unmissable treat...

The Independent“The most brilliant show to have graced the Coliseum in years...” If Conolly's singing – with its very high tessitura - is a delight, so is Catherine Manley’s bewitchingly pure-toned Creusa, Jeffrey Francis’s sweet tenor, Roderick Williams’s versatile baritone, Aoife O’Sullivan’s camp Cupid...

The Observer“Christian Curnyn's exquisite conducting is near-perfect...” Its theatrical success lies in McVicar's ability to find a metaphor that embraces both the classical narrative and the mix of song, dance and declamatory recitative which are integral to the form...

The Telegraph“A small miracle has occurred...” McVicar wisely doesn’t expect us to take anything too seriously; this is as much pantomime as it is tragedy, and it looks stunningly chic. Sarah Connolly carries all before her in the title-role: here is an artist majestically in her prime...

The Arts Desk“Has all the momentum of its Greek original...” The music won’t satisfy melody junkies or those craving high-wire coloratura thrills, but for social and individual psychology it leaves Handel still puzzling over the instruction manual...