This author has yet to write their bio.Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud Jessica Massey contributed a whooping 95 entries.
★★★★ Rowena Smith, The Guardian “… an interesting, imaginative programme brought to life in a vivid performance from the singers and instrumentalists of the Dunedin Consort.” Read the full review here.
Oliver Strauch, OM Online “clear, brilliant pianissimo and breathtaking forte passages, clarity in language and expression and musical precision…” Read the full review here.
★★★★★ Ken Walton, The Scotsman “An intoxicating cocktail.” Read the full review here.
★★★★ Keith Bruce, The Herald “There is no one hero in this work because it is an ensemble triumph, with conductor John Butt and the Dunedin Consort making a glorious success of Wallen’s clever mix of old and new music.” Read the full review here.
Ken Walton, Vox Carnyx “At the emotional heart of Dido’s Ghost, however, is Matthew Brook’s towering portrayal of Aeneas, which, with Wallen’s and Stace’s evocative writing, invests in the character a human depth that Purcell opted not to explore to any great extent in his own opera.” Read the full review here.
★★★★ Flora Willson, The Guardian “A beguiling tapestry of fragmentary quotations and knowing gestures to an earlier music language, overlaid with a contemporary sonic palette.” Read the full review here.
★★★★★ Robert Beale, The Arts Desk “It’s a stimulating piece of creation and adaptation, done to a very high standard indeed, and may even be remembered as one of the most striking and original artistic products of the Covid era.” Read the full review here.
★★★★ George Hall, The Stage “Wallen’s skilful score offers atmosphere, variety and some impressive characterisation and is finely sung and played in a performance founded on the excellent Baroque specialist Dunedin Consort under conductor John Butt; musical standards are high throughout.” Read the full review here.
★★★★ Alexandra Coglan, iNews “This is a bold reimagining of Purcell’s classic… All are superb, but it’s Matthew Brook’s Aeneas who carries the piece. The feckless charmer of Purcell’s origin here becomes wiser and sadder – finally a man worthy of the Lament, which he delivers with heart-stopping vulnerability and tenderness.” Read the full review […]
Claire Seymour, Opera Today “Dunedin Consort played with characteristic vividness, relishing the dynamic counterpoint, melodic rhetoric and rhythmic spring… Matthew Brook gave an outstanding performance as the man forced, simultaneously, to re-live his past and re-examine his present.” Read the full review here.
Geoff Brown, The Times “… there was the lively precision of John Butt’s Dunedin Consort, its period instruments regularly spiked with the electric guitars that signalled when Wallen had arrived and Purcell had left.” Read the full review here.
Robert Hugill, Planet Hugill 4.5/5 stars “… breathtakingly daring yet intelligently done.” Read the full review here.
The Economist “A conversation across centuries and styles… Dido’s Ghost hauntingly shows that so-called “period” instruments can, and should, play key parts in the music of today.” Read the full review here.
Keith Bruce, Vox Carnyx “It is desirable beyond argument that Dido’s Ghost becomes a repertoire work.… Dunedin stalwart Matthew Brook has never been better than he is here… Nardus Williams as the supportive Belinda is also a powerful presence, and Scots mezzo Allison Cook is fearsome as Lavinia…” Read the full review here.
★★★★ David Smythe, Bachtrack “a dramatic and thrilling work… Purcell’s work is performed as a memory masque, not quite bookended by the new work as the ghosts take over and the operas collide at the end with an extraordinary and unexpected twist” Read the full review here.
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