The London Philharmonic Orchestra began its annual summer residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera on Saturday, opening the 2013 Festival with Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. This was Jurowski’s first fully-staged Strauss opera, in his final season as Glyndebourne Music Director. This summer also marks the LPO’s 50th year as Resident Symphony Orchestra at Glyndebourne.
Here are the reviews from the Ariadne auf Naxos opening night:
‘With Vladimir Jurowski and a slimmed-down contingent from the London Philharmonic spinning a delicate musical web, eye and ear can scarcely keep up with the pace’
Michael Church, The Independent
‘Vladimir Jurowski and his trimmed down London Philharmonic Orchestra work wonders with Strauss’ luminescent scoring, always maintaining that very telling balance between intimacy and grandiosity.’
Edward Seckerson, The Arts Desk
‘The mellow glow of the LPO under Vladimir Jurowski’s sensitive baton complements the vision perfectly, while a fine cast enhances the pleasure.’
Barry Millington, Evening Standard
‘Orchestrally, it’s beautiful.’
Tim Ashley, The Guardian
‘Vladimir Jurowski’s sensitive conducting provided soothing joy throughout’
Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph
‘Thirty-five of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s finest musicians did honour to Richard Strauss’s exquisite, lightly-textured score in a reading by Vladimir Jurowski that was sumptuous in its textures and lyrical in its beauty.’
Mark Valencia, Classical Source
‘Vladimir Jurowski coaxes lovely sounds from the chamber orchestra drawn from the LPO and the performance of Strauss’s miraculous score is the greatest strength of the evening.’
Simon Thomas, What’s On Stage
‘Departing music director Vladimir Jurowski draws delectable sounds from the London Philharmonic in the pit.’
George Hall, The Stage
‘And what about the music? In short, triumphant. Jurowski clearly loves the score and presided over a glowing, beautifully phrased, crystal clear account of some of Strauss’s loveliest music. With his typical thoroughness, Jurowski rethought his orchestral placing in the pit, grouping the woodwind at the front stage left, and what glorious oboe, clarinet and flute playing we heard as a result. Indeed, all the orchestral textures sounded clean and fresh, never overwhelming the singers but still producing astonishing intensity of sound at all the big moments.’
Mike Reynolds, Musical Criticism
‘Vladimir Jurowski was conducting his first fully-staged Strauss opera, and he coaxed eloquent playing from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, preserving the intimate quality of the work yet allowing for dramatic intensity where required. As the director remarked, “…there is probably no more fitting place for Ariadne auf Naxos than Glyndebourne…” and this first night was an auspicious beginning to Jurowski’s final season as Music Director.’
Melanie Eskenazi, MusicOMH
‘Vladimir Jurowski has a wonderful feel for Strauss’s sense of humour. The brasses of the London Philharmonic Orchestra blare just enough so we can hear the parody, the winds (especially the bassoons) wail like a bunch of mock tubas.’
Anne Ozorio, Opera Today
‘Vladimir Jurowski had the excellent LPO on a tight leash’
Mark Berry, Boulezian (blog)
‘Musically things are very good indeed. Conductor Vladimir Jurowski, in his final season as Glyndebourne’s musical director, shows once again why he will be so sorely missed … It’s a great achievement and just as the production made me see the drama anew, the conducting and playing made me hear the music anew.’
Capriccio (blog)
‘Vladimir Jurowski in the orchestra pit and Soile Isokoski as Ariadne fully brought out the magic of Richard Strauss’s music.’
Mark Ronan (blog)
You can watch the opera live on screen on 4 June 2013 in cinemas around the UK – visit the Glyndebourne website for more details.
Between now and the end of August, the Orchestra will also give performances of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with Jérémie Rhorer (a revival of the 2012 production); Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with Enrique Mazzola (a revival of the 2011 Tour production); and a revival of the 2010 production of Britten’s Billy Budd with Sir Andrew Davis. Visit the Glyndebourne website for more details.
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