Leigh Melrose / Recenzii

The orchestra played at its best, with good and polished sound and with contagious enthusiasm for the first time in the season. Even if Ivor Bolton gave a vivid rendition of the score, with quick tempi and vibrant accent, he did not find the unclassifiable tone that the score requires (he cannot be too harshly blamed, though). He rightly underlined the comic traits with a joyous touch of operetta and saturating sound in the tutti, favouring volume over contrast and colour. The chorus suffered a bit from the loud pit but sounded fine in the carnival scenes.A more attractive cast would have raised the stakes of the performance, but no singer seemed willing (or able) to take the lead. Manuela Uhl is a fine singer with a powerful lyric soprano that makes her perfect for Wagner's “blonde heroines". Isabella.Christopher Maltman was brilliant as the awkward villain, Friedrich. He is a great actor and was the only one who offered an original and genuinely comic performance. Vocally, his lyric baritone lacked authority and even timbre, but he gave an overall good rendition. Bass Ante Jerkunica, an interesting voice, made the most of his funny judgement scene. Ilker Arcayürek was overwhelmed by the otherwise reasonable requirements of the beautifully written role of Claudio, and even lost his voice during the final duo with Isabella. The other tenor, of a very similar vocality, Peter Lodahl, had better fortune as Luzio.

Olga Neuwirth - ORLANDO - WORLD PREMIERE - 08.12.201 Eric Jurenas as GUARDIAN ANGEL - Wiener Staatsoper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Presiding over all this is the GUARDIAN ANGEL: Eric Jurenas, whose smooth and full-bodied countertenor was a highlight…“ (New York Times) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "... Eric Jurenas brings a luminous countertenor to the part of the GUARDIAN ANGEL..." (Financial Times) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "... by the ethereal countertenor Eric Jurenas as GUARDIAN ANGEL..." (The Guardian) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „…rewelacyjny kontratenor Eric Jurenas jako Anioł Stróż (GUARDIAN ANGEL)…” (Polytika Kultura) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "... The countertenor Eric Jurenas as the GUARDIAN ANGEL and .... gave stand-out vocal performances..." (classicalvoicesamerica) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ".... Kate Lindsey ist ein/e überaus stark/e Orlando, ihr Schutzengel / GUARDIAN ANGEL ist der fabelhafte Counter Eric Jurenas...." (Salzburger Nachrichten) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „…Vigiando tudo isso tá o anjo da Guarda, Eric Jurenas, cuja voz contratenor suave e encorpada foi um destaque…“ (Estadão de Sao Paulo) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Und das ist ein Jammer, denn Kate Lindsay in der Hauptrolle singt ebenso großartig wie der Counter Eric Jurenas als GUARDIAN ANGEL…“ (BR Klassik) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...In weiteren wichtigen Rollen konnten der Countertenor Eric Jurenas als GUARDIAN ANGEL und .... gefallen….“ (Online Merker) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Beifall freilich auch für die Sänger in der soliden Regie von Polly Graham – allen voran für Kate Lindsey als koloraturenreiche(n) Orlando, Counter Eric Jurenas als GUARDIAN ANGEL, Anna Clementi in der Sprechrolle der Erzählerin – und für das Staatsopernorchester…“ (Wiener Zeitung) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Sie schaffen – wie auch ..... und Eric Jurenas (als GUARDIAN ANGEL) – hochkarätige Momente…“ (Der Standart) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Orlandos GUARDIAN ANGEL hingegen war in eine graue Decke gehüllt und sah eher aus wie der Tod, obwohl der fantastische Countertenor Eric Jurenas überaus warme und einfühlsame Töne ausströmte…“ (Klassik Info de) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „…. Denn bei aller stilistischen Vielfalt darf sich Kate Lindsey immer nur in allzu kurzen Ariosi entfalten, bleiben erst recht die anderen Sänger des personalintensiven Abends letztlich zu Statistenrollen verdammt, sogar der Engel des Countertenors Eric Jurenas, der Orlando als ANGEL begleitet….“ (Süddeutsche Zeitung) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "... von den über 30 Gesangssolisten seien neben Orlando von .... und der Schauspielerin Clementi stellvertretend noch Eric Jurenas (GUARDIAN ANGEL) und ... für ein insgesamt hoch engagiertes und überzeugendes Ensemble genannt..." (Peter Sommeregger)