REVIEWS
Tosca
Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Southwest)
Intermezzi
Music In Time
Rigoletto
Le nozze di Figaro (Sarasota Opera)
Lakme
Carmen
TOSCA |
[Maestro Barrese] kept the pacing at once voluptuous, taut and focused. |
Willard Spiegelman,Opera News June 2008 |
The orchestra was conducted with much passion by Anthony Barrese. I can honestly say I’ve never heard the orchestra play better. He brought out performances from the orchestra I’ve never heard before... The passion from the pit was matching what was on the stage. |
Mark-Brian Sonna, Pegasus News March 11, 2008 |
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (Opera Southwest) |
Director David Bartholomew and conductor Anthony Barrese keep the music and action driving forward without a moment’s lag, with fresh comic touches throughout. |
D.S. Crafts, Albuquerque Journal October 15, 2007 |
INTERMEZZI |
The best Intermezzo concert I heard was with Anthony Barrese conducting Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. In the ripe acoustics of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church it was so revelatory and fresh that I marvelled about the composer (not for the first time), "Where did all the music come from!" |
Gil French, American Record Guide September/October, 2007 |
Spoleto USA's second Intermezzo on Wednesday afternoon got off to a rousing start with the bouncy overture to Giacomo Rossini's "L'italiana in Algeri." Conductor Anthony Barrese generated inspired playing by members of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, who sparkled. |
William Furtwangler, The Post and Courier May 31, 2007 |
Intermezzo II featured conductor Anthony Barrese and members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Rossini's overture to "L'italiana in Algeri" ("The Italian Girl in Algiers") was distinguished by sharp, precise ensemble work, plus some of the sweetest piccolo playing I've ever heard, courtesy of orchestra member Madelene Campos.... The second piece, Giovanni Bottesini's "Grand Duo Concertante,"... was performed here in an adaptation by Camillo Sivori, who rewrote one of the solo bass parts for violin. Bassist Aaron John Baird and veteran Festival Orchestra violinist Melissa Ann Ussery gave a blistering account of this showpiece... Baird and Ussery were fully involved with each other as performers, and Barrese proved to be an exceptionally good accompanist... |
Joshua Rosenblum, The Post and Courier June 1 , 2007 |
It’s hard to go wrong scheduling a Rossini overture for any concert. And the bubbly ones to his comic operas – like L’Italiana in Algieri, heard here – are especially welcome. In the capable hands of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra and conductor Anthony Barrese, this one sparkled and charmed. |
Lindsay Koob, Eargasms - Charleston City Paper May 30, 2007 |
MUSIC IN TIME |
Anthony Barrese conducted a small band from the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in his creation, "The Apostolic Rag." This musical melange worked and actually deserves a re-hearing. |
William Furtwangler, The Post and Courier June 6, 2007 |
Conductor Anthony Barrese conducting his own piece, "Apostolic Rag," which he described as a 12-tone piece for 12 musicians lasting 144 bars. And the title, of course, references the twelve Apostles. (I hate to spoil the numeric consistency, but it reminded me of Stravinsky's Ragtime for Eleven Instruments.) The piece is Barrese's winning mix of Schoenberg-style atonality with Joplin-esque ragtime forms, plus some enjoyable metric trickery, and it's loads of fun. |
Joshua Rosenblum, The Post and Courier June 7, 2007 |
The second half of this program presented three works in a more jazzy vein. Anthony Barrese conducted members of the SFO in his own composition, The Apostolic Rag. This work deftly (if that’s a good word to use with 12 tone music…) answers a rather weird question; what would a rag sound like written in 12 tone style? Keeping the conventions of both styles neatly in balance, it produced a sort of hallucinatory time warp. |
Robert Bondurant, Eargasms - Charleston City Paper June 5, 2007 |
RIGOLETTO |
Under the expert direction of Anthony Barrese, the orchestra navigated Verdi’s rich score. It gave patrons light-hearted, bouncy strings in introducing the fickle, hedonistic Duke. It gave them tender flutes before Gilda dashed on the scene. |
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (Sarasota Opera) |
Every note and word is infused with wit. From the start of the overture, crisp and exciting under the direction of Anthony Barrese, to the comedic timing of the actor-singers onstage, this production
rose to the challenge of Mozart's best and then some. |
Gayle Williams, Sarasota Herald Tribune February 14, 2006 |
Anthony Barrese conducted an orchestra of about thirty-five players plus fortepiano... Mozart's amazing score was well represented. |
John Fleming, Opera News July, 2006 |
Anthony Barrese showed an inspired Mozart hand, drawing polished and energetic playing from the excellent Sarasota Opera Orchestra. |
Lawrence A. Johnson, Opera (U.K.) August, 2006 |
On the afternoon of March 11, I had the opportunity to see Le nozze di Figaro. I have seen quite a few performances of this opera in different places from Paris, Aix-en-Provence, the Met, NYCO and conduct ors that include the names of Solti, Pritchard, Marriner and Rudel. This Figaro has been the most detailed and most cared for from the orchestral point of view that I remember having ever heard live. Credit conductor Anthony Barrese for that... The textures of each section, the cleanliness of the playing, the effect balance and the overall transparency of the performance of this music was so great that I just let myself go and enjoy the performance of the orchestra. |
Luis Angel Catoni, www.weblaopera.com March 11, 2006 |
Conductor Anthony Barrese set the stage for the delightful antics on stage with a clear, crisp reading of the overture and, during the opera, led the orchestra so that the voices could bubble above it making for a clear understanding of the plot. |
Chip Ludlow, Venice Gondolier Sun March 1, 2006 |
| Il maestro Anthony Barrese ha mantenuto tempi saldi ed un suono pulito. Maestro Anthony Barrese maintained steady tempi and a clean sound. |
Christine Gransier, L'opera (Italy) August, 2006 |
LAKMÉ |
The orchestra and chorus, under the sensitive direction of Anthony Barrese, were exceptional throughout. |
Richard Storm, Sarasota Herald Tribune Thursday, March 3, 2005 |
Delibes' music is gorgeous. It's lush, romantic and memorable. And in the hands of conductor Anthony Barrese, it all came together beautfiully. |
June Lebell, Longboat Observer Thursday, March 3, 2005 |
Anthony Barrese kept proceedings simmering nicely. |
Phil Ward, Opera Now (U.K.) Summer 2005 |
The Youthful Anthony Barrese conducted Lakme with exceptional sensitivity and daring. |
Terence Fugate, Scene Magazine April 2005 |
Anthony Barrese mantuvo el equilibrio musical bajo control y dictò siempre unos tempi impecables. Anthony Barrese kept the musical equilibrium under control and always dictated impeccable tempi. |
Roger Steiner, Opera Actual; Barcelona May 2005 |
The illusion of an India far removed from our time... reached fruition in the detailed and luxuriant conducting of Anthony Barrese. |
Alan Becker, American Record Guide, vol. 68 # 3 May/June 2005 |
CARMEN |
Conductor Anthony Barrese made his Commonwealth Opera debut with Friday's performance. Under his guidance the orchestra played with balance, elegance and subtlety it has rarely achieved. The musicians rose to the full range of Bizet's colorful, masterfully orchestrated score...
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Clifton J. Noble Jr., The Republican Monday, November 22, 2004 |
Barrese conducted with precision and energy, drawing a rich performance from orchestra members...
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Larry Parnass, Daily Hampshire Gazette Tuesday, November 23, 2004 |