Handel: Tolomeo
English Touring Opera, Autumn 2009
Handel came to Cambridge with a vengeance, English Touring Opera bringing five operas to the Arts Theatre. I chose Tolomeo and was lucky. This moderately convoluted drama…was pruned intelligently, so the whole evening was only slightly over two hours; that does seem a very good idea. John Andrews conducted with precision, but also with admirable, rare flexibility, and carried his singers with him. And the general director of ETO, James Conway, produced with a strong feeling for the characters, and for the complexity of Handel’s response to them.
…The result, thanks to an extremely good team of singing actors, was one of the most enjoyable and enlightening evenings of Handelian opera I have had since Poro several years ago at the RCM.
Michael Tanner (The Spectator, 28 November 2009)
...outstandingly beautiful numbers...irradiate the latter part of Tolomeo: "Stille amare", for example, one of Handel's most achingly beautiful inspirations, alluringly sung here by the counter-tenor Clint van der Linde, and two gorgeous duets. The band played with unfailing vigour under... John Andrews, and the audience was most enthusiastic. This is ETO at its best, and the national tour which follows (complete with Handelian lectures, masterclasses and workshops) deserves large audiences. I won't say I'm a convert – I still find the overall dramatic rhythm of these operas clunking – but I did feel my resistance weakening.
Rupert Christiansen (The Telegraph, 19 October, 2009)
This was an intense and serious show. The small cast (just five singers) were involving from the word go and the drama never needed any excuses. All singers were entirely responsive to Handel's power as a musical dramatist...Under John Andrews' crisp musical direction, the period instrument orchestra gave a strong reading, admirably supporting the cast in their taxing emotional journey.
Robert Hughill (Music and Vision, 19 October 2009[Full review...])
ETO’s production of Tolomeo for one night only at the Britten Theatre, capitalizes brilliantly on the necessary simplicity of this chamber-like opera, written at a time when Handel could no longer call upon fabulous sets and stunning effects, relying only upon great singing - and what singers he wrote it for, in fact the grand trio of Senesino, Cuzzoni and Bordoni... The orchestra — especially the wind sections — played with delicacy and verve under the supportive direction of John Andrews, and the production as a whole left you wondering why this beautiful music is not more often heard.
Melanie Eskenazi (Opera Today, 20 October, 2009)
In the title role counter-tenor Clint van der Linde gave an outstanding performance. For me, his musicality was one of the evening's highlights. The most beautiful moments of the evening included his solo arias and duets with Katherine Manley (Seleuce), who also excelled. Both singers were ideally cast vocally and dramatically...Counter-tenor James Laing (Alessandro) was convincing from every aspect... This evening represented conductor John Andrews' London debut with the English Touring Opera. His knowledge of style, his ability to shape the structure and his attention to details made for an exciting evening. The orchestra was in fine form and their recorder players delighted with some particularly sensitive playing.
Agnes Kory (musicalcriticism.com)
Harpenden Choral Society and the Kings Sinfonietta
Music by Handel, Purcell and Blow, November 14th, 2009
Harpenden Choral Society on excellent form
HARPENDEN Choral Society excelled themselves last Saturday night in the High Street Methodist Church Hall, Harpenden. A concert of baroque music by Purcell, Blow and Handel featured, all eloquently conducted by John Andrews who has a masterly control of this aspiring choir.
The King's Sinfonietta accompanied with aplomb. Solos by oboe and recorders were commendable and the timpanist gave great support.
All five soloists gave an astounding performance. Joanne Forbes, soprano, Alexander L'Estrange, counter tenor, David Sheringham, counter tenor, Sean Clayton, tenor, and Jonathan Gunthorpe, baritone, all interacted in the most sensitive and musical way. An excellent ensemble.
Handel's Utrecht Te Deum was presented superbly and especially an enviable quartet from the soloists. The Ode to St Cecilia 1691 was unquestionably outstanding.
A great feast of sound was to be heard by all. Come Ye Sons of Art by Purcell is divided into nine sections. After the vibrant overture, the soloists and choir delighted the audience with a cornucopia of sound.
Flutes were secure and the oboe featured well. Solos were welcome and received robustly. This orchestra really supports the choir well. What a delightful evening of choral music.
NEIL BUICK (Harpenden Advertiser, 26 November 2009)
Mozart: Don Giovanni
English Touring Opera
Hall For Cornwall, 7 April 2008
Hall for Cornwall has been providing us with a cultural feast. Hard on the heels of the brilliant War and Peace comes the ever popular Don Giovanni...
The opera is musically one of Mozart's best and the orchestra under the direction of John Andrews impressed, from the overture onwards with crisp, incisive playing.
Eric Dare (This is Cornwall, 10 April 2008)
Durham Gala Theatre, 19 May 2008
…Sung in English, the diction was good throughout, with the words marrying perfectly with the music, which, in turn, was played with gusto from the pit, under the baton of John Andrews…The stage set was frugal, yet effective, with the entrance of the Commendatore in a billowing cloud of smoke an inspiring touch.
Gavin Engelbrecht (The Northern Echo, Thursday 22nd May 2008)
Donizetti: Don Pasquale
Opera de Bauge
Les Capucins
August, 2007
John Andrews marshaled his orchestra brilliantly (and they all spoke highly of him, pretty rare) in the company’s Don Pasquale, vivacious, idiomatic to a very unexpected degree and completely unpanicked by hair-raisingly tight schedules.
Opera Now – Who’s hot (November 2007)
...It sounded like a different orchestra for Don Pasquale – spirited, enlivenend, as though it actually wanted to play. Conductor John Andrews produced balance, phrasing, and true Donizettian style – really quite amazing given the under-a-week rehearsal process…
Robert Thicknesse (Opera Now, November 2007)
City of London Symphonic Winds
St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden,
Sunday 10th February, 2008
City of London Symphonic Winds was conducted by the rising young talent John Andrews, whose flamboyance and enthusiasm created quite an impression…
...the second half of the concert commenced with the old warhorse “Finlandia” (Jean Sibelius), favourite of many a massed band concert, and often over-blown and over-indulgent. In the hands of John Andrews, however, and with the additional colours and extended range offered by the wind orchestra, the performance was well-paced and finely-balanced, with just the right mixture of power and delicacy, topped off by some excellent piccolo playing. Much was made of the contrasting dynamics, with some well-controlled pianissimos, tidy repeated semiquavers and sweeping woodwind scales, whilst the trombones cut through the texture towards the end...Gustav Holst composed his “Hammersmith – Prelude and Fugue” for the BBC Military Band in the 1930s … The conductor did well to keep control of the disparate elements, with disjointed and angular phrases needing to dovetail one with another, the scoring being quite sparse at times. At the close, John Andrews remained with arms raised, delaying any applause until the last echoes of the music had died away.
Peter Bale (4BarsRest) [Full review...]
Norwich Philharmonic
05 November 2007
St Andrew's Hall, Norwich
Led by Ben Lowe, the orchestra was conducted on this occasion by John Andrews. A striking figure with a fine head of hair and a voluminous frock coat, he showed the way with wide gestures, as well as an emphatic, incisive beat, always looking to stir powerful emotions.
...Sibelius's generously proportioned Second Symphony with its patterns of great forces gradually, at times almost hesitantly, growing again and again to full strength, suited the players and their conductor to a T.
Christopher Smith (Eastern Daily Press 24, 5 November, 2007) [Full review...]
Handel, Judas Maccabaeus
Harpenden Choral Society, Kings Chamber Orchestra
Harpenden High St Methodist Church, 23 June 2007
HARPENDEN Choral Society performed Handel's great oratorio Judas Maccabaeus in the town's High Street Methodist Church and from first note to last, this was a superb and electrifying performance...
After the crisply-played overture, the appreciative audience were entertained to an evening of buoyant and captivating music-making. ... Recently-appointed director John Andrews conducted with dynamic flair. He is surely high on the list of a new generation of scholar-conductors. His undoubted talent enthused all to give of their best, reflected by the generous applause from the audience. This really was a praiseworthy account of this monumental Baroque piece.
Neil Buick, Harpenden Advertiser, July 5, 2007 [Full review...]
3 March 2007
Leicester Symphony Orchestra
De Montfort Hall
... The Shostakovich Symphony No 10 in E minor contained passages of terror, torment, tranquillity and beauty. This was not an easy piece for the listener and I’m sure the same applies to the performers. However, the orchestra gave a fine rendition, conveying the different moods with authority. Overall a solid, surefooted and skilful performance which was a pleasure to listen to.
Peter Collett, 6 March 2007
Handel, Riccardo Primo
Opera de Bauge
Les Capucins
25, 27, 29 July 2006
...The emotional confidence of the performance belies the youth of the cast...there is an intimacy about the ensemble that allows the singers to convey great subtlety of emotion...The performers are also helped by the crisp acoustic and the decisive leadership of musical director John K. Andrews. The result is a triumph, both just for the reunited lovers and the victorious Richard the Lionheart, but for this cast and their creative team. Audiences at Opera de Bauge's productions are asked not to clap until the end of each act, but it's difficult not to when such physical and emotional energy is being expended on stage.
Olivia Rowland, Opera Now
Robinson Crusoe
Opera della Luna
Iford Manor, Iford
8, 10, 17 July 2004
...Thanks to expert set design from Catherine Deverill and Nigel Howard, you could not but be drawn fully into the story. Conductor John Andrews maintained a fine balance between the singers and an admirable orchestra of quality musicians...Vocally interpreting the music so well and creating so much enjoyment, they were all very welcome.
Gerry Parker, Bristol Evening Post
...an enchanting piece, treading a fine line between opera-comique and opera bouffe, and most beautifully composed in both genres. The ‘serious’ numbers are lovely, the ensembles most skillfully put together, and there’s a third-act trio to one of Offenbach’s most sinuously silky waltzes... [John Andrews’s] conducting had both elan and sensitivity,...
Rodney Milnes, Opera (October 2004)
Last night this astonishingly vigorous and talented company with its stunningly beautiful productions, returned to the opera comique that launched it on the road to success back in 1994...
Once again a beautifully sung, beautiful looking opera that will – fingers crossed – ensure the company is invited back again next year. Do we really have to wait a whole year?
Christopher Hansforth, Bath Chronicle
Offenbach's comic opera had been cast away in a far-flung corner of the repertoire when Opera della Luna rescued it in 1994. The company's speciality is staging pieces generally thought lunatic for far bigger companies to contemplate - and now, as it celebrates a defiant decade, Crusoe gets a welcome comeback. ...Oliver White made him an attractive character. The libretto sails close to the wind in PC terms, but shipwreck was averted by the casting of Samoan Sani Muliaumaseali'i as a noble Man Friday. A tenor with baritone richness, Muliaumaseali'i was outstanding. The production was not without its travesty element, though, with Simon Butteriss's Lady Crusoe a pantomime dame that suited Offenbach's deliberately farcical moments. That Butteriss went on to play the cannibal chef and a dastardly pirate illustrates how neatly Clarke juggled seven singers, two dancers and the implausible plot. Victoria Joyce was Crusoe's silver-voiced fiancee Edwina, and conductor John Andrews’s deft handling of her lyrical aria and the final trio with Crusoe and Friday suggested there are good musical reasons for staging Offenbach oftener.
Rian Evans, The Guardian
Don Giovanni
Cambridge Arts Theatre
December 9-13, 1997
POWERFUL TALE GETS THE GENTLE TOUCH
This is an impressive production of a beautiful opera. The story of a man who deceives women and then is ultimately deceived and destroyed himself is offered with depth, compassion and even humour. It is the vision of young artistic director John K Andrews... He said at the start of the project he wanted to produce Mozart’s masterpiece uncluttered by fussy scenery and costume, “to concentrate on emotional and volatile yet realistic characters”. He does and it works. I liked the piece in modern dress. Costume designer Liz King is to be congratulated on finding modern cloths which fit the flow of the opera and I liked the theme of black and red. After this performance, for me, seeing the singers in period costume will now seem to trivialise it. Every one of these hand- picked young music graduates and students was a privilege to hear, as was the orchestra, which Andrews conducted. Particularly memorable was Nyle Wolfe, a principle with the Irish Operatic Company, as Don Giovanni, Peter Grant, a student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, as Leporello and Kris Belligh, who sang Masetto, Commendatore and the statue in the final scene. The production is unusual in that the statue is sung offstage. There is no terrifying scene when the figure looms large and alarms Giovanni. It is like doing Macbeth with an invisible Banquo of Hamlet without showing the ghost. Not less powerful, but gentler.
Angela Singer, Cambridge Evening News