READ OUR REVIEWS!
La fanciulla
del West
December 2010
"Kay
Krekow can only be described as vocally magnificent and dramatically thrilling as Minnie.
Her voice had heft and spin right up to High C on Saturday evening. Ms. Krekow was waiting in ambush and “dry-gulched”
that High C dead center. Annie Oakley could not have made a more impressive shot. It made the hairs on the back of my neck
stand up, while the audience roared with approving applause."
"Harry Dunstan was also in spectacular voice for this performance. This
was the finest singing I have heard from this tenor. It is certainly his best role."
"This performance featured the complete version of the Love
Duet. In later years Puccini was to say of this extended version of the duet, that if the singers could not manage the length
and high tessitura, and had to resort to a truncated version (which has always been the standard practice), they had no business
singing the opera. Mr. Dunstan and Ms. Krekow sang the entire duet with stamina and aplomb, reverberating the walls of the
Black Rock Center with ear splitting High C’s. This is the kind of singing people go to hear at the
opera. The unfamiliar music was a thrill to experience, and, as Artistic Director, Mr. Dunstan must be applauded
for putting this music back into the score."
"….baritone
Daniel Sherwood gave a musically solid and dramatically winning performance."
"….the ACPS demonstrated the wonderful schooling of
their artists, and the strength of the company members. There was not one weak performer in any of the fourteen
roles."
"Pianist Michael
Baitzer was an orchestra unto himself."
Madama Butterfly: The Maestro’s Edition
April 2010
“The superb concert performances of the ACPS allow the listener an intense concentration on the music at hand, and indeed, in
many respects, it seemed to me as if I were hearing this beloved warhorse for the very first time.”
“Kay
Krekow has always been one of my favorite sopranos, and her voice is ideal for the Puccini heroines.
She was especially potent in her delivery of the great aria “Un bel di”, which was as fine as any major soprano
around the world. It was sung with a gorgeous tone and was impeccably phrased. Her death scene was riveting
emotionally.”
“As a tenor, Harry Dunstan is a true
Puccini stylist. He knows exactly how this music is to be phrased and sung….Mr. Dunstan is also a superb actor, and
he felt free to gesture and move about articulating the drama at hand…..he produced a well detailed portrait of Pinkerton, which is not an easy
job in a concert setting.”
“The Puccini Festival Chorus showed
the proof of the pudding in their the offstage “Humming Chorus” at the close of Act II. It was one of the finest
renditions of this piece I have ever heard.”
EDGAR: The Lucca Edition
A New World Premiere Production
November 2009
“This performance is the American premiere of the Lucca edition, and the first time the complete four act version has been revived since it was last
performed in Lucca in 1891. I would expect the ACPS to soon publish a working edition of the Lucca version of Edgar. There
is enormous research and rediscovery in this edition. Hopefully it will prompt the larger opera companies to re-consider Edgar
as a viable Puccini work and finally establish it in the repertoire of international opera companies where it belongs.”
“The excellent cast of this performance argued well for establishing Edgar in the
standard cannon of Puccini’s operas. It made for an evening of sustained and compelling performances by all involved
in the production.”
“Tenor Harry Dunstan’s
heroic, ringing voice and committed portrayal brought the character of Edgar vividly to life.”
“Soprano Kay Krekow as Fidelia,
Edgar’s true and pure love, was resplendent vocally. She is a throwback to the Italian verismo sopranos of the pre-World
War II era. Ms. Krekow’s voice is astonishingly large and free. Her top notes make quite an
impression in the forte passages, and her floated piano notes caress the ear in a most tender and haunting manner. She received
several ovations during the performance.”
“Baritone Daniel Sherwood as Fidelia’s brother Frank, and baritone Michael J. Begley as Gualtiero, the father of Fidelia and Frank, were also superb. They continued the vocal standard set by
the principals of the cast and rendered believably dramatic portrayals.
"The Puccini Festival Chorus and Children’s Chorus must be given special mention. Edgar has the largest chorus ever written into a Puccini opera. It is even
grander than the choruses of Turandot. The chorus dominates each act of the opera. This choral ensemble was very well trained
and sang with the full-bodied tone of a professional opera chorus. Their singing made a great impact throughout the entire
opera. They are to be heartily commended."
Le villi
April 2008
“Piedmont Symphony Orchestra,
in collaboration with The American Center for Puccini Studies and the Highland School, presented a resplendently lyrical and
romantic performance of Puccini’s first opera, Le villi.”
“Harry Dunstan convincingly managed Roberto’s transformation from a brash, callow cad to
fearful and genuinely repentant mourner. His second act solo, the longest solo scene for tenor in all of Italian opera, was one
of great emotion and drama. Dunstan delivered with beauty and conviction.”
“Kay
Krekow sang the role of the wronged heroine, Anna, with a lovely
supple soprano. She gave a carefully nuanced performance, neatly and convincingly managing Anna’s transformation from
adoring, grief-stricken innocent in the first act to vengeful, demonic spirit in the second.”
“The Puccini Festival Chorus was in lovely voice and provided powerful support for the principles.”
“The Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Glenn Quader, handled the subtleties of the score with sensitivity and brio. Fauquier
County is fortunate to have such accomplished voices for the arts as part of our community.”
La bohème
October 2007
“I really got more out of this performance than I did
from the one at the Kennedy Center….”
“The
clarity of the superb natural voices allowed the genius of Puccini to shine.”
“A breath-taking performance….the talent is absolutely world-class.”
“Kay Krekow is simply extraordinary.”
Gianni Schicchi
February 2006
“This production was distinguished on all levels. These singers were excellent and well cast in their various roles. This, above all, is
an ensemble opera and the ensemble was tight musically and thrilling vocally”
“The American Center for Puccini Studies is dedicated to training artists in the performance style of Puccini and to promoting his works. This performance is a testimony to their excellent work.”
“Tenor Harry
Dunstan and soprano Kay Krekow, cast as the young lovers Rinuccio and Lauretta, were a real luxury duo. Their bronzed and
heroic voices produced the illusion of a Vickers/Rysanek approach towards two light roles. They were
particularly thrilling in their duets.”
