Nicky Shaw

‘with Luigi Rossi’s Orpheus – performed by ROH singers in the timbered, candle-lit intimacy of the Wanamaker – we cried and laughed in equal measure. Directed by Keith Warner, and powered by Christian Curnyn and his brilliant Early Opera Company band, this is an absolutely entrancing show’.

‘A fresh streamlined production...beautifully judged’

‘Singers in period costume declaim from the auditorium, float from the ceiling or descend from a rope ladder attached precariously to the gallery. A few tables and chairs suffice for almost every other purpose. The action is fluid, the comedy, assisted by Christopher Cowell’s translation, far funnier than it could have been. What emerges is more than the sum of this opera’s parts.’

‘Funny, enchanting to eye and ear and remarkably gripping.’

‘Great immediacy in an intimate space’

‘The Royal Opera’s production of Luigi Rossi’s uneven footnote to operatic history gets the tragicomic balance just right, with some fine numbers’

‘Warner’s restrained staging gets the tragicomic balance just about right. There’s a minimum of set – just a few tables and benches – with Nicky Shaw’s costumes suggesting English restoration more than Louis XIV. All the performances – cameos as well as principals – come across with great immediacy in such a small space’

‘Magic, wit and style in hidden gem’

‘Music and staging breathe together and the 'A fresh streamlined production...beautifully judged' result is constantly engaging, often magical’

‘The dramatic momentum is unflagging, but the darker emotional recesses are explored too in this constantly engaging production’

'The cast were magnificent’

‘With Christian Curnyn, a specialist in music of this period, conducting the Orchestra of Early Opera Company, and Christopher Cowell having provided a wonderful translation, it all added up to a splendid evening's 17th century entertainment’

‘Curnyn draws glorious colours from his orchestra’

‘The candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse weaves its spell Nicky Shaw squeezes every conceivable use from the tiny performing space with some neat visual tricks along the way. Watch out for les trois cloches. Warner is inspired by the space to play both with and against the music's courtliness’.

‘Peerless young cast and musical ravishment from Christian Curnyn in a Rossi delight’

‘Perhaps the best and certainly the most surprising of the Royal Opera's Orpheus offerings’

Director Keith Warner ... simply came up with something very lively and fluid, with adaptable tables and benches and stylish costumes from Nicky Shaw – more court of Charles II as befitted the venue than Louis XIV’