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2008 Idomeneo tour
"A sustained delight. Neil Jenkins in the title role and Rachel Nicholls
as Elettra were immense"  Argus
"Conductor Nicholas Jenkins tirelessly sustained both dramatic
momentum and rhythmic buoyancy and the 40 strong chorus rose to
its big moments impressively." "As Idamante, Flora McIntosh was a
Mozartean model of expressive and musical integrity." Opera

2007 Tobias and the Angel tour
"A cast of eight really good singers under the baton of Nicholas
Jenkins... the singing was powerful and moving... the music was often
beautifully lyrical and smooth and with much reference to music of the
Middle East."
Mike Howard, Argus

2004 Falstaff tour
"My lasting impression will be the sheer joy that the whole cast
showed in giving us a performance full of fun and good humour."
"Sheer delight to hear and to see." 
Argus

2003 Lucia di Lammermoor tour
"A large audience's enthusiasm was understandable. Suzannah Clark
scored a personal triumph as Lucia" "imaginative touches by director
Michael Moxham" "Bruno Cinquegrani conducted with true Italian
flair." Portsmouth News

2001 L'Elisir d'Amore tour
"A colourful and vibrant production that is dazzling to the eye and the
ear" "splendid young singers" "the music is wonderfully done"
"Jonathan Butcher produces all the sparkle and drive that make this
production so energetic, so deftly done and so thoroughly satisfying."
Argus

1999 Cavalleria Rusticana & I pagliacci tour
"Musically rewarding, and an atmospheric production"
The Independent
"Beautiful singing in an altogether dramatic and moving performance."
Opera

1998 Boris Godunov
British première of Shostakovich orchestration: John Tomlinson's first
Boris sung in Russian.

1997 Danton's Death von Einem
British première
"A bold undertaking, one cannot praise it enough."
The Independent

1996 The Enchantress Tchaikovsky
British première, Brighton Festival and Snape Maltings. "This
production showed up strengths in the opera one never dared
believe were there: Act 4 was transformed on stage into a climax of
wild melodramatic power." Opera
"David Angus draws playing of great passion from the orchestra."
The Guardian

1995 Euryanthe tour
"A meticulously well conceived, quality production - effects of striking
simplicity with evocative minimalist sets, haloes of light and
silhouette. Chorus work distinguished by superb clarity and verve."
The Stage

1995 Count Ory tour
"An evening of delightful entertainment"
The Stage

1992 The Rake's Progress
"A Rake with plenty of high-tech fizz. A pro-am opera triumph."
Telegraph

1991 Lost in the Stars by Weill 
British professional première
"Top drawer Weill, in a brilliant set by Spyros Coscinas"
Evening Standard

Alliance & Leicester Award for best Brighton Festival event.

1990 Tannhäuser (Paris version)
"This enterprising company has pitted itself against one of the
mightiest hurdles in the repertory and scored a thundering success.
More than that, Keith Warner's staging stands head and shoulders
over almost all other British Wagner productions of recent years."
Opera.
"Brighton's Tannhäuser is a miracle. The unfolding of the music and
the fine accompanying of much impressive singing added up to an
authentically cumulative Wagnerian thrill. The eroticism is brilliantly
suggested." The Guardian.
"Quite outstanding, the best Wagner in the country this season and
the best Tannhäuser I have seen since Wieland Wagner's Bayreuth
production in the early 1960s. Lionel Friend's conducting of the lavish
score was magnificent, as was the orchestra. Lionel Friend made the
religious music tell impressively while the Venusberg was both brilliant
and gorgeous. "The chorus were disciplined and exciting and helped
Lionel Friend build up to an overwhelming culmination at the end,
something that was magically moving. NSO achieved something
remarkable by any standards." Wagner News

1989 Faust
"Faust runs with both the raunchy emphasis and the infectious buzz
of musical theatre; a rattling good show."
The Independent

1988 The Flying Dutchman
"One of the dozen best operatic productions of the eighties."
The Guardian
"Opera in the Dome can work triumphantly." "In the last act, an
extraordinary coup." "If the staging alone could offer lessons to many
a major house the performance too was as good as any I have
encountered." Music and Musicians

1987 A Masked Ball
"The singing of soloists and chorus alike bore NSO's stamp of careful
preparation and musical understanding."
Financial Times

1986 Aida
"This Aida presents a distinguished contrast to some of the recent
offerings in our national opera houses."
Daily Telegraph

1985 Benvenuto Cellini
NSO's first production in the Dome
"Brighton's gleaming Cellini, an exciting and brilliantly conceived
production."
The Times

1984 Andrea Chénier
"Unusually for this work, an hour after curtain down, one felt that one
had seen not an empty husk, but real theatre."
Daily Telegraph

1983 Il trittico
Il tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi -
Gardner Centre

1982 The Threepenny Opera
Gardner Centre

1982 The Queen of Spades
"Gripping music theatre. NSO deserves admiration and support."
Arts Review

1981 Peter Grimes
(directed by Nicholas Hytner)
"The big choral scenes as overwhelming dramatically as they are
vocally."
Financial Times

1980 The Fairy Queen
All Saints, Lewes & Royal Pavilion, Brighton

1980 Boris Godunov (original version)
NSO's first Brighton Festival production.
"Brighton's stage presentation added up to the single most
convincing Boris I've had the good fortune to see."
Music and Musicians

1979 Venus and Adonis
All Saints Lewes
"Excellent vocal achievement married to a convincing professionalism
in production."
Mid-Sussex Times

1979 Fidelio
Lewes, Horsham and Worthing
"Bravo! A new talent is born. The professionalism on stage is
immediately apparent."
Argus

1978 Founded Lewes
2008 The Poisoned Kiss tour
"The singing was magnificent, and the whole thing a delight from beginning to end. We would have liked to have stood and cheered at the finale, but were constrained by our English reserve!"
"Michael Moxham’s direction was intelligently suited to the limitations of what was essentially a concert platform, with his cast entering happily into the spirit of enchantment.
The principals were all exemplary and the afternoon passed by all too quickly." - Musical Pointers more....
2009 Opera Gala Concert Lewes Town Hall, February 11
Special Guests:
Della Jones mezzo soprano
Neil Jenkins tenor
Robert Poulton baritone
Lesley-Anne Sammons, Nick Milner-Gulland accompanists
Nicholas Jenkins conductor
2009 The Rhine Fairies -British première - tour
"The talent and commitment of all involved, combined with a gloriously lush score, brought back all the visceral excitement of opera-going. and was a timely reminder of what a complete artistic occasion it can be, even when not staged" Patrick Reynolds
"overall the cast was superb"
MusicWeb International
...more