18
Oct
L’Orfeo
CHICAGO TRIBUNE One of the wonderful things about Thursday’s “L’Orfeo” was how lightly it wore its learning — how historically informed performance practice and a bracing modern theatrical sensibility worked hand in hand to create a spellbinding two hours of music theater.
CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW what really came across in Thursday night’s exhilarating Orfeo was the invention, color and sheer infectious joy of the music as presented by Gardner and his versatile and accomplished cast and orchestra. Anyone who still thinks of early opera as a dry and ascetic experience needs to come to the Harris Theater this weekend.
L’incoronazione di Poppea
CHICAGO TRIBUNEGiven the penetrating authority of Gardiner’s reading, one found it hard to believe he had never conducted “Ulisse” before embarking on his “Monteverdi 450” road show. The soloists, instrumentalists and chorus sounded as polished and seasoned in the style as he.
CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW Highest praise to this wonderful cast of singers, the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and, especially, John Eliot Gardiner for directing these glorious, world-encompassing operas with such vitality, understanding and love.
Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria
CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEWthere is much wonderful music in Ulisse, as was shown by the rich and sympathetic performance given Friday night at  the Harris Theater with John Eliot Gardiner leading the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists.