Auditorio Nacional de Musica, Madrid | Sunday 11 March 2018
OPERA WIRE Iestyn Davies is a countertenor of refreshing ingenuousness and impeccable musicianship and his Rinaldo was exemplary in all respects…. Top laurels of the performance, however, went to Harry Bicket and the English Concert…. Ole’s all around. – Jonathan Sutherland
★★★★ ARTS DESK … it comes with a good bit of spectacle and some baroque razzle-dazzle – both of which were abundantly supplied at the Barbican by Harry Bicket and his superb players. – Alexandra Coghlan
Barbican, London | Tuesday 13 March 2018
★★★★★ BACHTRACK Jane Archibald was frighteningly fierce and fearless in her (usual) angry moods, persuasively tender when required to reveal a softer side, and she sang magnificently throughout….The English Concert were alert and stylish throughout. – Roy Westbrook
ANDREW BENSON-WILSON Handel’s use of instrumental colour and texture is noteworthy, not least for such magical moments as the tiny recorder imitation of the ‘little birds’, beautifully played by Tabea Debus. – Andrew Benson Wilson
CLASSICAL SOURCE The English Concert conjured the drama out of the music vividly under Henry Bicket’s fastidious direction. – Curtis Rogers
OPERA TODAY Quicksilver agility and sweetly piercing clarity marked ‘Venti, turbini, prestate’, with leader Nadjz Zwiener and bassoonist Alberto Grazzi matching the fiery nimbleness of the vocal whirlwinds. – Claire Seymour
PLANET HUGILL Harry Bicket presided over everything with aplomb, drawing fine performances from his musicians. – Robert Hugill
ART AROUND THE GLOBE The most exquisite soloists were united for this evening, and that, together with the exquisite and detailed performance from the English Concert musicians, made an evening an absolute joy of Handel celebration. – Yulia Savikovskaya
ART LYST Orliński, recently signed by Warner, is a shooting star, the young Polunin of the opera. His velvet-toned voice is mesmerizing and his performance in Handel’s “Rinaldo” was just as unforgettable than in Vivaldi’s “Vedro con mio diletto”… Hypnotic cast. – Zoltan Alexander
THE SPECTATOR An inspiring performance… Perhaps the most dazzling part of the night was the end of Act Two, when the harpsichordist Tom Foster took over and gave a stunning virtuoso performance expressive of Armida’s determination to have vengeance – Michael Tanner
Carnegie Hall, New York | Sunday 25 March 2018
★★★★★ BACHTRACK What a great band The English Concert is, and what a wise leader Harry Bicket is. Nary a scratchy violin nor an off-key trumpet; only bright, alert playing with judicious embellishments and a superb sense of drama…. there was plenty of Handel, splendidly performed. – Robert Levine
NEW YORK CLASSICAL REVIEW First, the bad news: one will have to wait until April of next year to hear the English Concert and conductor Harry Bicket bring another Handel opera to Carnegie Hall. And that is indeed unfortunate, because their Sunday performance of Rinaldo was so wonderful that the pain of its concluding was nearly as acute as the pleasure of its hearing. – George Grella
NEW YORK TIMES The Handel performance could not have been better. – Anthony Tommasini
OPERA WIRE In arguably one of the most memorable performances of any opera in 2018, The English Concert came in with a superstar cast and conquered in a big way. – David Salazar
