Reviews
Lucia di Lammermoor (Sarasota Opera)
Under the direction of Anthony Barrese, the Sarasota Opera Orchestra played the preludes to each scene with its customary finesse. Richard Storm, Herald Tribune
February 19 2012
We knew the orchestra, under Anthony Barrese, was in good form…Barrese, in the pit, seemed to breathe with the singers, leading while following, and making his orchestra sound rich but never overpowering. June LeBell, Longboat Observer
February 22 2012
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Opera Southwest)
The OSW orchestra, now augmented by former members of the New Mexico Symphony, is led with the sure hand of music director Anthony Barrese, a Rossini specialist. D.S. Crafts, Albuquerque Journal
October 14 2011
Don Giovanni (Sarasota Opera)
…the excellent orchestra led by Anthony BarreseGayle Willaims, sarasota Herald Tribune
February 13 2011
Conductor Anthony Barrese kept the music going at a clip that was just a little faster than most other productions and recordings, but never so fast that the singers couldn’t breathe and phrase beautifully.
The orchestra’s ability to play at that pace showed off its remarkable facility. And, in all, it was three of the shortest, most enjoyable hours we’ve spent in the theater in a long time.June LeBell, Longboat Observer
February 16 2011
Rigoletto (Opera Company of the Highlands)
The Opera Company of the Highlands presented a full concert version… expertly conducted by Anthony Barrese.James F. Cotter, Times Herald-Record
July 20 2010
L’italiana in Algeri
Rossini specialist, Anthony Barrese keeps the tempos brisk and the comedy buoyant.D.S. Crafts, Albuquerque Journal
October 8 2010
Rigoletto (Opera Company of the Highlands)
The Opera Company of the Highlands presented a full concert version… expertly conducted by Anthony Barrese.James F. Cotter, Times Herald-Record
July 20 2010A highlight for me was the importation from our second city, Chicago, of the superb conductor Anthony Barrese… For OCH he led a wonderful orchestra made up of area professionals, many of them familiar to Newburgh Symphony attendees, supporting the singers on a very high level.Barry Plaxen, The Catskills Chronicle
July 2010
Hansel and Gretel
Humperdinck’s sophisticated orchestration, clearly indebted to the work of his mentor Wagner, was absolutely gorgeous, giving the performance much of its emotional and dramatic heft under conductor Anthony Barrese.John Fleming, Opera News
June, 2010
The fulcrum of the performance was the glorious playing of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra under Anthony Barrese. The conductor has been impressive with colorful scores (Sarasota’s Lakme in 2005), and Barrese drew iridescent, richly textured playing in the orchestral set pieces as well as supporting the singers with great skill.Lawrence A. Johnson, South Florida Classical Review
March 8, 2010
Humperdinck’s sophisticated orchestration, clearly in debt to his mentor Wagner, is absolutely gorgeous, giving the opera much of its emotional and dramatic heft. The orchestra turned in a fine performance under Anthony Barrese. An associate conductor in Sarasota in 2002-03, Barrese has become a first-rate conductor.John Fleming, St. Petersburg Times
March 7, 2010
Humperdinck, in setting this Grimm fairy tale, managed to come up with an opera about children scored for an orchestra so dense and so richly embroidered, it can obscure the voices on stage.
Fortunately, Anthony Barrese was in the pit and he made crystal-clear water out of the often impenetrable orchestration, never overpowering the singers and bringing forth some of the finest playing from the Sarasota Opera Orchestra to date. Beautiful as the singing and music is on stage, it’s the orchestra that shines in this production.June LeBell, Longboat Observer
March 3, 2010
From the very first soaring moments of the overture, in which the familiar melody of the Evening Prayer is woven into a rich tapestry of sound, it was clear that this was to be an evening to remember. The excellent orchestra, under the direction of Anthony Barrese, produced music of notable transparency and accuracy, led by the French horns in their challenging statement of the theme.Richard Storm, Sarasota Herald Tribune
March 1, 2010
La Cenerentola
The orchestra deftly led by music director Anthony Barrese gives solid support, so crucially necessary in this music where the voices are frequently and perilously exposedD.S. Crafts, Albuquerque Journal
October 6, 2009
Don Giovanni (BLO)
Anthony Barrese did fine work in the pit.Jeremy Eichler, Boston Globe
April 25, 2009
On a stage crammed with talent, [Susanna Phillips] nevertheless stole the show, although she still blended beautifully into those exquisite ensembles, which were directed with superb control by conductor Anthony Barrese.Thomas Garvey, The Hub Review
April 26, 2009
The outstanding orchestra, led by Anthony Barrese, provided solid musical support throughout the opera. The orchestra exhibited their excellence in the Finale of Act I, “Presto presto pria ch’ei venga,” with their crisp articulation, mastery of different textures and ability to change dynamics on a whim, supporting the energy and frenzy on stage.Elizabeth Perten, The Boston Musical Intelligencer
April 27, 2009
The orchestra under the baton of Anthony Barrese was precise and nuanced, the overture a pleasure to hear.Hanna Kirsch , The Justice Online
May 19, 2009
Turandot
L’Orchestre Philarmonique de la Ville de Trèves alterne avec bonheur les pages intimistes et romantiques, sous la baguette inspirée du jeune chef américain Anthony Barrese, qui fait ici ses dèbuts en France.Opéra Magazine
Number 38, pp. 52-53
L’Orchestra del Teatro di Trier, diretta con energia dal giovane Anthony Barrese, si è dimostrata di livello e “solida.”Franco De Marco, Il Messaggero
November 30, 2008
Tosca
[Maestro Barrese] kept the pacing at once voluptuous, taut and focused.Willard Spiegelman,Opera News
June 2008
The orchestra was conducted with much passion by Anthony Barrese. I can honestly say I’ve never heard the orchestra play better. He brought out performances from the orchestra I’ve never heard before… The passion from the pit was matching what was on the stage.Mark-Brian Sonna, Pegasus News
March 11, 2008
Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Southwest)
Director David Bartholomew and conductor Anthony Barrese keep the music and action driving forward without a moment’s lag, with fresh comic touches throughout.D.S. Crafts, Albuquerque Journal
October 15, 2007
Intermezzi
The best Intermezzo concert I heard was with Anthony Barrese conducting Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. In the ripe acoustics of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church it was so revelatory and fresh that I marvelled about the composer (not for the first time), “Where did all the music come from!”Gil French, American Record Guide
September/October, 2007
Spoleto USA’s second Intermezzo on Wednesday afternoon got off to a rousing start with the bouncy overture to Giacomo Rossini’s “L’italiana in Algeri.” Conductor Anthony Barrese generated inspired playing by members of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, who sparkled.William Furtwangler, The Post and Courier
May 31, 2007
Intermezzo II featured conductor Anthony Barrese and members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Rossini’s overture to “L’italiana in Algeri” (“The Italian Girl in Algiers”) was distinguished by sharp, precise ensemble work, plus some of the sweetest piccolo playing I’ve ever heard, courtesy of orchestra member Madelene Campos….
The second piece, Giovanni Bottesini’s “Grand Duo Concertante,”… was performed here in an adaptation by Camillo Sivori, who rewrote one of the solo bass parts for violin. Bassist Aaron John Baird and veteran Festival Orchestra violinist Melissa Ann Ussery gave a blistering account of this showpiece… Baird and Ussery were fully involved with each other as performers, and Barrese proved to be an exceptionally good accompanist…
In the final work, Tchaikovsky’s well-loved “Serenade for Strings,” the 17 players produced a lush, well-integrated string texture. Barrese came off as eminently capable, and he obviously knows the piece thoroughly,… he built momentum steadily and with excitement in the long crescendo of the fourth movement, leading to a recap of the work’s triumphant opening theme, and a rousing end to the concert.Joshua Rosenblum, The Post and Courier
June 1 , 2007
It’s hard to go wrong scheduling a Rossini overture for any concert. And the bubbly ones to his comic operas – like L’Italiana in Algieri, heard here – are especially welcome. In the capable hands of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra and conductor Anthony Barrese, this one sparkled and charmed.Lindsay Koob, Eargasms – Charleston City Paper
May 30, 2007
Music in Time
Anthony Barrese conducted a small band from the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in his creation, “The Apostolic Rag.” This musical melange worked and actually deserves a re-hearing.William Furtwangler, The Post and Courier
June 6, 2007
Conductor Anthony Barrese conducting his own piece, “Apostolic Rag,” which he described as a 12-tone piece for 12 musicians lasting 144 bars. And the title, of course, references the twelve Apostles. (I hate to spoil the numeric consistency, but it reminded me of Stravinsky’s Ragtime for Eleven Instruments.) The piece is Barrese’s winning mix of Schoenberg-style atonality with Joplin-esque ragtime forms, plus some enjoyable metric trickery, and it’s loads of fun.Joshua Rosenblum, The Post and Courier
June 7, 2007
The second half of this program presented three works in a more jazzy vein. Anthony Barrese conducted members of the SFO in his own composition, The Apostolic Rag. This work deftly (if that’s a good word to use with 12 tone music…) answers a rather weird question; what would a rag sound like written in 12 tone style? Keeping the conventions of both styles neatly in balance, it produced a sort of hallucinatory time warp.Robert Bondurant, Eargasms – Charleston City Paper
June 5, 2007
Rigoletto
Under the expert direction of Anthony Barrese, the orchestra navigated Verdi’s rich score. It gave patrons light-hearted, bouncy strings in introducing the fickle, hedonistic Duke. It gave them tender flutes before Gilda dashed on the scene.Mila Koumpilova, The Forum
April 1, 2007
Le nozze di Figaro (Sarasota Opera)
Every note and word is infused with wit. From the start of the overture, crisp and exciting under the direction of Anthony Barrese, to the comedic timing of the actor-singers onstage, this production rose to the challenge of Mozart’s best and then some.Gayle Williams, Sarasota Herald Tribune
February 14, 2006
Anthony Barrese conducted an orchestra of about thirty-five players plus fortepiano… Mozart’s amazing score was well represented.John Fleming, Opera News
July, 2006
Anthony Barrese showed an inspired Mozart hand, drawing polished and energetic playing from the excellent Sarasota Opera Orchestra.Lawrence A. Johnson, Opera (U.K.)
August, 2006
On the afternoon of March 11, I had the opportunity to see Le nozze di Figaro. I have seen quite a few performances of this opera in different places from Paris, Aix-en-Provence, the Met, NYCO and conduct ors that include the names of Solti, Pritchard, Marriner and Rudel.
This Figaro has been the most detailed and most cared for from the orchestral point of view that I remember having ever heard live. Credit conductor Anthony Barrese for that… The textures of each section, the cleanliness of the playing, the effect balance and the overall transparency of the performance of this music was so great that I just let myself go and enjoy the performance of the orchestra.Luis Angel Catoni, www.weblaopera.com
March 11, 2006
Conductor Anthony Barrese set the stage for the delightful antics on stage with a clear, crisp reading of the overture and, during the opera, led the orchestra so that the voices could bubble above it making for a clear understanding of the plot.Chip Ludlow, Venice Gondolier Sun
March 1, 2006
Il maestro Anthony Barrese ha mantenuto tempi saldi ed un suono pulito. [Maestro Anthony Barrese maintained steady tempi and a clean sound.]Christine Gransier, L’opera (Italy)
August, 2006
Lakmé
The orchestra and chorus, under the sensitive direction of Anthony Barrese, were exceptional throughout.Richard Storm, Sarasota Herald Tribune
Thursday, March 3, 2005
Delibes’ music is gorgeous. It’s lush, romantic and memorable. And in the hands of conductor Anthony Barrese, it all came together beautfiully.June Lebell, Longboat Observer
Thursday, March 3, 2005
Anthony Barrese kept proceedings simmering nicely.Phil Ward, Opera Now (U.K.)
Summer 2005
The Youthful Anthony Barrese conducted Lakme with exceptional sensitivity and daring.Terence Fugate, Scene Magazine
April 2005
Anthony Barrese mantuvo el equilibrio musical bajo control y dictò siempre unos tempi impecables. [Anthony Barrese kept the musical equilibrium under control and always dictated impeccable tempi.]Roger Steiner, Opera Actual; Barcelona
May 2005
The illusion of an India far removed from our time… reached fruition in the detailed and luxuriant conducting of Anthony Barrese.Alan Becker, American Record Guide, vol. 68 # 3
May/June 2005
Carmen
Conductor Anthony Barrese made his Commonwealth Opera debut with Friday’s performance. Under his guidance the orchestra played with balance, elegance and subtlety it has rarely achieved. The musicians rose to the full range of Bizet’s colorful, masterfully orchestrated score…Clifton J. Noble Jr., The Republican
Monday, November 22, 2004
Barrese conducted with precision and energy, drawing a rich performance from orchestra members…Larry Parnass, Daily Hampshire Gazette
Tuesday, November 23, 2004