Winter Opera St Louis
Season 11 Press

Season 11 Press

The Student Prince

“The cast is uniformly excellent…technically and vocally The Student Prince is among the very best works that I’ve seen at Winter Opera.”

The Student Prince is filled with songs that surely were among your grandparents’ favorites…There are rollicking students’ songs praising drink and girls or irreverently mocking professors and classes and books.  There’s a rousing marching song. All of these are superbly performed in Winter Opera’s production.”

          – Steve Callahan, BroadwayWorld.com

 

“Winter Opera St. Louis’ production of “Prince” is a solid, entertaining take on a show that doesn’t have much in the way to offer in the way of drama or good tunes.”

“The performers in the smaller roles and the chorus, directed by Nancy Mayo, sang well and accurately. Conductor Scott Schoonover kept things moving and “gemütlich,” with good work from the orchestra.” 

“Winter Opera has come a long way over the last decade in the quality of its productions..”

          – S.B Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

“Winter Opera has strong, appealing singers in both the lead and supporting roles”

“..the Winter Opera orchestra has never sounded better, with a full and polished sound. JC Krajicek scores once again with appropriately colorful outfits, including lavish hoop skirts for the women and dashing military garb for the men.”

          – Chuck Lavazzi, KDHX

 

” Winter Opera St. Louis opened its 11th anniversary season last weekend with an enchanting rendition of Sigmund Romberg’s operetta, The Student Prince. Strong vocal performances by Caitlin Cisler as Kathie and John Stephens as Dr. Engel enhanced this sprightly production.”

“…this light-hearted, entertaining piece moving at a comfortable pace, aided by a cast that was fully committed to its roles, both musically and as actors.”

          – Mark Bretz, Ladue News

 

Les pêcheurs de perles

“Chorus Master Gail Hintz’s forces are small but their sound was mighty. The small size of the chorus was also something of an advantage, in that it allowed individual singers to create their own characters and create the sense of a real community rather than just a collection of singers in costume.”

                        – Steve Callahan, KDHX

 

“Les Pecheurs de Perles is a rather trifling piece dramatically, but Bizet’s agreeable score makes for a pleasant enough evening, especially when performed as ably as was the case with the Winter Opera production.”

                     – Mark Bretz, Ladue News

 

 

L’elisir d’amore

“Directorial “concepts” abound in the world of opera: updates to other times, stagings that do violence to the nature of the characters, new interpretations forced on an old story. Once in a while, though, a concept comes along that works. Winter Opera St. Louis’ charming new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s comic opera “L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love),” seen Friday night at the Viragh Center for the Arts, is a case in point.”

                   – S. Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

“It’s an elixir of comedy and spirited music guaranteed to send one home smiling and humming a happy tune.”

                   – Mark Bretz, Ladue News

 

“We went out into the chilly spring evening – and it became, for me, one of the most totally pleasing evenings of opera I’ve ever experienced. Winter Opera of St. Louis presented Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore” in a production that was as near perfection as one could ever ask.”

“Design, direction, singing, acting, orchestra-everything is sublimely balanced, and everything is beautiful.”

                  – Steve Callahan, KDHX

 

“When I saw my first Winter Opera production back in 2012, I wrote that the company “stands poised to be an important player in the growing opera scene locally” and that “we can expect great things from them.” If their production this past weekend (March 9 and 11, 2018) of Donizetti’s comedy “L’Elisir d’Amore” (“The Elixir of Love”) is any indication, that prediction has come true.”

“Winter Opera’s cast was one of the strongest they have come up with to date, with solid voices and acting skills to match.”

                  – Chuck Lavazzi, On STL