PRESS

“Beautifully crafted…”

Opera Magazine

“A constant, ingenious delight”

Bach Track

 

“…mesmerisingly good…this new touring production put scarcely a foot – arguably not a foot – wrong…”

Seen & Heard

“The show was a triumph…”

Opera Magazine


ARIADNE AUF NAXOS

Oper Frankfurt

“In this production, the audience inhabits the role of the patron, receiving a top quality performance in unprecedented comfort… The singers, almost entirely from Oper Frankfurt’s ensemble, are costumed in standard or slightly modified formal wear. There is no set, and the orchestra is on stage. And yet, this no frills production (seen June 13th) is more enjoyable than the mildly surrealist Ariadne normally in the company’s repertoire… With no set, simplified blocking, and singers placed in acoustically advantageous positions, the current semi-staged production gives the audience a more refined musical experience. Decreasing the visual stimuli allows the audience to relax its eyes and open its ears to hear Strauss’s dense, intricate, rapidly shifting music in greater detail… Such small audiences cannot sustain the opera house financially, so opera fans surely hope the hall can fill again soon. In the meantime, they can relish the strange luxury of intimate A-class opera.” 

Opera Canada

© Barbara Aumüller
© Barbara Aumüller
© Holger Schneider
© Holger Schneider

DER MOND

Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart
Stuttgart Liederhalle, Beethoven-Saal

“But it does not stop with a purely concert performance; Nina Brazier as Director saves with a few props and skilful people management a portion of the burlesque comedy… Nina Brazier has the moon visualised in the form of its four letters, which light up as projections on the concrete wall. Sometimes they disappear, sometimes they hang around the four boys’ necks – in the underworld the lettering is emblazoned upside down on the wall. A witty, tongue-in-cheek idea to “illustrate” the story without illustrating it.” 

Reutlinger General-Annzeiger

“…and use the tight space on the stage of the beautiful Beethovensaal for many entertaining moments under the direction of Nina Brazier.” 

Stuttgarter Nachrichten


DEAR MARIE STOPES

Kings Place, London

  “…profoundly moving and sometimes heartbreaking.” 

Planet Hugill

“The constituent parts have obvious and considerable potential, but it was Nina Brazier’s clear-sighted direction which brought them together into a coherent and convincing whole… a poignant, at times heartrending, experience… Mills’ chamber opera does reveal the complexity of human experience and relationships which, in this performance at Kings Place, Brazier’s sensitive handling of the material communicated directly.” 

Opera Today

© Robert Workman
© Robert Workman

ARIADNE AUF NAXOS – REVIVAL

Oper Frankfurt

“There were storms of applause… The production was revived for its second and last time. You should hurry up and see it…” 

Frankfurter Neue Presse

“In the the revival (directed by Nina Brazier) the staging has lost nothing of its momentum. It even seems as if the current cast surpasses the previous in playfulness and skill. Delightful, for example, are Theo Lebow, Michael Porter, Barnaby Rea and Mikołaj Trabka as the group of entertainers teasing each other, commenting on the stage action with expressions and gestures, and accomplishing with the utmost precision the feat of making their jokes seem improvised… This revival combines entertaining and intelligent entertainment with vocal acrobatics and opulent Strauss sound at its best. We recommend not to shy away from the price of the more expensive seats in the front rows of the stalls, so as not to miss any nuances of the sophisticated play of the outstanding cast.” 

Michael Demel, Der Opern Freund


LA DAMNATION DE FAUST – REVIVAL

Oper Frankfurt

“The lavish implementation has been revived for the second and final time. A visit is absolutely worthwhile.” 

Kulturfreak

“Almost to the day nine years ago I saw the ingenius production of ‘’La Damnation de Faust’’ by the master director Harry Kupfer, which now under the detailed direction of Nina Brazier has its brilliant revival… With frantic applause and much cheering, the audience celebrated all involved until after two short rounds the curtain fell. Opera friends from near and far should by no means miss one of the performances on 21./26. + 30. June.” 

Onlinemerker


JULIETTA – REVIVAL

Oper Frankfurt

“Staff director Nina Brazier has succeeded in reviving this precise and yet lightly woven character-led direction with a very dedicated and highly agile ensemble… Overall, this is a production presented in untarnished freshness that offers intelligent and diverting entertainment. A visit to this revival series is highly recommended.” 

Michael Demel, Der Opernfreund


EAST WEST STREET

Australian Tour, Southbank Centre, Lviv Philharmonic

“East West Street told a compelling story deftly interwoven with poignant musical interludes. It powerfully connected abstract legal concepts like ‘crimes against humanity’ with the deeply personal stories of the people involved. East West Street came alive most affectingly, and the courtroom trial of Hans Frank was the soaring high point. The courtroom tension was palpable.” 

Collage Adelaide – Australian Tour

“…skilfully illustrated… Audience silence reigned throughout…” 

Musical Opinion Southbank Centre

“Ukrainians and foreign guests alike were in tears… The story, narrated by the actress Katja Riemann and international lawyer Philippe Sands, equally captivated the audience.” 

European Journal of International Law – Lviv Philharmonic

“A sobering, fascinating, and in the best sense provocative evening…” 

Seen & Heard – Southbank Centre


LA FINTA GIARDINIERA

Ryedale Festival, Lammermuir Festival and Chiltern Arts Festival

“Nina Brazier’s production struck the right balance between external fun and internal feelings… What might have been a simple comic romp of disguises and thwarted infatuation becomes, as with Cosi fan Tutte, a lesson in the meaning of love.” 

Opera Now

“highly imaginative… Nina Brazier has shown her talent as a director… emphasising clarity of plot outline… a fascinating experience.” 

Opera Scotland


THE WINTER’S TALE

Cockpit Theatre London, RADA Studios at Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival

“Director Nina Brazier’s edited version, cutting the action down to a single hour, compresses and consolidates the tragedy, producing a searingly intense treatment which tears at the heart… leaves plenty of space for the actors to realise Brazier’s dynamic, physically driven production… By the end, the tears were streaming down my face.” 

Charlotte Valori, Operissima

“…leaves plenty of space for the actors to realise Brazier’s dynamic, physically driven production… By the end, the tears were streaming down my face…” 

Charlotte Valori, Operissima

 “…a boldly ingenious experiment. This offering from The Hermes Experiment stands on its own… moving in a way that transcends technique… This fascinating Shakespeare collaboration between Director (Nina Brazier) and Composer (Kim Ashton) is a groundbreaking, and often inspirational, blend of music, movement and text.” 

The Reviews Hub

“Whilst Shakespeare’s text provided the solid framework, director Nina Brazier cleverly constructed an intricate web of sound, word and movement around the plot… It is this kind of intimate care and thoughtfulness applied to all aspects of the production that makes it possible to create rich psychological drama out of sparse branches of The Winter’s Tale.” 

The Cusp Magazine 

“…brilliantly summing up the gist of the original… a most impressive production that gripped the capacity audience from beginning to end… an ideal way to present Shakespeare. It deserves far more than one showing.” 

Early Music Reviews 

“…tautly-directed action…” 

The Evening Standard

 “skilfully crafted…” 

London Theatre 1 

“…boundaries between words, music, and gesture, between actors and musicians, between most components present or believed to be present, were questioned, blurred, negated, perhaps even, dare I suggest it, transcended… There was, then, a particular, one-off sense of enchantment to the night’s proceedings.” 

Seen & Heard International

“…fine performances… Brazier’s staging served Shakespeare, certainly, but she responded organically to the opinions offered in Ashton’s score.” 

Schmopera.com

© Cathy Pyle
© Cathy Pyle
© Cathy Pyle
© Gerard Collett
© Gerard Collett

ALCINA

Ryedale Festival & Lammermuir Festival, Horsecross Perth

“…the singing and acting was of astonishing quality… the communication was superbly clear… The Ryedale Festival staging of Poppea came to the Lammermuir Festival and Perth Concert Hall two years back, and was a superbly memorable performance. It can be said straight away that this [Alcina] was every bit as good. It will have left the audience, who were completely gripped throughout, waiting eagerly for a third offering of this quality.” 

Opera Scotland

“…performed with poise and aplomb…” 

Glasgow Herald

“An impressive staging of a fine opera… a highly effective production…” 

The Yorkshire Post

“… given an impressively light directorial touch by Nina Brazier… The simplicity of the staging and direction meant that the music was allowed to speak for itself, portraying the characters in the way that Handel’s music suggests…” 

Early Music Review


THE MERRY WIDOW

Ryedale Festival Opera

“Nina Brazier returned as the skilful director… Almost incredibly, sumptuous fin de siècle Paris was easily evoked… chorus radiated unfailing bonhomie… So many delights.” 

Opera Magazine

“The highlight so far is The Merry Widow… an operatic answer to Grexit…” 

The Spectator

© Gerard Collett
© Gerard Collett

A TELEPHONE CALL

Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival

 “...realised with great assurance, variety and a genuine music theatre sensibility.” 

Opera Now


THE MAGIC FLUTE

Young Opera Venture

“…the expectancy in the hall was tangible. It was fulfilled, too in a lively production that stripped away the inessentials and left Mozart and Schikaneder to speak for themselves. Indeed the dialogue was admirably clear… Evenings like this are too good to miss… A full house greeted both performances of The Magic Flute, given in a lively new production by Nina Brazier… Surely it’s time for the festival to consider a third, even fourth, performance.” 

Opera Magazine

 “Here’s a Magic Flute that lives up to its name and gives the lie to those who lazily condemn opera as elitist… The standard of performance reaches the rafters.” 

The Yorkshire Post

“…mesmerisingly good… this new touring production put scarcely a foot – arguably not a foot – wrong… Surprises, refinement and finesse in Young Opera Venture’s Magic Flute… one that one will remember, and relish the memory with pleasure.” 

Seen & Heard

 “Their audience receives two shows in one: a charmingly simple theatrical performance and a compelling musical accompaniment… By setting the piece in an intimate, casual stage space and stripping the performance of OTT features, Nina Brazier points to beauty that’s not comprised of visual ornamentation, optical illusion, delusion…” 

Plays to See

“… the performance had lovely ensemble feel…There was a lot of delightfully detailed interaction between the characters…the cast impressed with their consistency, the lovely feeling of ensemble, the nice detailing and great sense of energy. The directness of Brazier’s production, without any gimmicks, ensured that the story was told in a clear way.” 

Planet Hugill 

“This small scale Magic Flute in the Grimeborn Festival 2013 at Dalston, delighted the packed press night audience… choreographed simply and cleverly by Nina Brazier…the whole Creative Team collaborated to make this a memorable Flute for us and doubtless for all the participants… This production might well be considered for a DVD, to set alongside those from major productions.” 

Musical Pointers

© Michael Wharley
© Michael Wharley
© Michael Wharley
© Emma Lambe
© Emma Lambe
© Emma Lambe

THE CORONATION OF POPPEA

Ryedale Festival Opera

“…the show was a triumph, another feather in Ryedale’s operatic cap… The Coronation of Poppea in a zappy new translation by John Warrack, was tightly directed by Nina Brazier… The production struck a precise balance between drama, cruelty and comedy.” 

Opera Magazine

  “Nina Brazier’s production for Ryedale Festival Opera, on tour at Grimeborn, resoundingly succeeds on all levels, giving us an evening of luxurious beauty, abandoned sensuality and superb characterisation.” 

Bach Track

 “… a cast that projected both the heavy and lighter moments with engaging conviction. Three and a half hours went by in a flash… Far more exciting for us to see stylised spectacle cast aside and the focus diverted to the characters, their emotions and the intrigues of an opera whose storyline reeks of lies, distortion and deceit. That’s what Ryedale Festival gave us on Saturday in this first ever venture into opera by the Lammermuir Festival.” 

The Scotsman

“…the audience were absorbed in the drama right from the start… a thoroughly absorbing evening…” 

Opera Scotland

“The wonderful performance of Ryedale Festival Opera – a production which had economic clarity… a real pleasure… performed superbly…” 

Perthshire Advertiser

“… a constant, ingenious delight…” 

Perthshire Advertiser

 “I have not seen such an entrancing and engrossing production of The Coronation of Poppea for years… This was production where you could simply follow The Coronation of Poppea like a play, catching every word and with the singers colouring each dramatic nuance. It made for gripping theatre.” 

Planet Hugill

“…a splendid production…” 

The Scarborough News


BASTIEN & BASTIENNE | SUSANNA’S SECRET

Grimborn, Arcola Theatre

“…this double bill consisting of two rarely performed one-acters is effectively staged by Nina Brazier…the second half, the brilliant 1909 comedy Susanna’s Secret really hits the spot.” 

The Stage

“…beautifully crafted…” 

Opera Magazine

“A bumper week for sleight of hand… sex, smoke and hocus pocus inform a nifty double bill… Pianist-translator David Eaton and director Nina Brazier’s nifty, thrifty double-bill for the Grimeborn Festival…” 

The Independent on Sunday

  “…delightful… This is a really polished and well directed piece of work…” 

What’s on Stage

“…this presentation was immense fun, very well sung and played, and resourcefully directed… this is, as Emile de Becque would say, ‘some enchanted evening’.” 

Plays to See


THE OLD MAID & THE THIEF

Grimborn, Arcola Theatre

 “…GLORIOUS GRIME IN GRIMEBORN… as Nina Brazier’s modest, effective production shows, it works on stage; it has a story to tell and tells it straight: think Puccini on Broadway… The Old Maid and the Thief set a high standard for the rest to follow” 

The Evening Standard


FLORODORA

Finborough Theatre

“…ingeniously seductive. The piece, musically directed by Timothy Henty and minimally staged by Nina Brazier could hardly be better done…” 

Michael Billington, The Guardian

“…a tour de force…expertly delivered…brilliantly sustained…” 

The Stage

“…beautifully observed within the confines of Nina Brazier’s resourceful production by a fine ensemble…” 

Reviewsgate

“Flor-adorable! Her production was a masterclass of blocking combined with the clever use of simple ensemble tableau. Ken Livingstone-type traffic jams should have occurred but Ms. Brazier managed to circumnavigate them with a flourish. A beautiful piece wonderfully performed at the Finborough. Enterprising Producers and Opera Companies please note!” 

Rogues & Vagabonds

“Artistic director Neil McPherson, producer Susannah Stevens, and director Nina Brazier deserve our warmest gratitude, and the good news is that there is more to follow. Don’t miss it!” 

The Gaiety Magazine