English National Opera - Benvenuto Cellini Reviews
29 March 2024
Michael Spyres (Cellini), Paula Murrihy (Ascanio)
General scene
Willard White (Pope Clement VII)
Clare Barrett (Mardi Gras player)
Corinne Winters (Teresa), Michael Spyres (Cellini)

Performance reviews

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Benvenuto Cellini

English National Opera


No. of reviews: 18

The production must be seen to be believed
28 Jun 14 / Musical Criticism
Monty Pythonesque touches in Benvenuto Cellini
20 Jun 14 / Seen and Heard
Nothing succeeds like excess
15 Jun 14 / Express
Monty Python's Terry Gilliam directs Benvenuto Cellini opera with 'comic book intensity'
11 Jun 14 / Express
Berlioz's fizzing score takes off as Terry Gilliam lets rip with the extravagant Benvenuto Cellini
8 Jun 14 / The Observer
The opera with the protagonist who’s a very naughty boy
8 Jun 14 / Londonist
Pure Python brilliance - Terry Gilliam directs Berlioz's opéra-comique with the cinematic flair of his best feature films
7 Jun 14 / Evening Standard
With circus skills, fire eating and masks, there are many treats for the audience
7 Jun 14 / The Upcoming
Everything becomes a cue for just another panto sight-gag
7 Jun 14 / Independent
English National Opera's first-ever staging of Berlioz's 'semi-comic' opera is a triumph
7 Jun 14 / What's on Stage
Terry Gilliam brings Python-esque flashes to Berlioz’s chaotic opera
7 Jun 14 / Financial Times
Gilliam, Gardner and the company have turned a notorious turkey into the hit of the season
7 Jun 14 / The Stage
Terry Gilliam gives Berlioz's 'Cellini' a Python touch
6 Jun 14 / Reuters
Grotesques and gusto solve Berlioz's problem piece
6 Jun 14 / The Guardian
Against the odds, Terry Gilliam and ENO tame the beast of Benvenuto Cellini, Berlioz's car-crash of an opera
6 Jun 14 / Telegraph
Gilliam outdoes his first opera with the sheer gleeful excess of his second
6 Jun 14 / The Arts Desk
Terry Gilliam strikes gold for ENO with a riotous Benvenuto Cellini
6 Jun 14 / Bachtrack
It’s a triumph
6 Jun 14 / Classical Source
'We have a big head problem'
Terry Gilliam's opera diary: Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini is incoherent, bombastic and nigh on unperformable. The perfect project, then, for Terry Gilliam to direct.
Terry Gilliam promises 'Pythonic' new opera
Terry Gilliam promises 'Pythonic' new opera in his new production of Benvenuto Cellini for English National Opera.
Why art and opera make such passionate bedfellows
The lives of artists have often been turned into opera. But – as in the ENO's new production of Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini – sometimes the truth is wilder (and more murderous) than fiction.
Production details
Cast
Winters, Mirrihy, Spyres, Spence, Pallesen, Pearse, White, Hunka, Soar
(c) Gardner (d) Gilliam
Performance dates
5, 7, 12, 14, 17, 20, 25, 27 June 2014
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