Press
Conductor Rebecca Lang elicited a passionate performance from the Ulster Orchestra; from the opening shimmering in Act 1 prelude to dramatic final chords of the opera, Lang had us fully engaged.
Andrew Larkin – Bachtrack | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
The first opera to be produced in Frank Matcham’s magnificent 1895 theatre since it reopened last year after a £12m restoration, this TRAVIATA was deftly cast, impressively sung, perceptively conceived and direct in impact, no mean feat. Lang kept the pace swift but never lost touch with the music’s heartbeat pulse. The orchestra was responsive and agile.
Fiona Maddocks – The Guardian | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
Verdi's beautiful score – played with gusto and sensitivity by the Ulster Orchestra under the baton of the charismatic Rebecca Lang – ensures LA TRAVIATA's enduring appeal.
Ian Patterson – Theatre News | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
But it is the music that counts and conductor Rebecca Lang with musicians from the Ulster Orchestra gave us a rendition of Verdi's harmonic world that was both sensitive and dramatic.
Jane Hardy – Irish News | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
Rebecca Lang did an excellent job in ensuring cast, chorus and orchestra remained on track throughout the evening. I was struck by Lang’s close attention to detail and with the rich variety of textures and sonorities she coaxed from the Ulster Orchestra. The strings were highly expressive in the opening Prelude while the ensuing party music which opened the first act was full of boisterous energy. Lang and the Ulster Orchestra accompanied the singers beautifully, providing flexibility when required and adding colour to the vocal lines. The balance of sound between the orchestra and singers was spot on and at no point were the singers overwhelmed. Cast, chorus and orchestra combined well in the big set piece numbers including the famous drinking song in Act I which was greeted enthusiastically by the audience.
Robert Beattie – Seen and Heard International | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
It’s hard to say which element steals the show in WA Opera’s Tosca, writes Bourby Webster – the set is breathtaking, the singing sublime, the WA Symphony Orchestra under Rebecca Lang world-class.
Outstanding orchestral playing in opera is utterly thrilling and the orchestra brought such a powerful contribution to the action on stage, credit needs to be given to each musician and to conductor Rebecca Lang for drawing such beautiful solos and ensemble playing from the orchestra.
Bourby Webster – SeeSaw Magazine | WA OPERA TOSCA 2022
Ultimately, the night belonged to the 30-piece orchestra, divided between the pit and the offstage wings, conducted by Rebecca Lang with real flair and feeling for the music's flowing romance and dramatic set pieces.
Michael Quinn – Opera Magazine, December 2021 | NI OPERA LA BOHÈME 2021
The intimacy of this production's orchestral setting – an ad hoc chamber group led with flair and sensitivity by conductor Rebecca Lang – adds sparkle, tenderness and pathos as needed.
Sarah McCleave – Opera Now, December 2021 | NI OPERA LA BOHÈME 2021
The orchestra, conducted by Rebecca Lang, with equal measures passion, grace and precision, merits special mention.
Ian Patterson – The Thin Air | NI Opera LA BOHÈME 2021
