Richard Farnes - Reviews

Britten: Gloriana - Opera North - Autumn 2001

“The British operatic year ended for me in Leeds when Opera North revived its Phyllida Lloyd production of Britten’s Gloriana, on of the most successful stagings of our day. ….. Richard Farnes again proved that he is outstanding among our younger opera conductors.” 
Michael Kennedy – Sunday Telegraph 30 December 2001

Verdi: Othello - Glyndebourne Festival 2001

“Anyone who may have doubted Farnes’ ability to fill Gergiev’s glamorous shoes will surely have been astonished by the young British conductor’s authority in the Glyndebourne pit: his account of this extraordinary score may have lacked the thrills and spills of the best parts of Gerviev’s interpretation, but it was more of a piece, and entirely appropriate to the scale of the 1000 seat theatre. Certainly, he whipped up an orchestral tempest in the opening scene, with the Glyndebourne chorus and London Philharmonic Orchestra on electrifying form. And, unlike Gergiev, he paced the music naturally, at one with Hall’s lucid unfolding of the drama.” 
SUNDAY TIMES JULY 29 2001

“The Glyndebourne Othello is a rip-roaring triumph, the sort of evening one hopes for and even expects from this house………. (cast were also praised) …..The chorus and London Philharmonic were stormy, silky and seductive as required. This says a very great deal for the conductor, Richard Farnes, who I thought wholly had the measure of the great work, launched it with a rendering storm and brought it to a conclusion with all passion spent and the listeners purged by pity and terror. A Shakespearean evening, in truth, and due in large measure to him.” SUNDAY TELEGRAPH JULY 29 2001

“Conductor Richard Farnes could teach the Kirov’s Valery Gergiev a thing or two about how to pace this piece. From the moment that the heavens open and Glyndebourne’s small but wonderfully incisive chorus signal the return of their conquering hero, this, their first Otello, is a gripping and memorable occasion.” 
THE INDEPENDENT JULY 25 2001

“Richard Farnes conducted the excellent London Philharmonic Orchestra with dignity, sensitivity and honesty. Verdi would have applauded him.”
DAILY TELEGRAPH JULY 23 2001

“”The conductor Richard Farnes keeps the score at boiling point throughout”
THE GUARDIAN JULY 23 2001

Verdi: Macbeth - City of Birmingham Touring Opera

"Much of the drama is supplied by the orchestra, which preserves the score's dark mysterious tinta. It is tightly played by the CBTO band under Richard Farnes, who conducts with flexibility and stylish brio" 
The Times - John Allison

"Richard Farnes led an orchestra of 16 at an irresistible lick" 
The Daily Telegraph - Rupert Christiansen

"The Orchestra under Richard Farnes' energetic baton, produced an enormous, gutsy sound." 
Opera Now - Richard Fawkes

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Glyndebourne Touring Opera

"The young conductor Richard Farnes, accompanied the singers considerably, kept a firm control of stage and pit and obtained neat playing. 
The Sunday Telegraph - Michael Kennedy

"Richard Farnes conducts, not just with verve, but with an excellent sense of timing" 
The Guardian - David Fallows

"Glyndebourne Touring Opera has the canny knack of launching future stars. Richard Farnes should be snapped up by Opera Houses . He shapes the musical narrative with an unerring sense of direction, gives a thoroughbred reading, distinguished by sure pacing, finely judged tempo and crisp, buoyant rhythms. The Orchestra responded brio and sensitivity." 
The Stage - David Blewitt

"As a musical experience, there was already much to enjoy in Richard Farnes' lithe and lissome conducting and the overall polish of the GTO Orchestra." 
Opera Magazine - Andrew Clark

"Richard Farnes began the overture with a whispered orchestral utterance hinting at dark conspiracy, followed by an explosive fortissimo that could only have meant protest. It set the mood for what followed: conflict on stage with Farnes and a brilliant orchestra turning up the heat in all the right places" 
Country life Magazine

"Richard Farnes conducts a well-paced and musically detailed account of this ever-astonishing score" 
The Sunday Times - Hugh Canning