“Keep an ear out, too, for the conductor Evan Rogister, who went at it with terrific verve and had the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment playing with a reckless, headlong virtuosity that (probably unfairly) I hadn’t really expected from them. The brass roared, percussion thundered and in the climactic scenes it all boiled up and flooded the auditorium with harmonies and colours of Wagnerian darkness and power. Late classical opera really suits period instruments. The OAE was on fire at Glyndebourne”
“Rogister – in his first appearance at Glyndebourne – brilliantly swoops the orchestra from the apocalyptic opening chords through an adrenalised tour of the alternately comic and dramatic musical themes as Étienne Guiol’s powerful animation evokes a world on fire.”
“Glyndebourne’s new Don Giovanni was musically very rewarding. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment played with sharpness and elan under the intensely theatrical guidance of Evan Rogister. Confronting a work of such monumental fame and constant presence in the repertory, and at such a Mozartian centre as Glyndebourne, must instil anxiety in any conductor. Rogister gave the impression of having put this anxiety to good use, not going for novelty or difference for their own sake (as is so often the case) but instead digging deeply into the words and the music to bring to light the characters’ often overwhelming emotions—it certainly helped that Italian diction was crystal clear from a cast made up exclusively of non-native speakers. The accompagnato that precedes Anna’s ‘Or sai chi l’onore’ in Act 1 was delivered by Venera Gimadieva with such intensity, and steered by Rogister with such penetrating insight into the feelings packed into a short span by Da Ponte and Mozart that my eyes filled with tears of emotion, before the aria had even started.”
Opera
“The late eighteenth century is often referred to as the Age of Enlightenment, and under the very capable baton of the American conductor Evan Rogister (making his Glyndebourne debut), the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment gave the music huge clarity.
Rogister allowed the singers ample space, and the cast, largely Eastern European, were terrific.”
“Evan Rogister, a German-American maestro making his house debut, conducted a performance with plenty of zip and nervous energy if not hellfire. For those of us who love to hear Mozart sung with judicious vocal ornaments — appoggiaturas and other embellishments — here they were.”
Financial Times
“The Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Evan Rogister, principal conductor of Washington National Opera, was impeccable.”
“Musically it was top-notch… American conductor Evan Rogister made a distinguished U.K. debut in the Glyndebourne pit. Thanks to the felicitous tempo choices and a strong forward momentum he kept the drama churning nicely – and his support for the estimable company of singers was exemplary.”
Musical America
“ … the excellent debut conductor Evan Rogister, who sets cracking speeds and coaxes fine sonorities from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.”
The Telegraph
“…we are left with a final image of a boundingly youthful chorus singing their hearts out, and with the sound of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, under Evan Rogister’s brilliant direction, ringing in our ears.”
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