PURCELL: DIDO AND AENEAS

Financial Times (Shirley Apthorp)
"An elaborate effort on a qualitative par with the work of a good full-time opera company."

"[Conductor Grant Llewellyn] keeps the piece perfectly paced and phrases with such consistently intelligent good taste that your ears make you a believer from the start. Llewellyn completely understands the rhetoric of the score, and his musicians articulate each note with the subtlety of speech. Both choir and orchestra bring well-modulated, finely honed excellence to the whole."

Opera News (Brian Moll)
"The Handel & Haydn chorus upheld its fine reputation by singing with precision and style. The chorus' balance of stillness and movement fit Purcell's music beautifully, and the storytellers from their ranks became one of the highlights of the production."

Boston Herald (T.J. Medrek)
"I can't imagine that anyone in the audience will be able to forget [Dido] or anything about the remarkable evening."

HANDEL: MESSIAH

Boston Globe (Richard Dyer)
"The Handel & Haydn Society delivered a splendid performance of Handel's 'Messiah' yesterday afternoon. The orchestra played handsomely for [Conductor Grant Llewellyn], with a lot of attention to dynamics and detail. The 32-voice chorus had the tonal weight for crying out 'Wonderful counselor, the mighty God' and 'Hallelujah' and 'Amen,' and the agility to dance through 'And He shall purify' and 'All we like sheep.' And they sang the words as if they meant them."

Boston Herald (Keith Powers)
"For the 152nd consecutive year, Boston audiences enjoyed the beginning of the musical holiday season when Grant Llewellyn led the H&H chorus and orchestra in a rapturous performance of Handel's great oratorio. [Handel] would have enjoyed this performance."

Boston Phoenix (Richard Buell)
"This season's Messiah is buoyant, trim, clear in utterance, light on its feet, and never mawkish, lumbering, or abstractly reverential. The choral singing was of solo quality throughout, and one of the quiet pleasures was hearing some ripping I'll-be-darned details spring to the surface. In 'All we like sheep' the chorus tossed off something that was both a bona fide ornament and a bona fide bleat. There were no long faces in this crowd."

BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH

Boston Globe (David Weininger)
"Grant Llewellyn and the H&H orchestra went about their jobs with steady, focused musicianship. The orchestra did exceptionally well, both in the Violin Concerto and in the Fifth Symphony. Their playing was tight and colorful, especially in the brass and winds. The finale exploded off the stage. It was not only intense but also well paced by Llewellyn and delivered with real commitment by his players. Here, finally, was the essence of Beethoven - drama without the dramatics."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOZART

Boston Herald (Keith Powers)
"Soprano Karina Gauvin killed; her 'Placido e il mar' and 'Zefferitti lusinghieri,' both from 'Idomeneo,' were stupendous. She sings with confidence, great tone and winning energy."

"A great orchestra and chorus [were] led by distinction by a terrific conductor. Llewellyn blended instruments and voices with distinction."

CLASSICAL MASTERS: MOZART AND HAYDN

Boston Globe (Christina Linklater)
"Kristian Bezuidenhout is a vigorously intelligent musician, well equipped with the technique to back up some extraordinary new ideas about old music. The 'Jenamy' sounded especially fresh in the final movement. Ending the evening with another Mozart concerto, Bezuidenhout crashed into the first-movement cadenza with relish, pulled back for a stately larghetto, then let his gentle flourishes in the final allegretto float out over the orchestra's careful accompaniment."

"Conductor Grant Llewellyn managed to make silence as important as sound, letting one phrase hang in the air before proceeding to the next. Flutists Christopher Krueger and Wendy Rolfe were eerily perfect in the adagio of 'Noon.'"

Boston Herald (Keith Powers)
"Who knew Haydn and Mozart could change lives? Haydn's symphony No. 6, 'Morning,' opened the evening like a gorgeous sunrise. The orchestra challenged all rhythmic certainties, racing the piece to a conclusion that was totally unexpected." "Haydn's Symphony No. 7, 'Noon,' changed the time of day and the mood. The playing and leadership were bold and authoritative."

BACH: ST. MATTHEW PASSION

Boston Globe (Richard Dyer)
"Llewellyn emerged from this huge work with honor. He was most successful in the piece's narrative and dramatic aspects, which generated intensity and excitement. The choral singing was outstanding, and so was much of the playing by the double orchestra. The continuo playing was experienced and alert, and there were striking solos."

Patriot Ledger (Peter M. Knapp)
"Under Llewellyn's able guidance, this was often a beautiful, mellow-sounding interpretation of a long and complex score. The magnificent opening chorus for double-choir and double-orchestra made the hall vibrate with its massed and antiphonal effects. The choristers sang with their customary zest, responsiveness and tonal bloom."

Boston Herald (Keith Powers)
"The Handel and Haydn Society explored [Bach's] 'St. Matthew Passion' last night at Symphony Hall, and only one thing can be said: This work is not performed enough. This performance was everything a Passion should be, intense, interesting, and engaging. Conductor Grant Llewellyn kept his large forces, two orchestras, and two choruses in check, leading with a great sense of the whole."

"James Gilchrist. sang with distinction, and did some serious heavy lifting, occupying the stage nearly every second. Baritone Phillip Cutlip, as Jesus, also sang notably. Most impressive were the women: soprano Dominique Labelle and mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy, who sang amazingly in supporting roles.

Read critical acclaim from the:
2007-2008 Season;
2006-2007 Season;
2004-2005 Season;
2003-2004 Season;
2002-2003 Season;
2001-2002 Season.

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