On Wednesday night Mr. Conlon conducted the gifted singers of the Juilliard Opera Center and the dynamic Juilliard Orchestra in the premiere of “Trilogy: 3 One-Act Portraits of Marriage.” This 90-minute entertainment, without an intermission, has been fashioned from little-known one-act works, two Russian and one German.

Rothschild’s Violin, the special discovery of this trilogy, is an affecting tragedy. As conceived by Mr. Conlon and realized by James Marvel, the director who created this production for Juilliard, the trilogy becomes a morality tale about marriage. Cohesion among these stylistically different one-act works was enhanced through the production, which relies on a strikingly simple set: just the framed outline of the corner of a room, with a large, visible video screen on the back wall. By bringing in period furniture, the set allows fluid transitions from one story to the next.

- Anthony Tommassini, The New York Times

The blanket title for the evening was “Trilogy: One-Act Portraits of Marriage.” The sheer musical variety that these works provided hardly needed an apology, nor did the clever unit set devised by James Marvel, who also directed the three casts with imaginative precision. The correctly styled and polished realization of each score was impeccable.

- Peter G. Davis, MusicalAmerica.com

One musician who has been behind many efforts to recover lost or forgotten music of this era has been James Conlon, who conceived and conducted this intense and intermissionless trilogy.

Chinese bass-baritone Shenyang persuasively took principal roles of Podkolyosin and Bronza with the full cast of the trilogy joining him in seeing the light in James Marvel’s realization.

Kudos for making this unusual trilogy a satisfying experience goes principally to Conlon, director James Marvel and the rest of the production team.

- Bruce-Michael Gelbert, QOnstage.com

November 2008

The production team of the Metropolitan Opera’s The Damnation of Faust has the duty to walk across the street and see how video projection should be done. The trio of operas by the Juilliard School is hardly as famous at the Berlioz conception at the Met, and the Juilliard budget is probably pocket change for Gelb Incorporated. But the Juilliard production possess one asset which the Met staff never took into consideration: They have respect for the operas they are presenting. And the graphics, video, special effects, and lighting actually enhance and do not distract from the music and stories.

Each of the three operas has a distinct character, yet the single set, with only minor furniture changes but some very, very beautiful holographic changes-was magnetic. The direction meant a lot of people falling on their derrières, and one character doing a John Cleese-like “funny walk,” but the absurdity was part of the triumph. The stories were simple, emotional, well sung, and the diversity showed taste, understanding, and, most of all, fun.

The third piece-everybody’s favorite-left nothing to be desired. It was never maudlin or sentimental, but had an honest depth. The video projections in the back were sometimes illustrative, sometimes dominating, sometimes almost unseen. Almost unconsciously, we went from pastoral village scenery to the most beautiful forest of Russian poplars. And at the climax….well it was done with taste and emotion.

The singers, who appeared in several roles, were top-rate, all under that most experienced conductor James Conlon. It was his idea to play the operas one after the other. His rationale was not quite convincing. However, the production was-and is-most convincing. These are three operas, and the inventiveness to make them come vibrantly alive.

- Harry Rolnick, ConcertoNet.com

Most performances of Stravinsky’s opera emphasize its pitiless, pasteboard side…but there is much more to this piece, and it all came through in this incisive and breathtakingly beautiful production.

Friday night’s opening gleamed and glittered in all the right places, but it also paid tribute to the tender heart that beats below the surface of the opera’s elegant symmetries. The result was a magnificent theatrical and musical experience, balancing emotion and wit in perfect proportion.

Director James Marvel allowed himself the liberty to go in whatever direction intrigued him, and the results were a tribute to his instincts. The staging abounded in small, finely observed moments (Anne’s instinctive revulsion when Shadow first appears was a lovely touch), and Marvel seems to have worked carefully with the members of the ensemble to create stage tableaux that were both kinetic and visually striking.

San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman

James Marvel’s production proved engaging and lively, with the characters well-delineated. Marvel worked very effectively with three of his leading players, gifted singing actors who put across the text superbly.

David Shengold

Toledo Opera has entered a brave new world. Now the name of the game is not popularity but quality. Even more daring was this season’s The Rake’s Progress. James Marvel’s staging was indeed (forgive me) marvelous. It was reserved and clear-headed, creating living versions of Hogarth’s etching. Marvel emphasized the tragedy of the story while retaining the comedy of Mother Goose and Baba the Turk.

Charles H. Parsons