Download PDFOrfeo et Euridice, The Metropolitan Opera
“ A journey to hell yielded heavenly music Friday night at the Met's revival of ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’… Musically, the show was in surer hands, with Australian conductor Antony Walker striking a sure balance between tragic dignity and baroque sparkle. In this opera about the magical power of music, he was the true hero.”
New York Post
David et Jonathas, Pinchgut Opera (Orchestra of the Antipodes on period instruments)
“ Antony Walker leads the Orchestra of the Antipodes through a performance of heavenly richness, gracefully drawing out the shifting sonorities and sombre beauty of Charpentier's score. Nobody who had previously doubted the magnificent beauty of the French baroque could have continued to do so beyond the first few bars of this orchestra's playing.”
The Opera Critic
Madama Butterfly, Santa Fe Opera
“ Mr. Walker, the music director of the Pittsburgh Opera, contributed to this fresh look at “Madama Butterfly” by drawing a lithe and impressively articulate performance from the Santa Fe players. There were plenty of big Puccini moments with soaring lyricism. But he never allowed the music to turn indulgent and lose its rhythmic thrust.”
The New York Times
Maria Stuarda, Canadian Opera Company
“ Another star of this seamless show was Australian conductor Antony Walker, who gave Donizetti's score an easy pacing and graceful contours… ”
The Toronto Star
Acis and Galatea/Dido and Aeneas, Opera Australia (Orchestra of the Antipodes on period instruments)
“ …Opera australia has engaged not only conductor Antony Walker but also his regular Australian orchestra the Orchestra of the Antipodes….Their playing, and Walker’s leadership, are as resplendent, if not quite as richly textured, in the (raised) pite of the Opera Theatre as in the angel Places’ more congenial acoustic.”
The Opera Critic
Lucia di Lammermoor, English National Opera
“ Antony Walker conducts the marvellous score with real sensitivity to Donizetti's orchestration, making the case for this opera as one of the masterpieces of Italian opera. This is ENO at its very best… ”
Telegraph.co.uk
“ here we have to thank conductor Antony Walker for excellent work. The orchestra, including a glass harmonica that is used during Lucia's mad scene, played beautifully. These are performances of Lucia that should not be missed! ”
Markronan.worpress.com
La Bohème, Pittsburgh Opera
“ The conducting of music director Antony Walker …. is a fresh interpretation that kept the tempi lively and the accents humorous for the opening scene, which introduces four pals -- Marcello the painter, Rodolfo the poet, Colline the philosopher and Schaunard the musician….Walker's pacing of the duet was dramatically astute, becoming more spacious as Rodolfo's and Mimi's emotions warm. The conductor also made superlative use of Puccini's often neglected, but telling, harp part, which was beautifully played by Nuiko Wadden. ”
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review
“ It would be hard to imagine a finer ensemble of early-music practitioners and Charpentier's slippery score comes alive in their hands. Walker negotiates the sudden changes in tempi with magisterial calm, and has obviously worked hard with his colleagues to create a balance of timbres among the various instruments - the combination of theorbos, harpsichords and violones, for example, makes for a wonderfully complex bass line“
Sydney Morning Herald
Troilus and Cressida, Opera Theatre of St. Louis
“But this act of restitution - the first production in America in over half a century - would not have been complete without OTSL's heart-warming performance, in particular the conducting of Antony Walker. At the helm of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra, he shaped the score with drive and muscularity, relishing its gorgeous colours and also its menace.“
Sunday Telegraph London
Billy Budd, Pittsburgh Opera
“ … the production stands out for its combination of many strengths, including an uncommonly even cast, strong choral work, superb conducting by Antony Walker, outstanding orchestral performance of a demanding score and the riveting staging of Francesca Zambello. ”
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, The Minnesota Opera
“ The May 13 performance, expertly conducted by Antony Walker, had an impressive level of polish and ensemble for the opening night of a challenging new work. ”
Opera News
Tancredi, Washington Concert Opera
“…and this ‘Tancredi’ proved the springboard for the best collective singing I've heard since I arrived in Washington more than a decade ago…. Finally, thanks to Antony Walker, the artistic director and conductor of WCO, not only for choosing a glorious work and a worthy cast and coordinating a sumptuously blended performance, but for his part in reviving one of Washington's musical treasures.”
The Washington Post
Tosca, Hawaii Opera Theatre
“On Friday, conductor Antony Walker was, to put it simply, excellent - and a major reason the performance was so successful. He managed singers, orchestra, and chorus equally well.... Walker conducted as though he were breathing along with the singers… so the music seemed to flow effortlessly.”
The Honolulu Advertiser
Nixon in China, The Minnesota Opera
“Under the watchful guidance of conductor Antony Walker, Adam’s sumptuous, post-minimalist, synthesizer-enhanced score doesn’t just purr; it rumbles, it croons, it soars and sings.”
Star Tribune
Orlando, New York City Opera
“Making his City Opera debut, conductor Antony Walker led a polished, searching account of the score. The overture’s mellow, stately strains carried hints of darkness to dome, and the orchestra spun webs of lacy sound to accompany Orlando’s voluptuous descent into oblivion.”
Opera News
Madame Butterfly, The Minnesota Opera
"And Antony Walker's conducting, propulsive yet supple, makes his orchestra as vivid a character as any on the stage; at moments the whole ensemble seems to breathe as a single organism."
Star Tribune
Stiffelio, Washington Concert Opera
“[Antony Walker] generated admirable drive, crispness of attack and beauty of line from the orchestra, which, in away, sang as vibrantly as the cast.”
The Baltimore Sun
The Handmaid’s Tale, The Minnesota Opera
“Conductor Antony Walker displays theatrically informed, fluid leadership.”
USA Today
“Conductor Antony Walker brought all the cold, throbbing details of Ruders’ score, and drew an emotionally charged and committed performance from the large orchestra.”
www.musicweb.uk.net
Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Opera Australia
“In his debut assignment with the Australian Opera, the unequivocally up and coming young conductor Antony Walker…was obviously very much in control of the proceedings all afternoon: absolutely on top of the music, perfectly familiar with the detail of the unfolding stage actions… Walker cued them meticulously, fine tuning their ensemble splendidly, controlling their dynamics with subtlety.”
Opera-Opera Sydney
The Queen of Spades, Welsh National Opera
“… the fine WNO orchestra under Antony Walker revelled in the adventure.”
Bristol Western Daily Press
Dardanus, Wolf Trap Opera
“An ensemble of period instruments clearly relished the riches in Rameau’s score under the astute, detailed guidance of conductor Antony Walker, who provided telling propulsion without sacrificing nuance.”
Opera News
Semele Pinchgut Opera
“Conductor Antony Walker … elicited as fine a performance as you will hear. ”
The Australian
La Donna del Lago, Washington Concert Opera
“The orchestra and chorus under the baton of Antony Walker performed with passion and polish…”
The Washington Times
The Fairy Queen, Pinchgut Opera
“The musical side is beautifully performed under the command of Anthony Walker. His well-drilled, period-instrument orchestra, the Sirius Ensemble, and the splendid choral group Cantillation achieve wonderful balances and stylish phrasing.”
The Australian
The Marriage of Figaro, The Minnesota Opera
“Minnesota Opera finale is without impediment…Conductor Antony Walker led a fast-paced but graceful, poised reading of the score.”
Star Tribune
“Walker…. maintained his high level of energy, delivering a reading that was nimble and dramatically alive.”
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Mitridate, Re di Ponto, Wolf Trap Opera
“…Walker demonstrated a feel for Mozart's music with crisp pacing and considerable depth of sound. His sensitivity to the young singers' needs was admirable.”
Opera-Opera Sydney
“Antony Walker, in charge of an excellent small orchestra, conducted with a fine sense of pace, balance and opera seria style.”
The Washington Post
The Magic Flute, Opera Australia
“…the helmsmanship of Antony Walker fine-tuned the ensemble mix impressively - a great tribute to his ever-increasing directorial skills.”
Opera-Opera Sydney
La Traviata, Welsh National Opera
“…under the baton of Antony Walker love and death seldom come in such powerful doses…”
Cardiff - South Wales Argus
La Bohème, Minnesota Opera
“Conductor Antony Walker showed a notable sensitivity to Puccini's special idiom, especially in the way that phrases need to expand…he drew bright singing from both the adult and children's choruses.”
Star Tribune
Turandot, Welsh National Opera
“…the chorus was on wonderful form, catching every shifting mood vividly. Singing of this quality in combination with a really grown-up production makes Turandot a pretty shattering experience.”
The Times