Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Gracefully directed by Matthew Ozawa (with sets by Ralph Funicello that at moments suggest Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot"), "Don Quichotte" unfolds in five fast-moving acts, each prefaced by a revealing excerpt from Cervantes' novel that is projected as the orchestra plays an interlude. At the very start, we see a small boy turning the pages of a massive volume and clearly imagining the story in his own mind before he becomes part of the crowd gathered in the picturesque square of a small town in Spain."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Instead, let's move right on to say that this ravishing production, on loan from the San Diego Opera (with perfect lighting by Lyric's Chris Maravich), looks like an Old Masters painting come to life; that bass Ferruccio Furlanetto totally inhabits the title role of the divinely foolish old knight; that he's well served by baritone Nicola Alaimo as faithful sidekick and foil, Sancho; and that mezzo-soprano Clementine Margaine, making her Lyric debut as Dulcinee, the object of Quichotte's delusional affection, has that rarity: a powerful voice with a bell-like quality across its entire range. Andrew Davis conducts the Lyric Opera Orchestra."
ShowBizChicago - Recommended
"...Massenet's Don Quichotte has never quite established itself in the opera repertoire, not because of any deficit in the music, but because it's not immediately evident exactly what it is dramatically; is it a comedy or tragedy or some more subtle blend of the two? The last option seems to reflect the usual approach to it, which makes it a hard sell for audiences. I have always enjoyed seeing the musical theater version - especially the performances by Chicagoan James Harms - and then it all creeps up on me in that final scene and I am reminded of the don's Haunting death...and it IS a tragedy! Take the score for example; a fine work of French composition but nothing to do with Spain. The music is exquisite and very delicate and never really takes off until Act IV of 5 acts when the mezzo lets loose and sings and acts up a storm!"
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...Time for some simple old-school tradition? Whyever not? The Lyric's presentation of Massenet's "Don Quichotte" is pure operatic comfort food, the charming tale of an antiquated gentleman who, preferring fantasy over the real world, decides to ride forth as a knight errant, restoring chivalry and justice and romance where he sees fit."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Lyric Opera's Don Quichotte simultaneously manages to retain the best features of San Diego Opera's production while improving on them considerably, especially in the casting of Clementine Margaine as Dulcinea. Her ravishing performance easily holds its own alongside Furlanetto's Don Quixote, and imparts fresh insights into her character's shortcomings. And the Lyric Opera Orchestra is better able to evoke the Spanish flavor of Massenet's score."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...This opera is a showcase for Ferruccio Furlanetto who is splendid as Quichotte. With Niccola Alaimo and for Clementine Margaine doing yeoman work while the lyric chorus was terrific. Don Quichotte is a sympathetic tale of a noble man whose gentleness, honesty and humanity makes him a true idealist. It is also a tale of fraternity. The music is lush, romantic and stunning. Join Quichotte on his adventures at the Lyric."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Recommended
"...Don Quichotte, as a work, is not battered, fortunately. Mid-level, yes, but frank in its sentiment and precise in its effect to depict, at least in part, that glint in the old man's eye. The journey to achieve everlasting goodness may be asymptotic - impossible, even - but that doesn't mean it isn't worth it."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...Perhaps the biggest change in the story is the elevation of Cervantes' plain farm girl Dulcinea to Massenet's Dulcinee, given the full-court diva power it deserves by Clementine Margaine. She is the rock star Madonna of her town, who today would similarly need Jean Paul Gauthier couture to remind she is one helluva sexual power. In much of her first scenes, Margaine sings alone without orchestral accompaniment, riveting you to the power of her mezzo-soprano voice. Save your admiration though for Act IV, when the score for Margaine and the orchestra just aches with beauty."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...Director Matthew Ozawa's production is as fleetingly ethereal as Massenet's music. It relies on the fuzzy, transitory pictures created by set designer Ralph Funicello, with counterfeit mounts on wheeled platforms (pinwheels with apologies to their windy cousins) and tree limbs and rocks of early Disney cartoon quality. In their style of acting, the singers observe the old-fashioned operatic manner of the slightly elevated, a less than natural effect that softens the death knell."
