Teseo presented by Chicago Opera Theatre at Harris Theater

Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended

"...“Teseo” (or “Theseus”) marks the final installment in the company’s Medea triology after Cavalli’s “Giasone” (“Jason”) in 2010 and Charpentier’s “Médée” last year. Medea, for anyone who might need to brush up, is the ultimate femme fatale from Greek mythology who – in her most notorious gambit – took such umbrage at her betrayal by Jason that she slaughtered their children and sent a poison gown to the princess he planned to marry."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...Brimming with energy and enthusiasm, the twenty-three person orchestra is youthful and jaunty, merrily bringing this three-hundred-year-old lesser-known Handel to extravagant heights (I particularly enjoyed the bass of the Theorbo, played by Michael Leopold). It’s nearly three hours of sheer Baroque indulgence that brings a satisfying lieto fine to the series exploring the depths of Madea’s madness. Hell may have no fury like her scorn, but this opera is pure heaven."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended

"... With sprightly vigor and palpable passion, Cecilia Hall gives Teseo the ardor a neo-classical hero deserves, her mezzo blending in heavenly harmonies with Manuela Bisceglie’s lovely soprano as the anguished Agilea. Confused with unrequited love, countertenor Gerald Thompson conveys in Egeo both a lover’s volatility and a father’s devotion. Deanna Breiwick and David Trudgen play the secondary couple with suitable aplomb, given roles that are basically reactions. The pity here is that Francois-Pierre Couture’s overly symbolic set of discarded chandeliers and empty chairs seems so stark in contrast to the bubbly, peppy music. You wish these dazzling duets could be illustrated by the kind of Rococo gardens a la Watteau that may well have inspired them."