Petite messe solennelle - Press

...following performances of the works of Schubert and Handel, they have taken on the old maestro Rossini's mass, which he composed 34 years after his last opera. In it melodic fervour and elegance sit nonchalantly alongside simple accompanying figures played on two pianos. Nico and the Navigators have created a kind of theatrical theology: scenes of the Iconoclastic Controversy concerning faith, heresy and superstition, the imperatives of doubt and dichotomy, questions of religion, ritual,...

...It is the lightness of the choreography within the abundance of enigmatic images, the dazzling humour, the virtuoso grotesqueness and the nonsensical, playful activity that make this production so compellingly entertaining, so full of delight and tension in equal measure. And it is Rossini's music, flowing so effortlessly, artfully elegant and yet seemingly artless, that structures this breathlessly disturbing search for meaning within a wide array of images. A philosophy in movement, a...

...Anyone can do irony. But this ensemble manages to let the gaiety in Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle shine through wi­thout denying its spirituality; it draws a picture of a composer who created a work in which he “put all of (his) little musical knowledge and worked with real love for religion”, and really gives new life to a piece of music that until now was destined to suffer an inconspicuous end in quite standard choral concerts.

...This entertaining image theatre comprising song and dance is not only full of humorous dialogue, but it also directs a tongue-in-cheek and self-mocking look at the world we live in todayAbove all else, Rossini's music delivers the space that the troupe requires for its statement of faith in the power of music and dance... They felt so at ease in it that they managed to infect the audience of the Erfurt Opera...

Musikalisch ist dieser Abend außerordentlich gelungen, Solisten und Chor sind großartig und Rossinis "arme kleine Messe" wird in all ihrer Vielschichtigkeit zum Leben erweckt. Glaube und Skepsis, Sehnsucht und Ironie, Melancholie, Trauer, Schwermut und glitzernde Leichtigkeit finden sich ja schon bei Rossini selbst – er selbst hat sich in diesem Werk als ein Zerrissener gezeigt... das Publikum hat mit begeistertem Applaus reagiert.

Regisseurin Nicola Hümpel hat auch im dritten Jahr ihrer Teilnahme an den Bregenzer Festspielen mit einer wahren Flut packender Bilder für ein strahlendes Highlight gesorgt.

...mit fantasiereicher Bildersprache interpretierten sie die außergewöhnliche Messkomposition von Gioachino Rossini und stellten mit spielerischem musikalischen Zugang assoziationsreich religionsphilosophische Fragen in den Raum...

...Rossini's faith is reflected in the excellently choreographed choir and in the passionate words of the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo and O salutaris hostia, accompanied by two pianos and a harmonium and fervently conducted by Nicholas Jenkins...

...Their reappraisal of important musical works of the past has led them on this occasion to take on Gioachino Rossini's “Petite messe solennelle” and with it they have scored a real success...

...A quiet, yet sometimes shrill scepticism surrounding the truth of today's rituals of faith hovers over the stage...