“As with the world premiere of Ali two seasons ago, Delanghe’s conducting is flawless. He never loses his way in the density of Bell’s writing, brings the singers forward whenever the score requires it, and paces the music expertly so that the key moments are never drowned in an ocean of ideas. Bell’s opulent style is refined and elegantly tempered through the conductor’s insight. Delanghe moves effortlessly between intimacy and grandeur, allowing the full breadth of the score’s spectrum to emerge in all its richness.”
PZAZZ (Jan-Jakob Delanoye)
"A fine, light-lyric singer (hardly the ‘dramatic coloratura’ specified at the head of the libretto), she incarnated the opera’s Medusa-as-victim characterisation with gleaming tone, easily penetrating Bell’s brass-heavy orchestration — not least because the conductor Michiel Delanghe scrupulously maintained a balance between orchestra and stage, never overwhelming the singers.
OPERALOGUE (Hugh Canning)
"With the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, Michiel Delanghe succeeds in sustaining the gripping tension of Bell’s intelligently constructed score, whose musical fabric organically unites orchestra and voices.”
ORPHEUS ONLINE (Roberto Becker)
“In the pit, Michiel Delanghe conducts with a precious quality in this repertoire: he clarifies without drying out the music. The musical discourse remains clear, the orchestra breathes, and the dramatic continuity gains what the libretto does not always provide.”
RES MUSICA (Benedict Hévry)
“Under the direction of Michiel Delanghe, the orchestra delivers a solid and committed performance, marked by attention to detail and dramatic tension. Delanghe has an excellent instinct for allowing the singers to excel without relegating the orchestra to the background.”
OPERA MAGAZINE (Bo van der Meulen)
“Crucial to the success of the production were Lydia Steier’s staging, Michiel Delanghe’s conducting, and Claudia Boyle’s performance.”
OPERA IN CASA (Renato Verga)
“A contemporary creation for a traditional orchestra, brilliantly conducted by the Belgian conductor Michiel Delanghe.”
RES MUSICA / samenvattende quote
“Under Michiel Delanghe, the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra sounds amazing. It keeps the tension alive, shapes crescendos with precision, and supports the stage action with a steady, constant and dramatic pulse.”
Broadway World (Alexandre Diaconu)
"The conductor, Michiel Delanghe, elicited an emotionally exhausting and detailed reading from the Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie, in which his management of the rhythmic urgency, pace and tempi were expertly and sensitively molded to meet the demands of the staging. His ability to build and relax the tensions, to intensify and diminish the manacing atmosphere, and to drive the drama forward was instrumental to the performance’s success, and the detail and clarity that he was able to bring to his interpretation allowed the textural quality of the score to be fully revealed."
Operawire (Alan Neilson)
"Iain Bell’s music, masterfully conducted by Michiel Delanghe, accompanies this descent into a traumatised inner world with extraordinary theatrical intelligence."
Giovanni Chiaramonte (fattitaliani)
"A contemporary creation, yet written for a traditional orchestra without additional instruments or electronics, brilliantly conducted by the Belgian conductor Michiel Delanghe."
Doorbraak (Lukas Vander Taelen)
“As conductor, Michiel Delanghe keeps the orchestra taut, expressive and finely sculpted. At no point does Iain Bell’s score detach itself from the stage: it is cinematic in the strongest sense of the word, capable of sustaining a thriller without losing any of its impact. Precisely shaped crescendos, a constant pulse, and a rich palette of colours and contrasts keep the tension alive, even when the text embraces stillness. The music does not comment—it acts.”
MoB Magazine
“…with a thoroughly contemporary score that never hesitates to embrace consonance. Michiel Delanghe’s musical direction is equally deserving of praise.”
La Libre (Nicolas Blamont)
“Fundamental in this respect is the work of conductor Michiel Delanghe at the head of the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra. His direction keeps the music in a constant state of alertness, shaping dynamic contrasts and large-scale dramatic crescendos with precision. Particularly impressive is his ability to reconcile the score’s cinematic character with the theatrical demands of vocal breathing. The music never comments from the outside; it acts directly on the stage, becoming an integral part of the dramaturgy.”
Opera in Casa
“Within this sonic current, constantly charged with energy and sustained with precision and unrelenting tension by Michiel Delanghe’s outstanding conducting, a tender lullaby theme entrusted to the strings periodically emerged as a leitmotif of Medusa’s childhood.”
MusicPaper.it
“Bell, a self-taught composer, places beneath the drama an orchestral score that defies easy categorisation. His music possesses a distinctly cinematic quality, both in its pacing and in its use of colour. At times one hears echoes of Richard Strauss; elsewhere, the ethereal sound world of Kaija Saariaho emerges, and occasionally even a hint of Björk can be discerned. This eclecticism enhances the emotional nuances and supports the dramatic trajectory. Under the direction of Michiel Delanghe, the orchestra delivers a solid and committed performance, marked by attention to detail and a strong sense of dramatic tension. Delanghe has an excellent instinct for allowing the singers to excel without relegating the orchestra to the background.”
deStandaard
“Bell deploys his large-scale orchestra with great sophistication, its playing both vigorously energetic and supple under the direction of Michiel Delanghe."
Manuel Brug (Welt)
“The La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra plays under the inspired and expert leadership of Michiel Delanghe. He brings out the full richness of the score, expertly shaping its dynamic extremes while revealing its lyricism and dramatic tension whenever required.”
Place de l'opera
“Michiel Delanghe directed La Monnaie’s outstanding resident forces with assured authority (the chorus, though not always visible, plays a significant role), sustaining the dramatic momentum of the performance from beginning to end.”
Opera actual
“Michiel Delanghe’s conducting was particularly noteworthy, demonstrating an ability to draw from the orchestra the most hushed sonorities, the most expansive and full-bodied textures, and even dense sonic clusters."
operaclick (Fabio Trancia)
“In the pit, Michiel Delanghe conducts with a precious quality in this repertoire: the ability to clarify without drying out the music. The musical discourse remains clear, the orchestra breathes, and the dramatic continuity gains what the libretto does not always provide.”
Operamag.com
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