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Press for Chevalier

TNY

The New York Times

"Intriguing...nuanced, witty, and incisive...The Harlem Chamber Players offer sparkling, taut performances."

TAD

The Arts Desk

"The thrilling LPO performance... sensational and shimmeringly urbane, shifting effortlessly from intricate agility to muscular intensity...a real thrill at witnessing a talent about whom I knew all too little."
CT

Chicago Tribune

"Attention-demanding virtuosity...Barclay's Chevalier simply flips the 'Black Mozart' trope on its head."

NYC

New York Classical Review

"The Chevalier’s concertos boil over with batteries and bariolages, brilliantly executed on Sunday by violinist Brendon Elliott, who split the role of Bologne with actor RJ Foster."
TG

The Guardian

"Quite simply exquisite...shrewd and witty. Bologne himself is forcefully portrayed both by actor Chukwudi Iwuji and violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason."
LT

London Times

"Radiated warmth and dignity...Jolly music finished it off, closing a musical portrait that gave Bologne a boost... I’ll certainly applaud the show’s ambition, and the music too."
CST

Chicago Sun Times

"An absorbing and illuminating concert-theatre piece... Bologne's star is at last rising again."
ON

Opera News

Barclay’s play has one specifically modern-day goal: participating musicians must join the National Alliance for Audition Support, which provides audition grants for Black and Latino musicians, who have been mostly or entirely absent from European and American concert stages.
TCD

The Chautauquan Daily

"Genius....Barclay's Chevalier tells Bologne's historic story with vibrance, passion, significance."

Press for Secret Byrd

TNY

The New Yorker

“Quietly transfixing…In the atmospheric catacombs below Green-Wood Cemetery, the singers of Cathedra, supported by the string ensemble Abendmusik, enact an immersive ritual around a candlelit table, raising their voices, one to a part, in Byrd’s solemn strains.”

CHP

Charles Hutch Press

"This was something else: imaginative, authentic, and deeply moving...the finest imaginable tribute to the great man."
ON

Opera News

"High drama...and excellent performances...An effective and compelling dramatic presentation, as well as a reminder of our hope for a world in which people's differences of belief are tolerated and respected."
B

Blogcritics

“What to do with an event that resists characterization? You could feel the composer’s heart and soul…The skill on hand was unequivocally impressive."
FT

Financial Times

“That this all had a beautiful sound goes without saying; it also had a deep and beautiful spirit and effect that went beyond music. Secret Byrd mixes music, history and drama, and what emerges is an experience that is neither concert nor theatre, but something out of life itself."
WCR

Washington Classical Review

"An intriguing example of how to create a non-traditional concert experience... It enhances the context around the music instead of competing with it. Most importantly, the theatrical presentation serves the interests of the music rather than working against it, by allowing audiences a rare chance to experience expert singers performing this detailed, intimate music in close quarters."
OW

Opera World

"Secret Byrd is a novel and engrossing way of bringing Renaissance music to the public and is done with an intimacy and imagination that embeds this music within the world."
OW

Opera World

Few opportunities to hear [Byrd’s] music are as intimate or visceral as Bill Barclay’s “Secret Byrd,” an immersive program extremely on trend for classical music right now…The Gesualdo Six sang magnificently in tune; the ensemble was faultless. Their sound is precision-tooled for blend, perfectly rounded, and has the utmost ease and precision.
TT

The Tablet

Secret Byrd ... is the brainchild of Bill Barclay, a well-established master of sui generis music-theatre events. This collaboration with the vocal ensemble The Gesualdo Six and viol consort Fretwork has his meticulous fingerprints all over it.
EMR

Early Music Review

If they haven’t already filmed this, they should for when the initial tour is over. In the meantime, do try to see it live
TG

The Guardian

The spirit of clandestine celebration of a Catholic mass is at the heart of Bill Barclay’s Secret Byrd…The all-male voices ring out with intonational precision and an almost ecstatic connection to text that would have delighted Byrd.
TG

The Guardian

Musically it’s glorious…chillingly authentic…ominous, buoyant and uplifting… What better way to open this year’s 400th anniversary celebrations.
TO

The Observer

Effortless Perfection.

Press for Peer Gynt

TBG

The Boston Globe

"Tremendously entertaining."

TT

The Tech

"As a whole, BSO’s rendition of Peer Gynt was spectacular for its ingenuity and creativity, making the experience more enriching. The performance ended with thunderous applause from the audience. Although traditional performances have their own merits in encouraging the audience to listen carefully, masterfully combining theater and orchestra can help orchestras reach new audiences."
BCM

Boston Classical Music Review

"Barclay’s stage direction made full use of the space, and simple props of chairs, tables, and coat racks left the Norwegian countryside and other exotic locations up to the imagination."
CBC

Cincinnati Business Courier

"Whimsical, entertaining, and eye-opening… It unfolded cinematically…enhanced by a hilarious bit of puppetry."
SE

Shepherd Express

"Barclay's direction, a combination of surrealness and tenderness spelled by rustic comedy, were decidedly convincing, and the audience readily responded."
MJS

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"The result, which won and deserved a cheering, standing ovation, was witty and engaging, full of energy and fun, and flowed seamlessly."

Press for Midsummer Night's Dream

TBG

The Boston Globe

“Magical...Imaginative...Enchanting."

B

Bachtrack

"The liminal world of Shakespeare’s moonlit forest was brought brilliantly to light by orchestra, singers and actors. A very Puck-ish looking boy remarked to his mother as everyone awoke in the cacophony and chaos of the street outside,“Mom, that was everything!” Yes, it was, and more."
TBG

The Boston Globe

"An imaginative stage adaptation that reunited the score with selected moments from the play it was meant to illustrate. Barclay fashioned a theatrical frame involving Mendelssohn as both a young boy and as a mature composer at work on his score."

Press for Antony & Cleopatra

TG

The Guardian

“Fascinating, every second of it.”

   
B

Bachtrack

The most accomplished way of combining words and music I’ve witnessed.
TG

The Guardian

Superb synchronicity between actors and orchestra.
FT

Financial Times

Sensuous and exotic.

Press for Saint Nicolas Film

OW

Opera Wire

Director Bill Barclay has created a powerful, spiritually uplifting film that anticipates the time when we will once more come together to celebrate music making.