“…The excellent Prague Philharmonic Chorus does some really impressive work. The Wiener Symphoniker play their music crisply, with style and accomplishment. Conductor Paolo Carignani brings exactly the right sense of verve and drama to the score, providing the best argument possible for reviving this opera.”

Supersonic Pizzicato

“…Franco Faccio’s Hamlet is a most convincing setting of this subject matter, and if the opera was long ignored, the production of the Bregenz Festival is highly valuable. Conductor Paolo Carigniani, the soloists, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Prague Philharmonic Choir perform with great commitment. In such a successful performance this opera proves a strong enrichment of the repertoire …”

 “… The vocal writing is very fine, with music for the chorus engaging and formally intriguing. Much of the score will put you in mind of Gounod, especially the use of woodwinds. A most pleasant surprise is how (relatively) lithe the opera feels, managing to condense the play into two and a half hours. Paolo Carignani and the Wiener Symphoniker make a good case for it, as do the strong cast headed by tenor Pavel C?ernoch in the title role. He’s eloquent, mercurial and impassioned, matched in conviction by Iulia Maria Dan’s vivid Ophelia. Dshamilja Kaiser brings warmth and gravitas to Gertrude, while Claudio Sgura is suitably devious as the King.” ****