TESTIMONIALS
Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Award winning international Soprano
“I love the way he feels about opera and opera direction. He is a lot of hope for the future of the business”
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Grace-Evangeline Mason, award winning composer of The Yellow Wallpaper
“Working with Guido was a pleasure, he really engaged with the story and brought fresh ideas to my opera through his direction. I felt that he understood my music to a great depth.”
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Judith Weir - Internationally acclaimed composer
“Just a quick word to say again how much I enjoyed last night’s performance. A great pleasure, and I felt honoured to have my scene included in such illustrious company. Your staging of my scene I thought was very insightful, and I’ll always remember that money flying about!”
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Bernadette Grimmett, Artistic Director, Opera de Baugé
“Guido is sensitive but with a calm authority that stems from his extensive knowledge, clear thinking and competence. He is unflappable, supportive, and a delight to work with.”
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Noah Max, Award Winning Composer, Conductor, Artistic Director of the Echo Ensemble, composer A Child in Striped Pyjamas
“Is there any task more soul-searching than staging an opera about the Holocaust? Many directors would avoid the challenge and few who make the attempt manage to do so effectively. Guido Martin-Brandis succeeded with grace, sincerity and moral courage I did not know was possible before I met him. His deeply intuitive musical intellect and dramatic clarity brought focus and power to a new work which many said could never be performed, while his equanimity, thoughtfulness and good judgement make him an amazing friend. I have learned so much from Guido; I am endlessly grateful to him and cannot wait for the next opportunity to work together.”
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Noah Mosley, Composer, Conductor, Pianist
“I first met Guido Martin-Brandis as music director of Helios Collective when he assisted on the new opera The Exile that premiered at the Leicester Square Arts Theater. We were so impressed with the quality and care taken in his work that we were delighted to have him back a year later to direct the new opera The Yellow Wallpaper by Grace Evangeline Mason.This premiered at the main space in ENO's Lilian Baylis House. He made a beautiful, intense production and he managed that difficult thing, especially in a new work, that all of his creative ideas as a director enhanced and brought out the story of the opera. It was also a real pleasure watching him work with the singers. He was very helpful to them in offering creative, practical solutions to problems, and he created a very open, relaxed and positive work environment for them.You can tell that he also cares about singing, and understands how innately dramatic singing is and can be, which is important I think for an opera director.
There are many young directors had direct productions in Helios Collective, but I was especially impressed with Guido's work and have followed it since then. His production of the Cunning Little Vixen at the Arcola told the story beautifully and had very precise, immediate characters that fizzed to life. His very creative production Onegin and Titania at the Arcola, which I did some coaching for and gave advice on, was brilliantly conceived and was very effective.”
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Susanna MacRae, Soprano, German Child in The Child in Striped Pyjamas
“It was a huge pleasure to work with Guido Martin-Brandis on the premiere of Noah Max's A Child in Striped Pyjamas. I deeply appreciate his approach and attitude in directing; he is clear, purposeful, but above all, collaborative. He brings immense thoughtfulness, dedication and preparation to his directing. The subject content of this particular opera was intensely challenging, both emotionally and musically and Guido couldn't have been a better fit for this project. He is open and communicative, radiating warmth and positivity which makes performers feel universally supported, heard and understood. I would jump at the chance to work with Guido again and cannot recommend him highly enough.”
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Isolde Roxby, Award winning Soprano
“I have been fortunate enough to work for Guido in several of his productions over the last few years and would jump at the chance to work with him again in the future.
Guido possesses the rare combination of artistic skill and logistical know-how which makes working with him an engaging process which runs calmly and without a hitch. In the rehearsal room, he gives the performers genuinely inspiring ideas that make us excited to get on our feet while, at the same time, giving us the space to contribute to the process.
Guido is an intelligent and scrupulous director who does a huge amount of research for each show. He always encouraged us to make the performance as truthful as possible and to give the action clarity. I agree that these are crucial aspects to making a performance understandable and interesting for an audience. Having permission to go as far with this as I could, was a very rewarding part of the projects which I was involved in.
I know that many of my colleagues also speak very highly of his professionalism and talent.”
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Reviews
Opera Now (For L’elisir d’amore)
★★★★★
“This L’elisir was 100% convincing at all levels.
Wild Arts’ performance honoured all aspects of this miraculous score.
The chemistry between the ever-so-shy Nemorino and the lit-from-within Adina was palpable; his delight in being suddenly thrust into the centre of (multiple female) attention in the second act, brilliant.
Joseph Morris’ translation of Felice Romani’s libretto was a work of art in itself, beautifully comedic and in highly idiomatic English. Imagination was everything. Stagings in a church beg for simplicity, and here, a ‘blue sky’ drop against which the action unfolded sufficed perfectly. Sophie Lincoln’s costume designs were impeccable.
The cast was young and talented – the baseline was exceptional.”
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Opera Now (For Die Agyptische Helena)
★★★★★
“a blinding achievement… to put on this blast of extremism, and do it so well
There is little point doing this sort of thing by half measures, and by God, Fulham Opera didn’t. Director Guido Martin-Brandis managed to tell the bizarre tale clearly with next to nothing in the way of scenery or props. I won’t forget this in a hurry.”
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Opera Now (For Rameau’s Roots)
★★★★★
“I can’t imagine anything more happiness enhancing…
Put together by the busy and enterprising director Guido Martin-Brandis, movement director Shona Morris, and Sarah Bealby-Wright (with the Rameau conducted by Jonathan Williams), this imaginative romp, clearly a work in progress, was a transporting little delight.
…led by Samuel Tracy’s charismatic ball of energy, they brought the physical verve that our opera so often lacks.”
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Opera Now (For The Theatre of the Salon)
★★★★★
“The day after Covent Garden’s joyless Jephtha, I got one of those nice reminders about why this whole thing is worth doing – and, as usual, from a tiny company in an out-of-the-way place.
It was entirely magical, that bewitching freedom and fantasy and strangeness of French music, played and performed with palpable love, humour and huge enjoyment.
Modest forces, but great ambitions and a big, generous vision, producing an exhilaration out of all proportion to the means.”
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MarkAspen.com (For La Cenerentola)
★★★★1/2
“A gloriously fun and very welcome fusion with 1980s pop culture weaves it further into a vibrant tapestry of references, resembling a much-loved, well-worn vinyl record from the ‘Now! That’s What I Call Music!’ series. As every scene becomes a figurative dance-off between the familiar fairytale and the decade nostalgia that peppers the narrative with an incredibly pleasing attention to detail. Cinderella in this rendition, directed by Guido Martin-Brandis, is an harmonious hybrid that enchants and engages, a fluorescent-hued love letter both to opera and a much-loved era.”
“ The action on stage was so captivating that it more than kept all those present entranced.”
“The end result is that Rossini’s musical score is a symphony of excellence and often poignant beauty”
“This synergy between Rossini’s timeless composition and the playful details creates a means to be transported to a world where opera and 80s pop culture harmoniously waltz together. Opera Kipling’s Cinderella/La Cenerentola woos us with its glitter, attention to nostalgic minutiae, and a stunning score.”
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The Reviews Hub (For La Cenerentola)
★★★★1/2
“Opera Kipling’s new production of La Cenerentola, the story of Cinderella, is a delight”
“Director Guido Martin-Brandis’s decision to set it in the Day-Glo world of the 1970s and 80s works very well. The costumes are a treat. Cinderella’s nasty stepsisters, Clorinda and Tisbe, are all leg-warmers and scary make-up, while Dandini, the Prince’s valet, sports a John Travolta suit and sharp shoes. There are lots of other witty touches. Clorinda makes her first entrance wobbling on roller skates; greedy Don Magnifico shouts into one of those brick-like early mobile phones. And you can’t take your eyes off Grace Lovelace as younger evil sister Tisbe, so perfect is her every pout and pose.”
“There’s added comic delight from the English subtitles which sneak in fun references to 80s pop classics.”
“The famous storm, created by two characters flapping a huge plastic sheet, is strangely effective. Changes of scene between Don Magnifico’s and the Prince’s palazzo are neatly achieved by switching wall hangings.”
“At 90 minutes you long for more. It’s a delightful evening and you leave humming the tunes.”
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Planet Hugill (For L’elisir d’amore)
“Stylish performances and an emphasis on character make this small-scale yet inventive production wonderfully engaging.
Thanks to the way Guido Martin-Brandis' production emphasised character and thanks to some stylish performances from the cast, this a wonderfully enjoyable and engaging performance that really punched above its weight. The audience in Thaxted clearly loved it and were fully engaged, whilst this experienced reviewer was carried away as well.
An admirably polished and rather sophisticated performance.
This was a remarkably compact production, Sophie Lincoln's designs consisted simply of a blue-sky backdrop, a pair of deck chairs and some bunting, but there were evocative 1950s-period costumes and plenty of amusing 1950s-style props for Dulcamara's sales routine. This was one of those lovely productions that had no axe to grind.
The 1950s period was simply an effective backdrop for an engaging and inventive production that was all about character. No-one sent up any of the characters, all the performers took their roles seriously, yet were clearly enjoying themselves, the comedy came from character, music and situation without any mugging or over-egging.
This was an Adina of real personality, brought out in the music, and Averina nicely took Adina on a journey. She was never nasty, but moved from being self-absorbed to something more admirable.
Elwin and Averina had a believably sparky relationship, from the outset they crackled and sparked together so that their crucial final scene together at the end of Act Two, made real sense and had a dramatic sparkle.
This Belcore was a wonderfully preening and self-absorbed man, clearly so enamoured of his own importance that he had no idea what was going on around him. Averina's Adina was clearly reluctantly mesmerised, and their scenes together were a complete delight. Such was Atkinson's engagement with the audience that when he got his comeuppance you felt like cheering.
Alex Jones was clearly having great fun as Dr Dulcamara, bringing out the character's knowingness. [His] hymning the praises of his elixir was a complete delight, but then Jones' whole performance was.
I loved the way Martin-Brandis had Harry Jacques' Claudio joining Lauretta and Giannetta in their over-the-top admiration for Nemorino when it becomes known that he is rich.”
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Michael White - The Catholic Herald (For L’elisir d’amore)
“A joy beyond all expectation - sassily delivered… outstandingly well sung”
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Claire Seymour - Opera Magazine (For L’elisir d’amore)
“Wild Arts’ sunny staging of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore confirmed that old adage, less is more.
[Elwin’s] sensitive interpretation of detail, musical and theatrical was telling. Nemorino’s transformation from gauche geek to dishevelled drunk, swigging from a magnum of ‘medicine’, was winningly done… No wonder everyone was delighted when Nemorino finally got his girl.
Galina Averina was a sassy Adina, her scarlet dress, and stilettos as sparkling as her light, sweet soprano. This was a wonderfully engaging performance. ‘Prendi, per me sei libero’ evinced genuine care and remorse.
A precise and dextrously choreographed small chorus.”
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Colin Clarke - Classical Explorer (For L’elisir d’amore)
“A positively life-enhancing performance of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore in English with reduced ensemble by Wild Arts as part of their Summer Tour.”
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Dominic Dromgoole - former director of The Globe Theatre (For L’elisir d’amore)
“A fresh and pungent delight. What you are achieving is remarkable”
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Robert Lloyd, international Bass (For L’elisir d’amore)
“Guido Martin-Brandis clearly has a real understanding of the possibilities of small-scale opera. His production of L’Elisir d’Amore for Wild Arts had a brilliance of imagination and stylistic confidence that was truly impressive and really enjoyable.”
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Opera Now (for Onegin & Tatiana)
“The Opera Company’s Onegin & Tatiana, devised by Guido Martin-Brandis, was a quietly powerful rhapsody on Tchaikovsky, boiled down to the central couple, supplemented with eclectic songs by Strauss, Debussy, Copland and more. It sounds random, but wasn’t: In fact, precisely what Grimeborn does well, a serious, original idea done to the highest standards. With two very strong performances by Isolde Roxby and Nick Dwyer, energetic and varied pianist, by Richard Hall, and a contemplative narration by Joan Plunkett, this was strong on poetically nostalgic atmosphere, and confronted the emotional storms and sheer trickiness of love with imaginative magic.”
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Melanie Lim - LondonPubTheatres.com (For La Cenerentola)
★★★★
“La Cenerentola is a great classic story directed by a visionary Guido Martin-Brandis”
“A gem of a theatre company”
“Will keep you entertained from beginning to end with their over-the-top delightful and humourous performances”
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Mike Carter - Everything-Theatre.co.uk (For La Cenerentola)
“Opera Kipling’s refreshing staging of Rossini’s Cinderella is an unpretentious treat.”
“As a frequenter of fringe theatre, I have always taken particular delight in small-scale productions that punch above their weight. Opera Kipling has taken to the Upstairs at The Gatehouse stage as part of this year’s Camden Fringe with exactly that spirit. The results are joyful.”
“Here, the story is given a highly successful 1980s makeover. English subtitles are projected throughout. They don’t just tell the story. Far from it, they add layers of humour themselves. Lyrics, cultural references and 80s vocabulary are peppered throughout with genuine wit.”
“Funny operatic performances seem almost miraculous to me… laughs come aplenty.”
“sprightly direction from Guido Martin-Brandis”
“an exceedingly welcome addition to the fringe scene and I look forward to seeing what they do next.”
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Opera Today / Planethugill (For Die Agyptische Helena)
★★★★½
“Imaginative, daring, enterprising: Fulham Opera’s production of Richard Strauss’s Die ägyptische Helena.
Only the work's second UK staging, Fulham Opera take on Strauss and Hofmannsthal's impossible opera and make it work brilliantly
Guido Martin-Brandis' production took all this admirably seriously, there was no irony and no attempt to add metaphysics or symbolism to the production. What Martin-Brandis did was tell the story with remarkable clarity, a superbly admirable characteristic in a staging of such a rare opera with a confused plot. He and designer Alexander McPherson made imaginative use of the limited staging area provided by St John's, complete with immovable altar. So we had lots of billowing fabric, amazing costumes with some very 1930s period style, including the imaginative incarnation of the Omniscient Mussel (played with wry humour by Ingeborg Borch) as a sort of radio star.
The result was wonderfully engaging, and in the performances of the two principals, Brian Smith Walters as Menelas and Justine Viani as Helena, completely riveting. It was superbly performed all round
This was an amazing enterprise, daring and imaginative, the company brought Strauss and Hofmannsthal's opera to life. If there were limitations, then those were almost entirely due to the work's creators. In performance, everyone thrilled by their sympathy with the music and the way they brought the complex dramaturgy to life. Die ägyptische Helena still deserves a full-scale London production, but until then Fulham Opera's performance was a superb way to get to know this rare work.”
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The Times (For Die Agyptische Helena)
★★★★
“Fulham Opera scores with rare Strauss.
For the libretto’s pictorial demands, from furious shipwreck to singing seashell, Guido Martin-Brandis’s staging, Alexander McPherson’s designs and Mitch Broomhead’s lighting conjure more magic than you might imagine.
You have to be cheered by Fulham Opera’s gusto in bucking all problems, all constraints, and bringing Strauss’s black sheep back to life.”
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Boulezian / Seen and Heard International (For Die Agyptische Helena)
"A splendid evening from Fulham Opera, making an excellent case for the bizarrely, well-nigh criminally neglected Die Ägyptische Helena.
With resourceful staging, exemplary in its narrative clarity, from Guido Martin-Brandis and the rest of his production team, that sense of belonging to the greater Straussian corpus was stronger than ever. The space of St John’s, Fulham and its altar too were used to frame a production, whose detailed Personenregie and costumed suggestiveness — essentially, antiquity mediated by 1920s exoticism and its new technologies — permitted one to draw one’s own conclusions without abdication of its own responsibility. The business of potions, inevitably leading one to think of Tristan parody was handled with commendable directness and clarity, enhancing rather than detracting from Hofmannsthal’s heavy, post-Frau ohne Schatten symbolism.”
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The Arts Desk (For Die Agyptische Helena)
"Mythological mess impressively handled - Ambitious company works wonders on Richard Strauss's most problematic opera
Did they pull it off? Amazingly, yes.
The opening scene immediately draws you in to an evening that is always compelling, whatever the longueurs of the score.
What an achievement. Go and see it, bearing in mind the problems and challenges, and you’ll not forget the experience.”
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Classical Source (For Die Agyptische Helena)
"This new staging from Fulham Opera is quite something for a company that, under Ben Woodward’s guidance, has never been short of ambition.
Most importantly, Martin-Brandis has made way for the opera’s layers of myth, symbol and psycho-analysis – the symbolism is exhausting – so that you get the subliminal gist of Menelaus’s and Helena’s shaky grip on the reality of their relationship via hallucinations brought about by rage, desire for revenge and, simply, desire. It is marriage counselling and self-examination on an epic, even Homeric scale.
This Fulham Opera staging made one think about interpretations that would keep directors employed forever, which is no mean achievement.”
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Opera Magazine (For Die Agyptische Helena)
“Directing, Guido Martin-Brandis worked with the designer Alexander McPherson, and lighting designer Mitch Broomhead to conjure pagan glamour and magical caprice in the environs of a 19th century church.
Martin-Brandis, who achieved laudible clarity in the storytelling, was completely justified in respecting Hofmannsthal.”
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Harmony (Magazine of the Music Club of London) (For Die Agyptische Helena)
“Guido Martin-Brandis’s production treated the opera with respect, and by playing the story (mostly) straight, he demonstrated how it was written as a parable of the trauma of soldiers returning from World War I. The erudite and very helpful programme essay explained the background to the piece's writing and composition.
This was one of Fulham Opera's most polished and spectacular productions yet. Alexander McPherson's designs, simple and hugely effective, made the piece a miracle of light and colour. The use of fabrics was masterly. Pleated cloaks in shimmering gold and elegant gilded masks vied with rich silks, velvets and brocades, intricate carpets and light, floating gauzes. The props, even when viewed at such close quarters, looked simply amazing. Visually, the production evoked both the classical era, with a suitably Eastern feel, and the time of its composition. The palace of the island sorceress Aithra, lover of Poseidon, was dominated by a shell-shaped cutout which suggested the front of an art-deco radio, and her servants wore demure black cocktail dresses, with the enchantress seductive in black harem pants and bolero. In a brilliant stroke of production, whenever someone touched a switch at the side of the cutout the Muschel, who was seated at the side of the stage, gorgeously attired as a nightclub singer (how I envied that frock), suddenly came to life and sang into a microphone. She was the voice of the radio. Menelas wore a uniform suggesting a World War I general, with Helena in a dazzling white gown which had both a classical and a 'twenties feel, later topped by a shimmering blue robe which shifted and sparkled like sea foam. The desert prince Altair and his hapless son Da-ud wore rich brocades, while the disguised Aithra and her maids gleamed in gold, and Helena’s long-lost daughter Hermione shimmered like something from another world”
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Tim Ashley - Opera Critic at The Guardian
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The Telegraph (For A Child in Striped Pyjamas)
“Holocaust drama that’s emotionally ambitious and diligently delivered.
As the opera reaches its shocking climax, which is effectively staged by director Guido Martin-Brandis, the music almost evaporates as the Father confronts the loss of his son.
There can be no doubt of the integrity with which the tight-knit company deliver it.”
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Evening Standard (For A Child in Striped Pyjamas)
★★★★
“Intense, harrowing drama.
A simple but effective staging by Guido Martin-Brandis.”
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Londontheatre1 (For A Child in Striped Pyjamas)
★★★★
“It is an engaging production, sensitively handling the provocative subject matter in a way that lends itself well to the operatic art form.”
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Planet Hugill (For A Child in Striped Pyjamas)
“Guido Martin-Brandis' production was simple and effective.
An intensely serious and thoughtful evening.”
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Seen and Heard International (for Castor et Pollux)
As a staged production of the opera, Guido Martin-Brandis’s direction was helpful... bringing characterisation and choreography that was subtle and evoked something of the authentic nature of stagecraft in Rameau’s day.
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Evening Standard (for The Cunning Little Vixen)
A Vixen of Vivid intensity. Guido Martin-Brandis’s new production... gets to the heart of the matter. Martin-Brandis provides a piano quintet arrangement so skilful that you forget about what’s missing.”
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Opera Magazine (for Castor et Pollux)
"Guido Martin-Brandis took a simple and sincere approach to the drama and relationships... economically and eloquently traced"
"Joyful and touching."
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Broadway World (for The Cunning Little Vixen)
★★★★
“The Cunning Little Vixen is an opera favourite but no less fascinating for that, especially in this innovative and engaging production... Another feather in the cap for the Arcola's Grimeborn Festival, giving opportunities to see opera anew.”
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Live theatre UK (for Onegin & Tatiana)
★★★★
"Rarely has the final confrontation been so searing for both sides – the point in the action where the accumulation of psychological commentary beforehand really came into its explanatory own."
"a subtle and shrewd exploration of one of the most intriguingly adult and mature opera plots that there is"
"an absorbing and very stimulating evening"
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Plays to See (for Onegin & Tatiana)
"an absorbing and effective introduction to one of the great romantic operas and the power of all four performances, enhanced by being delivered in such an intimate setting, is more than enough to make this another Grimeborn success."
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MyTheatreMates.com (for The Cunning Little Vixen)
“Martin-Brandis and Till, playing to the strengths of intimacy, and a piano quintet arrangement, bring out enough colour and freshness to make this two hours of absolute delight.
All in all, as fresh as it was unexpected, it has definitely left this viewer with a taste for more of what Grimeborn has to offer.”
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A Younger Theatre (for The Cunning Little Vixen)
“This innovative production at the Arcola Theatre’s annual Grimeborn Opera Festival delves into Leoš Janáček’s 1920s work with energy and imagination... A perfect and approachable way to discover this gem of early 20th century opera for the first time.
In this scaled-down new arrangement for piano quintet, Janáček’s haunting, textured melodies swirl and glimmer like soft light dappling a forest floor.”
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The Tab (for Vanessa)
★★★★1/2
“Flawless rendition of Samuel Barber’s award winning opera.”
“[T]his show was consistently stunning and full to the brim with intense emotion and unbelievably powerful performances.”
“...a fantastic show, which delved deep into the human heart.”
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Nouse (for Onegin & Tatiana)
9/10
"a brilliant introduction to Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin"
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Judith Weir - Composer of The Vanishing Bridegroom
“Just a quick word to say again how much I enjoyed last night’s performance. A great pleasure, and I felt honoured to have my scene included in such illustrious company. Your staging of my scene I thought was very insightful, and I’ll always remember that money flying about! Thanks to all the performers, and hard-working pianist.”
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Fringe Reviews for Cosi fan tutte/Love me out
Robert Inder
“Truly electrifying”
“One of the most engaging things I’ve seen in several decades of Fringe going!”
“Totally loved it.”
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Jenna Stone
“Fabulous modern libretto”
“Sublime performances”
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Elizabeth Latham
"A most entertaining performance whether you are an opera expert or novice."
“A real gem at the Fringe”
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Jeremy Selman
"Great Singing, acting, drama, comedy and music, one of the best shows at the Fringe"