I just received a lovely review from music critic Daniel Kepl on BravoCalifornia.com. About Twelfth Night, Daniel says:
[Twelfth Night] brought audiences at both Santa Barbara performances spontaneously to their feet in salute. Feigin’s magical score is key to that exhuberant response. Both sophisticated and playful, it pays subtle quasi-motivic homage to seveal opera composers of the past 300 years, each marinated in a distinctly Feiginesque harmonic sauce. Composed in the neoclassic nomenclature of Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress, with nods to Mozart (pithy vocal ensembles), Richard Strauss (bravura coloratura arias), Wagner (Feigin’s magnificent command of orchestration, especially his intoxicating use of French horn and woodwind riffs), with additional harmonic references to Mendelssohn (the opening chords of the opera), as well as Mahler and Britten, Twelfth Night stretched historic imagination as well as the technical capabilities of UCSB’s young singers and orchestra. Everyone involved clearly revelled in the opportunity.
Having seen both UCSB performances – I was not alone in wanting to experience this glittering masterpiece a second time – there is but one piece of advice to pass along to opera producers around the world: book this fresh and artistically satisfying opera at your earliest opportunity. It’s a sleeper that deserves to be in the repertory of major opera houses.
He also praised the work of my collaborators Benjamin Brecher, David Grabarkewitz, Brent Wilson, and all of the singers and musicians involved in the production.
To read the full review as a PDF, click here. You can read more of Daniel’s writing at danielkepl.com.