It begins with a charming song to the lines "If music be the food of love"
and soon afterward another song of equal delight, "O Mistress Mine," is
heard. Indeed, almost every time Mr. Amram has the chance to write a set
piece he succeeds and the opera becomes vibrant and engrossing.
THE NEW YORK TIMES Mr. Amram has a sensitive way of clothing the loveliest words with appropriate sounds.
David Amram's "Twelfth Night," which premiered at the Lake George Festival, is a genuine masterpiece.
THE TIMES RECORD. Troy. N. Y. This chamber opera . . . could almost be aimed at a television production, and much in the score and production here would recommend it to a mass audience.
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Mr. Amram has made of Shakespeare's incidental songs a sort of amiable gravity. Simple and singable, they were quite moving.
THE NEW YORK TIMES Amram has risen deftly to the bait of Shakespeare's wit, and created a workable and happy comic opera - a sure hit, in fact, if the first-night reaction is any measure.
HIGH. FIDELITY/Musical America Amram's music, in its use of harmonic intervals, has a contemporary ring, yet in mood it is closely suited to the temper of the original.
Twelfth Night shows a genuine talent at work trying to solve the almost impossible problem of setting Shakespeare successfully to music.
THE'. NEW YORKER It teems with melodic life. Its orchestra treatment has the amiable quality of sounding more modern than it is (plenty of clever percussive effects) and its total impression is of an opera meant above all to be enjoyed.
THE NATIONAL OBSERVER It isn't often a reviewer gets a chance to praise something to the skies, but that's exactly the case with David Amram's "Twelfth Night." This new work, given its world premiere . . . by the Lake George Opera Company, is pure joy from start to finish.
TIMES UNION. Albany, N Y. Overall, it impresses by its gentleness and a Lyric flow that is seemingly inexhaustible.
BOSTON HERALD TRAVELER Twelfth Night proved to be a most enjoyable and relaxing experience. Amram's music did service to the intent and form of Shakespeare's play .
THE DAILY FREE PRESS The work is gentle and quite sensuous, offering many fine opportunities for the drolleries that have made these characters famous.
The 'beauty of "Twelfth Night" resides not in its interesting libretto but in the delightful music composed by American-born David Amram himself.
THE SARATOGIAN The music is great. the score to "Twelfth Night" is so lucid and compelling that it will surely have universal appeal.
SCHENECTADY GAZETTE The world premiere of "Twelfth Night" showed what an exciting theatrical experience opera can be when the composer, the librettist and those in charge of the stage are all of the same mind.
MUSIC & ARTS
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