A collaborative theatre, film and music maker, Tom works with diverse groups through text and music to deliver powerful and aspirational storytelling events that appeal to as wide a group as possible.
A former Jette Parker Young Artist Stage Director at the Royal Opera House in London, recent highlights include an acclaimed opening of the Edinburgh Festival in 2025, Aida at the Liceu in Barcelona, Semele in Paris, Rome, and London, and work in New York and Beijing (see reviews page). His highly praised productions of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte at Longborough Festival Opera led to an invitation to direct Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer there (‘one of the best productions at this venue I have seen’, Rupert Christiansen, Telegraph). His production of Gagliano’s rare 1608 opera La Dafne – one of three from consecutive years created in a week with young singers at the Brighton Early Music Festival – was nominated for an RPS Award. Meanwhile his recent staging of Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine at the Royal Albert Hall for the National Youth Choir of Great Britain was called ‘one of the most staggering things I’ve ever seen’ (audience reaction on Twitter).
At the Royal Opera, his revival of David McVicar’s production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte there won What’s On Stage Best Revival; meanwhile his revival of the same director’s Andrea Chenier, working with SIr Tony Pappano in his last appearance as Music Director, with Jonas Kaufmann and Sondra Radvanosky leading the cast in 2024, was highly praised (5*s Financial Times).
In line with his deep conviction that all storytelling must involve some sense of place and belonging to be truly effective, Tom also works with non-professionals of all ages and backgrounds in theatre and music. Some of his most thrilling projects have been in this field, including work with his own charity Music and Theatre for All (MTFA), Streetwise Opera, the Prison Choir Project, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, and the Royal Opera House, through whom he has inspired hundreds to connect with their inner Caruso and raise the roof. His production of Ludd and Isis, a new opera commissioned to launch the ROH’s new Production Park in Thurrock, involving a cast of hundreds, including professionals and amateurs of all ages, was acclaimed as ‘one of the Royal Opera House’s grandest achievements’ (Opera).
He founded MTFA in 2014 with a passion to connect social and local issues with storytelling of the highest quality. He launched the Lewisham Creative Chorus in 2021, and together they have written, produced and performed a number of shows and songs. These include the acclaimed Our Street, Stories We Tell Ourselves, Dancing in the Mirror, and a number of catchy seasonal tunes (including this from December 2024), meeting weekly at the beautiful 1920s purpose-built community pub, The Fellowship Inn in Bellingham.
As a singer he has performed at venues worldwide with conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Richard Hickox. His production of Winterreise with puppet has been running for almost 20 years (‘Brilliant. Stunning. Not only is the voice production, vocal tone and phrasing the most sensitive and expressive I have heard since Fischer-Dieskau’s earlier recordings, but the German pronunciation is the best I have heard from a non-native’ (Youtube comment). ’It was absolutely a life-changing experience seeing Thomas Guthrie’s production of Winterreise in Kent.’ (Youtube comment). ‘Audaciously expressive, chilling and thrilling’ (Sunday Times), ’An extraordinary experience’ (Opera Now); a brand new arrangement for string quintet, piano and guitar premiered at the Romsey Chamber Music Festival in 2026.
Film work includes Where Have All The Flowers Gone, We’ll Meet Again, Serenade to Music, St John Passion, Ruggiero, and Polyphony, a film about sound and connection following the Tallis Scholars and the Lewisham Creative Chorus, due for release late 2026.
In addition to being the founder and artistic director of the charity Music and Theatre for All, he is a former Guest Artistic Advisor to the York Early Music Festival, and a Belknap Fellow at Princeton University, New Jersey.
He is proud to sing and play with Bjarte Eike’s Alehouse Boys. He appears on The Alehouse Sessions (also on BBC4 here), The Playhouse Sessions, and his own arrangement of Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin. Other recordings include the Gramophone Award winning Biber recording with Monica Huggett and Sonnerie, as well as appearing as a soloist on two of The Monteverdi Choir’s Bach Cantata Pilgrimage recordings.
“Thomas Guthrie is hot news. His imagination knows no bounds”
OPERA NOW
“Brilliant”
OPERA
Click here to see images, film and reviews of his recent work.
Click here to see a selection of Tom’s videos and arrangements, including Where Have All the Flowers Gone, which has raised over £10,000 for Help Musicians and been archived in the BFI’s Lockdown Collection.
Click here for the ROH’s video introduction to Tom’s award winning revival of Magic Flute (now available on DVD).
Click here for more on his acclaimed production of Winterreise.
Click here for an introduction to Tom’s arrangement and production of Die schöne Müllerin.
Click here for the website of Music and Theatre For All.
See here for a trailer for one of his most recent shows, at the London Handel Festival (2025).
photo credit Evan John
‘It is often stated that arts should reach people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and classes but how many artists have genuine desire and, crucially, multifaceted abilities to create what others would not even dare to dream of… the play is about love, homelessness, class divide and hope… performed by LCC regulars with professionals in some of the parts… Guthrie’s Music and Theatre for ALL concept was gloriously realised… lighting was provided by LCC participants, dressed in black, by moving around (bent down or crawling on the floor) with electric torches shining lights according to the script… Guthrie’s music, interspersed within the play, was as innovative as magical – composed for cello, double bass and vocal quartet, the excellent musicians (also dressed in black) placed at different parts of the hall, outside the area where the play unfolded… Guthrie conducted at one end of the dark space, but all was together and beautifully performed… the finale of the play was as deeply moving as uplifting… led by Wagnerian tenor Neal Cooper (taking the part of his real-life uncle), we all sang Together We’re Stronger… by then the room was lit, and the play transposed into a reality we all wish for… with people like those facilitating this event, the future might bring happiness.’ Agnes Kory, Seen and Heard International
‘Beautifully staged in the atmospheric Inn, utilising the traverse staging to great effect to make the audience feel like ringside seat viewers to Jade’s sparring as well as the internal conflicts she undergoes… the enormous ensemble is deft in their scene changes and in creating the gloomy, almost sinister, atmosphere of turn-of-the-century London, and the rousing final scene, where the ensemble unite in song, is a powerful reminder of the human spirit that this piece leans so heavily upon, in an accomplished performance that sees many of the performers take to the stage for the first time… a triumphant project, and one that bursts with heart and pride.’ Dan English, ****, Read About Stuff
‘The evening began with a delightful chorus of traditional London songs… written by Rhik Samadder in collaboration with the Lewisham Creative Chorus, and directed by Thomas Guthrie, who also composed the music, the production is an enterprising and deeply collaborative community effort… featuring singers from Vox Urbane Next Gen alongside performers from The Outcry Ensemble, the piece successfully blends theatre, music and movement into a cohesive and emotionally engaging performance… inventive… highly effective… throughout the evening, audiences are treated to the rich, melodious sounds of the choir, accompanied by mellow instrumentation that beautifully underscores the emotional beats of the story… the music never overwhelms the drama, instead complementing it with sensitivity and charm… an imaginative and heartfelt production.’ Bernadette Lintunen, ***, LondonTheatre1
A selection of audience reactions:
‘The whole performance just transcended love and joy’
‘The mix of community artists working with professionals was inspiring and made for a much warmer, engaging and connected experience’
‘The joyful and sincere melding of generous professionals and enthusiastic and committed community members in a common cause’
‘It was honestly perfect. Loved that everyone chatted after in the pub too — performers and audience members and locals’
‘A really moving story, amazing acting and great music… should be more widely known’
‘I had a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat during the knees up in the bar pre-play’
‘Talented people coming together to tell a beautiful story… thought provoking and left the audience with a meaningful message to take away’
‘Loved how steeped in local history this was, and the fact that so many local people were involved in all aspects’
‘Real people singing with emotion and supporting each other every step of the way’
‘It deserves to be performed on a bigger stage so more people can enjoy it’
photo credits Andrew Perry/Edinburgh International Festival
“… a spectacular staging devised by Thomas Guthrie, which turned the entire Usher Hall — platform, galleries, foyers and even what are usually the stalls (the seats replaced here by hundreds of beanbags) — into a giant performance space” (Richard Morrison, Times ***** )
“…cast a mighty spell, with a theatrical twist. The director Thomas Guthrie plunder the Usher Hall into a gloom, dimly lit with patches of pink and blue. The music’s eight-fold repetition of the same cycle of meditations and prayers – each repetition a little more elaborate and splendid than the last – was clarified by a slow accumulation of candles and a complex choreography of 250 chorus and solo singers. One’s eye was caught by the forest of moving lights carried by each singer, as they moved around and between the stalls and the galleries in the same repeating pattern… magical… completely tremendous” (Ivan Hewett, Telegraph, *****)
“Two silent contributors shared Tavener´s triumph: Sophie Jeannin, conducting, did what great conductors do: in an astonishing feat given the mass of moving parts, with clear, disciplined actions, she simply disappeared into the music. The results were seamless, beautiful, supremely varied and confident. Tom Guthrie, directing, brought theatricality and ritual to hours which passed as minutes. His distinctive hallmarks are a pristine attention to detail which then transmutes into a profound simplicity. In a work where gestures might slip into cliché, we felt only community, the sense of sharing something monumental. Fine soloists Sophie Burgos, Florian Stortz, baritone and tenor Hugo Hyman sang still as statues soared, startling” (Mary Miller, Scotsman, ****)
“The staging by Thomas Guthrie – frontman of the 2024 programme’s The Alehouse Sessions in the same space – used the entire building brilliantly for Tavener’s ritual epic” (Keith Bruce, Guardian, ****)
“Director Thomas Guthrie used the whole building theatrically with chorus and soloists appearing on-stage, off-stage and, most excitingly, in our midst. In a darkened hall, lighting picked out individual performers, and all singers had LED lamps on their scores, casting ghostly light onto their faces, dramatically heightening the atmosphere. Moving three choirs around the building, into and out of the semi-dark organ gallery, was an astonishing feat of stage direction in itself” (David Smythe, Bachtrack, *****)
photo credits Craig Fuller
‘A pair of works by Handel written 40 years apart might have made awkward bedfellows, but director Thomas Guthrie’s fertile imagination ensured it was never a concern here… Witty, at times slyly knowing, the show juxtaposes the myth of Apollo’s rapacious pursuit of the nymph Daphne with a tug of war for the moral wellbeing of the boy Hercules… a dazzling cornucopia of images’ (Clive Paget, Guardian, ****)
‘Spectacular… magnificent, and at times deeply moving’ (George Hall, The Stage, ****)
‘A banquet for the senses’ (Dominic Lowe, Bachtrack, ****)
‘Apollo e Dafne and The Choice of Hercules is a Thomas Guthrie show of excellence… a highly dramatic and highly musical grand spectacle… the puppet is only a bust with a head, but its imaginative use fooled me into thinking that I saw a full adult-size puppet and amazingly, the puppet even danced… Guthrie’s musicality, inventions and courage combined into a great piece of Baroque theatre’ (Agnes Kory, Seen and Heard International, *****)
‘Impressively, the balance between each aspect of the piece – orchestration, opera and dance – is maintained near constantly. It rarely feels like one is overpowering the other, rather that they are working together to tell the same story… The second piece, The Choice of Hercules, is dominated by puppetry work that would be welcome on a West End stage… sparks of real brilliance’ (Lucy Carter, Everything Theatre)
‘The reimagining of the ancient tale to modern times (and suits) is entirely believable given the plot incudes the predatory Apollo and Daphne’s need for defense and escape… It all worked beautifully… A triumph’ (Colin Clarke, Opera Today)
‘Stunning… beautiful… incredible’ (audience reaction)
‘Absolutely brilliant… an evening we won’t forget… definitely the most outstanding LHF event I have ever been to… imaginative, original, beautiful and moving… the combination of singing and ballet worked superbly… and the use of the puppet in “Hercules” was a master-stroke, both visually and emotionally… altogether a fabulous evening for which very many thanks’ (audience reaction)
photo credits Douglas Taylor
“Shining through the extraordinary music-making and creative work of this company is a sense of immense civic pride, celebration of diversity and affirmation of the life-enriching power of community. What’s not to like? Highly recommended” (Edinburgh Music Review)
photo credits Craig Fuller
‘I was lucky enough to see your community opera on Saturday night. Just wanted to say it was stunning, moving, prophetic and summed up some of the challenges in Lewisham (and the UK) so well. How incredible to bring such a diverse group of people together to deliver that. Dead impressed and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I hope you all had a great celebration afterwards. Thank you!!’ (audience reaction)
‘What a show! Everything about it was fantastic. Everyone was so in sync, the movement was beautiful. It was so emotional from right through to the end, you could see and hear it in everyone’s face and singing. It was stunning. Everything: the puppetry, the mix between community and professionals, the music – it was just wonderful. It made me feel more connected to the street, our street! What a fantastic thing to be a part of. It was amazing, I’ve had such a wonderful evening. It was lovely walking back [home] from the theatre – I was looking around Catford and it made me see things a bit differently which is what theatre is really about. Can we come and see what you do next! My musician friend who came with me said it was brilliant. Thank you so much!’ (audience reaction)
‘Honestly better than anything I’ve seen in the West End. So much heart and truth, and seeing people put their bodies and souls into it like that blew me away. I was in pieces’ (audience reaction)
***** (Financial Times), **** (Times)
“2 hours of sublime (and VERY sensual!) music-making from this incredible group, brilliantly staged and woven together by @thomasbastianboy – it felt obscene to enjoy a concert this much!!!” (audience reaction)
“The immediacy and vitality of the arrangements is captivating… Guthrie’s vulnerability is touching and believable… a Schöne Müllerin like no other” (Andrew McGregor, BBC Radio 3 Record Review)
“This interpretation of one of the greatest masterworks in the field of art song is a revelation. I can believe that people with an in-built negative attitude towards a genre that breathes haughtiness and artificiality can find this a tempting gateway to a new world, populated with ordinary human beings, having ordinary human feelings like happiness and sorrow, love and hate, reacting like the characters in the songs. The sharp dividing line between the cultures needs to be broken, to the benefit of everybody, and hopefully Thomas Guthrie can be the spearhead in this campaign to even out the way” (Göran Forsling, Musicweb International)
“A bold re-imagining… this is infectious stuff… there is real intimacy here… Guthrie is the perfect narrator – it really feels like he is telling a story, and as such, it feels like an hour-long story-telling… Guthrie and his players deliver – this is a plateau of Schubertian loveliness garlanded, as the song proceeds, with gossamer violin arpeggios… This Müllerin is destined to captivate and amuse” (Colin Clark, Classical Explorer)
“His voice is simply gorgeous, carrying beautiful long phrases in which he seduces with timbre… a highly successful interpretation of Schubert’s score, a recording that gets to the heart of the songs… I believe Franz Schubert himself would be proud to hear it” (Magnus Andersson, Klassekampen, Norway)
“Virile and determined, Guthrie rhapsodises about suffering, passion and jealousy… hardened in soul-fire, the words are stab-wounds cloaked in melodies… plumbs Schubert’s abysses” (Roland H. Dippel, Concerti, Germany)
“Guthrie and Barokksolistene take Schubert’s song-cycle back to its roots… I defy any listener to stop their toe tapping…. the immediacy of the performance is utterly persuasive… one really does feel sucked into the unfolding narrative… lovely, heart-tugging, head-voice tenderness and expressive rubato” (Claire Seymour, Opera Today)
“The key to Guthrie’s fine interpretation lies in how he ties the intimacy of this role to an intimacy that on a deep level also characterises the music… the aesthetics – the way the musical elements are conveyed – are finely tuned and accurate” (Emil Bernhardt, Morgenbladet, Norway)
**** “There aren’t many more joyful or straightforwardly attractive champions of classical music than Tom Guthrie: a serious musician… and a natural communicator… he’s introduced more first timers to the wonders [of Schubert’s two great song cycles] than just about anyone… Guthrie leads: hushed and intimate, bumptious, despairing, flitting around the emotions with Schubert’s fantasising, overemotional adolescent… I whooped and hollered along with everyone else” (Robert Thicknesse, Opera Now)
***** “Everything happens at a joyful canter, whatever the outrageous goings-on, all enacted gorgeously tongue-in-cheek. Director, Thomas Guthrie, has taken a concert piece and elevated it to a cannibal’s feast of music, romance, comedy, adventure, all with a spice of bonkers-ness” (Mark Aspen)
***** “Thomas Guthrie pitched the presentation perfectly… begs the question whether Offenbach’s Robinson Crusoe is really a slight work that this production lifted to another level, or a masterpiece that it only required a performance of this quality to reveal as such… a first rate evening at West Green House Opera” (MusicOMH)
***** “How can such a sensitive and subtle piece provide such impact? The role of Constanze is played by soprano Luci Briginshaw with enthralling elegance and with a passionate empathy for her character, Constanze… A superbly acted performance is complemented by six dancers whose fluid contemporary style expresses the emotions of Constanze, physically enhancing the implications of the sung words as her autobiography unfolds. Their presence, skilfully and poetically choreographed by Maria da Luz, acts as a narrative to the story, woven into the action yet not obtruding on it. The added wow factor, though, is that these dancers are also accomplished puppeteers…. the puppetry brings the figure of Mozart vividly to life… co-directors Thomas Guthrie and Maria da Luz have created a seamless whole of music, dance, and wonderful singing… Mozart’s Constanze has a by-title, “or the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as seen through the eyes of the love of his life”. It does more than that; it paints a portrait of a remarkable woman. As the dancers perform, rejoicing in her life with poi-ribbons during that final Exsultate Jubilate, we see a life of triumph…. Mozart’s Constanze is a triumph too” (Mark Aspen)
“It was a beautifully conceived production, a great idea to tell her story like that, and brought such a freshness and intimacy to the music… to achieve the intimacy the production did was extraordinary… the deaths of Mozart and the children were incredibly moving, and the show felt like Constanza’s memories… it also felt very moving that she was remembering her husband more through his music than anything else… thanks for such a great evening” (audience reaction)
“A beautiful and enriching experience… a magical, poetic piece about Mozart and Constanze’s humanity… portrays the power, strength, vision and struggle of women” (Nadia Romerosa, dancer)
“This really was something different… the true fun of the evening came in a choreographed performance of Biber’s Battaglia à 10… all credit to Thomas Guthrie’s stage realisation (I take it he was responsible for the excellent lighting throughout the evening, also)” (Seen and Heard International)
“Unapologetically self-confident, authentic and inclusive” (Thoroughly Good)
“The crowd’s reaction to Schubert’s ‘Mein!’ was the best outward expression of what music makes me feel inwardly I’ve ever heard” (audience reaction)
“At a time when the value of art, particularly classical music, is a hot potato in some circles and a potato that’s been left to go cold in others, people on many sides of the arguments could do worse than go to a show like this” (audience reaction)
***** (The Arts Desk)
**** (The Times)
“One of the most staggering things I’ve ever seen … Mesmerising” (audience reaction)
“It was gobsmackingly brilliant. I was speechless (and that’s saying something). I’ve never seen anything like it and I doubt I ever will again”” (audience reaction)
“Literally even just thinking about #trainingchoir‘s Leonardo @EricWhitacre last night makes me go goosebumpy again, it was INCREDIBLE” (audience reaction)
“The @EricWhitacre Leonardo was truly astonishing. I cannot remember a more committed, moving, emotional performance of anything in my lifetime. When he was tucked up in bed broke me” (audience reaction)
“Wnaeth hogan tŷ ni fwynhau bod yn rhan o hyn yn fawr iawn. Fel cynulleidfa, roedd hi’n epig!!!!!!!!! Llongyfarchiadau mawr i bawb” (audience reaction)
“A bold, moving and relevant work of art” (Anna Camilla Goldbeck Wood)
“A sense of meaning surpassing that which I have often experienced in more rarified environments” (audience reaction)
“‘Our Street’ embodied with raw refinement (what opera is all about, for me) that great art Keeps It Real” (audience reaction)
“What is needed in order for joy, uncertainty, awe, despair and ecstasy to be marked with a different shade on the face and in the gestures of each musician? Such theatre liberates, purifies…” (Dorota Kozińska, Atorod)
“The result was magical, breath-taking, and imbued with a deep sense of radiant life breaking through the cruelties of a hostile crowd and moving into a mystery of deep and loving triumph. It all made total sense with, for instance and as just one example, the joyful nodding of partners to each other in the chorus “For unto us a Child is Born”. The substance, the essence of the whole extraordinary message, radiated around the audience” (Anthony Corfe)
“Your work with the Paragon Singers was deeply inspired – and inspirational” (participant feedback)
“Thank you, Tom, for taking me to a place in my 60 years of music-making that I have not been before. I set out on this ‘journey’ with such scepticism that it would work for me, but as I said to you, it turned out to be an entirely liberating experience that I shall probably find it hard to go back to the more formal delivery of our old ways!” (participant feedback)
Voted ‘Best in Festival’ 2022
**** “The performances were simply terrific throughout. Tremendous stuff” (Guardian)
“Guthrie’s arrangement for Eike and the Barokksolistene is superb – a fusion of folk, soundtrack and even jazz that finds unexpected new accents and colours in the familiar cycle” (The Arts Desk)
“(The approach) shines a light on Die schöne Müllerin as a wonderfully structured piece of narrative… a thoroughly worthwhile achievement…” (Bachtrack)
“highly effective… the audience loved it” (Planet Hugill)
“My friends said what are you doing going to that high-falutin’ place!?! But it was amazing. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. I was in floods of tears by the end. I just believed the puppet was alive every second, and the music was so beautiful. Now I get what it’s all about. I felt I belonged” (Audience reaction)
“It was just the most magical, wonderful evening. Thank you, thank you” (Audience reaction)
Broadcast live on BBC Radio 3
**** “fine Dido and Aeneas… a garden of delights… a model of how to be effective with simplicity and economy of means… performed with real verve” (Bachtrack)
“enchanting… excellent direction… just the right dose of sensuality and sparkle… a remarkable production” (Diary of a Londoness)
photo credits Robert Piwko
**** “Thomas Guthrie’s production brings wit and charm to Marco da Gagliano’s early opera… simple yet clear and effective… deserves to have an afterlife and could work in many settings” (The Stage)
“Revelatory… a theatrical wonder” (West Sussex County Times)
“You walk away feeling like you’ve had a missing part of your soul handed back to you” (BN1)
Nominated for a 2020 RPS Award
“Art in a state of purity… like natural opium… several minutes of applause. Guthrie knew how to translate the vision of homeland and paternal love into a subtle production that never lost the charm of the eternal” (La Vanguardia)
“Fascinating… amazing effect… staged with consistent cleverness, avoiding the clichés which abound in Aida” (Diari Ara)
“Sumptuous and spectacular… Guthrie is a bold director… respectful without giving up on bringing his own point of view… achieved the necessary ‘Brechtian distancing’, reminding us that the dramatic truth is never about authenticity” (Opera Online)
“A song to the craftsmanship of this scenery with all its visual poetry… honoured by the visible changes, as if it were a character…” (Platea Magazine)
“Exhilarating” (Llegir en cas d’incendi)
“As directed by Thomas Guthrie, a true tribute to the past of the Gran Teatre Liceu” (Ola)
***** “stående ovasjoner… en veldig spesiell forestilling… en forestilling som sitter i hodet på deg lenge etter at du har forlatt konsertsalen” (“standing ovations… a very special performance… one that stays in your head long after you leave the concert hall”) (Avisa Nordland)
***** “spellbinding… deeply satisfying… astonishing” (Seen and Heard International)
**** “subtle, stylish and multilayered… gave the sense of an ensemble totally integrated and energised” (Times)
***** “first rate… an invigorating freshness of detail…” (Financial Times)
**** “comes up beautifully fresh… Thomas Guthrie’s deft revival fills the stage with life and movement” (Telegraph)
**** “vivid… imaginative new revival.. a staging where the old routines are as sharp as ever, but there are some new ones too, all pertinent and never just stuck in for the sake of it” (Stage)
**** “smoothly revived” (Times)
Paris:
“It is crazy what can be evoked with some stools, a sofa, and especially a motivated group, while elsewhere, other “real” staged, very expensive, inspire only boredom” (ResMusica)
Barcelona:
“The show is a revelation” Biagio Scuderi (Amadeus)
“A better interpretation can hardly be found” (El Punt Avui)
London:
**** “a classy evening, with a fine young cast and chorus clearly enjoying Guthrie’s perceptive semi-staging” (Guardian)
**** “Thomas Guthrie’s elegant semi-staging, with lighting by Rick Fisher and costumes by Patricia Hofstede, made intelligent use of the handsome, barn-sized venue” (Observer)
La Scala, Milan:
“there was more theatre in this concert staging than in most of the full but sterile staging of Italian theatres, including La Scala. So, take note of the director’s name, and sit back for a complete show… exciting and current, Handel became our contemporary” (La Stampa)
“Guthrie gives it life… flashes of irony… moving the chorus with wisdom and characterising the individual characters with sagacity… often pressing the pedal of humour without, however, ever taking it to excess” (Connessi all’Opera)
Santa Cecilia, Rome:
“Guthrie transports the court life of Handel’s day to our own time, tracing an arc to the very recent British past with inventiveness, imagination and subtle humour… made great use of the space in the Sala Santa Cecilia… the audience erupted in ovation” (Ilsussidiario)
”As far as the execution is concerned, ‘semi-stagings’ can so often be insignificant and distracting. But on this occasion we must say it has been realized in a completely intelligent and engaging way. Guthrie succeeded in combining the contrasts of comedy and tragedy that characterize this score, as well as the frequent sensual moments” (Claudio Listanti)
***** “brilliantly directed and powerfully moving to behold” (Telegraph)
photo credits Robert Piwko
***** ‘two stunning productions of rare masterpieces from the seventeenth century… Guthrie has found an ingenious and amusing way to unite the stories… wonderful performance… the whole thing is a triumph and a joy – whether you are a lover of baroque opera or a theatregoer who loves great music and dance. More, please’ (Plays to See)
****1/2 ‘vital energy… sensuous ribaldry’ (thelatestBrighton)
photo credits Fran Marshall
***** ’This was a stunning idea: or rather set of ideas.. A remarkable evening’ (Seen and Heard International)
**** ‘a freewheeling, fresh take’ (Guardian)
**** ‘inventive’ (Times)
**** ‘It hurt in all the right places, a deeply moving performance: what a pity it’s only getting the one performance’ (Bachtrack)
**** ‘The puppets, which Guthrie dubs ‘transitional objects’, paradoxically make the drama more human’ (Artsdesk)
‘Still thinking about @AAMorchestra‘s stunning Dido & Aeneas @BarbicanCentre last night, complete with unexpected but very effective puppetry. A powerful and thought-provoking performance’
‘Breathtaking #dido @BarbicanCentre last night. With visionary production from @bastianboytg and craft from @aam and singers it will stay with me for a very long time. And the first half was also so moving and beautiful…#lipquiver’
‘Astounding Dido and Aeneas from @AAMorchestra @BarbicanCentre. Compelling, haunting, and thought-provoking. Loved. Every. Single. Minute.’
‘Really loved @AAMorchestra‘s Dido and Aeneas tonight @BarbicanCentre. Thought Thomas Guthrie and Richard Egarr’s invented funeral for Dido was genius – I was devastated Dido was dead before the opera even began (spoiler alert?)’
‘Thank you @AAMorchestra for a superb Dido and Aeneas at #barbicancentre tonight.’
‘Tonight’s Dido and Aeneas @BarbicanCentre used large hand puppets to act and express emotion while singers holding them just sang. What was astonishing is that this made the performance so deeply moving. Can’t believe such an original production will only have one performance.’
‘An absolutely magical performance of Dido and Aeneas from @AAMorchestra this evening. So glad to have been there.’
‘What a fantastic surprise. Last minute front row tickets from a friend to Thomas Guthrie’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’. Beautiful dynamic delivery of the Purcell – v moving.’
(audience reaction)
***** (Fiona Maddocks, Observer)
***** ‘The team at the Longborough Festival have managed to produce a Flying Dutchman that will itself live in legend… a superb production, all the better for its simplicity and clarity… a deeply intelligent telling of the story… as before with his Marriage of Figaro and Magic Flute at Longborough, (Guthrie) has engaged directly with the tale and its mythos and elicited from his cast dramatic cogency that is rare… somewhat reminiscent of the simple productions at Bayreuth in the late 1940s and early 1950s when everything seemed to be done with a few drapes, nice costumes and lighting and the result was cutting through to the quick and the sense of wonder in the works… profoundly insightful and thought-provoking… several minutes of ovations…’ (Mel Cooper, Plays To See)
**** ‘Thomas Guthrie’s production is one of the best I have seen at this address, stylised without being gimmicky… energised and engaging’ (Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph)
**** (MusicOMH)
**** (Seen and Heard International)
‘Impressive… magnetic… thrilling’ (Michael Tanner, Spectator)
‘A superb production… without any of the pretentiousness or absurdity one finds in so many Wagner productions…’ (Simon Heffer, Telegraph)
’Extraordinarily moving… As the overture ends slow moving figures pass across the stage carrying model houses and a lighthouse, like the chorus in a Greek drama, reminding us that Wagner wanted to recreate Greek tragedy in a modern setting with music at its core… by remaining faithful to Wagner’s ideas and keeping the staging simple, director Thomas Guthrie with his designer Ruth Paton and lighting designer Ben Ormerod bring such clarity to this opera that its impact is far greater than many more elaborate productions, including the current one at Bayreuth… tremendously moving… a thrilling and marvellously simple production… a wonderful evening and a Dutchman to remember’ (Mark Ronan)
‘In the areas that matter most – people – this was a stimulatingly intelligent reading: the neurosis of Senta, the one-man-only girl who has made the same ‘you-are the only-one’ promise to two men (the most compromised turtle-dove in natural history!) was made articulate as I’ve never seen before, and the blocking in the choral scenes was a constant joy’ (Christopher Wintle)
‘The music was wonderful but to see it come alive like that – words can’t explain… completely enthralling’ (Lady Solti)
‘Unlike any production I’ve ever seen of this work, and I’ve seen plenty’ (audience reaction)
***** ‘a memorable evening of great ambition and gutsy, wholehearted fulfilment’ (Robert Thicknesse, Opera Now)
‘operatic gem… bold opera… excellent staging… human relationships come to the forefront… altogether a wonderful performance… not to be missed’ (Mark Ronan)
’spirited and adventurous’ (Rupert Christiansen)
’Don’t miss it!’ (George Hall)
Winner Best Design at Arts Coulours Awards, 2018
‘a magnificent performance and a truly significant rendition of this opera—one that merits inclusion among the very best… There were so many beautiful touches in the staging; the death of Eurydice was particularly sensitive to the libretto; the ways in which motion and stasis were held in balance—swirls of activity and moments of deep introspection. The simple elegance of the end matched the music in its spiritual concentration’ (audience reaction)
‘spectacular – on every possible level… the sense of space and movement, the moments of quiet stillness… a wonderful experience: deeply imaginative and thoroughly involving’ (audience reaction)
***** ‘a delight… the setting, the 1960s’ Brighton of Quadrophenia complete with parkas and cigarettes, is inspired… a strange but subtle dislocation between stage and the accompanying 400-year-old music forces you to hear Monteverdi’s music as something fresh… exuberant and engaging’ (Brighton Argus)
’the 1960s Brighton setting was inspired, and it was the most moving announcement of Eurydice’s death I have seen’ (audience reaction)
‘amazing…extraordinary…wonderful…absolutely compelling’
(BBC Radio 3)
***** ‘audaciously expressive, chilling and thrilling’ (Sunday Times)
***** ’an extraordinary experience’ (Opera Now)
‘I feel like most performances of Winterreise succeed at making you really depressed but don’t really achieve the heart palpitations that are built into the music and the story (lots of low, not enough anxiety), and today I got both, in the best way. Frühlingstraum actually made me cry’ (audience reaction)
‘unbelievably gorgeous, best Winterreise I’ve heard/seen’ (audience reaction)
’I’ve been listening to this piece for 60 years, and I feel I’ve learnt more about it in one evening than in all that time’ (audience reaction)
**** ‘The audience’s engagement throughout Thomas Guthrie’s razor-sharp revival was remarkable, a sure sign he’s got things right… his recreation is outstanding’ (What’s On Stage)
**** ‘It just gets better and better … with a few delightful tweaks by revival director Thomas Guthrie, it produces a perfect balance between humour, mysticism and drama’ (Express)
**** ‘A splendid revival of a great production of a wonderful opera’ (Sunday Express)
WOS Opera Poll ‘Best Revival’ 2018, now available on DVD
***** ‘I’ve seen some gripping performances of Carmen, but never one like this’ (The Times)
Winner of a Koestler Trust GOLD Award, 2018
***** ‘Simply one of the most delightful, most dramatically and musically arresting performances of this opera imaginable… an ample, moving and at times profound staging using clear and minimalist means. Not once does anything seem wrong or out of place. I found myself reacting with breathtaking delight throughout, as well as considerable emotional engagement’ (Plays to See)
**** ‘Dreams and reality blur, puppets and people intermingle and a fairytale comes to life in this imaginative new production of Mozart’s singspiel… For their charming new production for Longborough Festival Opera, Thomas Guthrie and Ruth Paton take a leaf out of classic childrens’ books to send us tumbling into a fantastical world’ (The Times)
**** ‘Magic feels real here, thanks to the skilful use of puppetry throughout the evening, as well as a faithful, traditional approach to the work itself’ (Bachtrack)
**** ‘An evening that sparkles and moves, in every sense, looks stylish and works beautifully on the musical level’ (Arts Desk)
‘well judged, increasing dramatic expressiveness and drawing attention to Bach’s mastery in commenting on the action, without ever becoming inappropriately theatrical… a thoroughly enjoyable evening: an unusual take on a great masterpiece… performed with authority, discipline and integrity’ (York Press)
“Well, that worked!” (Jonathan Dove, composer)
**** ‘The production was nimble and effective.. wonderful fun’ (Observer)
**** ‘an unmixed pleasure.. unfussily effective, Classical-era staging by Thomas Guthrie.. the real deal’ (Arts Desk)
**** ‘kept things simple.. allowing the vigour of Mozart’s score to speak out with vivid immediacy’ (Classical Source)
‘entirely ego-free.. a true love of the music placed in the forefront.. a compact, delightful time’ (Schmopera)
‘the latter tune is carried magnificently by singer Thomas Guthrie, whose approach to lyric is informed by his own love of theater, and makes its presence felt in a smattering of standalone ditties, elegies, and sea shanties… whether turning down the lights in his inflection of the Anglo-Scottish border ballad “Lord Randall” or sharing a gender-bending duet with Per T Buhre as Corydon and Mopsa from Purcell’s “The Fairy-Queen,” he brought out the vocal qualities of the other players, just as they coaxed instrumental qualities from within himself… these “Alehouse Sessions,” in both recorded and live form, are exemplary in their ability to melt the cages of censorship into tenderer weapons of humanity… here is music that asserts itself as a commodity only of the heart, fermented with just the right amount of personal expression it until it goes down smoothly like a pint ripe for the palate’ (Tyran Grillo in Rootsworld on the New York City sessions in Subculture Oct 11 2017)
***** ‘…sung by Thomas Guthrie with a rhapsodic freedom, the other players following his every twist and turn like a row of trees bending in unison to the same breeze… completely inauthentic, and completely convincing… such effortless casualness doesn’t come easy: Barroksolistene have been working on this project for almost 10 years, and the performances had a wonderful sense of being thoroughly lived in… the variety of tone and texture was astonishing, ranging from very naughty folk-songs (puritans hate sex too, so it had to feature at some point), to delicate dance tunes with a modal tang, from as far afield as Shetland and Norway… the whole joyous evening was a liberation, carrying us back to a time when the terms “classical” and “folk” hadn’t yet been invented, and music was simply music’ (Daily Telegraph)
Alehouse Sessions recording from 2016 Winner of ‘Klassik ohne Grenzen’ category, Deutsche Klassikpreis 2018
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