RAYMOND ZILBERBERG
STAGE DIRECTOR
TOSCA
The crowd — diverse in both age and ethnicity — seemed riveted by what proved to be a vocally and theatrically strong performance.
The cast wore modern dress, but the director, Raymond Zilberberg, didn’t impose any particular concept,
using minimalist touches to indicate settings like the church. He used the built-in amenities of the space
wisely.
Mr. Zilberberg offered a morbidly dramatic ending well suited to the unusual space.
- Vivien Schweitzer (New York Times)
INTO THE WOODS
No matter how many times audiences have visited the titular setting in Stephen Sondheim's INTO THE WOODS, it's likely they've never seen the woods quite like in Charlottesville Opera's clever and masterful production. - Raymond Zilberberg's conceptual take on INTO THE WOODS is garden-fresh and brings the Narrator's story full circle. He brilliantly sets the story in a library, a place where fairytales are prone to come to life. The Narrator (Patrick Jacobs) is the library janitor. "Milky White" is fabricated from a book cart. The woods grow into the bookshelves, and from the ceiling of the library, once it becomes overrun with memorable characters like Cinderella (Leah Edwards), Little Red Riding Hood (Deborah Grausman), The Baker (Adam Alexander) and his Wife (Sharin Apostolou), and Jack (Brian Gleber) and the giant beanstalk. During the lengthy opening number, audiences may ask themselves where the creative direction is heading. The production, its setting and all the surprises ahead raise the celebrated absurdity of the story to another level-and it truly delivers.
-Jeremy Bustin (Broadway World)
TOSCA
the bravura energy of this raw, brutal “Tosca” was something to behold.
Even if you lost the sensation of voices conquering a large auditorium, you still registered their inborn force. There was no need for the performers to turn toward the crowd: they sang and acted face to face. This visceral realism was most telling during Scarpia’s attempted rape of Tosca: the writhing bodies were as difficult to watch as on some grim cable-TV drama.
- Alex Ross (The New Yorker)
- Matteo Berton (Cartoon)
TOSCA
this “Tosca” was stripped to its dramatic, interpersonal essence. Raymond Zilberberg’s direction kept things naturalistic and unaffected, eschewing unnecessary movement, so the shocking moments landed as they were intended to, and the industrial setting (with commensu-rate lighting by Joan Racho-Jansen) complemented the story’s brutality.
- Heidi Waleston (Wall Street Journal)
TOSCA
this “Tosca” was stripped to its dramatic, interpersonal essence. Raymond Zilberberg’s direction kept things naturalistic and unaffected, eschewing unnecessary movement, so the shocking moments landed as they were intended to, and the industrial setting (with commensu-rate lighting by Joan Racho-Jansen) complemented the story’s brutality.
- Heidi Waleston (Wall Street Journal)
MORE REVIEWS OF TOSCA
Scarpia's lust for Tosca manifesting itself as he assaulted her not once, twice, but thrice attempting sexual congress on the dinner table. Ms. Calenos sang "Vissi d'arte" standing on the table, a pristine figure like the Madonna that Tosca venerates. The denouement of the act followed with power and shocking swiftness.
The production by Raymond Zilberberg gleefully ignored traditions that can sink this opera, choosing a smart and contemporary setting.
- Paul J. Penkonen (Super Conductor)
Overall, Raymond Zilberberg’s direction took us to a place somewhere between the neorealism of Rossellini (Tosca reminded me of Anna Magnani in Roma Città Aperta, particularly in the finale) and Tarantino’s splatter-noir (replete with blood, guns and gangsters).
- Allegri Con Fuoco.com
Stripped bare, Zilberberg’s sensitivity allowed the music and text to speak for itself—a breath of fresh air in a climate of over-produced, over-conceptualized, and over-curated performing arts.
- Patrick Clement James (Parterre.com)