Reviews
“An engine of opera development in the UK” – Sunday Times, 30.10.22
“A thrillingly direct Eugene Onegin from HGO… Hasmik Harutunyan (Tatyana), Matthew Curtis (Lensky) and Jolyon Loy (a very relatable and modern Onegin) all sang and acted with thrilling directness, in a venue that gave them nowhere to hide. It was the sort of night that made you want to go out and drag in an opera-sceptic, just to watch their prejudices being blasted away at storm force.”
Eugene Onegin Richard Bratby — The Spectator
2026 Off West End Awards
Congratulations to Theano Papadaki (Performance, Poppea), Ashley Pearson (Staging, Poppea) and Jonathan Darbourne and HGO Orchestra (Sound and Mmusic, Cenrentola – Philip Sheffield holding the award here) – winners of 2026 Offie Awards!
Poppea Owen Davies, Plays to See
“The singing was generally excellent, with impressive understanding of period ornamentation and vocal styles.”
“The acting was also top-notch from all, from the leading lights to the ensemble.”
“Three singers stood out from the cast, including Theano Papadaki as Poppea, her seductively beautiful voice masking her ruthless ambition.”
“Hera Protopapas excelled as a boyish Nerone.”
Poppea Andrew Benson-Wilson
“Assured musical direction… Emma Roberts as Lucretia is exceptional… a uniformly committed ensemble… The voices and the chamber orchestra fill the church acoustics with something close to beauty, which is precisely as it should be”
The Rape of Lucretia Sonny Waheed, The Reviews Hub
“This glorious fairy-tale nonsense is set by director Finn Lacy and his team in a glittering box framed by hanging strips of shining material.”
“The performances are consistently touching, funny and well sung and Klara Solen’s as Cenerentola is that and much more.”
“Her lovely mezzo voice is warm and musical in the passages of pathos, and agile and accurate in the moments of musical bravura.”
“Another real achievement for Hampstead Garden Opera and its young performers.”
La Cenerentola Owen Davies — Plays To See
“This glorious production of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece will burnish HGO’s already
glittering reputation for nurturing young talent.”
Eugene Onegin David Winskill — Hampstead and Highgate Gazette
HGO’s superb production of Claudio Monteverdi’s masterpiece demonstrates why this company has earned back-to-back Offie Awards.”
“Theano Papadaki in the title role is a revelation — a Poppea of calculated ambition matched by a beautiful voice that makes her manipulation utterly seductive.”
“Jasmine Flicker … possesses a voice of exceptional beauty and uses it with intelligence and emotional authenticity.”
“These are real talents at the start of promising careers, delivering performances fit to grace any opera house.”
PoppeaElizabeth Botsford — The Spy in the Stalls
“One particular throughline of HGO’s production is the vocal strength of all performers.”
“Monteverdi’s melodies are performed with meticulous care and affection, while also pursuing the emotional charge of the overall story.”
“One cannot help but feel that one has witnessed a quality production.”
PoppeaScott Matthewman — The Reviews Hub
“The rich vocals from mezzo soprano Roberts (Lucretia) filled the auditorium with the
most amazing sound… Stephen Whitford (Tarquinius)’s baritone voice matched the
intensity of his performance… superb performance from the 12-piece orchestra conducted by Oliver Cope…”
The Rape of LucretiaFiona Gilbert, LondonTheatre1
“The mildly subversive circus came to town.”
La Cenerentola Hugh Canning
“In this imaginative version directed by Eleanor Burke for the admirable Hampstead
Garden Opera (HGO) the setting is shifted to the present day and the contrast between
country simplicity and city sophistication is shown in a different but effective way.”
“The central themes – of unrequited love and how time and experience can change people – are boldly tackled.”
“The tormented duet between Tatyana and Onegin at the climax of the opera was all one could have wanted.”
“Another real achievement for Hampstead Garden Opera and its young performers.”
Eugene Onegin Owen Davies — Plays To See
“A young cast project both words and music with great vividness, drawing us into the drama in the small-scale but brilliantly realised production.”
“Ashley Pearson’s production had thankfully few axes to grind … convincing, direct and relatable.”
“Theano Papadaki was vibrant and poised, she knew what she wanted and was going for it.”
“Cast and players all held our attention vividly and there was scarcely a dramatic thread lost.”
Poppea Robert Hugill — Planet Hugill
“illuminating characterization… Olivia Rose Tringham a highly dramatic and forceful
Female Chorus with a bright and clear top line… Daniel Gray Bell (Male Chorus) with
a lyrical tenor line… Nikki Nartin’s Lucia and Mia Serracino’s Bianca come into their
own in Act 2…”
The Rape of Lucretia Alexander Hall, Opera Today
“Myrna Tennant’s singing flowed like balsam…”
“Tom Morss’s Don Ramiro was nimble, precise and fearless…”
“A fluent performance that took irresistible flight in the all-important ensembles.”
La Cenerentola Off West End Awards
“HGO’s new Eugene Onegin is not only one of the most impressive productions I have seen yet from the company; it is one of the most impressive of the work I have seen for quite some time too.”
“Acting at close quarters offers a very different, in many ways more intense experience too, visually and aurally; one learns much from the detail of facial expressions that would be missed by the greater part of an audience elsewhere.”
Eugene Onegin Mark Berry — Seen and Heard International
“A marvellous cast without a single weak link…”
“Jolyon Loy, as handsome and handsome-voiced as anyone could wish for…”
“To have a big-voiced Tatyana of Hasmik Harutunyan’s quality was luxury indeed…”
“Best of all was Matthew Curtis’s ringing Lensky, one of the most movingly sung I have
heard…”