PRESS
DON GIOVANNI
"...this was by far the most enjoyable and thought-provoking Don Giovanni New York has heard in many a year: Cahill's concept proved multi-layered and insightful, and McAdams’ work with the orchestra was seamless and disciplined...the energetic cast was quite accomplished—the kind of performers one might have encountered at the late lamented New York City Opera..." - OPERA NEWS
"this non-traditional presentation did not take anything away from Mozart's tragicomic masterpiece but rather added something new that led to a more visceral understanding of librettist Lorenzo da Ponte's message. The production was designed and directed by Edwin Cahill with a sure hand. The arc of the story moved along swiftly and all the encrusted clichés and tropes were swept away. The inherent tragedy was made even more poignant by the framing device which was set up during Mozart's portentous overture." - Voce di Meche
"achieved the nearly impossible...and staged every scene with urgency, inventiveness and most importantly, a reverence for the music." - Huffington Post
CARMEN
"Wow! What a rare and exceptional treat" - www.connectsavannah.com
"Director Edwin Cahill’s approach to this challenge was to strip the classic opera to its bones, while maintaining the integrity which made it one of the most produced and beloved operas of all time…Cahill re-birthed the opera with the intention of “wanting to explore the theme of mastery and cultural hegemony that inspired the original story and the opera in a way that would be dynamic and exciting for a contemporary audience.” Cahill related the original story of “Carmen” to that of Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fight Club,” in that its “central theme is control and mastery as well as a patriarchy verses the underground.” And so, Cahill presents “Carmen” as the head of a fight club. Typically, these kind of stagings can be extraneous and burdensome to the original work. In some cases, I’ve found myself wishing they would just let the piece stand on its own. However, in the case of Cahill’s “Carmen,” the setting is not a burden to the score or the story. It’s not overly hashed out where characters and lines are adjusted frequently to become symbols of or references to characters from “Fight Club.” In this case, it is simply a catalyst that opens the door for the original story. Cahill and company have found the right balance between the heart of “Carmen” and the setting they are using to tell the story. Cahill has perhaps invented a new style of opera as well: punk opera comique." -www.dosavannah.com
FIDELIO
"stunning in its audacity"
- Opera Magazine
"The abundant innovation to Beethoven's only opera kept Skylight's audience completely entranced. As the performance unfolded this feast for the eyes and ears, Fidelio's tale of courage, freedom and love pierced the emotional heart In Beethoven's opera ..."
- Broadway World
"...brought color and movement to an opera that could easily be static on stage, and a liveliness of spirit to a show that could come across as a bit preachy, with its brotherhood-of-man lyrics, while sacrificing nothing musically."
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
INTO THE WOODS
"Great comedy, great songs...a very enchanting production...this whole production was more impressive than the [2002] Broadway revival...wonderful!” - NBC morning news TMJ4 RyanJReviews.com
"With stunning sets, masterful orchestration and impeccable performances, Skylight Music Theatre’s production of Into the Woods is a delight....The performers shine under Edwin Cahill’s direction. "- shepherdexpress.com
"The Skylight delivers first rate Sondheim...director Edwin Cahill helps his cast deftly knit all this together with light-hearted wit and lots of musical pop....Other than the two glorious ballads, “The Witch’s Lament” (touchingly sung by Susan Spencer) and “No One Is Alone,” there’s a comic, light touch to the song styles, which works perfectly for the cast and the intimate Cabot Theatre space. It’s good to have Sondheim back again on a major Milwaukee stage, and very good to hear him in such good hands." - Milwaukee Magazine
"Skylight hits all the magical notes with Sondheim's "Into the Woods"...It takes a lot - a lot - to get a theater audience to sit for almost three hours and then rise to their feet as one when time is up to shower accolades on the people who have captured their imaginations for so long. But give those three hours to Stephen Sondheim, a wickedly beautiful cast, spectacular costumes by Shima Orans and joyful and passionate direction by Edwin Cahill, and it's as if you've only been seated for a moment or two. That's the feeling at "Into the Woods," the Sondheim musical that opened at the Skylight Music Theatre Friday night." - onmilwaukee.com
"The renowned musical makes theatergoers' wishes come true in the Cabot Theatre when Skylight Music Theatre locally sources a marvelous cast that will make hearts melt under award-winning Edwin Cahill's direction." - Broadway World
"One of the few out-of-town transplants is director Edwin Cahill, from New York City, and the work he’s done here makes him a worthy addition to the Wisconsinites." - Wisconsin Gazette
L’ARBRE ENCHANTÉ
"brilliant and highbrow approval matrix” - New York Magazine
"Opera gets a sexy makeover at the Fire Island Opera Festival. Charming...hilarious...the professional polish of a major opera company...feedback from the audience was unanimous: the show was entertaining, timely, relevant, and extremely well-done. What surprised many people was how incredibly funny - and naughty! - it was. Of course, this is the Pines, so forget what you know about stodgy, un-relatable opera. Sex? Check. Hot bodies and plenty of nudity? Check and check. A final scene that effortlessly transitions into a raucous dance party? You betcha. And so the inaugural year of the festival was born."- The Huffington Post
LA BOHÈME
"Unique to the performance: taking La Bohème out of 19th century Paris and staging it in present day Brooklyn, New York. The concept, the staging and the costuming—juxtaposing modern street clothes and Italian opera—were delightful." - The South Magazine
MAMELLES DE TIRESIAS
"Whoever has experienced this production from start to finish, will know what sweet perfection it created, and how much was invested by singers and artistic team to make this beautiful balloon of Poulenc's float properly. May it flow again - and this production be carried out more and more and not disappear with the end of the workshop. You do not need much. Piano, drums - and singers who are playing with their whole soul. Edwin Cahill's directing was light, effortless, and fit the club space like a glove...The choice to sing in French, English and Hebrew allowed the opera even greater accessibility with unexpected local echoes..."– Music4awhile
DER PROTAGONIST
"The protagonist (dramatic tenor Samuel Levine) and the sister (lyric soprano Maeve Hoglund) had a sweet, but intense duet (“Deine Nachsicht erschlägt mich,” in the original), which, ominously, more than hinted at the tragedy ahead, as well as at the incestuous attraction between the siblings. This led into his solo about how he “immerses” himself in his roles (“”Jetzt schiesst schon neues Feuer in mich”)—his actors, holding up signs, emphasized the words “dread” and “fear” in his aria—including that of the murderer. An exquisite romantic, verismo duet (“Seid Ihr uns gefolgt?”) between the sister and her lover (baritone Liam Bonner) followed.
The fey chief of staff (tenor John Easterlin, his Met-sized voice resonating throughout the room) brought his news and the troupe began to rehearse the “jealousy” play, a comedy. The couples were protagonist and the sultry siren (mezzo-soprano Megan Marino), and the ingénu (lyric bass-baritone Jeremy Hirsch) and the drag player (baritone Matthew Morris). Assisting were the other troupe members Katrina Yaukey, who donned a beard and played the violin, accordion, piccolo, and trumpet, and Guto Bittencourt, the resident hunk. Props were outsized phalluses, which later became murder weapons. The effective color scheme was strictly Expressionist film noir black-and-white. Blood-red cloths were added when the murder occurred. Bass Jeremy Galyon completed the cast as the innkeeper, another sinister figure.
Guiding the excellent company of expressive, fresh-voiced singers in this little-known thriller were director Edwin Cahill and Music Director Bradley Moore, at the piano, assisted by Jody Schum. Evocative designs were by Charles Mary Kubricht (setting), Bradon McDonald (costumes and choreography), and Guy J. Smith (lighting)." -qonstage.com
OPERA IN THE DESERT
"If you took the Santa Fe Opera’s summer performance schedule and, while you were busy flipping through the season, also replaced the white-tablecloth tailgating, the candelabras and the Veuve Cliquot with boots and cowboy hats, you’d have a general feeling for the Fire Island Opera Festival presented by Marfa Live Arts. For the most part, these boots and cowboy hats would be worn by people who actually wear them in and around town, not just people dressing up to “Go Texan.”
The company itself traveled to Marfa (pop. 1,980) from New York, where several of the singers sing often when they’re not performing in London, Tel Aviv or Berlin. The basic concept of the “festival” involved not only taking opera out of New York and other major cities but also, as is the hope for all opera these days, taking it out of anything resembling the opera house. Marfa’s Crowley Theater played host to the central Saturday night performance, but it was bookended by a bit of lively singing in the Jett’s Grill bar at the Paisano Hotel and by a walk in the desert leading to an aria from Norma. If the goal was to break a few molds, both the opera company and Marfa Live Arts succeeded mightily." - Arts + Culture TX