Rumours of Richard Jones's blood spattered staging, designed by Ultz, had oozed similarly from closed rehearsal rooms for months, adding high anxiety to Glyndebourne's usual new season buzz. How would the patrons stomach it? The actuality, as so often with this director, proved intelligent and searing rather than shocking. It may not be vintage Jones quite yet, slightly muted by first-night nerves among the singers, but this is a startling, imaginative evening and, under the incisive baton of Vladimir Jurowski, musically invigorating. The London Philharmonic, complete with cimbasso, Verdi's odd sort of low trombone, played with edge and intensity. A large, well-choreographed chorus excelled.

thisislondon.co.uk, 24 Oct 07
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A white-hot triumph in tartan - Richard Jones' brilliantly imaginative and impeccably executed production of Verdi's first Shakespearean opera looks like Alex Salmond's worst nightmare.

Telegraph, 21 May 07
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Vladimir Jurowski gives a masterclass in how to shape and vary the pace of Verdi’s oom-pah accompaniments. That requires both a subtle understanding of the text and superlative command of the orchestra. But he rightly lets loose the London Philharmonic (playing out of their collective socks) in those blazing, brass-led tuttis in which Verdi seems intent on shaking Hell’s very foundations.

The Times, 22 May 07
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