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‘Gian Carlo Menotti lives on in the new production of The Medium … The world-renowned director and designer John Pascoe, is responsible for bringing this story to life.’
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‘John Pascoe’s stage direction is simply brilliant: economical in its use of space, dramatically adroit, suggestive, subtle and lurid at exactly the right moments.’
Home Page – Slide 13
‘This war-torn and vigorous production of The Medium is worth seeing for John Pascoe’s direction and set design alone’
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‘Pascoe fine-tuned the story of power struggles between the Duke and Duchess of the Renaissance city of Ferrara … In Pascoe’s hands, details of the plot are clarified, producing a dramatically cohesive performance.’
Home Page – Slide 11
‘Finding abundant justification in the libretto for the gay sub-plot, Pascoe cleverly draws it out to provide an extra dimension to the doomed characters, who kiss in the shadows and talk of running off together, before the Borgia curse falls heavily on them’
Home Page – Slide 10
‘A major ingredient in the production’s success was the fact that it was a Gesamtkunstwerk of sorts, with both stage direction and visual design in the excellent hands of the admirable John Pascoe.’
Home Page – Slide 09
‘The Pascoe production of Lucrezia Borgia at Washington National Opera is an extraordinary contribution to the Donizetti Revival, one that takes a more sophisticated look at the theatricality that lay hidden even from the work’s twentieth-century admirers.’
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‘Pascoe captures the mood of each act with a distinct palette of colour and tone that reflects the inner emotional landscape of the central character. His choices become bolder and ever more successful with every act … In Act IV, the red of the backdrop evoked a cross between a Wagnerian landscape and a scene from Bonfire of the Vanities. All the former pedestals and columns could be recognised but now lay broken on their sides, the wreckage of an imploded civilisation.’
Home Page – Slide 07
‘In the second act, a massive column opens like a giant jewel box to reveal the quintessential material girl in a glittering gown … Behind her, spread across the entire back of the stage is a painted Baroque sky of swirling clouds and cherubic putti. Oh man, oh Manon!’
Home Page – Slide 06
‘Patricia Racette triumphed in a production that is not to be missed … Pascoe’s innovative vision of Manon comes to life with lush, detailed sets and costumes that enhance and support the emotions onstage.’