‘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.’

‘Pascoe’s gowns for Miss Fleming were arrestingly beautiful, and her warrior garb for the final scene was breathtaking.’

‘In Pascoe’s view, Lucrezia was the product of an abusive family, a woman trapped and corrupted by the ruthless ways of her infamous relatives, yet yearning all the while to enjoy something purer – motherly love. Works for me!’

‘Fleming conveyed Lucrezia’s internal struggles tellingly in her scenes with Gennaro, her abandoned son.’

‘Pascoe’s costumes were colourful, striking, and dramatic … The Act I costumes in particular caught the magic, mystery, and gaiety of the Venetian carnival.’

‘Fast-paced … vigorous. The staging abounds in insights that illuminate the plot.’

‘The wonderfully traditional yet slightly post-punk set design and costuming were created by stage director John Pascoe.’

‘Central to the design were gigantic stone walls, first parting in welcome to the carnival atmosphere of Venice, the endless party town, then closing ominously to lock the characters and the audience in.’

‘Together with the fabulous lighting by Jeffrey Bruckerhoff … the sets enhanced the complex psychological drama woven by Mr Pascoe the stage director.’

‘The only genuinely romantic relationship is the friendship between Gennaro and his warrior sidekick Maffio Orsini … Pascoe essentially presents these friends as lovers … Donizetti’s duets for them, when they swear to remain together until death, are the opera’s most tenderly beguiling moments.’

‘Pascoe’s production is spiked with contemporary psychological twists … applying a modern-day sensibility to evoke an aggressively masculine Renaissance society.’

‘The visual elements work well within the shadowy world Pascoe has created, a world of towering sixteenth-century Italian walls that frame the well-paced action’

‘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.’

‘Pascoe, who directed the action fluently … designed a world of towering walls to frame each scene and evoke a sense of sixteenth-century Italian towns’

‘John Pascoe’s new production for Washington National Opera makes a strong case for this darkly tragic work.’

‘Lucrezia gets her due in John Pascoe‘s compelling new production of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia for Washington National Opera.’

‘Fleming threw herself into the daunting role, taking enormous vocal risks, singing with raw intensity and earthy richness, utterly inhabiting the character of this beautiful, murderous noblewoman in Renaissance Italy.’

‘Pascoe sees Lucrezia as a determined woman, probably a victim of abuse as a girl, trying to survive in a ferociously masculine world.’

‘It was refreshing to encounter a director who did not flinch at the homosexual relationship between Gennaro, Lucrezia’s illegitimate son, and his young lover Maffio Orsini (a contralto trouser role)’

‘Pascoe, who designed the sets and costumes and also served as director, gave the production a distinctive look. A threatening world of towering walls conjures up a sixteenth-century Italy.’

‘Pascoe’s decision to establish an overtly gay romance between Captain Gennaro and his fellow soldier, Maffio Orsini, was a brilliant stroke.’

‘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.’

‘Designer-director John Pascoe’s sets … were at once stunning and gorgeous, capturing the right mood and feel for each scene …’

‘The most striking of Pascoe’s directional flourishes has to do with Gennaro and Maffio’s relationship … he provides an extra dimension to the doomed characters and gives the whole opera a little unexpected spice.’

‘Renée Fleming introduced California audiences to an opera and to a production that she has championed, the John Pascoe production of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia. The Fleming-Pascoe collaboration, a milestone in Italian opera, is clearly a labour of love.’

‘Pascoe did not shy away from any of the taboo elements of the story but delineated them clearly and brought the storyline, subtexts and all, to the front.’

‘Renée Fleming exploited her smoky lower register to particularly dramatic effect, boldly digging into every syllable of the text to reveal the troubled heart beating beneath the cool exterior of one of history’s most notorious women.’

‘John Pascoe’s thoughtfully conceived production …’

‘Credit should go to Renée Fleming for championing the opera and for enlisting John Pascoe, Plàcido Domingo and the Washington National Opera to create the new production.’

‘Strong casting and attractive sets assured stellar performances of an opera that more stage directors (and opera critics) should take seriously.

‘The Pascoe production 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.’