At the Royal Opera House : «Daniele Rustioni conducts Verdi’s blood-stained opera with power and precision»

«Ominous brass, shrieking woodwinds, then a little succour from gentle strings. That’s how Verdi’s Macbeth begins, and on Tuesday night the conductor Daniele Rustioni, a past assistant to Antonio Pappano at Covent Garden, held us in the composer’s grip the moment the prelude to Act I began. Throughout the opera’s blood-stained action, sharp colours and sure dramatic pacing dominated Rustioni’s handling, greeted with much applause at the end.»
The Times, Geoff Brown

«In the pit Daniele Rustioni conducted a scrupulous account of the score. Early Verdi is notoriously tricky to get right – in the wrong hands the orchestral accompaniments can sound banal and trite – yet the Italian maestro succeeded in making the score sound fresh, vivid, and inventive. Balance between stage and pit was impeccable, and the orchestra responded with attentive, beautifully sculpted playing. The rumour factory has been in overdrive recently as to who will succeed musical director Antonia Pappano when he steps down in 2024. Rustioni’s name keeps coming up as a potential successor – and if this was his pitch for the top job, he will surely have passed with flying colours. »
musicOMH, Keith McDonnell

«This time round, the role of Lady Macbeth was taken by the Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi, who has sung it at various European houses as well as the Met, while the baton was wielded by her prodigiously talented compatriot, Daniele Rustioni. (…) Rustioni is an alumnus of the Jette Parker programme who has returned regularly to the Royal Opera to assist Pappano. An indifferent handling of the jaunty accompaniments in this early Verdi score can make its seriousness of intent seem risible. A high-calibre reading such as Rustioni’s, generating tension with taut rhythms and unfolding majestic paragraphs in the gloriously sung choral numbers, can persuade one quite otherwise.
Rustioni has been touted as a possible successor to Pappano, when he leaves the house in 2024. On the basis of this performance, the music directorship would be in excellent hands. »
Evening Standard, Barry Millington

«Two factors on the musical front elevated this performance to enable Macbeth to shine as the masterpiece it truly is. The cast worked brilliantly together with no overt ‘superstar’ but instead was a balanced ensemble full of talent both established and upcoming (of which more anon). But it is the sounds that came out of the pit that deserves unstinting praise. Daniele Rustioni clearly understands every microfibre of Verdi’s score; and then knows how to knit the strands together to forge an awe-inspiring whole. This is not late Verdi, so in a humdrum performance some of Verdi’s orchestral writing can easily appear routine; not once was that the case here, with rhythms finely sprung and orchestral colours beautifully, darkly, vibrant. If ever you had cause to doubt whether the Covent Garden orchestra was a full-grown international orchestra of the highest standard, despair thy curse: the ‘engine’ of this Macbeth was a Rolls Royce. Rustioni’s ability to work with the melodic line, creating endless melody almost, was remarkable and clearly inspired his singers, the second part of that musical dyad. (…) Talking of threes, Shakespeare gave us a Dark Trinity of witches; Verdi gives us a huge chorus of them, the Royal Opera Chorus’s female voices were in simply awe-inspiring form (as were the males for the less supernatural cast members). The Royal Opera Chorus is a magnificent entity and to hear it shine like this – again, with Rustioni giving the lines just the right amount of time to speak – was a privilege indeed.
A magnificent evening. Verdi requires great conductors. London is lucky in having had Sir Antonio Pappano once in charge and, for this run, Rustioni at the helm. A concerted effort, then, another triumvirate (conductor and orchestra/production/singers). Most of all is the way that the evening captures the spirit of Shakespeare’s tragedy, funnelled through the genius of Verdi. See a performance at Covent Garden or on Friday 26 November, Macbeth will be streamed live via ROH Stream. Unmissable.»
Seen and Heard International, Colin Clarke

«Sous la direction de William Spaulding, l’excellente forme du Chœur du Royal Opera House lui permet de s'épanouir dans une variété de caractères. Les scènes des sorcières sont énergisées, le célèbre chœur «Patria oppressa» est pleinement contrôlé. Une grande partie du mérite revient également au chef d'orchestre Daniele Rustioni, extrêmement énergique et en contrôle de la partition. De l'ouverture (avec ses anticipations de la scène de tempête de Rigoletto) au grand ensemble du deuxième acte, Daniele Rustioni (chef principal de l’Opéra national de Lyon depuis 2017) offre un récit plein de détails orchestraux et de précision rythmique, montrant clairement pourquoi il est si souvent cité comme un successeur possible d'Antonio Pappano (en poste in loco jusqu'à la fin de la saison 2023/2024). Avec Pirozzi, il reçoit l'ovation la plus enthousiaste du public, à l'issue d'une représentation qui montre combien le Royal Opera reste en pleine forme après l'ouverture de la nouvelle saison et la réouverture de la maison.»
Olyrix, Ditlev Rindom

«Daniele Rustioni serra le fila dell’orchestra della ROH con piglio scattante ed energico, consentendo la celerità dell’azione. Allo stesso tempo, in una manciata di momenti, dilata i tempi per dar spazio alle voci. Il tutto viene fatto con misura senza nuocere alla resa complessiva. Rustioni si tiene poi lontano da effetti stucchevoli, mentre dove viene richiesto più volume si evitano deflagrazioni soverchianti di suono. Ottima la sinergia con i cantanti e con il coro. Voci di corridoio vorrebbero Rustioni tra i papabili alla successione ad Antonio Pappano. Se così fosse, il pubblico londinese potrebbe gradire, almeno a giudicare dall’accoglienza riservata al maestro l’altra sera.»
Connessi all’opera, Pietro Dall’Aglio