A selection of reviews from recent productions.

Tosca / Opera Holland Park

This is the most brilliantly original production of Tosca to be seen in this country for decades...Barlow probes the dynamics of desire and power with lethal precision.
Tim Ashley, The Guardian

Faultlessly choreographed from the violent scuffle at the close of the "Te Deum" to the final, shocking image, Barlow's production is thoughtfully characterised and visually arresting...As compelling as the Opera North staging, bolder than both English National Opera's and the Royal Opera's, Holland Park's Tosca is a triumph.
Anna Picard, The Independent

Sensationally good…an invigoratingly fresh, frisson-filled Tosca…Stephen Barlow’s clever updating to 1968 shouldn’t work but it does thanks to Barlow’s unerring stagecraft
Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times

With its Napoleonic story and historical Roman setting, how can you freshen up Tosca for a modern audience? How do you stage Tosca's final leap of death on a small stage? By a stroke of genius, that's how. In his thrilling and astonishing production, director Stephen Barlow has updated the story to 1968 and set it in front of the Roman church of Sant' Andrea della Valle.
Warwick Thompson, Metro

Stephen Barlow achieved the impossible with Tosca - he updated it to the 1960s and scored a triumph. This was an endlessly inventive production, witty and moving, and even the historical anomalies faded...... The detail was staggering, and witty and always apt.
Robert Thicknesse, Opera Now

Stephen Barlow's staging is wonderfully imaginative
Stephen Pettitt, Opera

One of the best productions Opera Holland Park has staged. This production shines a new light on a classic piece.
Michael Darvell, Classical Source

Hänsel und Gretel / Opera Holland Park

Packing the kids off to the woods for berries makes sense in Stephen Barlow's Second World War staging. Barlow's 1940s fantasy is the first to open with the wail of an all-clear siren and two little gas masks, and the first of the recent wave of Hänsel und Gretels to present this darkest of fairytales from a child's perspective…a very family-friendly show.
Anna Picard, Independent on Sunday

Stephen Barlow's wittily effective staging. A smashing show, Joana Seara's pint-sized Gretel and Catherine Hopper's strapping Hänsel are just the business.
Edward Seckerson, The Independent

Opera Holland Park's production of Hänsel und Gretel is stunning. In Stephen Barlow's excellent and charming production, the plot is seen through children's eyes. The dramatic portrayals are spot on. A dramatic and musical triumph.
Agnes Kory, Musical Criticism

Utter joy and pure fantasy…Opera Holland Park's production of Hänsel und Gretel makes an ideal addition to the repertoire of this company and is also a competitive addition to what has been a recent glut of productions in London. Superbly well acted.
Kevin Rogers, Classical Source



La Rondine / Metropolitan Opera & San Francisco Opera

Stephen Barlow, who has staged this production at the Royal Opera, has done excellent work with the Met’s cast and the chorus
Anthony Tommasini, New York Times

Nicolas Joel’s Art Deco production deftly staged by director Stephen Barlow
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

Tosca / Royal Opera House

The latest revival of Tosca at the Royal Opera, with many changes in production by Stephen Barlow, shows signs of taking the work seriously.
Michael Tanner, The Spectator

Stephen Barlow's revival of Kent's production is full of fine detail.
Anthony Holden, The Observer

Stephen Barlow has re-energised this revival.
Hilary Finch, The Times


Madama Butterfly / Royal Opera House

Ironic intention comes across more clearly in this revival directed by Stephen Barlow
Barry Millington, Evening Standard

Stephen Barlow’s revival of the Caurier/Leiser Madama Butterfly has mercifully dispensed with fripperies to focus on the almost intolerable human drama
Anthony Holden, The Observer