Breathtaking pacing and crafting of suspense

The glory of Bengtson’s opera is the music, which illuminated the action completely, from anguished, cinematic outpourings and spiky passages, to hushed, desolate moments. His pacing and crafting of suspense took the breath away. The verbal abuse of the opening scene was shocking.

Lundy and McHardy as Claire and Solange and Stephanie Novacek as Madame sang and acted brilliantly, Lundy soaring on Claire/Madame’s impassioned coloratura. The orchestral dirge that accompanied the sisters’ realization that their murderous plan was doomed to failure and discovery was overwhelming for its power, Claire’s downing of Madame’s tea a triumph of soft suspense.

Indispensable in the pit was the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra led skillfully by guest conductor Patrick Summers.

• Mary Ellyn Hutton, Cincinnati Post

Positively chilling Shocking in its violence