“A BRILLIANT ENCORE, BOUND FOR TV… LAST SUMMER, THE RAVINIA FESTIVAL ACHIEVED AN ARTISTIC HIGH POINT WITH A VIVIDLY CONCEIVED PRODUCTION OF BERNSTEIN’S MASS TO CELEBRATE THE COMPOSER’S CENTENNIAL… THIS “MASS” PROVED EVEN MORE SHARPLY DRAMATIC, INTRICATELY CHOREOGRAPHED AND FEROCIOUSLY PERFORMED THAN LAST TIME. IF THE CINEMATOGRAPHY AND SOUND RECORDING DO JUSTICE TO WHAT UNFOLDED ON THE PAVILION STAGE, AMERICA WILL SEE THE ENDURING VALUE OF A MAJOR, LONG-UNDERESTIMATED BERNSTEIN MAGNUM OPUS.” THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE ON BERNSTEIN’S MASS (2019)
"AT THE END OF THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS, THE AUDIENCE ROARED ITS APPROVAL AS IF IT HAD WITNESSED A BLOCKBUSTER MUSICAL... THE PRODUCTION, STAGED BY KEVIN NEWBURY, HAS SETS AND PROJECTIONS BY VICTORIA TZYKUN AND 59 PRODUCTIONS THAT BRILLIANTLY REINFORCE THE OPERA'S HIGH-TECH AMBIENCE... SANTA FE OPERA HAS A HIT ON ITS HANDS." THE FINANCIAL TIMES ON THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS (2017)
"THE MOST MODERN AND CONSISTENTLY EXCITING ASPECT OF THE SHOW WAS THE PRODUCTION... KEVIN NEWBURY'S BRISK AND THOUGHTFUL DIRECTION TOLD THE STORY WITH CLARITY AND VERVE." THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ON THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS (2017)
"A THEATRICALLY ARRESTING PRODUCTION... DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY'S ELECTRIFYING STAGING MOVES THE ACTION FLUIDLY THROUGH THE COLORFUL SETS AND VISUAL PROJECTIONS CREATED BY VICTORIA TZYKUN AND 59 PRODUCTIONS." THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE ON THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS (2017)
"HEART-WRENCHING YET MUSICALLY LUCID DRAMA... THE MUSIC, LIBRETTO AND SURE-HANDED DIRECTION BY KEVIN NEWBURY CREATE A TIDAL PULL THAT RUSHES THE ACTION ALONG AND THE AUDIENCE'S SYMPATHIES WITH IT... MR. NEWBURY DREW IMPRESSIVELY VIVID PERFORMANCES FROM A CAST OF EXCELLENT ACTORS AND MAINTAINED TENSION THROUGHOUT SWIFT SCENE CHANGES... WITH IT'S SMART MUSIC AND SHARP-EDGED ROMANTIC DRAMA, "FELLOW TRAVELERS" SEEMS ASSURED OF LASTING APPEAL." THE NEW YORK TIMES ON FELLOW TRAVELERS (2016) *NAMED ONE OF THE BEST CLASSICAL MUSIC EVENTS OF 2016
"...SHARPLY INTELLIGIBLE AS OPERATIC DRAMA. BY TAPPING A VEIN OF ABUNDANT, HEARTRENDING SENTIMENT, THE CREATORS HAVE CREATED A GAY LA BOHEME... KEVIN NEWBURY'S STAGING, WITH SCENIC DESIGN BY VICTORIA (VITA) TZYKUN, IS AS SPARE AS SPEAR'S MUSIC TREATMENT, AND AS FLUID. ... THE PRODUCTION'S MOST AUDACIOUS MANEUVER IS IN ITS PRESENTATION OF THE PROTAGONISTS' LOVEMAKING... THE EXPLICITNESS SEEMS NOT THE LEAST PRURIENT; INSTEAD IT MAKES PALPABLE THE CONVERGENCE OF FLESH AND SPIRIT AT THE CORE OF THE WORK... FELLOW TRAVELERS' DELICACY CAME THROUGH IN FULL, AND SO DID IT'S EMOTIONAL WALLOP." OPERA NEWS ON FELLOW TRAVELERS (2016)
"THE SIMPLE PRODUCTION READ CLEARLY IN THE 400-SEAT JARSON-KAPLAN THEATRE... KEVIN NEWBURY'S DIRECTING, PARTICULARLY OF THE LOVE SCENES, WAS AS HONEST AND TOUCHING AS THE OPERA." THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ON FELLOW TRAVELERS (2016)
'WITH EACH PASSING YEAR IT BECOMES EVER MORE APPARENT THAT THE BRIGHTEST HOPE FOR NEW AMERICAN OPERA LIES WITH WORTHY, SMALLER-SCALED MUSIC THEATER WORKS, CAREFULLY NURTURED IN COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN REGIONAL OPERA COMPANIES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS, CASE WITH BEST YOUNG NATIVE TALENT, PRODUCED AT A HIGH PROFESSIONAL LEVEL AND MOUNTED IN APPROPRIATE VENUES... (FELLOW TRAVELERS) IS A POIGNANT AND MOVING MEDITATION ON A PARTICULARLY SHAMEFUL EPISODE OF GAY HISTORY.... THE OPERA, MOVING TAUTLY ACROSS THE RAPID-FIRE SCENES OF KEVIN NEWBURY'S STAGING, SHUNS POLEMICS IN FAVOR OF WHAT SO MANY OPERAS HAVE DONE BEFORE -- TELLING A DEEPLY HUMAN LOVE STORY... HERE WORDS, MUSIC, STAGING AND THE SKILLS OF A FLAWLESS ENSEMBLE OF NINE YOUNG SINGING ACTORS CAME TOGETHER TO ILLUMINATE A TIGHTLY CONSTRUCTED MUSIC DRAMA." THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE ON FELLOW TRAVELERS (2016)
"CHICAGO OPERA THEATRE IS GIVING THE SHOW A FIRST-RATE STAGING BY DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY... SOMETIMES MOVING IN SYNC WITH THE PERCOLATING GAIT OF GLASS' SCORE, NEWBURY'S FLUID STAGING MAKES EFFECTIVE USE OF THE BARE HOSPITAL-ROOM SET OF SCENIC DESIGNER ZANE PIHLSTROM." THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE ON THE PERFECT AMERICAN (2017)
"KEVIN NEWBURY'S SKILLFUL DIRECTION SUPPLIED CLARITY AND MOMENTUM EVEN IN SCENES OF CHAOS... AN IMPRESSIVELY SOLID FIRST OPERA." THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ON BEL CANTO (2015)
"KEVIN NEWBURY STAGED THE ACTION WITH ASSURANCE." THE NEW YORKER ON BEL CANTO (2015)
"FIRST-RATE CAST AND PRODUCTION... AN ACCOMPLISHED PIECE OF WORK... KEVIN NEWBURY ORCHESTRATES THE HUMAN TRAFFIC TO KEEP THE EVENTS MOVING IN A TAUT DRAMATIC CRESCENDO IN KEEPING WITH THE SCORE." THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE ON BEL CANTO (2015)
"UNSURPRISINGLY AWESOME... A MODEL FOR THE ALBUM EXPERIENCE IN THE POST-LP ENVIRONMENT. IT MERGED THE HEADPHONE FANTASIA OF BEDROOM LISTENING WITH THE SMELL-THE-SWEAT SHARED EXPERIENCE OF A CLUB SHOW." ROLLING STONE ON KANSAS CITY CHOIR BOY (2015)
"KEVIN NEWBURY ... ADDS NECESSARY DYNAMISM BY WEAVING THE ACTION AROUND THE AUDIENCE ON THREE SIDES OF THE STAGE." THE NEW YORK TIMES ON KANSAS CITY CHOIR BOY (2015)
"A BAROQUE POP SONGSPIEL, DYNAMICALLY DIRECTED BY KEVIN NEWBURY." THE GUARDIAN ON KANSAS CITY CHOIR BOY (2015)
"AN EXCITING ROLLER COASTER RIDE THAT MANAGES TO MAKE TELLING POLITICAL POINTS RELEVANT TO TODAY, ALL WRAPPED IN A SUPERBLY IMAGINATIVE PRODUCTION DIRECTED BY KEVIN NEWBURY... NEWBURY AND HIS ACE TEAM MOVE THE OPERA'S SHORT SCENE WITH RELENTLESS PRECISION... NEWBURY COMMANDS A CAST THAT CAN ONLY BE CALLED BRILLIANT." THE STAR TRIBUNE ON THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (2015)
"OF THE THREE MAIN-STAGE WORKS IN THE FESTIVAL YOU CAN EXPECT AT LEAST ONE HIT. AND THIS YEAR'S HIT, CAGNONI'S DON BUCEFALO, IS SO VERY VERY GOOD THAT ITS OBSCURITY SEEMS INEXPLICABLE... IN KEVIN NEWBURY'S KNOCKABOUT STAGING, THE SETTING IS A COMMUNITY HALL IN THE AMERICAN MIDWEST IN THE 1980'S, ALL HOKEY HAIR AND LEGWARMERS, WITH A CASIO KEYBOARD FOR A HARPSICHORD AND BRICK-SIZED CELL PHONES... IT'S A WORK THAT SHOULD BE NEGLECTED NO LONGER." THE LONDON TIMES ON DON BUCEFALO (2014)
"KEVIN NEWBURY’S PRODUCTION WAS UPDATED TO AN EIGHTIES AMERICAN COMMUNITY CENTER, A BIZARRE IDEA THAT WORKS. THROUGHOUT, HE DEMONSTRATED A SURE COMIC TOUCH, AND THIS PERFORMANCE DESERVES TO BE MORE WIDELY EXPERIENCED, PERHAPS ON DVD." THE UK MAIL ON SUNDAY ON DON BUCEFALO (2014)
"AT LEAST THERE WAS ONE BIG HIT… THE MOST ENTERTAINING PRODUCTION, BY KEVIN NEWBURY … DON BUCEFALO PROVED A LITTLE BEL CANTO GEM." SUNDAY LONDON TIMES ON DON BUCEFALO (2014)
THOUGHTFULLY AND ELEGANTLY REVIVED.. IN KEVIN NEWBURY'S INVENTIVE STAGING, WHICH UPDATES THE ACTION FROM THE 12TH CENTURY TO THE 19TH CENTURY AND FINDS PERSUASIVE SOLUTIONS TO SOME KEY PROBLEMS, EURYANTHE DOES SATISFY THE HEAD. MR NEWBURY AND MR. BOTSETIN ADMIRABLY - EVEN MIRACULOUSLY - AVOID CAMP. ... THE PRODUCTION, WHOSE SET EQOQUENTLY BLURS THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN GRACEFUL INTERIORS AND NATURE'S WILDNESS, TAKES EVERY TWIST SERIOUSLY." THE NEW YORK TIMES ON EURYANTHE (2014)
"A CHUNKIER DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH HAS BEEN RESCUED FROM OBSCURITY AT BARD SUMMERSCAPE.... WISELY, NEWBURY MADE THE PLOT'S GHOST AT INTERMITTENT PRESENCE, INJECTING A NARRATIVE WILD CARD THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE LIBRETTOS DRAMATIC INCONSISTENCIES. EVEN BETTER, THE STORY IS CONTEXTUALIZED AS A VARIATION ON THE SCARLET LETTER -- A PRIM, CORESTED ARISTOCRATIC WORLD, BUT WITH A RED, SCARLIKE X PAINTED ACROSS SOPRANO ELLIE DEHN IN THE TITLE ROLE." THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER ON EURYANTHE (2014)
"A RESOURCEFUL BLACK-BOX PRODUCTION DIRECTED BY KEVIN NEWBURY... MR. NEWBURY’S STARK STAGING... EMPHASIZES THOSE DIMENSIONS, SIMULTANEOUSLY CONVEYING AN IMPRESSION OF THEATRICAL IMMEDIACY AND GREEK TRAGEDY. ALL TOLD, THE SOLD-OUT PREMIERE PROVIDED PROTOTYPE... WITH A SUBLIME START.” - THE NEW YORK TIMES ON PAUL’S CASE (2014)
”IN ONLY ITS SECOND SEASON, THE PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL CAN CLAIM ITS FIRST MASTERPIECE, THE CHAMBER OPERA PAUL’S CASE.... IT WOULD BE TEMPTING TO CALL THIS SHOW “THE BEST NEW OPERA I’VE HEARD IN YEARS,” ...THE PRODUCTION BY KEVIN NEWBURY UTILIZED THE INTIMATE BLACK-BOX THEATER AT HERE IN A NOVEL WAY...” - THE NEW YORK OBSERVER ON PAUL’S CASE (2014)
”KEVIN NEWBURY’S FOCUSED DIRECTING, TIMOTHY MACKABEE’S SET AND AMANDA SEYMOUR’S PERIOD COSTUMES EVOKED PAUL’S INNER AND OUTER LIVES.” - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ON PAUL’S CASE (2013)
”THE OPERA’S FLORIDA GRAND OPERA PREMIERE... WAS STAGED BY KEVIN NEWBURY, WHO CONFIRMED HIS STATUS AS A FINE AMERICAN OPERA DIRECTOR. NEWBURY EMBRACED THE SAVAGELY BEAUTIFUL MUSIC AND LIBRETTO, CREATING A RIVETING SPECTACLE AND CONTROLLING THE MOVEMENT, SPACING AND BODY LANGUAGE OF ALL THE SINGERS WITH MUSICAL PRECISION.”
- OPERA NEWS ON MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA (2013)
”LYRIC OPERA OF KANSAS CITY OPENED ITS SEASON ...WITH A CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI THAT ANY MAJOR WORLD COMPANY MIGHT HAVE BEEN PROUD TO PRESENT. KEVIN NEWBURY’S PRODUCTION WAS IN NO WAY TRADITIONAL -- ... BUT IT TOLD THE STORY SWIFTLY AND EFFECTIVELY, CAREFULLY UNDERSCORING THE UNHEALTHY EMOTIONAL BONDS BETWEEN CAPULETS, FATHER AND DAUGHTER. THE AUDIENCE SEEMED MORE AND MORE RIVETED AS THE EVENING PROCEEDED.” - OPERA UK ON I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI (2013)
”THE PRODUCTION, DIRECTED FLUIDLY BY KEVIN NEWBURY, USES A STRIKING UNIT SET DESIGNED BY DAVID KORINS THAT DEPICTS THE ROUGH-HEWED CURVED WALLS OF THE EXCAVATION SITE.” - THE NEW YORK TIMES ON THE GOSPEL OF MARY MAGDALENE (2013)
”KEVIN NEWBURY, THE DIRECTOR, MADE THE MOST OF IT WITH TEEMING AND ENTERTAINING STAGE ACTIVITY... THE STAGING AND INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES WERE GENERALLY EXCELLENT. DAVID KORIN’S SCENERY - SUITABLY RAW AND AUSTERE IN THE PRISON SCENES, WARM IN THE NURSERY - AND DAVID C. WOOLARD’S COSTUME DESIGN SUPPORTED MR. NEWBURY’S CONCEPTION WELL.”
- THE NEW YORK TIMES ON OSCAR (2013)
”STAGE DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY MOVED PEOPLE AND PROPS AROUND ROBERT BRILL’S FLEXIBLE SET WITH HIS CUSTOMARY FINESSE... DOUBT PROVED FULLY WORTHY OF THE CARE AND RESOURCES LAVISHED UPON IT.” - OPERA NEWS ON DOUBT (2013)
”THERE IS NO DOUBT: THE OPERA... MAKES FOR A GRIPPING 2 1/2 HOURS OF THEATER... THE PRODUCTION, DIRECTED BY KEVIN NEWBURY, IS FAST-PACED AND EFFECTIVE.” - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ON DOUBT (2013)
”A HANDSOME PRODUCTION... THE MINNESOTA OPERA’S PRODUCTION, DIRECTED BY KEVIN NEWBURY, SERVED THE WORK AS WELL AS POSSIBLE, PARTICULARLY IN THE FAST PACING THROUGH MOST OF THE FIRST ACT.” - THE NEW YORK TIMES ON DOUBT (2013)
”COMPLEX MINNESOTA OPERA PRODUCTION IS SIMPLY IMPRESSIVE... THE EXPERT SINGING IS MATCHED BY FIRST-RATE PRODUCTION VALUES... DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY DESERVES KUDOS FOR MAKING IT ALL FLOW SMOOTHLY AND FOR SHAPING SUCH LAYERED PERFORMANCES.” - PIONEER PRESS ON DOUBT (2013)
”STAGE DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY, STRONGLY ABETTED BY ROBERT BRILL’S COLUMNED SET AND JAPHY WEIDEMAN’S PAINTERLY LIGHTING, ACTUALIZES THE STORY’S DRAMATIC PROMISE; HIS SCENE CHANGES ARE PURE POETRY.” - THE STAR-TRIBUNE ON DOUBT (2013)
”NEWBURY’S THOUGHTFULNESS, HIS EYE FOR DETAIL, AND HIS ABILITY TO FRAME THE DRAMATIC MOMENT HAVE MADE THESE THREE PRODUCTIONS REWARDING EXPERIENCES. ... THOUGH EACH PRODUCTION HAS HAD ITS OWN LOOK, THEY HAVE SHARED AN EVOCATIVE MIX OF ABSTRACTION AND REALISM, ALONG WITH A KIND OF MONUMENTALITY IN THE DESIGN THAT NEVER DWARFS THE CHARACTER AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS. ” - OPERA NEWS ON ANNA BOLENA, MARIA STUARDA AND ROBERTO DEVEREUX (2013)
”AN OPERA NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO CATCH FIRE ONSTAGE, AND IN THE SUMMERSCAPE PRODUCTION, DIRECTED WITH IMAGINATION AND EMOTIONAL NUANCE BY KEVIN NEWBURY, “DANAE” CERTAINLY DOES... ...EXHILARATING AND MOVING, “DANAE” HAS FOUND ITS MOMENT.”
- NEW YORK TIMES ON DIE LIEBE DER DANAE (2011)
”A GOLD STANDARD PRODUCTION AT BARD COLLEGE. EVEN IN THE GRANDER MOMENTS OF NEWBURY’S CONCEPT AND FAMED ARCHITECT RAFAEL VIÑOLY’S SETS - AS IN ACT III, WHICH FINDS DANAE AND MIDAS IN A ROBIN’S EGG BLUE AMC PACER ONSTAGE - THERE IS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF POETIC RESTRAINT. LIKE DANAE, WE AS THE AUDIENCE COME TO APPRECIATE THE HEART OF THE PRODUCTION RATHER THAN ITS BELLS AND WHISTLES.” NAMED ONE OF THE THE BEST OF 2011 IN OPERA. - WQXR ON DIE LIEBE DER DANAE (2011)
”...SMOOTHLY DIRECTED BY KEVIN NEWBURY... AND THE WHIMSICAL MYTHOLOGICAL PLOT HAS SOME SURPRISINGLY EFFECTIVE DRAMATIC MOMENTS, MADE ALL THE MORE POINTED IN THE WITTILY UPDATED PRODUCTION. ” - ASSOCIATED PRESS ON DIE LIEBE DER DANAE (2011)
”WITHOUT SACRIFICING ANY OF THE FAIRY-TALE MAGIC IN HUMPERDINCK’S 1893 MASTERPIECE, STAGE DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY HAS COME UP WITH A PARTICULARLY RELEVANT METAPHOR FOR OUR ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED TIMES... NEWBURY, WHOSE STAGING OF THE RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY SONG-CYCLE WAS SUCH A SPELLBINDER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND IN SEPTEMBER... IS ENDLESSLY RESOURCEFUL WHERE IT REALLY COUNTS." - RICHMOND-TIMES DISPATCH ON HANSEL AND GRETEL (2011)
”JOHN ADAMS’ BRILLIANT AND TOUCHING NATIVITY ORATORIO...TURNED OUT TO BE THE THEATRICAL AND SPIRITUAL MASTERPIECE MANY OF US SUSPECTED FROM THE START. ” NAMED ONE OF THE TOP 10 EVENTS OF THE YEAR. - SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE ON EL NIÑO (2010)
”L’OPÉRA DE MONTRÉAL DEFINITELY HAS A HIT ON ITS HANDS WITH THIS MINNESOTA OPERA/KEVIN NEWBURY PRODUCTION OF GAETANO DONIZETTI’S ROBERTO DEVEREUX. ...NEWBURY’S MASTERFUL STAGE DIRECTION IS BEAUTIFULLY FRAMED BY NEIL PATEL’S ELEGANT SETS AND D.M. WOOD’S FINE AND INVENTIVE LIGHTING... VISUALLY VERY ELEGANT... A PERFECT COLLABORATION!”
- THE GLOBE AND MAIL ON ROBERTO DEVEREUX (2010)
“NEWBURY’S STAGING IS EFFECTIVE... NEWBURY GETS COMMITTED PERFORMANCES FROM HIS SINGERS.” - LONDON TIMES ON VIRGINIA (2010)
“MERCADANTE’S VIRGINIA WAS THE THRILLING DISCOVERY OF THE FIFTY-NINTH ANNUAL WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA...KEVIN NEWBURY STAGED THE WORK WITH A STRONG SENSE OF FORWARD MOVEMENT AND TELLING CHARACTER DETAIL.” - OPERA NEWS ON VIRGINIA (2010)
“(A) GRIPPING INAUGURAL PRESENTATION...DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY EFFECTIVELY SHAPES THE CHARACTERS AND THE COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THEM.” - DENVER POST ON LIFE IS A DREAM (2010)
“TREMENDOUSLY IMPRESSIVE AND INNOVATIVE, AND MY HAT IS OFF TO (THE DESIGNERS) AS WELL AS OVER-ALL STAGE DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY, WHO ENJOYED NOTHING LESS THAN A TRIUMPH WITH THEIR COCEPT OF MISE-EN-SCÈNE.” - OPERATODAY.COM ON LIFE IS A DREAM (2010)
“STAGED BY KEVIN NEWBURY, LIFE IS A DREAM WAS GIVEN A FIRST-RATE PRODUCTION BY SANTA FE OPERA.” OPERA NEWS ON LIFE IS A DREAM (2010) -
“STRONG CASTING AND A SIMPLE, ELEGANT PRODUCTION ALSO DISTINGUISH OPERA THEATRE’S “EUGENE ONEGIN.” ...DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY’S SUBTLE TOUCHES BROUGHT INSIGHTS TO THE ACTION.” - WALL STREET JOURNAL ON EUGENE ONEGIN (2010)
“A GORGEOUS EUGENE ONEGIN...DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY DIRECTED WITH WELCOME SUBTLETY, RESISTING ANY TEMPTATION TO INDULGE IN CONCEPTS AT ODDS WITH THE COMPOSER’S INTENTIONS...AN EXQUISITE PRODUCTION.” - ST. LOUIS DISPATCH ON EUGENE ONEGIN (2010)
“THE PRODUCTION, CAPTAINED BY DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY, INGENIOUSLY VISUALIZED ELIZABETH’S PREDICAMENT... THIS BOLD PRODUCTION MAY WELL MARK A TURN IN THE FORTUNES OF ROBERTO DEVEREUX.” - OPERA NEWS ON ROBERTO DEVEREUX (2010)
”THE MINNESOTA OPERA'S VIVID PRODUCTION, WHICH TAPS DEEPLY INTO THE CURRENTS OF JEALOUSY, GUILT, REMORSE AND GRIEF THAT RUN THROUGHOUT THE PIECE, MAY STRIKE EVEN DONIZETTI DEVOTEES AS REVELATORY…. LED BY DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY, THE PRODUCTION TEAM IS ESPECIALLY SENSITIVE TO THE CLASH OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, AND TO RELIGIOUS
DIMENSIONS OF THE ACTION.” - THE STAR-TRIBUNE ON ROBERTO DEVEREUX (2010)
“A BRIGHT SPOT IN THIS YEAR’S LINEUP, THANKS IN LARGE MEASURE TO THE WITTY DIRECTION OF KEVIN NEWBURY. MR. NEWBURY UPDATED THIS CINDERELLA STORY TO POST-CRASH 1933 NEW YORK… ALTHOUGH MORE THAN A CENTURY SEPARATES ROSSINI’S MUSIC FROM 1930S MOVIES SUCH AS “MY MAN GODFREY,” THE TWO STYLES OF SCREWBALL COMEDY PROVED TO BE A FINE MATCH….MR. NEWBURY DROPPED IN CLEVER, ALMOST THROWAWAY TOUCHES—AND EACH CHARACTER CAME DISTINCTIVELY TO LIFE.” - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ON LA CENERENTOLA (2010)
“THE DIRECTOR KEVIN NEWBURY SETS ROSSINI’S CENERENTOLA IN DEPRESSION-ERA NEW YORK, AND THE UPDATING IS MOST EFFECTIVE…A SPIRITED AND LIVELY PERFORMANCE.” - THE NEW YORK TIMES ON LA CENERENTOLA (2010)
"THE AUDITORIUM ROCKED FOR THIS OVERPOWERING PERFORMANCE." NAMED ONE OF THE TOP FIVE CLASSICAL EVENTS OF THE YEAR. - THE NEW YORK TIMES ON BERNSTEIN’S MASS (2008)
"A DELIGHTFULLY WITTY, WONDERFULLY ENTERTAINING PRODUCTION... WHILE MAXIMIZING AN ARRAY OF VISUAL GAGS AND OTHER SKILLFUL TOUCHES, NEWBURY INVESTS THE CHARACTERS WITH ALL-IMPORTANT DOSES OF HUMANITY, KEEPING THEM FROM SINKING INTO EASILY DISMISSIBLE STOCK FIGURES." - THE DENVER POST ON FALSTAFF (2008)
"CONFIDENTLY DIRECTED BY KEVIN NEWBURY... THE RESULTS ARE BLITHE AND ENTERTAINING."- THE NEW YORKER ON THE SECOND TOSCA (2007)
"BROUGHT TO LIFE BY AN EXCELLENT CAST AND ENLIVENED WITH A LOT OF HUMOR. KEVIN NEWBURY, THE DIRECTOR ADDS AN ADRENALINE JOLT." - THE NEW YORK TIMES ON THE SECOND TOSCA (2007) -
"NEWBURY'S INTELLIGENT, FLUIDLY PACED PRODUCTION REFLECTS HIS CONSIDERABLE EXPERIENCE AT TOP REGIONAL OPERA COMPANIES... NEWBURY DESERVES PRAISE FOR THE UNIVERSALLY SUCCESSFUL CASTING; ONE WISHES ALL BROADWAY ENSEMBLES WERE SO WELL SUITED TO THEIR ROLES." - OPERA NEWS ON THE SECOND TOSCA (2007)
"STAGED WITH WIT AND SPARKLE BY KEVIN NEWBURY... KEEPS YOU SMILING UNTIL THE CURTAIN CALL." - THE NEW YORK TIMES ON CANDY & DOROTHY (2006)
"CANDY AND DOROTHY EARNS ITS WINGS! IT'S LIVELY, ESPECIALLY UNDER THE LIGHT DIRECTORIAL HAND OF KEVIN NEWBURY. WORTH SEEING." - THE BOSTON GLOBE ON CANDY & DOROTHY (2006)
"MR. NEWBURY'S DIRECTION KEEPS THE CHARACTERS MOVING IN A FAST, LIGHT STEP LIKE THAT OF A GOOD CHORUS LINE, WHICH OF COURSE THE EUMENIDES THEMSELVES WERE THE FIRST TIME AROUND, IN THE FIFTH CENTURY B.C." - THE NEW YORK TIMES ON THE EUMENIDES (2004)