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The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Don Giovanni
The
Abduction from the Seraglio
Agrippina
La Voix Humaine
The Turn of the Screw
American
Trio: A Hand of Bridge (Barber)
A Game of Chance (Barab)
Trouble in Tahiti (Bernstein)
Mirandolina
The Barber of Seville
The Secret Marriage
Transparency of Val
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The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Opera Boston, February 2007
"A taut, edgy Opera Boston production... disturbingly up-to-date. The final tableau is chilling."
--Jeremy Eichler, Boston Globe
"It was a tighter, more absorbing production than the one in L.A., and it made its point more clearly."
--Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal
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Don Giovanni
Boston Baroque Orchestra, October 2006
"Helfrich made the most out of his limited materials. The first and most obvious challenge awaiting any director in Jordan Hall is the absence of an orchestra pit. The action last night therefore unfolded on all sides of the busy ensemble, and the director even made efficient use of a raised area behind the orchestra. But most of the sundry seductions, betrayals, and hedonistic adventures took place in the small space at the front of the stage. Dress was modern, sets were almost non-existent, and Helfrich showed little interest in high concepts or grand statements. He focused on sensibly choreographed human interactions and it worked to graceful effect."
--Jeremy Eichler, Boston Globe
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The
Abduction from the Seraglio
Opera Omaha, May 2006
“There
probably wasn't a Master Lock in the original 1782 production of Mozart's Abduction
from the Seraglio. There also probably wasn't a working vacuum cleaner with
an incredibly long extension cord or a checkpoint station that opened up into
a love shack. So why were all of those modern-day devices incorporated into a
new Opera Omaha production of the opera? Because the comic opera is a little funnier
that way. Also, the contemporary set and prop accessories make the 18th-century
opera a lot more relevant - and catchy - to a 21st-century crowd.”
--ASHLEY
HASSEBROEK, Omaha World-Herald
“The curtain went up… on a beautiful – and comical – set
of a Turkish palace. It and the costumes are… timeless, mixing some traditional
aspects of dress with more modern, possibly early 20th-century clothing. The juxtaposition
works.
…everyone is an outstanding actor as well as singer.”
--The Daily Record, Omaha
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Agrippina
Boston Baroque, October 2005
The
year in Arts and Entertainment: “The strongest entries this season came
from outside the city's two principal resident opera companies. Boston Baroque's
compelling and witty semi-staged performance of Handel's ''Agrippina" was
the clear winner, directed by Sam Helfrich, who also staged a worthy runner-up,
Berkshire Opera's ''L'Elisir d'Amore."
--Richard
Dyer, Boston Globe
“The
top opera production (of 2005) was surely Martin Pearlman and Boston Baroque with
a scintillating Agrippina, Handel’s ruthless political satire, which
Sam Helfrich "semi-staged" in Peter Sellars–style modern dress
and, more important, with Sellars-like attention to both words and music.”
--Lloyd Schwartz, Boston Phoenix
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La Voix Humaine
Glimmerglass Opera, July 2005
“The
most satisfying opera at Glimmerglass this summer was the smallest -- Poulenc's
"La Voix Humaine" (1959) performed by soprano Amy Burton… with
Sam Helfrich's direction, Ms. Burton played the scene with a subtle realism and
beauty of sound…”
-- Heidi Waleson, Wall Street Journal
“A
class act.”
-- Anne Midgette, New York Times
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The Turn of the Screw
Pittsburgh Opera, February 2005
“The
present show about children inhabited by evil spirits is an eerie musical and
theatrical experience not to be missed… Stage director Sam Helfrich has
emphasized the story's ambiguities, presenting several key moments from simultaneously
different points of view… He moves the action with frightening inevitability
to its tragic culmination.”
--Robert
Croan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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American
Trio: A Hand of Bridge (Barber)
A Game of Chance (Barab)
Trouble in Tahiti (Bernstein)
The Berkshire Opera Company, July 2004
“…polished, worthy, thoroughly entertaining, and in the case of the
Bernstein opera, quite moving… Sam Helfrich's direction kept the production
snappy without spilling over into caricature.”
-- The Springfield Republican
“…no
opera or musical theater lover should miss this all too rare opportunity to see
the genre-crossing Trouble In Tahiti.”
-- Curtain Up
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Mirandolina
Manhattan School of Music, April 2004
“…crisply
professional… The sets, staging, and music direction were all in tune with
the antic spirit of the piece, which surely sent everyone out of the theatre in
the best of moods.”
--Peter
Davis, New York Magazine
The Barber of Seville
Wolf Trap Opera, August 2003
“Brilliantly
directed… endlessly funny… For the comic effects, closely attuned
to a fine sense of timing, a lot of credit goes to director Sam Helfrich.”
--Joseph McLellan, The Washington Post
“The
young, nattily-costumed singers had great fun under the tasteful direction of
Sam Helfrich.”
--The Washington Times
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The Secret Marriage
Berkshire Opera Company, July 2003
“Stage
director Sam Helfrich has given Cimarosa’s lyric comedy a stylish production…
(he) has moved the action from 18th Century Bologna to what appears to be a large
city in Texas.”
--The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, MA)
“A
delightful show high on talent, artistry, and just plain unadulterated fun.”
--The Berkshire Record (Great Barrington, MA)
“Thoroughly
engaging and hilariously acted… the performance was full of fun from start
to finish.”
--The Republican (Springfield, MA)
“The
Berkshire Opera production…Updated to the 1980’s… Fluidly directed
by Sam Helfrich with a minimum of sets and props…”
--From
WBRK Radio (Pittsfield, MA)
--“Opera buffa is clearly meant to be fun, and the production… is
all that and more.”
--WAMC
Radio (Albany, NY)
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Transparency of Val, by Stephen Belber
New York premiere at La Tea Center for the Arts
“…inventive
stagecraft. [Sam Helfrich] has created a production of striking physicality.”
--Francine Russo, The Village Voice
“Belber
is well served by.. the playful, precise stagings of director Sam Helfrich. Helfrich
delights in larding a scene with humorous subtext, and his choreography is smart
and often hilarious… The school of summer theater could use more teachers
like him.”
--TIME OUT New York
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