E R I C M E L E A R
Press
Roméo et Juliette
Wolf Trap Opera
July 2018
“On July 15, Eric Melear conducted a well-paced, often eloquently sculpted account of Gounod’s score….”
– Opera News, October 2018
“It was also well conducted — Eric Melear and the orchestra positioned onstage, behind a screen….”
– Anne Midgette, Washington Post, July 2018
A Little Night Music
Des Moines Metro Opera
July 2017
“[Director Matthew] Ozawa orchestrated the action with a light, affectionate touch, while conductor Eric Melear shaped Sondheim's gorgeous tunes and lilting meters appreciatively.”
– Chicago Tribune, July 2017
“In the pit, conductor Eric Melear drew nuanced, colorful playing from the orchestra. I never cease to marvel at Jonathan Tunick's flawless orchestration, the waltz scoring evoking a sinuous Ravelian sweep. Maestro Melear sometimes favored more deliberate tempi, but his collaboration with the singers and his identification with their phrasing was complete."
– Opera Today, July 2017
L'opera seria
Wolf Trap Opera
July 2016
“... [The singers] also sang the heck out of Gassmann's sparkling, witty score (pruned down from four hours to under three), supported firmly by Eric Melear's lithe, nuanced conducting and the orchestra's spirited playing."
– Opera News, October 2016
“In the pit, Eric Melear fended off innuendo from Porporina (who pointed out that an aging singer can always marry a conductor) and got a snappy performance from a chamber orchestra that, at one point, is called on to play out of tune.”
– Washington Post, July 2016
Ghosts of Versailles
Wolf Trap Opera
July 2015
"Eric Melear conducted with confidence and sensitivity, drawing highly-charged playing from the orchestra in a performance that felt like a new artistic milestone for Wolf Trap.”
– Opera Magazine (UK), September 2015
“Chances are that Wolf Trap Opera will be using its production of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles as a touchstone for a long time to come. The venture was satisfying on every level, going a step beyond the company's usual high standards. The performance on July 12 boasted a well-matched cast that operated on all cylinders, musical and theatrical; fluent, sensitive conducting by Eric Melear that drew finely honed orchestral playing; and a thoroughly inspired staging. “
– Opera News, October 2015
Schwabacher Summer Concerts
San Francisco Opera Merola Program
July 2014
"...the Schwabacher Summer Concert Orchestra was conducted by 2002 Merola alumnus Eric Melear, who began the concert with an overture (for La Cenerentola). Melear’s crisply precise reading of that overture, attentive to all of Rossini’s subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) use of dynamics, set the tone for the entire evening. This was a performance in which no aspect of craft was ever overlooked or bypassed, but the result of all that intense focus was some of the most highly engaging presentations of both warhorse events and comparative rarities. Each scene was registered with a memorability that induced a desire to experience the entire opera. Removed from context, the scene could still register clearly the nature of each of the characters and the web of relationships that connected them."
– SF Classical Music Examiner, July 18, 2014
"Speaking of the orchestra, it played very well under the baton of Eric Melear, associate music director of the Houston Grand Opera. Orchestral accompaniment was consistent and singer-supporting in the long and varied program of substantial excerpts...."
– San Francisco Classical Voice, July 22, 2014
A Little Night Music
Houston Grand Opera
March 2014
"Conducting the show, Eric Melear brings out all the lush and lavish aspects of the score, filling the Cullen Theater with Stephen Sondheim's elegant melodies. He and the cast attend to each other well, guaranteeing that every number is performed with precision, poise, and power."
– Broadway World, March 9, 2014
"Conductor Eric Melear gave Sondheim’s elegant score exactly the right touch, making this nearly three-hour performance a joy."
– Culture Map Houston, March 9, 2014
"Sondheim's brilliant, trickily complex score is particularly well served, expertly sung by a strong cast led by Elizabeth Futral and Chad Shelton, conducted with precision and feeling by Eric Melear and played with verve by the HGO orchestra."
– Houston Chronicle, March 11, 2014
"Under maestro Eric Melear, this classic show, though, sings to perfection."
– Houston Press, March 10, 2014
Il turco in Italia
Wolf Trap Opera
July 2010
“Conductor Eric Melear always allowed room for lyrical phrases to bloom: the a cappella portion of the Act II quintet, for example, unfolded beautifully. But above all, he emphasized momentum and sparkle. The performance went by in a flash.”
– Opera News Online, October, 2010
“Wolf Trap’s pit orchestra played professionally and well under the baton of Eric Melear.”
– Washington Times, July 17, 2010
“Conductor Eric Melear kept the score bubbling, bouncind and bounding along neatly.”
– The Baltimore Sun, July 12, 2010
Alcina
Wolf Trap Opera
July 2008
"'Alcina,' which opened Friday at the Barns at Wolf Trap, fits right into this 21st-century Handelian mold. The second of the Wolf Trap Opera Company's three productions at the Barns this summer, it has the good young singers, the general brightness, and respectable musical support from conductor Eric Melear and an instrumental ensemble, including an especially hardworking continuo trio of cello, theorbo and harpsichord at one side of the stage."
– Washington Post, July 14, 2008
“Conductor Eric Melear shapes the score with a winning combination of propulsion and lyricism, drawing eloquent playing from the orchestra.”
– The Baltimore Sun, July 15, 2008
Aida
Houston Grand Opera
May 2007
“Eric Melear conducted most musically, and you'd be hard pressed to hear the score better played anywhere.”
– The Dallas Morning News, May 7, 2007