It is not often in Verdi that the conductor deserves pride of place. Enrique Mazzola goes beyond the usual niceties of Italianate style and focuses on the tautness of the drama to an exceptional degree, breathtakingly intense in some of the quietest passages.

This streamed London Philharmonic concert was as thrilling to watch as it was to hear, which is saying something. Even the opening shots of players warming up were presented like a psychodrama, accompanied by the sort of subterranean rumble.

Und Enrique Mazzola lässt die Wiener so richtig derb-krachig, ja dreckig aufspielen. Chapeau!

It’s not that often you can say that a concert was pure joy, but the “French fancies” programme offered by Enrique Mazzola and the London Philharmonic Orchestra had all the ingredients to make it just that.

Mazzola’s interpretation of Sibelius’ Third Symphony that followed was simply exquisite: high-definition without being finicky, kept buoyant with a gentle sense of propulsive energy, fresh, unfolding with organic inevitability. There was a supple flow to his lightly dancing slow movement, and an immense sense of momentum generated as the finale approached its sonorous 
conclusion.

Eine echte Entdeckung gibt es im Festspielhaus auch im musikalischen Bereich: Dirigent Enrique Mazzola führt eindrucksvoll vor Ohren, wie genial diese Partitur ist, wie viel Schönheit und Tragik in ihr steckt. Man hört einen noblen, präzisen, schlanken, unsentimentalen Rossini, abseits jeder Klischees und Weichzeichnungen. So italienisch haben die famosen Wiener Symphoniker wohl schon lange nicht mehr geklungen.

Bel canto Schumann unzipped by Enrique Mazzola and the Philharmonia.

Mazzola was ever at the ready to support the vocal lines with shapely, refined orchestral playing that soared along with the singers, but also delivered firm dramatic urgency and tension when so required. This conductor is a discovery indeed.

The chemistry is everything, and if sparks fly from the lean, characterful playing of the London Philharmonic, astutely paced by conductor Enrique Mazzola to maximize the build-up towards utter pandemonium […]

Enrique Mazzola conducts the Orchester der Deutschen Oper masterfully. Under his baton the orchestra creates a miraculous and romantic wall of sound for the contrasting elements: day and night, belief and superstition, reality and madness.

And there is scintillating playing from the London Philharmonic, with eloquent cello and trumpet solos gracing orchestral interludes and crisp, faultless accompaniments provided for those on stage. In this repertoire Enrique Mazzola has few peers. He coaxes singers through awkward coloratura with a myriad deft tempo variations, fizzes through ensembles with a plethora of perky offbeat accents, and never once loses rapport with pit or stage. A conducting masterclass.

What’s the key to a successful bel canto opera? The right singers and a conductor who is able to breathe with them and who has a real taste for the genre. In this new production there was the best of both. The singers’ ensemble of the first cast – with the real bel canto star Laura Claycomb at the centre – was really successful, the conductor Enrique Mazzola – is a go-to choice for this repertoire…”
“…Enrique Mazzola – being one of few who can tune singers and musicians into the bel canto groove – has done fantastic work in achieving a cantabile and dolce sound from the Bolshoi’s orchestra.

Pour finir, la bonne surprise qu’on n’attendait pas, un Roméo et Juliette de Tchaïkovski dirigé de manière très lyrique sans sirop mélodramatique, absolument spectaculaire, dénué de vanité. On avait déjà remarqué la gestuelle d’Enrique Mazzola dans l’oratorio et la cantate, mais là il se donne entièrement, pour le plus grand plaisir de ceux qui étaient assis derrière l’orchestre et pouvaient donc le voir de face. A l’image de son interprétation, le chef est italien jusqu’au bout de la baguette, chaleureux, démonstratif, embrassant tout l’orchestre, incroyablement rapide dans sa gestique, précis et voire même ultra-précis, furtif et agile comme une chauve-souris, capable de fondre soudainement son regard et de projeter sa baguette tueuse vers tel musicien. Avec Enrique Mazzola, arrivé en septembre comme directeur musical, c’est l’esprit de Ferrari qui arrive à l’Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France ! Du rouge sang qui vous en met plein la vue, mais dessiné au scalpel, et qui vous emporte à toute allure. Les musiciens ont l’air d’adorer et le public en redemande. Ca va décoiffer!

The most musically satisfying performance comes from the pit, where Enrique Mazzola, conducting the superbly drilled London Philharmonic, keeps the music buoyant and on the move.

Mazzola has a brilliantly light Rossini sound and understands how to breathe with his singers, conducting with an ideal balance of precision and effervesence. He clearly understands Opera Buffa – the musicians of the Deutsche Oper always play well for a Maestro they like, and their playing on this occasion was first class.

Enrique Mazzola respecte à la perfection les savants équilibres, comme les tensions de la partition. Sans jamais verser dans la grandiloquence – ce serait ici une faute impardnnable, – il sait, à la tête d’un orchestre à la discipline exemplaire, tenir un discours d’une élévation constante, en lui conservant sa part d’émotion.

Au pupitre de l’Orchestre national de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon, le chef d’orchestre Enrique Mazzola n’a pas péché par excès de nuances, mais il a insufflé а ses musiciens une manière de feu sacré.