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The Independent
'Thank heavens for little opera companies: never having heard a note of Georg Benda, I was curious to know how his Romeo and Juliet would come across, with its famously happy ending. This production had a sweetly homespun feel from the start... But from the moment Juliet opened her mouth, we might have been listening to a blend of Handel and early Mozart. This may have been because the accompanying band was the superb London Mozart Players, but it was principally the musical language: the textures and the interplay between voices and woodwind and strings were all instantly recognisable.
One only realised it wasn't Mozart as the drama was ratcheted up - Benda was a good composer, not a great one - but the denouement was delightful, with Juliet springing out of her tomb, Capulet slapping Romeo on the back, and hugs all round. Well, why not?'
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