News

"Director Allison Grant’s Konzept is the true star of Vancouver Opera’s production of Cosi fan tutte. …Allison Grant’s direction is a revelation… this production is a triumph, it’s ideas lingering long after the instruments have been packed up and the lights put out."

J.H. Stape, Reviewvancouver

"Allison Grant directed this extremely elegant production…. The program listed no choreographer, so I assume that Grant was responsible for the success of some very complicated stage movements. The criss-crossing of the four principals in the final scene left the audience wondering – as indeed it should – how the four will pair off, thus capturing the irony at the heart of Mozart’s magnificent music"

J. F. Hulcoop, Metropolitan Opera News.

"… there is no tampering with the mise-en-scène or significant re-jigging of the historical context, but this very conventionality is made consistently enlightening. Director Grant understands how Mozart gradually probes the various layers of sham and self-deception within these apparently shallow characters. …the extraordinary depth and complexity of Mozart’s score is matched here in a solid, consistent production of real quality."

-David Gordon Duke, Vancouver Sun.

"…all of whom keep the farcical series of events moving swiftly under Allison Grant’s sharp direction.…Proof that this is a great show was heard Saturday evening as frequent loud laughter came forth in great waves, as did the cheers at the final curtain."

Richard Storm, Herald-Tribune

Stage director Allison Grant made it a lively and gripping experience. I dare to say it was near perfection, the best of many Flutes I’ve seen….This is the fifth production of Flute by this company. It is such a delight in every way I think it deserves a wider audience. HD-TV, anyone?

Rex Hearn, Palm Beach Arts Paper

"Allison Grant’s stage direction was such fun there wasn’t a moment of static or tedium."

June Lebell, Sarasota Observer

…a rock solid cast of singers and terrific stage direction by Allison Grant in her Sarasota debut.

Gayle Williams , Herald-Tribune Sarasota

“Season Opens with Brilliant, all encompassing Giovanni …and it’s this playful dramatic quality that director/choreographer Allison Grant so skillfully captures with this production which does total justice to both the playful and the dramatic. There’s never a dull moment…”

Daniel Ariaratnam, Kitchener Record

Director Allison Grant drew highly detailed acting from the cast in a traditional production originating from New Orleans Opera.

Christopher Hoile, Metropolitan Opera News

Among the trickiest scenes are those involving a stage full of sailors, with numbers like There is Nothin’ like a Dame and Bali Ha’i. Both were excellently staged (by choreographer Allison Grant) with the right balance of chaos and precision. The chorus really looked like sailors and obviously relished their moments

John Charles, Edmonton Sun

There is so much dance in this operetta that Allison Grant’s choreography shares equally in its success. Whether it is the many expected waltzes, the series of Pontevedrian national dances, the boisterous can-can of Act 3 or the hilarious routines for the men in “Ja das Studium der Weiber ist schwer”, her work is always imaginative and elegant.

Christopher Hoile, Stage-door.org.

This is a lavish production, with extensive set changes, and a large cast, which Deedrick and choreographer Allison Grant move along at an entertainingly breakneck speed.

Jan Jezioro, Buffalo News

I've seen dozens of plays at Stratford and a few on Broadway, but perhaps the best show I've ever seen, Bach at Leipzig, was staged at the Waterloo Entertainment Centre. {Artistic Director of Theatre Athena at The Waterloo Entertainment Centre and Director of Bach at Leipzig is Allison Grant}

Colin HunterKitchener Record Arts Columnist