November 23, 2017
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Konserthus
“I doubt there were many, if any, who gave a moment’s thought to conductor Stutzmann’s gender as a significant factor in this performance. She oozes music and can physically express both the prophetic weight of the great tutti sections and the sensitivity of the heartfelt arias. It’s obvious she has the trust of the orchestra.
And that is precisely why it is especially satisfying to be able to celebrate Stutzmann’s success in Oslo the same week the orchestra’s former chief conductor, Mariss Jansons, is quoted in the British newspaper The Telegraph saying “women on the podium are not my cup of tea”. Jansons is in London this week to conduct his Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and to receive the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gold Medal. Leaving taste in tea to one side, Nathalie Stutzmann has a musical expressivity and a way with an orchestra which clearly gives results. Kristiansand really has something to look forward to.”
Aftenposten
October 12, 2017
Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis Orchestra Hall
“From the opening strains of Sergei Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony to the dramatic climax of Beethoven’s Fourth, I was consistently impressed with Nathalie Stutzmann’s interpretive decisions, graceful clarity of direction, and what seemed to my eyes and ears a strong chemistry with the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra.”
Pioneer Press
March 25, 2017
London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Royal Festival Hall
“Nathalie Stutzmann’s Impressive Conducting Debut with the LPO
It was fascinating to see Natalie Stutzmann (…) in the role of conductor. (…) Stutzmann’s conducting technique is exceptionally clear, and everything she touches emerges as incredibly musical. (…) Taken together, the Strauss and the Mozart Requiem make for a relatively short concert, but one that packed huge emotional punch (…). The joy provided when the music was ongoing [gave] the whole a fitting and poignant tribute to those who lost their lives and were injured last week. One looks forward to Stutzmann’s return to a London podium with some impatience.”
Seen and Heard International
“(…) there was no doubt as to the buzz that was engendered. I hope that Nathalie Stutzmann was signed up immediately for return visits to the London Philharmonic.”
Classical Source
“Nathalie Stutzmann, conducting with great insight, dedicated the evening to victims of the Westminster attack. It is hard to imagine a finer tribute.”
The Guardian
February 19-28, 2017
Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Opera, Monte-Carlo Opera / Wagner's Tannhäuser
“What a stroke of luck at the podium. At the head of Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra playing with Gaulish wit was contralto Nathalie Stutzmann. She is still singing, but has built up also a conductor’s career in recent years. And this Wagner debut was both powerful and blissful at the same time. As Stutzmann understands it from the very first notes, she gives this music a completely different, non-Teutonic sound. (…) Stutzmann gives the sound a delicate sensuality, with shimmering strings and voluptuous woodwinds. This Wagner sounds erotic without exaggeration, he dances and lures, puts on intensity and gentle seduction, loves bright colours and light rhythms. The German, dark, sluggish, which would have otherwise wiped the Bacchanale, is here gladly lacking. (…) This “Tannhäuser” sensation on the Mediterranean is perfect. And Bayreuth for 2019 is truly under pressure.”
Die Welt
“Here we can only praise Nathalie Stutzmann’s direction, perfect in style, color, dramatism, sense of Wagnerian architecture, superbly stretched by a careful beat that joyfully marks the instrumental detail of an orchestra that is obviously happy to be confronted with Wagner (…).”
L’Avant-Scène Opéra
“Let us immediately admire the truly enchanted wand of Nathalie Stutzmann, an extraordinary magician, who galvanizes her choirs, orchestra and soloists with an inspiring, exalting direction, wide with tragic breath, enthusiastic. Energetic and nuanced, according to the circumstances, her leadership cleverly shed light on the true nature of this transitional opera, openly announcing in the third act the “Impressionism” of Parsifal.”
Le Podcast Journal
“Finally, one will praise the exciting direction of Nathalie Stutzmann at the head of a Monte Carlo Philharmonic in Olympic form. From the entry of the strings without vibrato in the opening, the tone is set: one will be entitled to a reading “historically informed” about modern instruments, as Abbado, Rattle or Jansons in Beethoven did. Fortunately, this option will be defended without dogmatism, with a very concerted conception to better bring out the dialogues between stands and the alloys of new tones of the orchestra.”
ConcertoNet.com
“On the podium – the next surprise of the evening – Nathalie Stutzmann, famous as a contralto. She now conducts and takes Wagner’s music with elan, careful to the cohesion of large melodic arcs.”
Die Presse
“Nathalie Stutzmann, who returns for the second time to the Monte-Carlo Opera as conductor, is very much applauded. Attentive to the singers, yet she makes the orchestra more present than usual by an exceptional sound. Her conducting is lively and contrasted, more narrative than psychological. She manages to create well-differentiated atmospheres and to master the ensembles, avoiding the exaggerated Wagnerian pump. The brasses of Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra have a noble and full sound level, without ever forcing. The horns are remarkable in the hunting music at the end of the first act.”
Classicagenda
“Placed at the head of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the singer and conductor Nathalie Stutzmann is also an excellent surprise: she is the effective coordinator of the evening. Her precise reading, attentive to the singers, renders justice to the riches of a score of which she makes the slightest subtleties sound.”
Opera Online
“As for the direction of Nathalie Stutzmann, (…) it is of a constant and peaceful beauty, with a beautiful management of silences, themes (magnificent exchanges Elisabeth / Tannhäuser at the beginning of act II), a perfect integration of the harp and even the castanets! She seduces right from the Ouverture (…).”
ResMusica
“On the other hand we cannot praise enough the musical direction of Nathalie Stutzmann (…). Her work with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and the singers on the stage, even more precise than the one realized with her Elisir d’amore, does not encumber her feminine paw which becomes a valuable asset in her reading, admittedly softened, of the score: the famous opening nevertheless let us hear moving and brilliant sonorities with gleaming brass of majesty while preserving the elegance of these thematic entanglements taken up by the stands.”
Musicologie.org
“Good surprise, however, with the direction of Nathalie Stutzmann who was certainly not expected in this repertoire. Imposing energetic tempos, [she] leads her troops to port, without fear to sometimes unleash the full force of the orchestra, for example in the final of the second act.”
Forum Opéra
“In the pit Nathalie Stutzmann performs a very beautiful work at the head of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra. Beautiful energy and beautiful look with the set are noticeable.”
Bachtrack
“There is even a contralto, but in the pit: it is indeed Nathalie Stutzmann who directs the evening, with a beautiful mixture of enthusiasm, skill and sense of colors.”
La Libre Belgique
January 13, 2017
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Dublin National Concert Hall
“Two things impressed me with Stutzmann’s conception of Brahms’ Symphony no. 2 in D major after the break: her super sharp rhythmic delineation and these unexpected, unforeseen moments of shy tenderness which I have never witnessed from the NSO or in the context of this piece in any other recording. The latter happened twice, towards the end of the first movement and in the Adagio second movement. In both cases it was if I was hearing the work in a new way as I was transported by the exquisite delicacy of the moment. The second movement was the highlight for me with so much to delight in: from the stillness of the cellos’ melody or the long unbroken lines of music which Stutzmann lovingly unfurled basking in the movement’s warm harmonies. None of this takes away from the carefree insouciance of the pastoral third movement or the pulsating excitement of the finale which Stutzmann took at a rollicking fast pace. All in all, it was a thoroughly convincing Brahms 2 and what has all the hallmarks of an extremely fruitful partnership between Stutzmann and the NSO for the next few years.”
Bachtrack
“Stutzmann’s handling of Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Cello, a rare enough work here, was gloriously engaging.”
The Business Post