
As Conductor:
The orchestra presented itself in top form under the direction of David Todd. The young Briton has been Kapellmeister at the Mainfranken Theater since the beginning of the year and surprises me by conducting full of colour and esprit, seeming to savour every bar, every note and infecting the orchestra as much as the singers on stage with his joy in the score. He sets sporting tempos without rushing, and finds the necessary bel canto melt in the right places without overwhelming the audience. This pleased the public, who at the end of the evening applauded his performance as much as the singers on stage.
Jochen Rüth, Deropernfreund.de
As Pianist:
David Todd, Studienleiter and Kapellmeister of the Mainfranken Theater, accompanied the premiere at the piano. There is no question that the Briton must have worked through days and nights to work out the elaborate motifs, their interweavings, the many subtleties, the sombre as well as the fantastic moments of the composition, in order to make it stage-ready for the piano in the short time available. After the premiere, many a visitor remarked that the evening might have been even better with a piano than with an orchestra…
Michaela Schneider, Main-Echo
David Todd at the piano gave everything to replace [the orchestra] and was rightly celebrated for it…he brought out the driving motoric of the music, the repetitions, and emphasised the almost mechanistic principle of the composition. He was also able to realise the great expansions towards the end of the act…
Bernd Zegowitz, Die Deutsche Bühne
David Todd…succeeded in filling the delicate piano score with vital life, even making it almost possible to experience the orchestral reduction as a transcription through the momentum of the keys.
Gerhard R. Koch, Opernwelt
…Kapellmeister David Todd, who bravely and confidently waded through the extremely difficult piano score.
Mathias Wiedemann, Mainpost
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