“[Conlon] has, while leading L.A. Opera for 20 seasons (half the company’s existence), served as an advocate for the core operatic repertory — notably Mozart, Verdi and Wagner — much of it little heard in our late-blooming former operatic desert. He has also been an international champion of his “recovered voices” project, salvaging the neglected operas of composers in the first half of the 20th century who were silenced by Nazi Germany. “The Magic Flute,” one of the world’s two or three most popular operas, needs no such patronage… Among his accomplishments in L.A. has been to make the opera’s orchestra capable of producing just such velvety, flowing Mozart, as well as terse, tight theater. Here, Conlon offers a lesson in the kind of leadership generally lacking in modern society, by simultaneously staying out of the way yet being at the essential center of things. Depth here is not announced, but the care of phrasing implies that there is more to everything Mozart is saying than first meets the ear, that, under it all, the “Magic Flute” is not fantasy but a spiritual lesson in morality.” – The Los Angeles Times
“No musician in our time has given more of himself to this city than Conlon through his conducting… And what ravishing results Conlon managed to get out of this score after exactly a half-century of conducting it. His Overture came out of the gate at a strong Allegro Moderato clip, yet it was also tempered with an ever-so-slight touch of elegant melancholy that also found its way into a number of the arias…” – Musical America
“Through it all, Maestro Conlon presided with his usual calm control in the pit, synchronizing a dizzying array of musical, visual and dramatic elements without apparent strain. The orchestra may still be the weak link at LA Opera, sounding a bit underpowered at times, but the musicians played with professionalism and commitment for their retiring leader. Ingenious, adventurous and forward-looking, this entertaining and nourishing Magic Flute seemed the perfect way to bring down the curtain on the distinguished Conlon era.” – San Francisco Classical Voice
“Musically, this second Flute revival is strong but bittersweet. It marks the final opera James Conlon will conduct before retiring from LA Opera after twenty years. I consider the fourteen years (2006-2019) of the Conlon-Domingo team to be LA Opera’s golden age… ” – Classical Voice
