“(…) the director focuses on the relationship drama. With her physical approach, she makes self-sufficient happiness and jealousy, anger and timid compassion directly tangible. (…) At the end of the oppressive evening, Orlando sends himself into the unchangeable, the reality principle has triumphed. Happiness, of course, feels different.”

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 29.05.12, Jörg Huber

“The Orlando premiere grabs with strong play and lavishly rich music. Nina von Essen’s huge carousel not only heightens the fickleness of emotions to a labyrinthine confusion with its turns. (…) A grandiose throw (…) that makes the people on stage as timeless as Birgit Künzler’s costumes.”

Neue Luzerner Zeitung/Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, 27.5.12, Urs Mattenberger

“Who exactly loves whom at what time and why, and who is unhappy because the beloved is currently in love with someone else, is deliberately veiled and varied by director Höckmayr. To do this, she doesn’t simply let the love emotions bubble up in either angry or plaintive bravura, but also lets them play out in a tangible way. The director has created a kind of laboratory arrangement of the love turmoil – (…) it is also never boring thanks to her character direction and an agile ensemble, as was shown at the premiere on Friday evening.”

Südostschweiz am Sonntag, 27.05.12, Reinmar Wagner

“The director of Handel’s love confusion/love madness opera ORLANDO, Eva-Maria Höckmayr, together with set designer Nina von Essen, has made almost congenial use of the metaphor of the love merry-go-round to tell the ‘Aspects of love’ that Handel has packed into such beautiful music.”

Oper aktuell, 26.5.12, Kaspar Sannemann