Press Reviews
“Conductor Joseph Trafton lets Bartók's fantastic score blossom, brood, push, creep—and scream! A fantastic orchestral performance: courageous, explicit and not at all routinely wafting along. Even tricky horn solos—like the one before the opening of the fourth door—succeed splendidly, roundly. Trafton, the orchestra, and the staging melt together.”
— Arnö Lücker,
Opernwelt Magazine
“At the end of this premiere evening . . . one sits there somewhat amazed at what one has just heard . . . how Hagen's Music Director Joseph Trafton and the splendidly performing Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra turn it into a very different sounding, but very exciting Parsifal, is a small sensation. Trafton chooses fluid, but not necessarily fast tempi; the quiet basic character is preserved, yet the music moves forward. It can get cracking, but as soon as a singing voice enters, the orchestra pulls back the volume so that the voices are never covered up and even the text remains easily intelligible. And this change succeeds decidedly homogeneously—the music keeps flowing with great naturalness.”
— Stefan Schmöe,
Online Music Magazine
“And the music, which Joseph Trafton contributes with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Hagen, develops in these moments nothing less than a mesmerizing effect, which one simply cannot escape—also not the very poetic, intimate moments traced with fine orchestral tones. This is greatly moving indeed!”
— Christoph Schulte im Walde,
theater:pur Online Magazine
“GMD Joseph Trafton and the Philharmonic Orchestra Hagen in absolute top form and with Magdalena Anna Hofmann an Isolde who will be talked about in Hagen for a long time....It was also a musically significant evening. First and foremost, Hagen's GMD Joseph Trafton made this evening his big night. He conducted Wagner's score with power, feeling and infinite expression, also and especially in the details, allowing the Wagnerian towers of sound to fully emerge. It has been a long time since I have heard the prelude to the third act played with such urgency as last night in Hagen. Trafton led the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra to one of its best performances . . . GMD Joseph Trafton received highly deserved great applause from the enthusiastic audience for their performance.”
— Detlef Obens,
Das Opernmagazin Online
“Music Director Joseph Trafton lets the score rip from bar one in a perfect match. Hardly any other opera score is so physical, so direct and physically effective; even Puccini's other masterpieces do not come close to the elemental power of this music. Choral and rural folk music, exoticism, heartbreak and trombone-laden suspense, lovely violin swells and differentiated woodwind passages combine to create a colorful musical thriller that is incredibly well conducted and played with precision and passion by the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra.”
— Monika Willer,
Die Westfalenpost Newspaper
“Under the direction of Joseph Trafton, the Hagen Orchestra shines with symphonic verve in Tarkiainen's bass-heavy, grounded music, but shows equally fine feeling for Puccini's diaphanous colors. Both times, the chorus and the many small solo parts blend seamlessly into the whole, A great evening! If there were an award for opera houses outside the metropolises, Hagen would certainly be the first contender this season.”
— Uwe Schweikert,
Opernwelt Magazine