LEE REYNOLDS
CONDUCTOR
Lee Reynolds is an RPS Award-winning, Sky Arts Award-winning and Critics Circle Award-winning conductor with, a reputation for bringing intensity and exceptional detail to his performances.
Alongside the production of Ravel L'enfant et les sortilèges with VOPERA and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, current and recent highlights include his house début conducting Kurt Weill Street Scene at the Opéra de Monte Carlo, a new production of Carmen at Opera Holland Park, broadcast concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra and three recordings on LSO Live, performances with the NYO, La bohème with Welsh National Opera, and a recording of British Horn Concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Ben Goldscheider. Other highlights include recording projects with the RSNO and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; a world premiere at Glyndebourne, performances with the Southbank Sinfonia, the Dublin Concert Orchestra, the Opera North Academy, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra in Kraków, the London Concert Orchestra, and conducting a new production of Eugene Onegin with Nederlandse Reisopera.
Previous engagements include Britten and Wagner in the new Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House, Verdi Requiem at the Dartington International Festival, and Stravinsky and Britten with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
At Glyndebourne, Lee has conducted four world premières in studio productions, on the mainstage and on the Glyndebourne Tour. With the LSO, Lee added to a long list of performances and broadcasts by making his Barbican season debut with the orchestra in Autumn 2021, and will return in 2023. His 2015 recording of Chopin Piano Concerto No 2 with Adolfo Barabino has been lauded in the international press, and a recording with Joshua Bell of Theodora, a new work by American composer Joshua Ralph, has recently been released.
Alongside the production of Ravel L'enfant et les sortilèges with VOPERA and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, current and recent highlights include his house début conducting Kurt Weill Street Scene at the Opéra de Monte Carlo, a new production of Carmen at Opera Holland Park, broadcast concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra and three recordings on LSO Live, performances with the NYO, La bohème with Welsh National Opera, and a recording of British Horn Concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Ben Goldscheider. Other highlights include recording projects with the RSNO and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; a world premiere at Glyndebourne, performances with the Southbank Sinfonia, the Dublin Concert Orchestra, the Opera North Academy, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra in Kraków, the London Concert Orchestra, and conducting a new production of Eugene Onegin with Nederlandse Reisopera.
Previous engagements include Britten and Wagner in the new Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House, Verdi Requiem at the Dartington International Festival, and Stravinsky and Britten with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
At Glyndebourne, Lee has conducted four world premières in studio productions, on the mainstage and on the Glyndebourne Tour. With the LSO, Lee added to a long list of performances and broadcasts by making his Barbican season debut with the orchestra in Autumn 2021, and will return in 2023. His 2015 recording of Chopin Piano Concerto No 2 with Adolfo Barabino has been lauded in the international press, and a recording with Joshua Bell of Theodora, a new work by American composer Joshua Ralph, has recently been released.
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REVIEWS
BIZET: Carmen
Opera Holland Park
June 2022
... the whole thing is vividly underscored by the City of London Sinfonia under Lee Reynolds: the strings give it the full La Scala, with plenty of taut drama and crisp pacing — The Telegraph
... conductor Lee Reynolds drives the action through the score. Throughout the evening, Reynolds positively tingled with delight, keeping the whole piece aloft with his exuberant direction – and the City of London Sinfonia responded in glorious Technicolor — Bachtrack
Also sparkling, in the pit, is the City of London Sinfonia, ripping into Bizet's rocket-launcher overture under the baton of Lee Reynolds. This is Reynolds's OHP debut, and a very exciting one too... he draws from the orchestra colours so bright you need sunglasses. I cannot wait to see and hear more of this conductor. He has a busy schedule ahead, so keep your eyes peeled — Culture Whisper
In the pit, Lee Reynolds and the City of London Sinfonia seemed to relish the pace and sense of detail that this approach to Bizet's music brought. Reynolds kept the action pacey, but always with a fine ear for the complexities of Bizet's orchestrations. Balance was always good; with a largely youthful cast and several role debuts, Reynolds managed to be highly supportive, yet drawing plenty of characterful playing and thus giving plenty to enjoy — Planet Hugill
RAVEL: L'enfant et les sortilèges
VOPERA, London Philharmonic Orchestra
November 2020
The production's musical values are impeccable... Lee Reynolds conducts his own chamber orchestration for 27 London Philharmonic players with tremendous clarity and fizz. And the singing is uniformly ravishing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Richard Morrison, The Times
Musically it's first rate. Reynolds' downscaled orchestration preserves the clarity and glitter to the score... and the LPO delivers it superbly.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Andrew Clements, The Guardian
Musically it's top-notch. Conductor Lee Reynolds has worked wonders to preserve the colours of Ravel's score in his reduced orchestration, and the LPO balance the zesty, matter-of-fact visuals with the sensuous enjoyment of their playing
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Alexandra Coghlan, The Spectator, November 2020
WEILL: Street Scene
Opéra de Monte Carlo
February 2020
The young English conductor Lee Reynolds ... is another pillar of this magnificent show; he brings the most vital and compelling direction, thanks to a control of the stage that has no hesitation, and a lyrical breath that pulls the heartstrings in the most poignant and intimate moments, helping to musically oil a truly perfect theatrical machine ... one of the best evenings of the last few years on the stage of the Monte Carlo Opera.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Connessi all'Opera, Italy
The musical direction of the young English conductor Lee Reynolds, full of elegance, playfulness and punch, shows his personality in the orchestra pit. He manages to blow away the classico-romantic cobwebs, with impeccable brass solos and bewitching strings — Olyrix, France
... the young British conductor Lee Reynolds is a ball of devilish energy, conducting this vibrant music with efficiency and vivacity — Opera Online
CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No 2
(Claudio Records)
London Symphony Orchestra, Adolfo Barabino
... this is bel canto playing; it is quiet and sweet and humble, but always songful... the wind soloists are wonderful, as you would expect from this orchestra... This has to join the greatest Chopin recordings ever made.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The American Record Guide, January 2016
... it is so natural and so convincing that I do not think I have ever heard a technically better recording of a concerto for piano and orchestra... credit must naturally be extended to the conductor, Lee Reynolds... Make no mistake, this is an outstanding recording in every way.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Musical Opinion, October-December 2015