Ahead of its imminent Portland remount, Jacqueline (released via the PENTATONE Oxingale Series) has received yet another stellar review, this time in Luister Magazine. Read the review below, or in the original Dutch here.
Woolf: Singing and playing as perfect dialogue
15 July 2025
It’s been a while since a modern opera pleasantly surprised me, but Luna Pearl Woolf has succeeded with Jacqueline from 2019. The title refers to cellist Jacqueline Du Pré and the work breaks down into four resounding movements: 1. Star Birth; 2. Super Nova; 3; Meteorite; 4. Impact. In a kaleidoscope of emotional moments from an eventful life in which her early fame from the age of twenty-six was accompanied by the multiple sclerosis that ate away at her bit by bit. It is a tragedy that effortlessly rivals Callas’.
Royce Vavrek’s beautifully crafted libretto effectively switches between emotions, artistic key moments, memories and the ‘why?’ question. In the process, Woolf provides brilliant accompaniment by one fulminant cello. All this in a feverish monologue, in which voice and instrument are turned inside out. No emotion is left untouched, no element of Du Pré’s art is skipped in the cello line. Had she been able to play it herself, she would have done no better than Matt Haimovitz. Soprano Marnie Breckenridge throws herself into the music with supreme focus and a surfeit of voice and expression. But the strength of the performance lies in the balance between spot-on technique and an unerring sense of dramatic rhythm in this tombola of emotions. Never does either go overboard, always the playing and singing are in perfect dialogue. Even better, it also lasts only an hour and twenty-five minutes on two CDs. That keeps it exciting right to the gripping end. So even within conventional music, a brilliant opera could still be composed that adds something to the repertoire. Gorgeously published by Pentatone [Oxingale Series], with a brilliant booklet revealing the plot, clear explanations, the libretto and powerful photos of the performance.
Luna Pearl Woolf 