Oper Frankfurt - Bluthochzeit

“In this respect, the musical direction of the fabulously performing Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra under conductor Duncan Ward deserves enormous praise. Ward’s flexible interpretation, with its natural preference for the melodic line, turns the highly complex score into precisely the kind of appropriate music-making for a demanding audience—though not necessarily one familiar with contemporary music—that Wolfgang Fortner once mentioned in an interview.“ F.A.Z. 11.5.26

“Conductor Duncan Ward confidently leads the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, which is highly prominent both in the pit and behind the stage, and demonstrates an excellent feel for Fortner’s musical language, poised between stark drama and delicate transparency. Symphonically compact orchestral blocks dissolve into finely woven textures of sound, while the interplay between sung and spoken word creates a compelling tension.” Orpheus Magazine 11.5.26

“Under the direction of Duncan Ward, the orchestra offers a glimpse into the minds of the protagonists through crystal-clear instrumental interludes. The entanglements are etched out with razor-sharp contours. Eight percussionists participate in the performance. A Bolero rhythm, played by castanets, runs through the entire score like an ominous threat; it sounds less like folkloric local color than like an inescapable machinery of destruction.” Wiesbadener Kurier 11.5.26

"Duncan Ward at the podium of the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra is a brilliantly persuasive advocate for Fortner’s music. What pours out of the pit is simply overwhelming. Ward does let things erupt in the interludes and the introductions to the two acts, but as soon as human voices enter, the orchestra is scaled back, resulting in a remarkable clarity of text — especially for a 20th-century opera." Oper Aktuell 15.06.26