‘A fine Loge will always steal the show; James Schouten accomplished that and more in as complete a performance as I can recall on any stage, from Bayreuth to Bethnal Green. His palpable commitment was truly infectious—and surely a first-class invitation to consider words, music, and their meaning in a production that was text-driven in the fullest sense. (So many fall into the trap of thinking ‘text’ refers only to words—and in Wagner of all composers.)’

“James Schouten’s high baritone conveyed mine-contractor Ernest Romily’s haughty confidence.”

“The music by James Schouten - who also sings one of the two roles in this opera - is an eclectic mix of rock opera and modern musical theater styles while also bringing in some vocal distortion effects in certain sections. I could imagine musical theater students being really attracted to this music.”

“James Schouten’s handsome baritone proved another joy to hear as Bartolo.”

“James Schouten’s Angelotti was strong of voice and in fact rather stole the show from Cavaradossi at the start.”

“Cavalier’s Rock Tosca is basically one of the best ideas anyone has ever had. Big, sweaty, loud and brilliant, rock’s ego-heavy aesthetic is ideal for Puccini’s personality-driven thriller… The genius behind it all, as well as conducting from the keyboard and playing a fabulously nasty Scarpia (yes, all at the same time) is the multi-talented James Schouten. Schouten’s arrangements of Puccini stay melodically faithful to the original, sounding surprisingly natural on electric guitars (Nickolai Linnick, Felix Stickland) or with the glitzy touch of a saxophone, bolstered by rock star drumming from Matt Lack. As well as Schouten’s sneering antihero, we have a superb Tosca from Justine Viani, note-perfect in gorgeous Italian… if you already know and love Tosca, Schouten’s rock translation is an exuberant joy.”

“Schouten plays and sings, with his back to us, while Symonds-Joy, with absolute precision, lipsyncs his words so that his baritone seems to be flowing from her own lips as she continues to pour the gravel, its whispering fall providing a delicate percussion to the chromatic, tonal piano accompaniment.”