A. Dvoràk Rusalka
[...] A significant part of the credit goes firstly to the musicians of the Reims Opera orchestra and to the finely crafted direction of Cyril Englebert who, by working with them season after season, is in the Champagne pit like in your own garden. Trained at the Liège conservatory and seasoned under the auspices of the Royal Opera of Wallonia, this young Belgian conductor had already impressed us favorably in Reims in Traviata. By taking on the score of Rusalka, he further asserts himself as a great opera conductor and finds, in the effusions of Dvorak's music, the material that ideally suits the wild lyricism of his direction.
Tinted with Wagnerism where popular melodies borrowed from Czech folklore are mixed, Rusalka gives pride of place to large orchestral areas which allow the conductor to deploy an ample beat and to allow several sound planes to be superimposed which reveal all the know-how of 'Antonin Dvorak in terms of orchestration. Observing Cyril Englebert conducting this music says a lot about the trust he managed to build with the orchestra: his gesture is never jerky or aggressive. With a flexible but precise arm, he describes large arabesques over the pit to which each desk responds in the second with very Prussian rigor. Nothing stiff or stilted, however, in this Slavic music which flows like living water from a spring. The Maestro is indeed second to none in stretching out certain tempi without ever stretching the melody or in accompanying the molten lava of the orchestra with a crescendo when he expresses the amorous pangs of the beautiful undine rejected by her prince.
In the pit, the musicians of the Reims Opera orchestra are in perfect harmony with the conductor: happy to play together and galvanized by Cyril Englebert who knows how to get the best out of them, they are keen to offer the Reims audience a musically idiomatic Rusalka, with feverish lyricism. Accustomed to composing orchestral music (the score of the New World Symphony – his 9th symphony – precedes that of Rusalka by eight years), Dvorak takes care of each music stand and gives all categories of instruments opportunities to shine. From the opening, the strings sound accurately and silky, helping to establish the dreamlike atmosphere that will permeate the entire performance. Winds and brass are in unison, precise without being too stiff. As a prelude to the invocation to the moon, spidery harp arpeggios make magical tintinnabulations rise from the orchestra but it is above all the percussion, sonorous without being thunderous, which impresses with its rigor and musicality.
Nicolas Le Clere, Première Loge
G. Verdi Traviata
[...] From the first spidery chords of the prelude, there is no doubt that there is indeed a conductor in the pit and we can only be seduced by the work undertaken by Cyril Englebert with the musicians of the orchestra of the Reims opera house. Although the forays of this young Belgian conductor into the belcantist repertoire have been rare, it must be recognized that he seems very familiar with the Verdian style which he conducts with a meticulous baton and an elegant gesture. Very attentive to the stage, the Maestro knows how to accompany the singers with attention and weaves under their voices a musical carpet that is silky and nervous at the same time, this Traviata not being burdened with too languid tempi or too ample breathing.
Nicolas Le Clere, Première Loge
The young Belgian conductor Cyril Englebert combines precision and passion, the Reims Opera Orchestra putting his sense of nuance at the service of the colors of the score. At the salutes, the enthusiasm of the public provokes numerous reminders.
Bruno Villien, Opera Magazine
G. Bizet Carmen
To develop this concept coherently, it was necessary to have a conductor capable of returning to the original spirit of the work in its opera-comic side, with a lightness of touch and transparency worthy of the best French school of music. orchestra direction.
Cyril Englebert was the man for the job. Even better than José Miguel Pérez-Sierra during the creation, the young Belgian conductor knew how to find the right tone, dynamic without heaviness, lively without abruptness, and let Bizet's music live and breathe as we rarely hear it: the The theme of destiny receives its right color, without excessive heaviness, and the entr'actes, particularly that of the fourth act, are remarkable for their evocative finesse. Always “with” his singers and choristers whom he covers with his gestures, he is an essential link in the success of this premiere morning, obtaining perfectly appropriate cohesion and colors from the Reims Opera Orchestra.
G. Verdi Rigoletto
[...] The orchestra's commitment and attention to the lively and inspired conduct of Cyril Englebert will be remembered. Her concern for song is constant and the tempos adopted lend the characters expected to each sequence, from the restraint in the Gilda's aria to the dramatic overtones of the storm that dominates the last scene. The soloists (cello and oboe in particular) are remarkable.
Yvan Beuvard, forumopera.com
The Reims opera orchestra, under the attentive baton of Cyril Englebert, was also able to underline the beauties of the score while ensuring the dramatic balance of the troops present. A great start to a season that heralds two more operas by Verdi, as well as a theme devoted to violence against women.
C. Gounod Faust
[...] Especially since it allowed the audience to enjoy the sonority of Reims Opera orchestra under the baton of Cyril Englebert, a Belgian conductor practically unknown in France. It was the young conductor and the guest orchestra who undoubtedly leaded the opera evening. Gounod's music has found serenity, sound and sensitivity, phrased with great elegance, ruptures of majestic rhythms, exquisite melodies. The brass, woods and strings combined or separated by desks embody, step by step, the many aspects of the characters in this fantastic story. Of course, there were the orchestral explosions required by the score, but they were themselves conducted and performed by percussions with mastery and a great awareness of the possibilities of the concert hall. In the end, the orchestra gave a version that reflects the truth desired by the composer without harming the respect of the singers' work.. [...]
Jaume Estapa, operaactual.com
[…] And we have only good things to say about Reims Opera Orchestra under the baton of Cyril Englebert, very good technician, precise and lyrical at the same time.
Jacques Bonnaure, Opéra Magazine n°145
[….]The musical direction of the Belgian conductor Cyril Englebert, already present in Reims, placed at the head of the Reims Opera Orchestra, contributes a lot to the success of the performance. Particularly attentive to the stage and the singers, he does not forget to give all its meaning to Gounod’s music, with an expressive sensitivity always supported and requirements that lead the orchestra to express the best of its abilities […]
José Pons, Olyrix.com
[…] Accurate and effective, the musical conducting of Cyril Englebert also renders justice to one of the most beautiful orchestral scores of the French lyric repertoire.
D.F.E. Auber Manon Lescaut
[…] ORW’s orchestra shows us that it just needs a real conductor to animate it healthy. And here, the work of Cyril Englebert is exciting. [...] Bright and precise, vigorous and dynamic, his conducting abilities are a model of style and efficiency. It is him who ensures the balance of the performance,[…]
[…] We must not forget the orchestration, so delicate that it is barely noticeable and yet poses fearsome problems of cohesion, impeccably solved, and with panache, by Cyril Englebert, Young Belgian conductor well known by the ORW since, inter alia, perfectly conducted Offenbach operettas.[…]
Bruno Peeters , Crescendo magazine
[…] The orchestral aspect of this performance was in the excellent hands of the young conductor Cyril Englebert. Under his direction, the orchestra played passionately but without ever becoming sloppy or imprecise.
[…] The success of the evening is also due to Cyril Englebert. In a more diversified work than the Offenbach Operettas he had been entrusted with so far, including a beautiful overture and several orchestral interludes, the young belgian conductor shows not only a perfect mastery but also a great intelligence. His interpretation is refined, finely colored, and the orchestra of the ORW follows him with obvious confidence. […]
Nicolas Blanmont, La Libre Belgique
[…] Fortunately, the Cyril Englebert leading lends prestige to the music. Convinced of its qualities, the conductor confers momentum, precision and lightness on it,. Strings could sparkle more but the woods exhale all their flavors thanks to the sharpness of the setting up.[…]
Sébastien Foucart, Concerto.net
Gaetano Donizetti Don Pasquale
The Lorraine National Orchestra [...] is reactive to the leading of Cyril Englebert: the music sparkles, dances, is a dream as expected. Let's mention as so many the introduction then support of Norina's cavatina ; dreamy, poetic, enthousiastic, performance, as well as the commonplace of the nocturne and the finale.
Albert Dacheux, Classiquenews.com
It gives a magnificent show [...]. Impression strengthened by Cyril Englebert's dynamic and flamboyant musical direction. The young Belgian conductor takes hold of the lively tempi, getting the most out of the Lorraine National Orchestra.
Opéra magazine n°135
Cyril Englebert, a young Belgian conductor, whose lyrical experience is obvious, leads the Lorraine National Orchestra with talent, animating with taste this sparkling music, but also knowing how to find the right colors, with a constant attention for the singing of soloists.
Yvan Beuvard, forumopera.com
The leading of Cyril Englebert was in any case proved effective for a great repertoire opus that we have had pleasure to discover under new aspects.
Resmusica.com
Ralph Benatsky L'Auberge du cheval blanc
The orchestra takes the aesthetic on and easily switches from Viennese lightness to emphatic Tyrolean songs or music-hall rhythms. Cyril Englebert, already appreciated in a recent Don Pasquale, proves all his qualities.
Yvan Beuvard, forumopera.com
The Lorraine National Orchestra, under the efficient baton of Cyril Englebert, plays, in the best sense of the word, with these Viennese music, Tyrolean songs (with a solo accordion on stage) and these balanced rhythms of musical comedy.
Albert Dacheux, Classiquenews.com
Jacques Offenbach La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein
[…] Under the Cyril Englebert’s baton, the Liege Royal Opera Orchestra sounds sparkling as needed.. […]
Catherien Scholler, Opéra Magazine
[…] Like "Belle Helene" last year, Cyril Englebert conducts Offenbach with verve but without heaviness. […]
Nicolas Blanmont, La Libre Belgique
Jacques Offenbach Orphée aux Enfers
[...]Cyril Englebert emphasizes the subtle delicateness of Offenbach's orchestration, who deserves his nickname "Mozart des Champs-Elysées". […]
Bruno Peeters , Crescendo Magazine
[…] Face to face with the whims of all this little world, Cyril Englebert skillfully restores the finesse and elegance of this music. […]
Sébastien Foucart, Concerto.net
[…] The cast richness, the sumptuous sets, the precise vocal interpretations without the slightest weakness and, above all, an orchestra conducted with finesse and a mischievous intelligence by a true partner of the comedy, Cyril Englebert, are there to delight us and make us pass the year stage. […]
Arts et lettres
Jacques Offenbach Belle Hélène
[…] The success of this “Belle Helene” owes him a lot. Not only because he chose the complete version established by the musicologist Jean-Christophe Keck, but also for the combination of rigor and fluidity with which he holds the evening, and this ability also to not weigh the subject down by underlining some effects. Englebert is not far away from the Minkowski tempi and seems to be appreciated by the orchestra. […]
Nicolas Blanmont, La Libre Belgique