HomePress Comments (June 1992)
The Independent
"..pace energy.. echoes ranging from Sondheim and Reich to African and Middle Eastern rhythms and cantillations.. many place where the score matches the situation memorably: Inanna's return to life or her radiant first entry with its cascading string scales. Roditi's vocal writing can be imaginative and sensitive. Sianed Jones sounded as though she relished Inanna's Share my Joy as much as I did. Performances were assured, the staging and costumes simple but effective and Richard Morris and Tony Coleman's buzzing Holy Flies are irresistible.. in the end as in the story vitality triumphs." - Stephen Johnson.
The Times
"..an ever changing melange of heavy chest voice and falsetto.. a score characterised by a vigorous near minimalism.. Roditi herself was a huskily eloquent tale spinner, a passionate narrator between some robustly written ensembles cunningly staged by Clare West.. Inanna was vibrantly sung by Sianed Jones." - Hilary Finch
I to I Magazine
"Jenni Roditi's opera Inanna is a powerful piece of music theatre. It is healing in the sense that it is cathartic, exploring the depths of the female psyche through the story of the Sumerian Goddess of heaven who descends to the Netherworld 'because it is there'..The story line depicts woman as hero; she who has the strength to descend to the depths of emotional experience..Lontano the well known music group provide excellent support. The music is eclectic varying between minimalist textures, jazz and primitive elemental sounds. Lyn Gambles' moving libretto is set to vocal lines which one minute recall of Tippett and the next of Gershwin. This is an archetypal work that communicates with brilliant intensity to heart and guts." - Brian Lee
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