Cosi fan tutte — Peninsula Music Festival, Door County, Wisconsin
"For the first time in its 56 year history, the Peninsula Music Festival staged a concert opera when it presented Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte" Saturday. In this performance...Stage Director Noel Koran and Stephen Alltop led. In my four years reviewing PMF concerts, this was one of the most enjoyable evenings I have ever witnessed... The relaxed atmosphere was a joy, and the audience responded with many ovations throughout the evening."
Marty Lash, Door County Advocate, 8/20/2008
La Cecchina, o sia La Buona Figliola — Teatro Piccinni, Bari, Italy
"...the direction of Noel Koran was of particular interest. Taking good advantage of minimal scenic resources, and employing a constant, airy luminosity, Koran maintained the opera’s “comic style” (with which Verdi was so impressed) at a carefully calibrated level....The applause after the most significant arias, and the repeated calls on stage for the singers, the conductor, and the stage director, attested to how much the public appreciated the performance."
Nicola Sbisŕ, La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, 9/14/2007
Cosi fan tutte — Northwestern University, Evanston
"The best staging of Cosi I have ever seen - in all areas - the stage pictures, the character interactions, the comedy, the choices. Thank you again."
Richard Boldrey, author of Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias, 5/2006
Little Women — Northwestern University, Evanston
"Northwestern University's Evanston campus offered a vast variety of
musical and theatrical performances, with several reasons to rejoice
this year. Most memorable was the Chicago area premiere of Mark Adamo's Little Women, performed at Cahn auditorium in May. Noel Koran, NU's director of opera, gave the audience a luminous production. It would be hard to imagine a professional show any more effective."
Dorothy Andries, The Pioneer Press, 12/2004
The Merry Wives of Windsor — The Actors' Theatre, Columbus
"There is just no way around the obvious fact that the production of The Merry Wives of Windsor in Schiller Park is one of the better efforts that company has staged in a long while....It is a mirth-provoking piece of theatre, as Actors' lively rendition amply proves....and the acting ensemble works together with brio and skill. Every cast member, without exception, seems to have caught the creative spark and been inspired by Koran's direction to give their utmost on the stage."
Mark Passerello, Innerart, 8/2003
The Tempest (Director/Set Designer) — The Actors' Theatre, Columbus
"...If Actors' production of The Tempest is representative of what we can expect from new Artistic Director Noel Koran, then exciting times are ahead. There's a new sheriff in town, and what he's given us here is a uniformly strong cast with consistent energy... The show contains the strongest incidental music since 1993's The Winter's Tale... Koran's set design of rocks and levels and mesh is not only functional, but beautiful in its own right... The Tempest is the most consistently strong and entertaining Shakespeare production I've seen in Schiller Park in years."
Dennis Thompson, Worthington News, 8/9/2001
"The Actors' Theatre production is a masterpiece of technical artistry wedded to skillful acting. The direction and set design by Noel Koran give the play great vitality and a mystical aura. The picturesque costumes and Koran's graceful direction make the show a marvel to behold, while the soundtrack underscores several scenes to a great effect."
Doug Hoehn, Columbus Alive, 8/2/2001
"Artistic Director Noel Koran began his first season in June with a well-acted production of Twelfth Night. Koran's magical production of The Tempest, which opened Friday in Schiller Park, is even better. Koran's imaginative direction -- which includes several coups de theater -- makes the production a delight."
Michael Grossberg, Columbus Dispatch, 7/29/2001
Much Ado About Nothing — The Actors' Theatre, Columbus
"From inspired casting and consistently fine acting to elegant Edwardian costumes and an Italian-villa setting, this is the best Shakespearean production at Actors' in years. Under opera pro Noel Koran's brisk direction the well-trained ensemble finds farcical humor and genuine ardor in the Bard's adroitly balanced tale of love and deception, malice and mirth."
Michael Grossberg, Columbus Dispatch, 8/2/2000
The Magic Flute — Ohio State University, Columbus
"The work is a challenge for any opera company. That challenge was surprisingly well met last night in Weigel Auditorium by students of the Ohio State University School of Music led by Stage Director Noel Koran."
Ralph O'Dette, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 5/6/2000
Savitri & The Wandering Scholar — Ohio State University, Columbus
"Noel Koran, producer/director, and Marshall Haddock, conductor, guided student singers, instrumentalists and production personnel through Savitri and The Wandering Scholar with commendable results."
Ralph O'Dette, Columbus Dispatch, 1/23/1999
Cosi fan tutte (Director/Set Designer) — Ohio State University, Columbus
"Noel Koran, director of OSU's Opera/Music Theater, and Marshall Haddock, OSU Symphony conductor, provided strong leadership. Stage action was simple and natural. Tempos were well judged, and balance between singers and orchestra was far more sensitive than one has heard in other venues. The set and costumes were beautiful and appropriate."
Ralph O'Dette, Columbus Dispatch, 5/9/1998.
