The Passenger
Houston Grand Opera

© David Clarke – Broadway World: “As an opera, The Passenger takes audiences on an unforgettable journey. This is mirrored in Johan Engels’ clever and highly mobile set design. The floor is lined with railroad tracks that are used to move large, boxcar-like pieces that allow for scenes to take place in different environs within Auschwitz. Additonally, the second storey of the set, representing the boat, has a rake that appears to be quite steep, which gives this immobile portion of the set the appearance of movement that one would expect from an ocean liner sailing across the sea.”

© Marcus Karl Maroney – ConcertoNet: “The staging is impressive. A mobile set, with various train tracks on the lower, Auschwitz level, and oppressive  railing on the upper cruise ship exposed the dichotomy of past and future. One level was a supposed pathway to a new future, but remained mostly static and barred in, the other was a dead end, but featured a steady stream of prisoners coming and going.”

© Sydney Boyd – girlattheopera: “A beautiful thing is not always easy to watch. (…) The visual is divine. Hats off to the creative team behind this production. (…) The stage is divided between the stark silver chrome of the ocean liner above the dark dismal reality of the concentration camp below, making the quick shifts in time smooth.”