Critics react to The Cunning Little Vixen
Thursday, 12 February, 2026
The Cunning Little Vixen is on nationwide tour form 31 January – 22 February 2026.
“INO turns challenge into advantage with this energetic, inventive, well-performed Janacek opera” - The Irish Times - Michael Dungan ★★★★
“Sophie Motley, the director (...) and her costume designer, Saileóg O’Halloran, create these characters in playful, vividly coloured costumes, including feathers, tails and, for the mosquito, a spectacular proboscis” - The Irish Times - Michael Dungan ★★★★
“The choreographer Emily Terndrup ensures that animal characterisation is further – and delightfully – enhanced through movement, above all in the comical twitching and stamp-stepping of the ill-fated hens” - The Irish Times - Michael Dungan ★★★★
“Maree Kearns’s simple but versatile set designs with beautiful, silhouette-style animations by the projection designer Neil O’Driscoll” - The Irish Times - Michael Dungan ★★★★
“conductor Charlotte Corderoy accompanies the storytelling with precise and energetic direction of her ensemble” - The Irish Times - Michael Dungan ★★★★
“Russell is able to put his firm and richly understated voice at the service of the role’s diverse emotional range” - The Irish Times - Michael Dungan ★★★★
“soprano Amber Norelai is a charismatic Little Vixen” - The Irish Times - Michael Dungan ★★★★
Read the full review from The Irish Times here.
“Musically, the production is a joy” - Irish Examiner - Alan O'Riordan ★★★★
“animated projections, and colourful, anthropomorphic costumes” - Irish Examiner - Alan O'Riordan ★★★★
“costumes by Saileog O’Halloran, lighting by Sarah Jane Sheils, projections by Neil O’Driscoll, and set by Maree Kearns (create) a storybook feeling, or perhaps one of a sophisticated animation, a la Wolfwalkers, from Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon” - Irish Examiner - Alan O'Riordan ★★★★
“Amber Norelai (...) with fellow soprano Jade Phoenix as the Fox are (...) most rewarding.” - Irish Examiner - Alan O'Riordan ★★★★
“Benjamin Russell’s acting and singing (...) make a compelling Forester” - Irish Examiner - Alan O'Riordan ★★★★
“James Platt’s bass is resounding as the Badger, the Priest, and the Poacher.” - Irish Examiner - Alan O'Riordan ★★★★
Read the full review from The Irish Examiner here.
“This is a perfectly-pitched and directed show, vividly alive, decorously sexed-up in Robert T. Jones’s old translation, neatly balancing the comedy with sudden bursts of violence.” - The Critic
“It’s a great performance by the slimmed-down orchestra of thirteen, Brian Dungan’s Stakhanovite percussion the bedrock of a virtuosic display, beautifully controlled and phrased by Ms Corderoy, just the right amount of rubato indulgence in the swoony bits, a huge variety through the scenes and a great grasp of the score’s spiritual qualities amid the cartoon knockabout.” - The Critic
“Irish National Opera, which combines the roles of full-scale company in Dublin with these semi-skimmed touring productions, keeps putting on impressive, likeable and unpretentious shows without making a terrible fuss” - The Critic
Read the full review from The Critic here
“plenty of fun” - The Journal of Music - Adrian Smith
“Saileóg O’Halloran’s colourful costumes were a visual treat and Sarah Jane Shields’ lighting scheme followed the narrative arc, bathing the stage with a luminous green hue near the end to symbolise renewal” - The Journal of Music - Adrian Smith
“elegantly designed” - The Journal of Music - Adrian Smith
“The action was well choreographed” - The Journal of Music - Adrian Smith
“Norelai as the Vixen sang well” - The Journal of Music - Adrian Smith
“smooth, rounded tone of Phoenix as her amorous Goldspur the Fox impressed” - The Journal of Music - Adrian Smith
“a melodious Russell” - The Journal of Music - Adrian Smith
“the INO players under Charlotte Corderoy brought great clarity to the lines and textures” - The Journal of Music - Adrian Smith
“this production was another successful instalment and continues to validate the company’s policy of nationwide touring with some of the less-often performed works from the operatic repertoire” - The Journal of Music - Adrian Smith
Read the full review from The Journal of Music here.
“charm, humour and an abundance of heart” - The Arts Review - Chris O'Rourke ★★★
“Conductor Charlotte Corderoy superbly marshalling Irish National Opera Orchestra” - The Arts Review - Chris O'Rourke ★★★
“Evocatively releasing the controlled, radiant energy of Janáček’s sprightly music, summoning up its emotional richness.” - The Arts Review - Chris O'Rourke ★★★