“The orchestra, led by Festival Opera regular Robert Mollicone, deftly supported all the action, enriching the vocal drama with the rich coloration of Bizet’s score.”

— San Francisco Classical Voice

“[T]he musical success of San Jose’s Silent Night began in the orchestra pit with the finely-calibrated leadership of Assistant Conductor Robert Mollicone. A truly “cinematic” score—replete with that genre’s abrupt shifts in style and affect—requires vigorous musical direction. Mollicone’s supple gesture coaxed a varied palate of colors from the orchestra, and achieved a fullness in the string sound that would have been respectable for an ensemble fifty percent larger…Mollicone’s orchestra rose beautifully to Puts’ challenge.”

— Parterre Box

“…The general air of Brechtian artifice finds room for tenderness and genuine emotion. And at the opening, a stellar cast executed it all superbly under the pointed musical leadership of conductor Robert Mollicone.”

— San Francisco Chronicle