both appealing and frequently impressive...Somewhere between Puccini and Britten at their most intimate, it isn't wildly original, but it's entirely listenable...Elizabeth Futral's clear but well-shaded soprano suits Laura's quietly anguished lyricism, while baritone Nathan Gunn, a younger, less world-weary Alec than Trevor Howard, projects sturdy charm throughout an almost tenorial range.

The opera's grand dimensions and intimate manner are a challenge for anyone playing the lead characters...Futral achieves a degree of emotional specificity that makes her one of the best singing actresses around. Nathan Gunn matches her with a baritone that scales down to practically nothing - important in a love story in which the man is the needier of the two.

[Previn] deploys his orchestral forces with considerable tact. The music is lyrical, romantically bittersweet and often luxurious, but it's rarely overpowering...Still, Previn's Laura and Alec are more able to express their emotions than Coward's originals were...Futral is a virtuoso singer with a gorgeous tone...but she never shows off, maintaining a strong sense of Laura's repressed and self-critical character...warmly recommended to those interested in contemporary but accessible opera.

here are plenty of echoes of Samuel Barber – both Knoxville and Vanessa come to mind. He mercifully avoids referring to Rachmaninov, though the melodic contours of the principal love theme are reminiscent of its counterpart in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet...The performance...is conducted with considerable flair by Patrick Summers, while Nathan Gunn and Elizabeth Futral are superb as the sorrowing lovers.

Elizabeth Futral and Nathan Gunn sing lustily in Celia Johnson’s and Trevor Howard’s roles.

Previn doesn’t achieve pastiche Rachmaninov, but the older composer’s ghost is audible in the opera, along with little twists of Bernstein and Hollywood scores of the 1940s. The score is neither showy nor outstandingly imaginative; but then, the same is true of Coward’s characters. Captured on CD, this intimate piece proves fascinating, largely enjoyable, and eventually touching.

This is a commendably sober, faithful retelling. Previn’s defiantly tonal score sounds exactly as you’d imagine it would – an amalgam of all the composers who he’s remembered for conducting well...Previn’s vocal writing is gracious, the orchestra is handled brilliantly, and Caird’s text is unfussy and elegant. This is an opera which it’s very hard to dislike, and it’s easy to imagine a good production packing a powerful emotional punch.