Titus Engel

On La Traviata in Basel

Verdi at its best. Through providing panache, momentum and a driving rhythmic sense, Engel gets right to the heart of the composer’s intentions.
Opernwelt, Heinz W. Koch, 12/2017

… Engel, who drew muscular playing from the orchestra and paced each scene with complete security.
Opera Magazine, John Allison, December 2017

Musically the best is the Sinfonieorchester Basel conducted by Titus Engel. You know that it will be a great evening already after the prologue. Rarely can this work be heard so subtly yet meaningfully conducted, so precise and energetic but without being stereotypical.
NZZ, Christian Berzins, 29/10/2017

The conductor Titus Engel makes La Traviata in Basel an experience. Musically the production completely depends on the man with the baton in front of the Basel Symphony Orchestra.
FAZ, Lotte Thaler, 25/10/2017

The orchestra plays flawlessly, even brilliantly, under his baton [Titus Engel], the conductor gave clear indication of tempi, never letting the orchestra play too loudly and coaxed a springing string sound from the pit.
BaZ, Sigfried Schibli, 23/10/2017

On Betulia liberata in Frankfurt

Musically, it was admirably executed. The control and good humour of the conductor Titus Engel, who is an expert in new music, was a marvel. He coordinated the disparate sound sources, some of which were situated far away, with a relaxed and light hand.
Frankfurter Rundschau, Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich, June 2017

Titus Engel is actually a new music specialist, but his foray into Mozart was a great success. Everything sounded powerful, weighty and gripping, and it swung as if in a jazz club. Engel could rely on the excellent musicians of the Frankfurt Opern- und Museumsorchester and a well-composed soloist ensemble.
Deutschlandfunk, Jörn Florian Fuchs, June 2017

On the Klangrede 4 recording

What makes this production so extraordinary is not just the rich variety in the six compelling compositions, but also the uncompromising interpretation by the Zafraan Ensemble under the direction of Titus Engel, which explores sonic extremes and is captured on disc with a depth of focus.
Das Orchester, Stefan Drees, June 2017

On Infinite Now (Chaya Czernowin) in Mannheim

The fantastic work of conductor Titus Engel ensured an incredible intensity, propelling the performance with exact co-ordination and almost overflowing energy.
Die deutsche Bühne, Andreas Falentin, 28/5/17

On La ciudad de las mentiras (E. Mendoza / M. Rebstock) in Madrid

The conductor Titus Engel did an excellent job of coordinating the pit, stage and other musicians throughout the theatre.
Opera Magazine, Victoria Stapells, April 2017 

On Donnerstag by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Theater Basel, Performance of the year 2016:

In the pit, instead of the usual specialists, were the musicians of the Sinfonieorchester Basel. Titus Engel held everything together perfectly (as with “Greeting” in the foyer beforehand), bringing Stockhausen home, so to speak, from the colourful life.
Opernwelt August 2016, Albrecht Thiemann

The conductor Titus Engel, who played along with wonderful eccentricity in “Greeting,” created a masterpiece from this production. Everything was clear, nothing lumpy, and the lyrical emphasis always shone through. The dramatic power and visual effect of this enormous construction was never lost.
Die deutsche Bühne, 27/6/16

Titus Engel’s performance was a great and admirable achievement. He co-ordinated the production with precision and security, and immersed the whole theatre in Stockhausen’s sound-world – supported by the composer’s muse, sound director Kathinka Pasveer. A genuine musician, he brought out the music’s rarely shown sensuality and lyricism, but above all its dramatic power.
Concerti, 25/6/16

On Fantasio by Jacques Offenbach, Komische Oper Berlin:

The Orchestra of the Komische Oper under the Swiss conductor Titus Engel ensures that there is a refreshing contrast between brisk and ceremonial sounds, stiff curtsies and wistful waltzes. Sometimes there is even the suspicion of a catchy melody. Musically the best Offenbach – lively and sentimental, and with an entertaining bounce.
Berliner Morgenpost, 15/2/16

Passionate conducting by Titus Engel who silently sings all of the parts and captivates the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, the choir rehearsed by David Cavelius and the excellent team of soloists to produce this top performance.
NMZ, 15/2/16

Conductor Titus Engel throws himself into Offenbach’s sometimes sumptuously lyrical, sometimes glitteringly crisp kingdom of melodies with palpable enjoyment. He savours the instrumental finesse with the orchestra of the Komische Oper, which reacts flexibly, and emphasises both the prominent accents and subtle sound development.
Opernnetz.de, 15/02/2016

One is indeed in a class of his own: the conductor Titus Engel, who leads all the singers and actors, as well as the four e-instrumentalists of Ensemble Resonanz and the three jazz musicians of the ensemble Steamboat Switzerland by dint of Wertmüller’s breakneck rhythmic rapids, still managing to keep the actors in tow, dancing like a conducting dervish. Well done!
Die Deutsche Bühne, 20/9/15

Titus Engel, the conductor, also joins in, incidentally, complete with costume and mask. This might not be a new statement, but one rarely experiences such virtuosic and natural music. Instead of a baton, Engel holds a glow stick in his hand; he is like an adjudicator between the characters, the dervish and warlock himself.
Die Zeit, 24/9/15

This has to be one of the most exciting productions of the season in terms of dramatic performance and musicality (…).
omm.de, May 2014 (on G. P. Telemann's opera Orpheus at the Frankfurt Opera)

The young Swiss conductor Titus Engel animated the Teatro Real orchestra to achieve an astonishingly nuanced and developed richness of tone.
Opernwelt, March 2014