Reviews

The Rape of Lucretia - Royal Opera House - 2022

“Musically it’s extremely fine, with superb central performances from Stanley and Loy. Loy’s Tarquinius seems all the more dangerously psychopathic for being so charismatic of both voice and presence.”

Tim Ashley, The Guardian

"The Royal Opera’s devastating staging features a faultless cast of young singers. Tarquinius is a difficult role to bring to life, given his character is utterly unsympathetic, yet Jolyon Loy managed to make him three-dimensional. Using his height to his advantage, he commanded the stage, literally towering over the action while producing much nuanced, yet thrilling singing."

Keith McDonnell, MusicOMH

"The opera’s villain Tarquinius, rarely without a drink or a weapon in his hand, is clearly disturbed, often visibly out of control. The role is brilliantly played by Jolyon Loy, his tensile, dynamic vocalism underlining his menace."

George Hall, The Stage

"Jolyon Loy's stormy sonorous vocal performance as Tarquinius is virile and concrete. But he carves room for just enough darkness behind the façade to suggest that the Prince of Rome is more insecure than he realises."

Alexander Cohen, Broadway World

"Jolyon Loy’s Tarquinius – tall and hulking – positively gloats and glories in his own masculine aura, though later it’s suggested that he is suffering from PTSD, haunted by flashbacks of battlefield brutality and bloodshed."

Claire Seymour, Opera Today

“Tarquinius was well sung by Jolyon Loy. Loy recently won second prize in the Wagner Society’s singing competition at Wigmore Hall, and his suave lyric baritone suggests a natural Don Giovanni, Almaviva or Onegin”

Hugh Canning, The Times

“The cast reacted to Mears’ challenging staging with a performative style of total commitment, both vocal and physical. Jolyon Loy’s Tarquinius drew the eye; a towering figure with Hollywood looks, Loy’s studied movements immediately conveyed a restless shiftiness to Tarquinius and imbued him with a disturbing wildness from the outset. That, combined with the mellow seductiveness of Loy’s baritone and his pointed diction, gave hints of a Don Giovanni and it would be intriguing to see Loy tackle that role.”

Dominic Lowe, Bachtrack

"There is an outstanding performance from British baritone Jolyon Loy as Tarquinius – acting and singing the role of entitled aristocrat with a persuasive mix of arrogance and self absorption."

Owen Davies, Plays To See

"British baritone Jolyon Loy plays the immature and entitled Tarquinius. Loy is an imposing figure with a suitably threatening stage presence for whom women are either up on a pedestal or whores. His lyrical approach is at its best as he approaches the sleeping Lucretia – ‘Within this frail crucible of light' – which allows him to display a more tender side to his character."

Adrian York, London Unattached

"Mears has a cast of young singers at the beginning of their careers; they perform with the utmost commitment and no little finesse. Jolyon Loy’s Tarquinius is a frightening embodiment of toxic masculinity."

Nick Kimberley, Evening Standard

"Baritone Jolyon Loy is an impressively repellant Tarquinius, a physically powerful figure used to his own way but with distressing incel views about women."

Claudia Pritchard, Culture Whisper

"The performances from the young cast are uniformly stunning. The baritone of Jolyon Loy’s Tarquinius is highly engaging."

Sam Smith, Opera Online

British baritone Loy is the most macho of Tarquiniuses, a huge brute of a man who convinces us that he is led by base instinct; and yet his voice is flexible and capable of a multitude of shades. A successful actor has to make us dislike this character, and at that, Loy excelled. Remarkable – as is everything about this production and performance. This is not only the Royal Opera at its very best – it shows great hope for the new generation of singers coming into their own right now.

Colin Clarke, Seen & Heard International

"Lucretia is well-matched by the Tarquinius of British baritone Jolyon Loy who brings a dangerous sense of sexual entitlement and lack of moral compass to the role. Towering over the rest of the cast, his sheer physicality is threatening enough, but he can be unnervingly graceful too as he glides through Lucretia’s house at night like a wolf on the prowl. His bright, virile voice is impressive, ringing out with formidable top notes, but turning disconcertingly soft and sensual as he bends over his slumbering victim."

Clive Paget, Musical America

"Physically imposing, Jolyon Loy's Tarquinius was fatally attractive and very aware of his charms, feeling himself infallible. Loy drew Tarquinius as someone whose lack of emotional intelligence meant that he could not believe he was not the object of attention, which led to his fatal step with Lucretia. It was a fine performance and a complex one because this Tarquinius was violent from the outset, yet Loy seduced us with his physical and vocal charms."

Robert Hugill, Planet Hugill

"Musically Collatinus, Junius, and Tarquinius (Jolyon Loy) express not so much an overt brute force as an insidious lustre, particularly the latter as he hovers over the sleeping Lucretia and insinuates himself into her dreams, making her believe that at this point she is embracing her husband."

Curtis Rogers, Classical Source

"Jolyon Loy’s towering Tarquinius"

Richard Fairman, Financial Times

“English-Irish baritone Jolyon Loy’s Tarquinius was a good deal more violent: his behaviour encompassed not only beating the same captive woman with a pistol but, in another disturbing sequence prior to the rape itself, pointing a gun at his own lower jaw. Rarely seen without a drink or a weapon in his hand, Loy matched his physical menace with a substantial, tensile baritone that registered as ideal.”

George Hall, Opera News