“Leading the way was seasoned and inspired director Tom Hawkes’s meticulously moved, intelligently structured and charmingly dressed production at Castleward Opera, beautifully sited above Strangford Lough, some 40 minutes south of Belfast, of Friedrich von Flotow’s Martha.”
Martha / Castleward Opera / Music & Vision

“…a fluent production by Tom Hawkes, with delightful settings and costumes from David Craig.”
The Magic Flute / Castleward Opera / Opera

“The strength of Tom Hawkes’s production lies in its clear narrative values, and designs by Peter Rice that define the pre–Revolutionary Russian setting with imagination and panache…”
Eugene Onegin: Opera Holland Park / The Guardian

“Tom Hawkes’s new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin is an uncluttered affair, which allows the characters to play out unencumbered by extraneous props or movement. But although the stage remains largely clutter–free, there is sophistication aplenty…”
Eugene Onegin: Opera Holland Park / The Stage