‘Everything about the music-making deserves praise. Tregear juggled the demands of both scores with great insightfulness and deeply pleasurable results, wonderfully mining complimentary attractive crispness and velvety edged phrasing in Dido and Aeneas and bringing thorough delight and intelligent know-how to The Emperor of Atlantis.’
Paul Selar, Australian Arts Review (November 2022)
‘The performances of [Andrew] Anderson’s works are excellent. The Consort of Melbourne [under Tregear’s direction] sings beautifully, with a rich and admirably equalized tonal production.’
Ken Meltzer, Fanfare Magazine, 46:1 (New Jersey) (Sept-Oct 2022)
‘Under Tregear’s baton, orchestra and cast delivered masterful performances.’
John Gabriel, Kurt Weil Newsletter (New York) (July 2022)
‘The [Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny]’s eclectic elements are bound in a fluidly harmonious whole and are, as is the performance, blessed by the exceptional vibrancy, precision and rhythmical vitality conductor Peter Tregear invokes from his 40-plus musicians.’
Paul Selar, Limelight Magazine (June 2022)
In ‘IOpera’s Acis and Galatea… buoyantly commandeered by music director and conductor (and Limelight contributor) Peter Tregear… Handel’s music resonated in its finery from the appropriately sized small chamber ensemble… [p]layed with thoughtful intensity and tempi throughout… An evocative blend of chiaroscuro and balance.’
Paul Selar, Limelight Magazine (December 2021)
'Peter Tregear sang a distinguished Don Alfonso and, in a clever touch, presented as a man having been spurned by love and given up on it'
Paul Selar, Australian Arts Review (March 2021)
‘The conductor, Peter Tregear… directed with precision, authority and with an obvious unbridled passion for the work’s jazz idioms… All in all, this performance was greater than the sum of its parts, and a bold adventure for all concerned — especially the young musicians, part of The Orchestra Project scheme, which collaborated on this production. It is as much a tribute to Peter Tregear as it is to IOpera.’
Michael Shmith, Opera Magazine (UK) (January 2020)
‘Perhaps the most interesting [performance of 2019] was tiny IOpera’s witty and inventive concert performance in the Australian première of Ernst Krenek’s 1927 sensation Jonny spielt auf. Twice before planned and dropped by bigger companies, the opera made it thanks to the passion of Krenek specialist Peter Tregear, who conducted masterfully.’
Barney Zwartz, Australian Book Review (November 2019)
‘In the guise of Salieri, Mozart and their respective spouses, kitted out in suitable period garb, a quartet of top-quality Australian singers – soprano Janet Todd, mezzo Sally-Anne Russell, tenor Nick Seidenman and baritone Peter Tregear – brought this drama to life’
Maxim Boon, The Age (April 2019)
‘Elmiro, received a sterling performance by Peter Tregear’
Barney Zwartz, The Age (October 2018)
‘Baritone Peter Tregear brought a commanding presence to the paternal figure of Elmiro’
Elizabeth Kertesz, Australian Book Review (October 2018)
'Peter Tregear writes an essay so fine, so comprehensible, so informative that I’m green with envy while glowing with delight’
Jens F. Laurson, Forbes.com (December 2017)
‘The Waking… for two solo baritones of an enigmatic Theodore Roethke poem was fearlessly sung by Simon Wallfisch and Peter Tregear.’
Geoff Brown, The Times (UK) (September 2017)
‘It seems that the national opera review, “enthusiastically” welcomed by Terracini in a statement released on Tuesday, has vindicated Tregear’s assessment.’
Maxim Boom, The Guardian (October 2016)
‘Peter Tregear demonstrated his rich, well modulated vibrato in Thou Art Gone Up on High and united with the trumpets to lift the rafters with The Trumpet Shall Sound.’
Jennifer Gall, Canberra Times (July 2015)
‘…careful management of the auditorium's acoustic properties and unshakeable conducting by Peter Tregear.’
Jennifer Gall, Canberra Times (February 2015)
‘ANU School of Music head Peter Tregear may well be the coolest educator in the country...’
Emma Kelly, Canberra Times (November 2014)
‘…the orchestral sound had an authentic delicacy and responsiveness. Under Peter Tregear's direction the dynamic balance of the orchestra was carefully maintained and the musicians were sensitive to their role as accompanists’
Jennifer Gall, Canberra Times (August 2014)
‘In this festival program, these Membra shine beacon-like in yet another bleakly populated landscape for serious music.’
Clive O’Connell, The Age (October 2012)
‘This excellent production [of Viktor Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis] by conductor Peter Tregear and director Gert Reifarth… is a gem, multifaceted, intimate, and polished.’
Barney Zwartz, The Age (July 2012)
‘Conductor Peter Tregear balanced his forces beautifully and found innumerable felicities of phrasing and shape…. The Orchestra Project… was idiomatic, sensitive and accomplished, while the Consort of Melbourne was remarkably fine. If this is the future for Melbourne music, it's in good hands.’
Barney Zwartz, The Age (April 2012)
‘Reinforcing its reputation in this original musician’s considerable output, the Consort [of Melbourne under] conductor Peter Tregear emphasised Grainger's powerful lyricism… the pleasures were many.’
Clive O’Connell, The Age (July 2011)
‘Peter Tregear accounted for the bass arias [of J. S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion] with precise pitching and insistent accents’.
Clive O’Connell, The Age (April 2011)
‘…director Peter Tregear interspersed popular works and rarities… yielding continual pleasures that underlined Grainger’s fertile genius’.
Clive O’Connell, The Age (June 2010)
‘Das Orchester unter Leitung von Peter Tregear interpretiert Anna Amalias Bühnenmusik mit viel Farbe und Dramatik.’
Thüringer Allgemeine (July 2009)
‘The score [of Erwin und Elmire], preserved in a new edition by Peter Tregear, is a revelation… The performance was charged by the energy of an excellent young cast… a good orchestra playing vibrant tempi and sheer enthusiasm… IOpera succeeded in bringing out significant historical material on universal themes in a palatable format.’
Daniela Kaleva, Music Forum, (May–July 2008)
‘The choir of Trinity College [was] excellently prepared by Peter Tregear… Glorious singing from the eight five-part choirs with the Tallis Scholars performing as first among equals.’
Peter Burch, The Australian, (6 February 2007)
‘Tregear… sees the university as the proper place to exhume forgotten or neglected music by performing as well as editing it. Behind all his efforts—he also conducts, sings, directs, produces, fund-raises, organises and inspires—is the higher purpose of advancing musical scholarship by executing a practical experiment.’
Rupert Christiansen, Opera (September 2003)
‘Peter Tregear was a hearty, confident [Don] Poppone.’
Andrew Porter, Times Literary Supplement (2 August 2002)
‘Peter Tregear led the student musicians of Cambridge University Symphony Orchestra in a superb performance of which any opera house would have been proud. Tregear revealed each exquisite detail of [Max] Brand’s densely structured, piquant harmony. More importantly he knew the rhetoric of the music, knew where each section was leading and ensured that the pace never faltered.’
Brendan Carroll, OperaNow (March/April 2002)
‘conducted by Peter Tregear with precision, power and punch.’
Malcolm Miller, Tempo (April 2002)
‘Maschinist Hopkins, had never before been performed in Britain, and only rarely played in Europe since it was peremptorily banned by the Nazis in 1933. Judging by the clamorous applause that followed its grand finale, however, it was as if seven decades had never been. True, Hopkins is not the sort of opera you leave humming the theme tune. Gargantuan in scale, over two hours long and full of daring musical experimentation, it is certainly demanding. Yet the enthusiasm of the Cambridge University Opera Society, which staged the innovative production, gave it a vitality that defied time.’
Lawrence Joffe, Jewish Chronicle (March 2002)
‘Peter Tregear dirge avec flame et vigueur.’
Crescendo [Belgium] (13 February 2002)
‘vivid direction.’
Anna Picard, Independent on Sunday (2 December 2001)
‘conducted with passion by Peter Tregear, and played with panache.’
Tim Ashley, Guardian (28 November 2001)
Paul Selar, Australian Arts Review (November 2022)
‘The performances of [Andrew] Anderson’s works are excellent. The Consort of Melbourne [under Tregear’s direction] sings beautifully, with a rich and admirably equalized tonal production.’
Ken Meltzer, Fanfare Magazine, 46:1 (New Jersey) (Sept-Oct 2022)
‘Under Tregear’s baton, orchestra and cast delivered masterful performances.’
John Gabriel, Kurt Weil Newsletter (New York) (July 2022)
‘The [Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny]’s eclectic elements are bound in a fluidly harmonious whole and are, as is the performance, blessed by the exceptional vibrancy, precision and rhythmical vitality conductor Peter Tregear invokes from his 40-plus musicians.’
Paul Selar, Limelight Magazine (June 2022)
In ‘IOpera’s Acis and Galatea… buoyantly commandeered by music director and conductor (and Limelight contributor) Peter Tregear… Handel’s music resonated in its finery from the appropriately sized small chamber ensemble… [p]layed with thoughtful intensity and tempi throughout… An evocative blend of chiaroscuro and balance.’
Paul Selar, Limelight Magazine (December 2021)
'Peter Tregear sang a distinguished Don Alfonso and, in a clever touch, presented as a man having been spurned by love and given up on it'
Paul Selar, Australian Arts Review (March 2021)
‘The conductor, Peter Tregear… directed with precision, authority and with an obvious unbridled passion for the work’s jazz idioms… All in all, this performance was greater than the sum of its parts, and a bold adventure for all concerned — especially the young musicians, part of The Orchestra Project scheme, which collaborated on this production. It is as much a tribute to Peter Tregear as it is to IOpera.’
Michael Shmith, Opera Magazine (UK) (January 2020)
‘Perhaps the most interesting [performance of 2019] was tiny IOpera’s witty and inventive concert performance in the Australian première of Ernst Krenek’s 1927 sensation Jonny spielt auf. Twice before planned and dropped by bigger companies, the opera made it thanks to the passion of Krenek specialist Peter Tregear, who conducted masterfully.’
Barney Zwartz, Australian Book Review (November 2019)
‘In the guise of Salieri, Mozart and their respective spouses, kitted out in suitable period garb, a quartet of top-quality Australian singers – soprano Janet Todd, mezzo Sally-Anne Russell, tenor Nick Seidenman and baritone Peter Tregear – brought this drama to life’
Maxim Boon, The Age (April 2019)
‘Elmiro, received a sterling performance by Peter Tregear’
Barney Zwartz, The Age (October 2018)
‘Baritone Peter Tregear brought a commanding presence to the paternal figure of Elmiro’
Elizabeth Kertesz, Australian Book Review (October 2018)
'Peter Tregear writes an essay so fine, so comprehensible, so informative that I’m green with envy while glowing with delight’
Jens F. Laurson, Forbes.com (December 2017)
‘The Waking… for two solo baritones of an enigmatic Theodore Roethke poem was fearlessly sung by Simon Wallfisch and Peter Tregear.’
Geoff Brown, The Times (UK) (September 2017)
‘It seems that the national opera review, “enthusiastically” welcomed by Terracini in a statement released on Tuesday, has vindicated Tregear’s assessment.’
Maxim Boom, The Guardian (October 2016)
‘Peter Tregear demonstrated his rich, well modulated vibrato in Thou Art Gone Up on High and united with the trumpets to lift the rafters with The Trumpet Shall Sound.’
Jennifer Gall, Canberra Times (July 2015)
‘…careful management of the auditorium's acoustic properties and unshakeable conducting by Peter Tregear.’
Jennifer Gall, Canberra Times (February 2015)
‘ANU School of Music head Peter Tregear may well be the coolest educator in the country...’
Emma Kelly, Canberra Times (November 2014)
‘…the orchestral sound had an authentic delicacy and responsiveness. Under Peter Tregear's direction the dynamic balance of the orchestra was carefully maintained and the musicians were sensitive to their role as accompanists’
Jennifer Gall, Canberra Times (August 2014)
‘In this festival program, these Membra shine beacon-like in yet another bleakly populated landscape for serious music.’
Clive O’Connell, The Age (October 2012)
‘This excellent production [of Viktor Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis] by conductor Peter Tregear and director Gert Reifarth… is a gem, multifaceted, intimate, and polished.’
Barney Zwartz, The Age (July 2012)
‘Conductor Peter Tregear balanced his forces beautifully and found innumerable felicities of phrasing and shape…. The Orchestra Project… was idiomatic, sensitive and accomplished, while the Consort of Melbourne was remarkably fine. If this is the future for Melbourne music, it's in good hands.’
Barney Zwartz, The Age (April 2012)
‘Reinforcing its reputation in this original musician’s considerable output, the Consort [of Melbourne under] conductor Peter Tregear emphasised Grainger's powerful lyricism… the pleasures were many.’
Clive O’Connell, The Age (July 2011)
‘Peter Tregear accounted for the bass arias [of J. S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion] with precise pitching and insistent accents’.
Clive O’Connell, The Age (April 2011)
‘…director Peter Tregear interspersed popular works and rarities… yielding continual pleasures that underlined Grainger’s fertile genius’.
Clive O’Connell, The Age (June 2010)
‘Das Orchester unter Leitung von Peter Tregear interpretiert Anna Amalias Bühnenmusik mit viel Farbe und Dramatik.’
Thüringer Allgemeine (July 2009)
‘The score [of Erwin und Elmire], preserved in a new edition by Peter Tregear, is a revelation… The performance was charged by the energy of an excellent young cast… a good orchestra playing vibrant tempi and sheer enthusiasm… IOpera succeeded in bringing out significant historical material on universal themes in a palatable format.’
Daniela Kaleva, Music Forum, (May–July 2008)
‘The choir of Trinity College [was] excellently prepared by Peter Tregear… Glorious singing from the eight five-part choirs with the Tallis Scholars performing as first among equals.’
Peter Burch, The Australian, (6 February 2007)
‘Tregear… sees the university as the proper place to exhume forgotten or neglected music by performing as well as editing it. Behind all his efforts—he also conducts, sings, directs, produces, fund-raises, organises and inspires—is the higher purpose of advancing musical scholarship by executing a practical experiment.’
Rupert Christiansen, Opera (September 2003)
‘Peter Tregear was a hearty, confident [Don] Poppone.’
Andrew Porter, Times Literary Supplement (2 August 2002)
‘Peter Tregear led the student musicians of Cambridge University Symphony Orchestra in a superb performance of which any opera house would have been proud. Tregear revealed each exquisite detail of [Max] Brand’s densely structured, piquant harmony. More importantly he knew the rhetoric of the music, knew where each section was leading and ensured that the pace never faltered.’
Brendan Carroll, OperaNow (March/April 2002)
‘conducted by Peter Tregear with precision, power and punch.’
Malcolm Miller, Tempo (April 2002)
‘Maschinist Hopkins, had never before been performed in Britain, and only rarely played in Europe since it was peremptorily banned by the Nazis in 1933. Judging by the clamorous applause that followed its grand finale, however, it was as if seven decades had never been. True, Hopkins is not the sort of opera you leave humming the theme tune. Gargantuan in scale, over two hours long and full of daring musical experimentation, it is certainly demanding. Yet the enthusiasm of the Cambridge University Opera Society, which staged the innovative production, gave it a vitality that defied time.’
Lawrence Joffe, Jewish Chronicle (March 2002)
‘Peter Tregear dirge avec flame et vigueur.’
Crescendo [Belgium] (13 February 2002)
‘vivid direction.’
Anna Picard, Independent on Sunday (2 December 2001)
‘conducted with passion by Peter Tregear, and played with panache.’
Tim Ashley, Guardian (28 November 2001)