Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras performed a semi-staged version of Verdi’s Don Carlo at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre on January 26. Photo by Michael J. Lutch.

In Tuesday’s (1/28) Parterre Box, Harry Rose writes, “The ambitious Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, headed by Music Director Federico Cortese … has made one semi-staged opera featuring professional singers a feature of its seasons…. The BYSO’s beefy repertoire, performed with an astonishing level of cohesion and competence by students largely concentrated around Massachusetts’s learners permit eligibility age of 16, fills a void … Beyond the quality of the performance … the BYSO opera performances are such winners for the feeling of sheer abundance they provide…. The auditorium is packed, the audience, which includes many friends and family of the over 150 musicians (they split the opera across two ensembles so no single student is responsible for learning the entire piece) is attentive, and the playing is vibrant and exciting…. Cortese led an impressively clean performance of the four-Act Milan version… The students seem to have the way Verdi suggests an environment down pat. Equally distinguished were the solo contributions—brass and cello played with particular warmth and shape…. The singing [by adult professionals] was always secure but lacked variety… The direction, by Joshua Major, was clear and fluid … and Brooke Stanton’s deluxe costumes deserve a nod. But it was the Orchestra’s afternoon.”