Press

Simon Boccanegra, Opera North, 2025

Simon Boccanegra WINS the 2025 Sky Arts Award for “artistic excellence and bold innovation in opera”.

“A great operatic experience… Harris’ production laid the firmest foundation for the piece… clear and economical… with consistent dramatic skill” ★★★★★ George Hall, Gramophone/Opera Now

“I doubt whether anything will stir the soul, shiver the spine and raise the roof like this concert staging of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra” ★★★★★ The Times

“Dramatic staging. The concept is much more than a concert performance and completely justified by its impact in theatrical terms.” ★★★★★ The Arts Desk

“simply outstanding” ★★★★★ The Reviews Hub

“Fresh and innovative… an immersive experience unlike any traditional opera staging. Opera North’s Simon Boccanegra reminds us that good art holds a mirror up to society and urges change.” Yorkshire Times

Götterdämmerung, London Philharmonic Orchestra/Royal Festival Hall, 2024

 “Director PJ Harris achieved narrative clarity through strikingly simple means, like the manipulation of a red tie and a blue coat, plus judicious, effective lighting by Mark Jonathan and video from Pierre Martin Oriol” ★★★★ Jessica Duchen, The Independent

 “…enhanced by a restrained and minimalist semi-staging by PJ Harris” ★★★★ Martin Kettle, The Guardian

 “PJ Harris continued his good work from Siegfried in 2020 by directing this semi-staging with a sure hand and a light touch, abetted by discreet but effective contributions from Pierre Martin Oriol (video projections) and Mark Jonathan (lighting).” ★★★★ Mark Valencia, Bachtrack

L’étoile, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 2023

 “The beneficent influence of the director PJ Harris and designer Anna Yates could be sensed at every turn, so witty were their scenic devices, so riotous the ensembles … all beautifully lit by Emma Jones and choreographed by Jack Webb.”  Andrew Clark, Opera Magazine (April 2023)

“There is no weak link in PJ Harris’s exuberant production.” ★★★★ Simon Thompson, The Times

“Chabrier’s L’Étoile is a box of zany effervescant delight at the RCS. L’étoile was a terrific ensemble show, performers and players pulling this delightful opéra bouffe off superbly with a huge dose of fun and madcap nonsense to brighten up a dark January.” ★★★★ David Smythe, Bachtrack

“The mastermind of the production was beyond question the director PJ Harris who had masterfully conceived this production true to the composer’s creativity yet adapted to today’s modern world.”  Gregor Tassie, Seen & Heard International

Gods of the Game, Grange Park Opera, 2022

“The staging, directed by PJ Harris, is terrific… Harris’ direction is sharp and intelligent.” Amanda Holloway, The Stage

“I’m sure this production will win many new fans for opera” Gary Naylor, Broadway World 

“Under the efficient direction of PJ Harris, the performances are winners” Alexandra Coghlan, The Telegraph

Brundibár, Opera North, 2022

“An outstanding performance by the Opera North Youth Company totally captured the freshness and sense of exhilaration in the music…PJ Harris’ direction imaginatively used the energy and commitment of the young cast” Ron Simpson, The Reviews Hub

Drive & Live: La bohème, English National Opera, 2020

Drive & Live nominated for a Royal Television Society Programme Award 2021

“PJ Harris’ production with ENO is a revelation: a completely fresh, vibrant, eclectic, inventive “La Bohème” that pushes so many artistic and musical boundaries” Kirsten Scott, OperaWire

Interview with Monocle for ENO’s Drive & Live production of La bohème.

Interview in The Stage for ENO’s Drive & Live production of La bohème.

 “PJ Harris’ drive-in staging provides an exuberant contemporary take on Puccini’s classic” George Hall, The Stage

 “World’s first drive-in La bohème gets the emotions revving” Richard Fairman, Financial Times

 “I pounded my car horn like a Neapolitan cabbie: ENO’s drive-in Bohème reviewed” Richard Bratby, The Spectator

Vespers of 1610, Garsington Opera, 2019

“A thrilling, operatic take on this spectacular musical showcase… PJ Harris’s staging, and Rob Casey’s lighting, accentuated every moment of drama as chorus and soloists moved around the stage (and sometimes stalked the auditorium as well). Bigger groups morphed into smaller units, then reassembled. Single singers, or sometimes half the choir, occupied the two upper galleries on either side of the stage. As dusk fell, spotlights in the gathering gloom pulled off a succession of visual coups.” ★★★★★ Boyd Tonkin, The Arts Desk

Riders to the Sea/Cupboard Love, Byre Opera, 2019

 “a remarkable and compelling show” ★★★★ Simon Thompson, The Times

 “inventive staging”★★★★ Keith Bruce, The Herald

Salome, Opera North, 2018

“an unmitigated triumph” Michael Tanner, The Spectator

 “In PJ Harris’s lightly directed concert staging, our attention is rewardingly focused on the tumult of emotions and transgressive desires”★★★★★ Rebecca Franks, The Times

“With only a slither of the apron of the platform and four chairs with which to work, the fifteen singers omitted none of the drama of the action, and the proximity of words and music-making often produced moments of startling clarity. In suggesting that Salome’s dance of the seven veils was happening off-stage as a private experience for Herod, director PJ Harris paralleled it with the opening scene’s reportage of the king’s step-daughter and the incarcerated prophet Jokannan as rivals for the attention of the court.”★★★★ Keith Bruce, The Herald

 “first class storytelling” The Chronicle 

The Cunning Little Vixen, Byre Opera, 2017

“Absorbing highlight of the operatic year…remarkable achievement” Iain Fraser, Opera Scotland