"Librettist Michael Lewis MacLennan and composer Jeffrey Ryan distill the emotional and vocal essence of opera into an extended dramatic dialogue that takes full advantage of the beauty and pathos of the human voice.

Ryan's often lush, evocative score was gorgeously rendered..."

John Terauds, Toronto Star

"haunting...memorable"

Jon Kaplan, NOW Magazine (Toronto)

"The softness of the soprano is contrasted with the fierceness of the baritone. The score at first is rushing and restless with interesting musical accents, but there are also moments of rapture and ecstasy as Laurel seeks an end to her despair."

Paula Citron, Opera Canada

"Highlights of the evening [included] Jeffrey Ryan's and librettist Michael Lewis MacLennan's jazz-influenced The Laurels, a modern, sexually charged revision of the Daphne and Apollo myth, in which the usually chaste maiden is far from innocent."

Jon Kaplan, NOW Magazine (Toronto)