Pete Townshend’s Classic Quadrophenia with Alfie Boe reviewed by The Guardian

After the LSO’s version of the Who’s Tommy, Classic Quadrophenia is Pete Townshend’s second rock opera to be turned into a, well, opera. Who fans might spit beer into their speakers, but Rachel Fuller and the Royal Phil’s renditions build on the symphonic components of the original. The new arrangements explore the majesty of the melodies, ranging from gentle beauty to the symphonic equivalent of speaker-busting raw power. Alfie Boe taking Roger Daltrey’s vocal role might raise some eyebrows, but the tenor inhabits the songs with a different, controlled intensity. Townshend himself roars through The Punk and the Godfather, and there are some lovely curveballs, with massed choirs on 5.15 and Bell Boy. Boe’s Love Reign O’er Me is something of a tour de force, all tinkling pianos and kettle drums as roaring thunder.