To escape the wrath of Polixenes at his son's attachment to a lowly shepherdess they flee at the suggestion of Camillo to Sicily.
"[4] Rupert Christiansen, in the Daily Telegraph, found that the composer, using an idiom which was "a sugar-coated mélange of Berg and Tippett" had "reduc[ed] the play’s ambiguities and resonances to something charmless, turgid and unmoving.
"[5] In The Observer, on the other hand, Fiona Maddocks called the score "fluid and sensuous, building on the tradition of Britten and Tippett but with plenty of individuality.
"[6] George Hall, in The Stage, hailed it as "the major event of ENO’s current season", rated Kinnear's production highly, found the score "accomplished" and praised the individual performances, whilst noting that overall "the play has once again eluded the operatic medium.
"[7] Cara Chanteau in The Independent gave the production four stars out of five, found Sophie Bevan "radiant" as Hermione, but conceded that Wigglesworth's score was "just a tad too respectful to blaze as incandescently as it might.