“Ivan Repušić, General Music Director in Leipzig, showed this evening what a conductor can be when he allows the music to speak for itself. No affected gestures, no exaggerated expression – only a clear understanding of structure, breath, and energy. One senses that he shapes rather than dominates, and precisely for that reason he succeeds in drawing powerful and compelling musical statements from the performance.

After two hours, the evening ended with the kind of enthusiasm that lingers after a truly successful concert. Alexander Malofeev is the hero of the evening – precisely because he never behaves like one. And Ivan Repušić? He shapes the hr-Sinfonieorchester into an ensemble that suddenly rediscovers its curiosity, performing with rich colours, refinement, and inner fire. Not a single gesture too much, no false brilliance. One can only wish that this conductor would return more often…”

(Dirk Schauß, Online Merker, onlinemerker.com, 25 October 2025 – on the occasion of the concert with the hr-Sinfonieorchester at the Alte Oper Frankfurt on 24 October 2025.)

“The Gewandhaus Orchestra’s initial bewilderment at the start of the revival on Friday evening at a well-attended Leipzig Opera was probably due to the fact that Repušić balances the orchestra differently from anyone who has conducted this opera here since its Leipzig premiere in December 1991. Here, the strings do not dissolve into mutual competition. Here, the winds speak, illustrate, and comment on the story of Mimì’s life, love, and death. And the strings build emotional arches into which the voices are pressed and embraced, just as the text of Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica demands and allows.”

(Leipziger Volkszeitung, lvz.de, December 6, 2025 – regarding the performance of the opera La bohème at Leipzig Opera, December 5, 2025.)

“And so the conductor and the Gewandhaus Orchestra found themselves in the orchestral pit at the premiere in a sold-out hall. The applause for a heartfelt, energetically performed, and subtly witty musical interpretation was unanimous. The musicians threw themselves into it with pleasure, in the lively parlando of the comedy. Even amidst the bustle of the large ensemble scenes, things were, for the most part, only as chaotic as they needed to be. Repušić did not hesitate to strike boldly whenever newly emerging motifs expanded and demanded it.”

(Joachim Lange, concerti.de, October 13, 2025 – on the occasion of the premiere of the opera Falstaff at Leipzig Opera, October 11, 2025.)

“The new General Music Director of Leipzig Opera, Ivan Repušić, demonstrated remarkable instinct and courage by deciding to begin his tenure with an opera for connoisseurs — Falstaff, one of the greatest works in the operatic repertoire, though not Verdi’s most popular. The orchestral score is extraordinarily rich and colorful, following and illustrating the action more vividly than in most operas. Repušić interpreted the score in a way that reminded me of the performance conducted by Zubin Mehta at the Salzburg Festival in August 2013. Slightly more relaxed tempi (compared to historical recordings by Lorenzo Molajoli in 1932 and Arturo Toscanini in 1950), which Repušić favored, allowed enjoyment of the many orchestral nuances.”

(Daniel Floyd, Der Opernfreund, October 22, 2025 – on the occasion of the premiere of the opera Falstaff at Leipzig Opera, October 11, 2025.)

“The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, just like Vivaldi’s mega-popular work, brought on this evening of local Zadar anniversaries a global perspective on the capabilities of a musical ensemble that wants to grow, breathe fully, and deliver many more high-quality concert events and opportunities – not only for the local musicians, but also for those who come to participate, and above all, all within the vision of Chief Conductor Ivan Repušić, the “boy from the Peninsula” who conquers the world, yet invests the same energy, time, and ideas into the community from which he set out, the community that remembers him as a “little one,” and the community that has the potential for strong recognition.”

(Iva Lovrec Štefanović, glazba.hr, September 15, 2025 – on the occasion of the concert of the Zadar Chamber Orchestra, September 8, 2025.)

„The orchestra tends toward the pastose, yet brims with color; Repušić and the Münchner Rundfunkorchester deliberately eschew lightness in favor of more robust, opaque undertones – at some remove from historical notions of style, but highly effective – and in keeping with tradition.“

(Bob Dieschburg, 30. kolovoza 2025., operawire.com, CD Golden Age)

“Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is monumental both musically and conceptually, yet Ivan Repušić’s interpretation brought out its cheerfulness, clarity, and human dimension, rather than focusing on a sublime, mystical, or heroic atmosphere. Special attention was given to detail and dynamism in the performance. Within the orchestral texture, elements of accompaniment could be heard that often go unnoticed in heavier, romantically colored interpretations.”

(Jelena Sviben, Jutarnji list, July 12, 2025 – on the occasion of the performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at the 76th Dubrovnik Summer Festival)

“Repušić is particularly superior in the large, opulent and atmospheric choral and orchestral passages. His unsettling, exciting and emotional interpretation is supported by a good team of singers,…”

(Remy Franck, Pizzicato, April 12, 2025, CD Puccini: Le Villi)

“Since Ivan Repušić took over as Chief Conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, music from his Croatian homeland has regularly been featured there. It seems that this has also fostered an affinity for this music in the Bavarian Radio Choir, which has now invited Repušić to conduct Boris Papandopulo’s Croatian Mass.”

(Tobias Hell, OVB Heimatzeitungen, February 2025 – on the occasion of the performance of Boris Papandopulo’s Croatian Mass in Munich)

„Repušić gives us a similarly fine account of the ballet from the 1864 revision of Macbeth. The orchestra’s playing is crisp and invigorating here even more so than Riccardo Muti’s famous recording of the complete opera. As I listened to the opening allegro section I became aware of tiny details in the score that I had not noticed before. This is thanks to Repušić and the stunning sound that the Bavarian Radio engineers have achieved here. (…) This recording is definitely the top choice for anyone wanting a survey of Verdi’s ballet music. It is a truly fine achievement.“

(Mike Parr, MusicWeb International, 20. ožujka 2025 – CD Verdi: Complete Ballet Music)