"That these two sides of this musical and theatrical distillation of German Expressionism come together as a near-perfect whole in Lyric's new production is a tribute to serious people giving great art its due... Curran and his designers Kevin Knight (sets and costumes), David Jacques (lights) and Chicagoan John Boesche (projections and film) understand all of this implicitly, and they have created a visual counterpart to Berg's musical ability to shift seamlessly from complex compositional techniques to the most poignant tonality." - Chicago Sun Times, Lulu, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2008

"...the stunning visuals provided both by the physical production and the technical effects of the design team all combine to create an experience the likes of which has set a new standard for productions of Berg's masterpiece for many years to come." - ConcertoNet, Lulu, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2008

"The positive effect of Kevin Knight's handsome period sets and eye-filling costumes—an elegant fusion of Bauhaus and Art Deco styles brilliantly lighted by David Jacques" - Chicago Tribune, Lulu, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2008

"And the production’s unsung hero might be lighting wizard David Jacques, whose brilliant illuminations produce as vivid a show as we’ve seen at the Civic Opera House this year." Time Out Chicago, Lulu, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2008

"Director Paul Curran and designers Kevin Knight (sets and costumes) and David Martin Jacques (lighting) staged the opera with the same kind of detailed, closed-in naturalism that we saw last season in their superb production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Knight and Jacques are really a world-beating pair, whose sense of volume and shadow made the stage a resonant space..." - Globe and Mail, Tosca, Canadian Opera Company, 2008

"Paul Curran’s production, Kevin Knight’s designs and David Jacques’ lighting were constantly inventive and astonishing." - Opera Today, Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2007

"Led by the British troika of director Paul Curran, designer Kevin Knight and lighting designer David Martin Jacques, all elements of the production combined to produce a vision of overwhelming power." - Opera News, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Canadian Opera Company, 2007

"Lighting designer David Jacques outdid himself in using lighting to create mood and reflect the necessary shadows. Perhaps most stunning of all was the use of blue silk to recreate the flood called for at the end of the second act." - Opera Online, Die Frau Ohne Shatten, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2007

“A real and true co-author is David Martin Jacques, creator of a beautifully evocative and magical fairy-tale, full of moving and at times terrifying atmospheres. These beautiful light effects, disquieting and chilling, dense and then less-dense, follow the course of the opera with potent expressive value… visually a fascinating feast for the eyes.” - L’Opera Magazine, Tannhauser, La Scala, 2005

"Jacques' lighting was superb, making pertinent use of shadow-form for everyone but the titular heroine." - Opera News, Die Frau Ohne Shatten, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2007

"There was no daylight in David Martin Jacques's lighting design, which leaned toward the stark contrasts of expressionism and film noir." Globe and Mail, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Canadian Opera Company, 2007

"The final tableau of reconciliation, in which glowing globes symbolizing their unborn offspring are placed at their feet, is one of the production's most deeply moving inspirations." Chicago Tribune, Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2007

"The final scene, in which the conflicts are finally seen as resolved, is especially beautiful, with the unborn children bearing glowing globes of light." - ConcertoNet, Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2007

"The use of beams of light to indicate the underground chambers for the Dyer and the Dyer's Wife in the first scene of the third act allowed the audience to concentrate on the music and text: the almost-touching hands made the desire to reconnect even more tantalizing than if the pair were separated by some sort of barrier... the globes that accompany the unborn children at the end of the opera used the contrast of the light with the sometimes oppressive darkness that preceded it extremely skilfully." - Seen and Heard International, Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2007

"It was here that director Paul Curran staged Katerina and Sergei’s steamy grand-slam scene, Katerina on top, arms outspread, silhouetted against the window blinds by David Martin Jacques’s chiaroscuro lighting." Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Canadian Opera Company, 2007

"David Jacques' lighting design never tires, beautifully highlighting the movement of the dancers in the several festivities that take place during the opera." Operaclick, Cherubin, Cagliari Opera, 2006

“Evocative the game of lights, from the unavoidable red-sin to the color-lunar bruise of the star of the evening, from the white man-purity to the green hope of the final miracle...” - Operaclick, Tannhauser, La Scala, 2005

"A vivid and theatrically fitting lighting design by David Martin Jacques." Il Gazzettino, Daphne, Teatro La Fenice, 2005

“The miraculous lighting effects are due to the splendid work of David Jacques.” L’ Opera Magazine - Daphne, Teatro La Fenice, 2005

“The scenografica function, therefore, has been carried out above all from the lights of David Jacques, ready to evidence with great effectiveness the nuclei of the intense drama to us… the lights supply the necessary support to the intelligent artistic conception of Paul Curran.” Asterisconet.it , Daphne, Teatro La Fenice, 2005

"Curran pulls no punches, nor do the designers Kevin Knight and David Martin Jacques. They created a world of fantastic illusion that nimbly illustrates the deteriating mind of a hopeless romantic." Rocky Mountain News, Tales of Hoffman, Central City Opera, 2004