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L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
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November 1 - 30, 2017
emotional shifts so quickly. From that point
of view, it’s one of the most challenging
pieces we have.”
Veryearlyon,Davisfelttheresponsibility
that comes with presenting masterpieces in
performances. “That responsibility is to mold
all this great music in a way that represents
your vision. At the same time, you hope to
create a unity in whatever performing forces
you’re dealing with, so that a whole group
of people presents a unified conception of
something that is then given to the public.
The greatest thing a conductor can do is
achieve that sense of everyone involved in
the music being completely of a single mind.
Whether they realize it or not, listeners are
affected by that. It’s what raises music to that
level to which we all aspire.”
Roger Pines
, Lyric’s dramaturg and
broadcast commentator, contributes writing
regularly to opera-related publications and
recording companies internationally. He
also frequently adjudicates for major vocal
competitions, and he has been a panelist on
the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts’ Opera
Quiz annually since 2006.
TODD ROSENBERG
With tenor Brandon Jovanovich at “Celebrating Ken”
(Lyric's tribute in memory of the late Ken Pigott), 2015.
With tenor Lawrence Brownlee and mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong
at the “Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park” concert, 2015.
done the piece, even if it was a long time
ago, slightly reduces the terror of it. You
think, ‘I’m older and, I hope, more mature
now, so it had
better
be better!’” Davis
finds that even in the last ten or even five
years, “the all-important sense of a piece’s
structure comes to me very naturally now. I
don’t have to say, ‘The relationship between
that moment and this moment has to be
this way, this climax has to be bigger than
the one before,’ and so on. I suppose I do
things more intuitively because I have the
confidence to feel that I
can
. It’s the result
of having prepared so many pieces over the
years. With the experience I have, in a huge
variety of repertoire and media – operatic,
symphonic, chamber music – I’m confident
in relying on my intuition to carry me
through large-scale pieces.”
An example of that is
Les Troyens
, a
triumph for Davis in its Lyric premiere last
season. Looking at this work vs. Wagner’s
massive
Götterdämmerung
, the conductor
considers the Berlioz opera much more
difficult. “They’re about the same length,
but in Wagner there’s a consistency of style
and sound and orchestral texture. Berlioz,
on the other hand, prided himself on the
quixotic nature of his music. Look at the
Symphonie Fantastique
– written just two
years after the death of Beethoven – with
a contrast between the movements that
couldn’t be more extreme.
Troyens
is at
the other end of Berlioz’s career, but the
dichotomy of styles is quite noticeable,
and there are also any number of scenes
in which everyone has to respond to the
LUCAS DAWSON
TODD ROSENBERG
The greatest thing a conductor
can do is achieve that sense of
everyone involved in the music
being completely of a single mind.