Wise words from 2024
As we approach the end of 2024, we look back at some of the conversations we’ve had with our artists over the year and what we learnt from them
On the future of opera and classical music
‘Younger people are more interested in music in general, but also classical music, because they have a lot of access to it through streaming services. We would really like to attract this younger audience to our concerts... Our strength is the music itself. I know that playing a few notes can touch people and do something with their emotions. You can’t describe what it is – it just happens.’
Judith van Driel, Dudok Quartet Amsterdam
‘I’ve taken so many people to the opera for the first time who had no idea what it was and felt they couldn’t step through the front door, and then they fall in love with it and ask for more. It’s about breaking that cycle and saying, “It’s okay, you can come in and see it.” The rest will just happen.’
‘We have to clarify the message behind what we’re doing and not just put pieces together because they’re nice or we’re missing ten minutes in the programme. If you have a clear message, there’s a greater chance that the message actually reaches people and makes an impact.’
‘I think AI can be seen as a sparring partner or as a collaborator, but not necessarily as a decision maker. The composer or creator becomes a curator. It might result in ways that will take over some work, but on the other hand, if you learn how to collaborate with it, it can also create new opportunities.’
On the creative process
‘My purpose is always the same. There might be little variations, as ideas forphrasing, for example, occur to me... What’s fascinating – and this goes for any music – is that there are always going to be little accidents, things you hadn’t necessarily intended, but which you can potentially use in future performances. Accidents can lead to wonderful discoveries and sometimes radical changes in your own views.’
‘For me, the most important thing at the start is always the question: what is important about this piece today? How can we create a relationship between today’s audience and a work that has been forgotten? What makes it relevant? You hope the music is great (which it is in this case) but the most crucial thing is to tell a story in a way that is both meaningful and entertaining.’
‘One of the things about sculptures I love – maybe the main reason I make sculptures in the first place – is that they can represent opposite things at the same time, depending on the angle at which you look at them. You create an object in space and from one side it looks one way and from a different angle, with a different light, it can represent almost the opposite of what you saw from the other side.’
‘To give up your natural instinct about a piece because you think the composer wants something else is pointless. Why are you playing it if you’re not invested in it? The fundamental thing we’re trying to do is to communicate something to the audience, and you can’t communicate something you don’t feel deeply. I think the relationship with the composer is more like a marriage than a master–servant connection. There’s compromise.’
On artistic leadership
‘Not all singers are talented actors, but there’s always a way to make them look good, with lighting, or setting the scene around them. The job of the director is to protect the singers and actors, and to make them look as good as possible. You don’t want your singer to be perceived as a bad actor. It’s your responsibility. There aren’t bad actors, only bad directors.’
‘Conducting is not about ego. My role is to lead the performance, but I’m not doing it for myself. I have a conviction that the music we are performing needs to be played a certain way. It can be played in many different ways, but since I’m on the podium today, we will play it like this because there is no other way that I can personally present this music.’
